Whangapoua

de Graeme Lay

"Renowned for its beautiful white sand beach, its equally lovely neighbouring beach, New Chums, and its sheltered harbour, Whangapoua today is a tranquil settlement on the east Coromandel coast. Yet its history was often turbulent. Whangapoua's Maori history goes back to the thirteenth century, its European settlement to the 1860s. Tribal Maori were followed by kauri millers, goldminers, gumdiggers and pioneer farmers. ... Ancestral land to the Ngati Huarere people for seven centuries. Whangapoua also became home to the Pakeha who settled around its harbour and in the valleys of its hinterland. Later foresters came, then campers, then the 'dune families' - the people who built holiday baches on their beachfront sections. The history of Whangapoua featues a cast of colourful characters, including Hamiora Mangakahia. Maori politician; Martin Hawkeswood, pioneer farmer; Jack Clothier, Passchendaele survivor; Alberta McLean, English noblewoman; Len Colmer, 'rehab' farmer; and Bert Denize, legendary landowner. ..."--Book jacket.