Tauranga Tauranga-moana (Māori) |
|
---|---|
Metropolitan area | |
Tauranga from Mount Maunganui
|
|
Location of Tauranga, New Zealand | |
Coordinates: 37°41′S 176°10′E / 37.683°S 176.167°ECoordinates: 37°41′S 176°10′E / 37.683°S 176.167°E | |
Country | New Zealand |
Island | North Island |
Region | Bay of Plenty |
Territorial authority | Tauranga City Council |
Settled | 1250–1300 |
Gazetted as a borough | 1882 |
City constituted | 17 April 1963 |
Electorate(s) |
Tauranga Bay of Plenty |
Government | |
• MP (Tauranga) | Simon Bridges (National) |
• MP (Bay of Plenty) | Todd Muller (National) |
• Mayor | Greg Brownless |
• Deputy Mayor | Kelvin Clout |
Area | |
• Territorial | 168 km2 (65 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 232 m (761 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Population (June 2016) | |
• Territorial | 128,200 |
• Density | 760/km2 (2,000/sq mi) |
• Urban | 134,400 |
Time zone | NZST (UTC+12) |
• Summer (DST) | NZDT (UTC+13) |
Postcode(s) | 3110, 3112, 3116, 3118 |
Area code(s) | 07 |
Local iwi | Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga |
Website | www.Tauranga.govt.nz |
Largest groups of overseas-born residents | |
Nationality | Population (2013) |
---|---|
United Kingdom | 8,733 |
Australia | 1,893 |
India | 1,785 |
South Africa | 1,497 |
Netherlands | 663 |
Philippines | 621 |
South Korea | 555 |
United States | 537 |
China | 516 |
Fiji | 372 |
Tauranga (Māori pronunciation: [ˈtaʉɾaŋa]) is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century and by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963. Tauranga City is the centre of the fifth largest urban area in New Zealand, with an urban population of 134,400 (June 2016).
The city lies in the north-western corner of the Bay of Plenty, on the south-eastern edge of Tauranga Harbour. The city expands over an area of 168 square kilometres (65 sq mi), and encompasses the communities of Bethlehem, on the south-western outskirts of the city; Greerton, on the southern outskirts of the city; Matua, west of the central city overlooking Tauranga Harbour; Maungatapu; Mount Maunganui, located north of the central city across the harbour facing the Bay of Plenty; Otumoetai; Papamoa, Tauranga's largest suburb, located on the Bay of Plenty; Tauranga City; Tauranga South; and Welcome Bay.
Tauranga is one of New Zealand's main centres for business, international trade, culture, fashion and horticultural science. The Port of Tauranga is New Zealand's largest port in terms of gross export tonnage and efficiency. Tauranga is one of New Zealand's fastest growing cities, with a 14 percent increase in population between the 2001 census and the 2006 census, though that number has slowed to 11% between the 2006 Census and the 2013 Census. This sudden population growth has made Tauranga New Zealand's 5th largest city.
The earliest known settlers were Māori who arrived at Tauranga in the Takitimu and the Mataatua waka in the 13th century. Europeans trading in flax were active in the Bay of Plenty during the 1830s; some were transient, others married local women and settled permanently. The first permanent non-Maori trader was James Farrow, who travelled to Tauranga in 1829, obtaining flax fibre for Australian merchants in exchange for muskets and gunpowder. Farrow acquired a land area of 2,000 square metres (1⁄2 acre) on 10 January 1838 at Otumoetai Pā from the chiefs Tupaea, Tangimoana and Te Omanu, the earliest authenticated land purchase in the Bay of Plenty.