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Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century and colonised by Europeans in the early 19th century. It was constituted as a city in 1963.
The city lies in the northwestern corner of the Bay of Plenty, on the southeastern edge of Tauranga Harbour. The city extends over an area of , and encompasses the communities of Bethlehem, on the southwestern outskirts of the city; Greerton, on the southern outskirts of the city; Matua, west of the central city overlooking Tauranga Harbour; Maungatapu; Mount Maunganui, located north of the central city across the harbour facing the Bay of Plenty; Otūmoetai; Papamoa, Tauranga's largest suburb, located in the Bay of Plenty; Tauranga City; Tauranga South; and Welcome Bay.
Tauranga is one of New Zealand's main centres for business, international trade, culture, fashion and horticultural science. The Port of Tauranga is New Zealand's largest port in terms of gross export tonnage and efficiency. Tauranga is one of New Zealand's fastest-growing cities, with an 11% increase in population between the 2006 census and the 2013 census, and 19% between the 2013 and 2018 census. Due to its rapid population growth, Tauranga has become New Zealand's fifth-largest city, overtaking Dunedin and the Napier-Hastings urban areas.
At 9 am on Friday, 23 June 1826, was the first European ship to enter Tauranga Harbour. The Revd Henry Williams conducted a Christian service at Otamataha Pā. (2025). 9781869694395, Huia Publishers, New Zealand. ISBN 9781869694395
In December 1826 and again in March 1827, the Herald travelled to Tauranga from the Bay of Islands to obtain supplies of potatoes, pigs and flax. In 1835 a Church Missionary Society mission station was established at Tauranga by William Wade. Rev. Alfred N. Brown arrived at the CMS mission station in 1838. John Morgan also visited the mission in 1838.
Europeans trading in Phormium were active in the Bay of Plenty during the 1830s; some were transient, others married local women and settled permanently. The first permanent non-Maori trader was James Farrow, who travelled to Tauranga in 1829, obtaining flax fibre for Australian merchants in exchange for and gunpowder. Farrow acquired a land area of on 10 January 1838 at Otūmoetai Pā from the chiefs Tupaea, Tangimoana and Te Omanu, the earliest authenticated land purchase in the Bay of Plenty.
In 1840, a Catholic Church mission station was established. Bishop Pompallier was given land within the palisades of Otūmoetai Pā for a church and a presbytery. The mission station closed in 1863 due to land wars in the Waikato district.
The Battle of Gate Pā was an attack on the well fortified Pā and its Māori defenders on 29 April 1864 by British forces made up of approximately 300 men of the 43rd Regiment and a naval contingent. The British casualties were 31 dead (including 10 officers), and 80 wounded – the highest loss of life suffered by the British military in the New Zealand Wars. The Māori defenders abandoned the Pā during the night with casualties estimated at 25 dead and an unknown number of wounded.
In 1936 another large fire occurred which started in the hotel's staff quarters and drew large crowds.
In August 2011, Tauranga received Ultra-Fast Broadband as part of the New Zealand Government's rollout.
Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty are situated along a faultline and so experience (infrequent) seismic activity. There are a few volcanoes around the area (mainly dormant). The most notable of these are White Island and Mauao, nicknamed "The Mount" by locals.
Tauranga is roughly the antipodes of Jaén, Spain.
During the summer months the population swells as holidaymakers descend on the city, especially along the popular white coastal surf beaches from Mount Maunganui to Papamoa.
In 2008 Tauranga overtook Dunedin to become the sixth-largest city in New Zealand by urban area, and the ninth largest city by Territorial Authority area. With continuing growth it has now surpassed the Napier-Hastings area to become New Zealand's fifth-largest city.
Tauranga covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Tauranga had a population of 152,844 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 15,714 people (11.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 37,683 people (32.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 73,821 males, 78,558 females and 462 people of other genders in 55,929 dwellings. 2.5% of people identified as LGBTQ. The median age was 39.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 29,604 people (19.4%) aged under 15 years, 26,316 (17.2%) aged 15 to 29, 66,786 (43.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 30,138 (19.7%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 78.7% European (Pākehā); 19.3% Māori; 3.6% Pasifika; 10.3% Asian; 1.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.2%, Māori language by 4.5%, Samoan by 0.4% and other languages by 12.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.1% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 25.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 31.3% Christian, 1.5% Hindu, 0.4% Islam, 1.9% Māori religious beliefs, 0.6% Buddhist, 0.4% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 3.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.7%, and 6.9% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 22,431 (18.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 64,740 (52.5%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 29,052 (23.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $42,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 14,001 people (11.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 61,218 (49.7%) people were employed full-time, 17,007 (13.8%) were part-time, and 3,252 (2.6%) were unemployed.
| +Individual wards |
| $47,900 |
| $44,400 |
| $38,100 |
| $39,600 |
| $44,100 |
| $42,800 |
| $38,500 |
| $43,800 |
Tauranga is located in the administrative area of the Tauranga City Council. The council consists of the Mayor of Tauranga and nine councillors. The mayor is elected by the city at-large, while the councillors are elected from nine wards (constituencies), each ward electing a single councillor. Elections are held via single transferable vote.
The present nine wards were first established for the 2024 local elections. There are eight general wards (Mauao/Mount Maunganui, Arataki, Pāpāmoa, Welcome Bay, Matua-Otūmoetai, Bethlehem, Tauriko and Te Papa) and one Māori ward (Te Awanui, covering the entire city).
Council elections are usually held every three years, most recently in 2024. The next local election for Tauranga is scheduled for 2028.
In December 2020, the Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta announced that, due to alleged "dysfunction" within the elected council, the council would be replaced by commissioners until the 2022 local elections. However, then Tauranga MP Simon Bridges said the appointment of commissioners was unnecessary and a "dramatic and draconian step." An independent review by law firm Russell McVeagh found that Mahuta's decision may have been unlawful. Her decision to reappoint the crown commission for a second term in 2022 through to July 2024 was subject to a legal review by Dentons Kensington Swan who found her decision was challengeable on the grounds of unlawfulness and unreasonableness.
The Port of Tauranga is New Zealand's largest export port. It is a regular stop for both container ships and luxury cruise liners.
Tauranga's main shopping malls are Bayfair, in Mount Maunganui and Tauranga Crossing in Tauriko. Most of the city's shopping centres are located in the suburbs. They include Fraser Cove, Tauranga Crossing, Bethlehem Town Centre, Papamoa Plaza, Fashion Island, Bayfair Shopping Centre, Bay Central and Greerton Village.
Tauranga has the following business innovation centres
The following companies have their head office in Tauranga:
In 2014 Tauranga City Council granted permission for an annual Sikh parade to celebrate Guru Gobind Singh's birthday. 2500 people took part in 2014, while in 2015, the number increased to 3500.
Tauranga is also the home of football (soccer) club Tauranga City United who compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 2.
Tauranga is the home to two rowing clubs – Tauranga Rowing Club in Memorial Park and Bay of Plenty Coast Rowing Club at the picturesque Wairoa River. Both clubs have had successful NZ representation over the years.
Tauranga has an all weather outdoor athletics ground at Tauranga Domain.
Tauranga also has a Field hockey Association, separate from the Regional Bay of Plenty body, which represents the city in domestic tournaments.
The Baycourt Community and Arts Centre is a multi-purpose performing arts and theatre facility located in the central business district.
Aviation interests are well served with the Classic Flyers Museum and the Gyrate Flying Club where you can experience flying a modern gyroplane; the "motorbike of the sky".
Tauranga has many parks: one of the largest is Memorial Park, and others include Yatton Park, Kulim Park, Fergusson Park and the large Tauranga Domain. The Te Puna Quarry Park has become a regional attraction, known for being converted from a disused quarry into a community park.
Due to the temperate climate, outdoor activities are very popular, including golf, tramping (hiking), mountain biking and white water rafting. The Bay of Plenty coastline has miles of golden sandy beaches, and watersports are very popular, including swimming, surfing, fishing, diving, kayaking and kitesurfing. Tourists also enjoy dolphin-watching on specially run boat trips.
The coastal suburb Papamoa and neighbouring Mount Maunganui are some of the more affluent areas in Tauranga. The region's beaches attract swimmers, surfers, kayakers and kitesurfers throughout the year.
Tauranga has many outlying islands and reefs that make it a notable tourist destination point for travelling scuba divers and marine enthusiasts. Extensive marine life diversity is available to scuba divers all year round. Water temperatures range from 12 degrees Celsius in winter to 22–24 degrees Celsius in summer. Tauranga houses two professional dive instructor training centres, training NAUI, PADI and SSI dive leader systems.
Grace Hospital is Tauranga's only private specialist surgical hospital, located in Oropi. It accommodates 6 operating theatres, 48 inpatient beds, a two-bed HDU, a procedure room for minor surgery and two procedure rooms for endoscopy.
Natural gas arrived in Tauranga in 1982, following the completion of the high-pressure pipeline from the Maui pipeline near Te Awamutu to the city, now operated by First Gas. First Gas also operates the gas distribution network within the city.
From 24 October 2024, the Tauranga City Council began flouridating the city's water supply in response to a directive from the Director-General of Health.
Tauranga City Council also has a bit of work under way with their Transportation and Roads strategy. Their aim for the future to change current travel behavior from a focus on private cars to more sustainable modes such as buses, cycling and walking.
Tauranga has no passenger rail network, however it is a busy freight rail hub due to distribution from the Port of Tauranga.
The city is also a waypoint for bus travel between cities, with the Bay Hopper, and Intercity having a daily schedule.
The organisations currently share two main campuses, but are planning a new central campus. Stage 1 was expected to be open in 2017, catering for 500 but with capacity for 700, which cost $67.3 million.
Tauranga's secondary schools are:
ACG Tauranga, the city's first fully private school, offers school to Year 12.
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