Matamata-Piako District is a local government area in the Waikato region of New Zealand. It lies to the east of the city of Hamilton.
Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of 8,960 as of June 2023. The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. Morrinsville is around 33 kilometres east of Hamilton and 22 kilometres west of Te Aroha. The town is bordered by the Piako River to the east and the Waitakaruru Stream to the south.
Mount Wellington is a suburb in East Auckland, New Zealand, located 10 kilometres southeast of the city centre. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Stonefields, Tamaki, Panmure, Penrose, and Ellerslie, and by the Tamaki River. The suburb is named after the volcanic peak of Maungarei / Mount Wellington. Sylvia Park is a large business park and shopping centre located in the suburb.
Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kilometres south of the Firth of Thames.
Te Aroha is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,906 people in the 2013 census, an increase of 138 people since 2006. It is 53 km (33 mi) northeast of Hamilton and 50 km (31 mi) south of Thames. It sits at the foot of 952 metres (3,123 ft) Mount Te Aroha, the highest point in the Kaimai Range.
Western Bay of Plenty District is a territorial district within the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. The district envelops Tauranga city by land, and includes Matakana Island, at the entrance to Tauranga Harbour.
The Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand extends 85 kilometres (53 mi) north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean to the east. It is 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide at its broadest point. Almost its entire population lives on the narrow coastal strips fronting the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Plenty. In clear weather the peninsula is clearly visible from Auckland, the country's biggest city, which lies on the far shore of the Hauraki Gulf, 55 kilometres (34 mi) to the west. The peninsula is part of the Thames-Coromandel District and the Waikato Region.
The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some 27,720 hectares of public and private land. The area, traditionally known to Māori as Te Wao Nui o Tiriwa, is of local, regional, and national significance. The Waitākere Ranges includes a chain of hills in the Auckland Region, generally running approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from north to south, 25 km west of central Auckland. The ranges are part of the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park.
Katikati is a town in New Zealand located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes through the town; a bypass scheduled to have begun construction in 2008 is on hold.
The Coromandel Range is a volcanic mountain range in the Coromandel Volcanic Zone running the length of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 60 kilometres (37 mi) east of the city of Auckland, and runs north–south for approximately 110 kilometres. It is at a right angle to the Tararua ranges. The highest point in the range is Mount Moehau, at the northern end of the peninsula within the Moehau Range. There are numerous peaks over 600 metres in height. In pre-European times, the southern Coromandel Range was densely forested by trees such as kauri, mataī and tawa, and was a home for birds such as kererū, tūī, kākā and kiwi. Greywacke from the ranges was a source for many stone tools used by Hauraki Māori.
The Waihou River is located in the northern North Island of New Zealand. Its former name, Thames River, was bestowed by Captain James Cook in November 1769, when he explored 14 mi (23 km) of the river from the mouth. An older Māori name was "Wai Kahou Rounga". A 1947 Geographic Board enquiry ruled that the official name would be Waihou.
Chatswood is a suburb in the city of Auckland, New Zealand, in the middle-eastern side of North Shore. It contains a primary school and many parks. To the south of Chatswood is Kendall's Bay, a small bay of the Waitematā Harbour. The suburb is under the governance of Auckland Council. The Royal New Zealand Navy's Kauri Point Armament Depot is located in Chatswood. Chelsea Sugar Refinery is located in Chatswood.
The Kaimai Express long-distance passenger train was operated by Tranz Rail under the Tranz Scenic brand between the North Island cities of Auckland and Tauranga via Hamilton. It used the Silver Fern railcars and operated from 9 December 1991 until 7 October 2001.
The East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) is a railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, originally running between Hamilton and Taneatua via Tauranga, connecting the Waikato with the Bay of Plenty. The ECMT now runs between Hamilton and Kawerau, with a branch line to Taneatua from the junction at Hawkens. The line is built to narrow gauge of 1,067 mm, the uniform gauge in New Zealand. It was known as the East Coast Main Trunk Railway until 2011, when the word "Railway" was dropped.
The Kaimai Tunnel is a railway tunnel through the Kaimai Range in the North Island of New Zealand. Since it was opened in 1978, it has held the title of longest tunnel, at 8.879 kilometres (5.517 mi), in New Zealand, assuming this distinction from the previous title holder, the Rimutaka Tunnel. It is part of the Kaimai Deviation, which was constructed to bypass the old route of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway through the Karangahake Gorge.
Matatoki is a locality on the Hauraki Plains of New Zealand. It lies on State Highway 26, south east of Thames and north of Paeroa. The Matatoki Stream runs from the Coromandel Range through the area to join the Waihou River.
Dame Evelyn Mary Stokes was a professor of geography at the University of Waikato in New Zealand and a member of the New Zealand government's Waitangi Tribunal. Throughout her life she worked for recognition of marginalised groups including women and Māori, and she published extensively on New Zealand historical geography and on Māori land issues.
The Paeroa-Pokeno railway line or deviation in the upper North Island of New Zealand between Paeroa on the East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) and Pokeno on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) was a proposed route with construction started but abandoned. The proposal has been revived in recent years as part of a more direct route between Auckland and Tauranga.
Ngāti Hinerangi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, based in Matamata, with 4 marae at Okauia. As well as Matamata, Te Rohe o Kōperu includes Te Tapui, Peria, Puketutu, the Kaimai Range, Tanners Point, Rereatukahia, Aongatete, Apata, Te Paeoturawaru, Pahoia, Ōmokoroa, Huharua, Motuhoa Island, the inner reaches of Tauranga harbour, Pukehou on the Wairoa River, Haukapa, Ngamuwahine, Whenua-a-kura and Hinuera. A 2021 Treaty Settlement gave $8.1m, returned 14 sites of cultural significance and apologised for confiscation of 100,000 ha in Tauranga in 1863 and for the invasion of villages in 1867, the 'bush campaign', when government forces destroyed the crops and homes of those opposing surveys of the confiscated area, to the south-west of Tauranga.
The Āwhitu Peninsula is a long peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand, extending north from the mouth of the Waikato River to the entrance to Manukau Harbour.
