Paihia

Paihia
Paihia
Coordinates: 35°16′56″S 174°5′28″E / 35.28222°S 174.09111°E
Country New Zealand
Region Northland Region
District Far North District
Population (2006)
  Total 1,770
A view of Paihia as seen from the ferry to Russell

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. Missionary Henry Williams named the mission station Marsden's Vale[1][2] 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 areas of Haruru Falls/Watea are to the west. The port and township of Opua, and the small settlement of Te Haumi, lie to the south. The population of Paihia was 1770 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 69 from 2001.[3]


History

St. Paul's Anglican Church, built in 1925

Henry Williams[2] and his wife Marianne[1] 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 Paihia mission in 1826.[2] 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.[4]

In December 1832 the first mention of cricket being played in New Zealand was recorded by Henry Williams.[5] In 1835 a game of cricket was witnessed here by Charles Darwin,[6][7] in December 1835 while the Beagle spent 10 days in the Bay of Islands.[8][9]

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.[10]

St. Paul's Anglican Church, completed in 1925, is the fifth church built on the site. It is constructed of stone quarried from Pukaru, near Kawakawa and timber from near Waikare.[11] The triptych stained glass windows above the pulpit were commissioned by the Williams Family Trust in commemoration of Sir Nigel Reed and the 175 year family reunion and installed by the artist in 1998. The windows, titled Te Ara O Te Manawa (Pathway of the Heart) are 4 m2 in total size.

In 1926 a road was constructed to Puketona[12] on the main road from Kawakawa to Kerikeri (now State Highway 10) leading to an increase in tourism in the 1930s.[10]

Education

Paihia School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 4 and a roll of 168.[13]

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as oceanic (Cfb),[14] but it is rainier in winter.

Climate data for Paihia
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 24.6
(76.3)
24.7
(76.5)
23.4
(74.1)
21.1
(70)
18.6
(65.5)
16.6
(61.9)
15.8
(60.4)
16.1
(61)
17.2
(63)
18.6
(65.5)
20.6
(69.1)
22.7
(72.9)
20
(68.02)
Daily mean °C (°F) 20.2
(68.4)
20.4
(68.7)
19.3
(66.7)
17.2
(63)
14.7
(58.5)
12.8
(55)
12
(54)
12.3
(54.1)
13.4
(56.1)
14.8
(58.6)
16.6
(61.9)
18.4
(65.1)
16.01
(60.84)
Average low °C (°F) 15.8
(60.4)
16.1
(61)
15.2
(59.4)
13.3
(55.9)
10.9
(51.6)
9.1
(48.4)
8.3
(46.9)
8.5
(47.3)
9.7
(49.5)
11.1
(52)
12.6
(54.7)
14.2
(57.6)
12.07
(53.73)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 98
(3.86)
113
(4.45)
128
(5.04)
127
(5)
131
(5.16)
183
(7.2)
164
(6.46)
171
(6.73)
132
(5.2)
113
(4.45)
96
(3.78)
96
(3.78)
1,552
(61.11)
Avg. rainy days 9 9 12 12 13 15 17 16 15 13 11 10 152
Mean daily sunshine hours 7 6 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 6 7 7 5.5
Source #1: Climate-Data.org (altitude: 0m)[14]
Source #2: Weather2Travel for rainy days and sunshine[15]
Paihia mean sea temperature[15]
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
21 °C (70 °F) 21 °C (70 °F) 21 °C (70 °F) 20 °C (68 °F) 18 °C (64 °F) 17 °C (63 °F) 16 °C (61 °F) 16 °C (61 °F) 16 °C (61 °F) 16 °C (61 °F) 18 °C (64 °F) 19 °C (66 °F)
Panorama of Taiputuputu Pahi Beach looking north towards Paihia Wharf and Motumarie
Taiputuputu Pahi Beach looking north toward Paihia wharf and Motumarie

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Caroline Fitzgerald (2004). Letters from the Bay of Islands. Penguin Books, New Zealand. ISBN 0-14-301929-5.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Caroline Fitzgerald (2011). Te Wiremu - Henry Williams: Early Years in the North. Huia Press. ISBN 978-1-86969-439-5.
  3. Quickstats about Paihia
  4. Wises New Zealand Guide, 7th Edition, 1979. p.331
  5. SuperSport: New Zealand Cricket Team
  6. Todd, S. (1976) Sporting Records of New Zealand. Auckland: Moa Publications. ISBN 0-908570-00-7
  7. "Beginnings". teara.govt.nz.
  8. Charles Darwin, Journal of a Voyage Round the World, 1831-36
  9. Caroline Fitzgerald, (2011) Te Wiremu - Henry Williams: Early Years in the North p. 219-230
  10. 10.0 10.1 "7. Paihia and Waitangi – Northland places – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". teara.govt.nz.
  11. "St Paul's Anglican Church, Paihia, Bay of Islands".
  12. "Thumbnail History of Paihia - as a time-line". paihia.co.nz.
  13. "Te Kete Ipurangi - Paihia School". Ministry of Education.
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Climate: Paihia - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
  15. 15.0 15.1 "Paihia Climate and Weather Averages, New Zealand". Weather2Travel. Retrieved 2014-01-20.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paihia.

Coordinates: 35°17′S 174°05′E / 35.283°S 174.083°E