Kohukohu, New Zealand

Kohukohu is a historic village on the Hokianga Harbour in the Northland Region of the North Island. It was one of the first European settlements in New Zealand.

For the New Zealand native tree sometimes called kohukohu, see Pittosporum tenuifolium.
Kohukohu
Kohukohu Wharf
Kohukohu
Coordinates: 35°21′41″S 173°32′39″E
CountryNew Zealand
RegionNorthland Region
DistrictFar North District

Kohukohu is situated on the northern shore of the harbour where it splits into two rivers, the Mangamuka River branching inland to the northeast and the Waihou River leading towards the east past Mangungu, Horeke and Rangiahua.

Where the harbour divides there is a small island called Motiti which was painted by Augustus Earle, the first European artist to spend several months in New Zealand, during his visit to the Hokianga in 1827. He wrote "we were sailing up a spacious sheet of water, which became considerably wider after entering it; while majestic hills rose on each side .... looking up the river we beheld various headlands stretching into the water and gradually contracting its width, 'till they became fainter and fainter in the distance and all was lost in the azure of the horizon".

Kohukohu is part of the Kohukohu-Broadwood statistical area. For demographics of this area, see Broadwood, New Zealand.

History and culture

Pre-European settlement

According to Te Tai Tokerau tradition, the legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe visited the area prior to his return voyage to Hawaiiki. Angry at the food from the hangi (earth oven) being insufficiently cooked, he swore at those responsible.[1] Kohukohu is Māori for a swearword or expletive.[2]

Kohukohu in 1918. On the foreshore are the Kohukohu Hotel, the Bank of New Zealand, D B Wallace Store, Laslett's Cash Store, and W L Sargeant (machinist)

European settlement

The first recorded European to enter the Hokianga Harbour arrived in 1819 and by the 1830s, Kohukohu was the heart of New Zealand's timber industry.[3] The country's first Catholic mass was celebrated 8 kilometres north of Kohukohu at Totara Point in 1838.[4]

For nearly one hundred years Kohukohu was an important timber milling town and the largest commercial centre on the north of the harbour. In 1900, the township had a population of almost 2,000 people.[5]

Marae

Kohukohu has three marae affiliated with the hapū Te Ihutai: Pateoro or Te Karae Marae and Pōwhiri meeting house which affiliates with Te Rarawa;[6] Pikipāria Marae and Ngarunui meeting house which affiliates with Ngāpuhi;[7] and Tauteihiihi Marae and Tokimatahourua meeting house.[8]

There are also three marae affiliated with other Te Rarawa hapū: Motuti Marae and Tamatea meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Tamatea, Ngāti Te Maara and Te Kai Tutae. Ngāi Tupoto Marae and Ngāhuia meeting house are affiliated with Ngāi Tūpoto and Ngāti Here. Waiparera Marae and Nukutawhiti meeting house are affiliated with Patutoka, Tahāwai, Te Whānau Pani and Te Hokokeha.[9][10]

In October 2020, the Government committed $1,407,731 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Ngāi Tupoto Marae and 8 other marae of Te Rarawa, creating 100 jobs.[11]

New Zealand's oldest bridge

The Kohukohu footbridge near the centre of the town is the first stone bridge built in New Zealand, and is the oldest surviving bridge of any construction still in existence in the country.[12] It was built some time between 1843 and 1851 at the mouth of the Waihouuru Creek where it flowed into the Hokianga Harbour. At the time, ships from Sydney used sandstone blocks as ballast, which they left at Kohukohu in exchange for more-valuable timber, and these sandstone blocks were used to build the bridge. When a timber mill opened next to the bridge in 1879 sawdust was used to gradually reclaim the harbour, and the reclamation has buried most of the bridge, which is now about 100 m back from the foreshore. The bridge was registered in 2008 as a Category 1 Historic Place.[12]

  • Kohukohu footbridge
  • Kohukohu c. 1867-1869. The old stone bridge is clearly visible, before the harbour was filled in
  • Kohukohu bridge around 1900 to 1920, with the timber mill visible in the background
  • Kohukohu footbridge today

Kohukohu today
Hokianga Arch of Remembrance at Kohukohu

Today, Kohukohu is a community of 150 people who live within the village and approximately 350 who live in the surrounding area. The smaller settlements of Tauteihiihi, Motukaraka, Pikiparia, Te Karae, Mata, and Paponga are very close by. Kohukohu has a school, general store, café, art galleries, arts and crafts shop, hotel, voluntary fire and ambulance services, and a health clinic. There are also two churches and three marae within the locality.

In recent years, Kohukohu has become a destination for travellers who are attracted by its scenery, history, culture and arts.[13] There are a number of accommodation options available locally; including backpackers, cottages, and bed & breakfast facilities.

Education

Kohukohu School is a co-educational full primary (years 1-8) school[14] with a roll of 35 students as of March 2020.[15]

Notable people

Notes
  1. Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal (8 February 2005). "Places associated with Kupe". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  2. "kohukohu - Māori Dictionary". maoridictionary.co.nz. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  3. Shadbolt, Maurice (2010). Reader's Digest Guide to New Zealand. Reader's Digest. A bawdy timber town from the 1830s
  4. Shadbolt, Maurice (2010). Reader's Digest Guide to New Zealand. Reader's Digest. New Zealand's first CAtholic mass was celebrated near by in 1838; a memorial 8 kilometres north on Totara Point marks the site.
  5. Shadbolt, Maurice (2010). Reader's Digest Guide to New Zealand. Reader's Digest. with a population of 20000 at the turn of the century, it now musters less than 200
  6. "Pateoro (Te Karae) | Maori Maps". maorimaps.com. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  7. "Pikipāria | Maori Maps". maorimaps.com. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  8. "Tauteihiihi | Maori Maps". maorimaps.com. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  9. "Te Kāhui Māngai directory". tkm.govt.nz. Te Puni Kōkiri.
  10. "Māori Maps". maorimaps.com. Te Potiki National Trust.
  11. "Marae Announcements" (Excel). growregions.govt.nz. Provincial Growth Fund. 9 October 2020.
  12. Park, Stuart (4 September 2007). "Stone Bridge". Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  13. "Kohukohu Travel Guide". Jasons Travel Media.
  14. Education Counts: Kohukohu School
  15. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 26 April 2020.

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