Tolaga Bay
Tolaga Bay
Ūawa (Māori) | |
|---|---|
Town | |
Tolaga Bay | |
Interactive map of Tolaga Bay | |
| Coordinates: 38°22′S 178°18′E / 38.367°S 178.300°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Gisborne District |
| Ward | Tairāwhiti General Ward |
| Electorates | |
| Government | |
| • Territorial authority | Gisborne District Council |
| • Mayor of Gisborne | Rehette Stoltz |
| • East Coast MP | Dana Kirkpatrick |
| • Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP | Cushla Tangaere-Manuel |
| Area | |
• Total | 7.54 km2 (2.91 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2025) | |
• Total | 980 |
| • Density | 130/km2 (340/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
| Postcode | 4077 |
| Area code | 06 |
Tolaga Bay (Māori: Ūawa) is both a bay and small town on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay.
The region around the bay is rugged and remote, and for many years the only access to the town was by boat. Because the bay is shallow, a long wharf – the second longest in New Zealand (600m) after the Tiwai Point wharf at Bluff (1,500m) – was built in the 1920s to accommodate visiting vessels. The last cargo ship to use the wharf loaded a cargo of maize in 1967.
The town is a popular holiday spot. Its population is predominantly Māori, a centre of the Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti hapū and home of chief Te Kani-a-Takirau (died c. 1856) and tohunga Te Rangiuia (died 1850).