Tairua

Tairua
Tairua from Paku Hill
Tairua
Coordinates: 37°00′23″S 175°50′56″E / 37.00639°S 175.84889°E / -37.00639; 175.84889
Country	New Zealand
Region	Waikato
Territorial authority	Thames-Coromandel District
Named	around 1800
Founded by	Hongi Hika
Named for	Tairua translates to Two Tides
Electorates	Coromandel Hauraki-Waikato
Area [1]
• City	4.17 km2 (1.61 sq mi)
• Urban	5.45 km2 (2.10 sq mi)
Population  (June 2024)[2]
• City	1,479
• Urban	1,610
• Urban density	300/km2 (770/sq mi)
• District	33,300
Time zone	UTC+12:00
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13:00 (NZDT)
Postcode(s)	3508
Area code	07
Local iwi	Ngāti Hei

Tairua is a beachside town located on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand in the Thames-Coromandel District. It is located 150 kilometres (93 miles) east of Auckland and 125 kilometers (78 miles) north of Tauranga. It lies at the mouth of the Tairua River on its north bank and on the small Paku Peninsula.^[3] As the 2023 census, the town had a permanent population of 1,630. Tairua is a Māori name which translates literally as tai: tides, rua: two.^[4]

Directly opposite Tairua on the south bank of the river's estuary is the smaller settlement of Pauanui. The two settlements are 30 kilometres east of Thames although the town has closer connections with the sea side resort town Whangamatā. Several islands lie off the mouth of the river, notably Slipper Island to the southeast and the Aldermen Islands 20 kilometres to the east. Mount Paku is an extinct volcano that lies by Tairua Harbour. It was thought to have formed the Alderman Islands.