| Paihia | |
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Paihia
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Northland Region |
| District | Far North District |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 1,770 |
Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to Reverend Henry Williams. When Williams first arrived in the Bay of Islands he knew only a little of the Māori vocabulary, one of the words he did know being ‘pai’ meaning 'good'. When they came to the place now known as Paihia, he told his Māori guide ‘Pai here’.[1] [2] Henry Williams named the missionary station Marsden's Vale;[3] [4] eventually the name Paihia became the accepted name of the settlement.
Nearby is the historic settlement of Waitangi to the north, and the residential and commercial areas of Haruru Falls/Watea to the west; the township of Opua and the small settlement of Te Haumi to the south.
The population of Paihia was 1770 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 69 from 2001.[5]
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Missionary Henry Williams[4] and his wife Marianne[3] settled in Paihia in 1823 and built the first church in New Zealand there the same year. William Williams and his wife Jane joined the Pahia mission in 1826.[4] Bishop William Grant Broughton (the first and only Bishop of Australia) visited the Paihia mission in 1838 and performed several firsts in New Zealand including the first Confirmation and Ordination ceremonies.[6]
In December 1832 the first mention of cricket being played in New Zealand was recorded by Henry Williams.[7] In 1835 a game of cricket was witnessed here by Charles Darwin,[8] [9] in December 1835 while the Beagle spent 10 days in the Bay of Islands.[10] [11]
In 1835 William Colenso set up the first printing press in New Zealand at Paihia.
St. Paul's Anglican Church, completed in 1925, is the fifth church build on the site. It is constructed of stone quarried from Pukaru, near Kawakawa and timber from near Waikare.[12]
Paihia School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 4 and a roll of 168.[13]