Bay of Islands i-site Visitor Information - Paihia

There is always something going on in Paihia, the gateway to the Bay of Islands. It is only a short distance across the water to Russell, while Waitangi is a few kilometres by road to the north-west. As well being the main base for tours of the Bay of Islands Paihia is a base for bus tours to Cape Reinga and Ninety mile beach though some visitors prefer the shorter days associated with starting places further north such as Kaitaia, Mangonui or Ahipara.

Like Russell, directly opposite across the bay, Paihia is also a focal point of early New Zealand history. The first Christian church was here, built of raupo reeds by the Reverend Henry Williams in 1823. He also established a Sunday school and day school. His brother William arrived three years later. In 1837, after studying the Maori language, Williams published his translation of the New Testament. Earlier, in 1834, William Colenso arrived with a hand operated printing press and within a few months had printed New Zealand’s first book in Maori, the Epistle to the Philippians and Ephesians. Within five years he had printed 74,000 books or booklets.

ACTIVITIES FROM PAIHIA