Coromandel, ( mi, Kapanga) also called Coromandel Town to distinguish it from the wider district, is a town on the Coromandel Harbour, on the western side of the

Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the we ...

, which is in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is 75 kilometres east of the city of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, although the road between them, which winds around the

Firth of Thames The Firth of Thames ( mi, Tikapa Moana-o-Hauraki) is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town o ...

and

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,HMS Malabar (1804), HMS ''Coromandel'', which sailed into the harbour in 1820. At one time Coromandel Harbour was a major port serving the region's

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

mining and

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

industries. Today, the town's main industries are tourism and

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

farming. Coromandel Harbour is a wide bay on the Hauraki Gulf guarded by several islands, the largest of which is

Whanganui Island Whanganui Island is the largest of a small group of islands at the entrance to Coromandel, New Zealand, Coromandel harbour in the Hauraki Gulf, off the coast of New Zealand's North Island. The island, which is privately owned, is in area. Much ...

. The town and environs are a popular summer holiday destination for New Zealanders. Coromandel Town is noted for its artists, crafts,

alternative lifestyle An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle perceived to be outside the norm for a given culture. The phrase "alternative lifestyle" is often used pejoratively. Description of a related set of activities as alternative is a defining aspect of certain ...

rs, mussel farming, and recreational fishing. One of the most popular tourist attractions is the

Driving Creek Railway The Driving Creek Railway is a narrow gauge bush and mountain railway on the outskirts of the provincial town of Coromandel on the northwestern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula on New Zealand's North Island. The railway leads up the mountain ...

Modern history

The original Government plan for the town of Coromandel was for it to be built on

. Plans were drawn up and sections were sold but the plan was unsuccessful, in part because the land was too steep and there was no suitable fresh water source. Most of the sections were abandoned and purchased by the Government. The town was then established where it is today. Coromandel Town Aotearoa Original Plan including Kapanga

Coromandel Town Aotearoa Original Plan including Kapanga

Demographics

Coromandel covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Coromandel had a population of 1,743 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 225 people (14.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 249 people (16.7%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 720 households, comprising 852 males and 891 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female. The median age was 52.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 258 people (14.8%) aged under 15 years, 243 (13.9%) aged 15 to 29, 732 (42.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 510 (29.3%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 83.1% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, 29.9%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

, 2.2% Pacific peoples, 3.3%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 1.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 16.0, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 59.2% had no religion, 26.0% were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 3.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 0.3% were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 1.5% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 2.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 192 (12.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 360 (24.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $23,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 132 people (8.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 555 (37.4%) people were employed full-time, 249 (16.8%) were part-time, and 39 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Education

Coromandel Area School (Te Kura a Rohe o Waiau) is a co-educational state composite (years 1–13) school with a roll of as of The school traces its history to the opening of Coromandel School in 1875. Coromandel Rudolf Steiner School was a small private full primary (years 1–8) school. It closed at the end of 2007.

Marae

The local Manaia Marae and Te Kou o Rehua meeting house, are a meeting ground for the

Ngāti Pūkenga Ngāti Pūkenga is a Māori iwi centred in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends to Mayor Island / Tuhua and Waihi in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, south of Te Puke and to Maketu in th ...

iwi, and its Ngāti Maru hapū. In October 2020, the Government committed $276,216 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

to upgrade the marae, creating an estimated 8 jobs. The Old Coromandel Hospital is a meeting place for

Te Patukirikiri Te Patukirikiri is a Māori iwi of the Hauraki area of New Zealand. Radio station Nga Iwi FM broadcasts for Te Patukirikiri, Marutūahu from the iwi of Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Rongoū, Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāti Maru and Ngāti Pāoa, and other ...

iwi.

References

External links

{{Authority control Thames-Coromandel District Populated places in Waikato Populated places around the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana