Turua

Turua is a small village community on the banks of the Waihou River in the Hauraki Plains in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the mouth of the river, 9 kilometres south of the Firth of Thames and 12 km south of Thames. It is connected by road (Hauraki Road) to SH 25 in the north and SH 2 to the south.

Turua is a Māori place name meaning "twice seen," referring to reflections in the river. Before European settlement, the town site was a Māori pā surrounded by vast forests of kahikatea that came to be known as the "Turua Woods." In the late 19th century the village of Turua became one of the most important sites of kahikatea exploitation in New Zealand when the family of George and Martha Bagnall bought the Turua sawmill in 1875. Over the next forty years the stands of kahikatea surrounding the town were replaced by small family farms.