Te Aroha is a rural town in the
Thames ValleyThe Thames Valley is a district in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located along the banks of the Waihou River, formerly known as the Thames River, to the south of the Firth of Thames, southeast of Auckland....
region of
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
with a population of 3,768 (2006 census). It is 53 km northeast of
HamiltonHamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's seventh largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
and 50 km south of
ThamesThames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River, at . The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel District Council.The town was initially built during a gold rush,...
.
The name 'Te Aroha' comes from the Māori name of Mount Te Aroha. In one version, Rāhiri, the mythical ancestor of
Ngāti Rāhiri TumutumuNgāti Rāhiri Tumutumu is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. They live at Te Aroha in the Hauraki district....
, climbed the mountain and saw his homeland in the distance and felt a sense of love (
aroha) for it.
Te Aroha is a rural town in the
Thames ValleyThe Thames Valley is a district in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located along the banks of the Waihou River, formerly known as the Thames River, to the south of the Firth of Thames, southeast of Auckland....
region of
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
with a population of 3,768 (2006 census). It is 53 km northeast of
HamiltonHamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's seventh largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
and 50 km south of
ThamesThames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River, at . The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel District Council.The town was initially built during a gold rush,...
.
Origin
The name 'Te Aroha' comes from the Māori name of Mount Te Aroha. In one version, Rāhiri, the mythical ancestor of
Ngāti Rāhiri TumutumuNgāti Rāhiri Tumutumu is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. They live at Te Aroha in the Hauraki district....
, climbed the mountain and saw his homeland in the distance and felt a sense of love (
aroha) for it. The name is often rendered in English as 'place of love'.
Economy
Te Aroha is at the centre of a
dairy farmingDairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
community and much of its economic activity is in serving that community. Tourism is also taking off in Te Aroha.
Geography
The
Waihou Riverthumb|The Waihou River as it passes [[Paeroa]]The Waihou River is located in the northern North Island of New Zealand. Its former name, Thames River, was bestowed by Captain James Cook....
runs through Te Aroha. Close by to the east is the base of the
Kaimai RangesThe Kaimai Range is a mountain range in the North Island of New Zealand. It can be seen as a continuation southwards of the hills of the Coromandel Peninsula, and separates the Waikato in the west from the Bay of Plenty in the east...
, and the town is overlooked by the 952-metre Mount Te Aroha. To the north of the town is the low-lying, swampy land of the
Hauraki PlainsThe Hauraki Plains are an area located in the northern North Island of New Zealand. They are located 75 kilometres southeast of Auckland, at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula and occupy the southern portion of a rift valley bounded on the east by the Kaimai Ranges and the west by a series of...
.
In the late 19th century, Te Aroha was famed as a spa town.
ThermalA hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.-Definitions:...
and
mineral springMineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce water containing minerals, or other dissolved substances, that alter its taste or give it a purported therapeutic value...
s are both found close to the centre of the town, as is the world's only hot soda water
geyserA geyser is a hot spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The name geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb gjósa, "to gush".The...
(in Mokena).
External links