Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 60 kilometres north of Whangārei, located close to the historic towns of Russell and Kerikeri. Missionary Henry Williams named the mission station Marsden's Vale and eventually the Paihia became the accepted name of the settlement. Nearby to the north is the historic settlement of Waitangi, and the residential and commercial area of Haruru Falls is to the west. The port and township of Opua, and the small settlement of Te Haumi, lie to the south.
Demographics
Paihia had a population of 1,512 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 222 people since the 2013 census, and an increase of 213 people since the 2006 census. There were 561 households. There were 765 males and 750 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female. Of the total population, 207 people were aged up to 15 years, 306 were 15 to 29, 654 were 30 to 64, and 345 were 65 or older. Figures may not add up to the total due to rounding. Ethnicities were 69.0% European/Pākehā, 35.3% Māori, 3.6% Pacific peoples, 6.5% Asian, and 2.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 25.4, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 50.2% had no religion, 35.9% were Christian, and 7.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 168 people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 210 people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $25,000. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 603 people were employed full-time, 219 were part-time, and 63 were unemployed.
History and culture
Origin of the Name
The origin of the name "Paihia" is unclear. A popular attribution, most likely apocryphal, is that when Reverend Henry Williams first arrived in the Bay of Islands searching for a location for his mission station, he told his Māori guide, "Pai here," meaning "Good here," as his Māori vocabulary was limited.
European settlement
Henry Williams and his wife Marianne settled in Paihia in 1823 and built the first church there the same year. William Williams and his wife Jane joined the Paihia mission in 1826. BishopWilliam Grant Broughton visited the Paihia mission in 1838 and performed several firsts in New Zealand including the first Confirmation and Ordination ceremonies. was a 55-ton schooner that the missionaries built and launched off the beach at Paihia on 24 January 1826. In December 1832 the first mention of cricket being played in New Zealand was recorded by Henry Williams. In 1835 a game of cricket was witnessed here by Charles Darwin, in December 1835 while the Beagle spent 10 days in the Bay of Islands. In 1835 William Colenso set up the first printing press in New Zealand at Paihia. In 1850 the mission closed and Paihia declined to a very small settlement by 1890.
20th century
St. Paul's Anglican Church, completed in 1925, is the fifth church built on the site. It is constructed of stone quarried from the Pukaru locality, near Kawakawa and timber from near Waikare. The triptych stained glass windows above the pulpit were commissioned by the Williams Family Trust in commemoration of Sir Nigel Reed for the 175 year family reunion and installed by the artist in 1998. The windows, titled Te Ara O Te Manawa are 4 m2 in total size. In 1926 a road was constructed to Puketona on the main road from Kawakawa to Kerikeri leading to an increase in tourism in the 1930s.
Education
Paihia School is a coeducational full primary school with a roll of students as of
Climate
classifies its climate as oceanic, but it is rainier in winter. It has strong subtropical influence and is classified as such under the Trewartha system due to its consistent warm temperatures, and is the mildest weather station in New Zealand.
