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| About
Papamoa New Zealand |
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More
than 220 years ago, Captain Cook had sailed into these
waters and named the area the Bay of Plenty. The explorer
had come upon many diverse landforms during his epic
voyages in the late 18th century, but his encounter
with the central northeast coast of New Zealand must
have pleased him well. The name he gave to the sweep
of ocean beaches, accommodating harbour and fertile
hinterland has stuck with good reason. The Bay of
Plenty is a popular holiday destination, offering
beaches with pounding surf as well as scenic lakes
further inland. Papamoa
has increased in population by over 600% since 1981.
Mostly thanks to new subdivisions developed on old
farm land. |
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Papamoa used to be under serviced in shopping terms relative
to its population, a problem that is being redressed with
the expansion of the "Palm Beach Plaza" shopping
center and the new Centamax shopping development commonly
known as "Fashion Island." Other developments are
planned in Papamoa East. With the opening of the Domain Road/State
Highway 2 roundabout, travel times to Mount Maunganui and
Tauranga have been reduced.
Once a small and tight knit community, many of Papamoa's sweeping
paddocks have been swallowed up by urban development. Papamoa's
real estate prices have also sky-rocketed in recent times.
Papamoa is
also renowned for its fishing, surfing and the Papamoa Hills
Cultural Heritage Regional Park. As a surfing spot, the area
is underrated and has often been seen as the 'poor cousin'
to Mount Maunganui.
The town of "Papamoa" as we know it today is actually
situated at "Papamoa Beach." Strictly geographically
speaking, "Papamoa" is actually located closer inland
towards the Papamoa Hills. Papamoa (situated at Papamoa Beach)
can be split into two areas: Papamoa East and Papamoa West.
Legally speaking Domain Road separates Papamoa West from Papamoa
East, although to many locals Papamoa East starts on the Eastern
side of Parton Road. Papamoa East (of Parton Road) in the
1970s and 1980s used to be seen as more of an alternative
place to live, a bit like the Coromandel Peninsula.
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First settlers
The
earliest known settlers arrived from the Takitimu and Mataatua
waka in the 12th century. It was named "Tauranga",
meaning "landing place".
Early trading
Traders 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 trader was James
Farrow, who traveled to Tauranga in 1829, obtaining flax fibre
for Australian merchants in exchange for muskets and gunpowder.
Farrow acquired half an acre of land on 10 January 1838 at
Otumoetai Pa- from the chiefs Tupaea, Tangimoana and Te Omanu,
the earliest authenticated land purchase in the Bay of Plenty.
Missionaries
During the 1820s, missionaries from the Bay of Islands
visited the Tauranga district to obtain supplies of potatoes,
pigs and flax. In 1840, a Catholic mission station was established.
Bishop Pompallier was given land within the palisades of Otumoetai
Pa- for a church and a presbytery. The mission station closed
in 1863 due to land wars in the Waikato district. |
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