What is Thames, New Zealand?

Coordinates: Thames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River, at 37.08 S, 175.32 E. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel District Council. A major employer is the Toyota New Zealand plant, which assembled CKD cars until 1998, and now refurbishes imported used cars.

The town was initially built during a gold rush, and its population peaked at about 18,000 in 1868. For a while it was thought it would replace Auckland as the major town in the area.

Many people migrated to Thames at its peak, and it was soon the second-largest city in New Zealand (the largest always being Auckland). However, as the gold began to diminish, so did the number of inhabitants, and although Thames never shrank, it has never grown much either. It is still the biggest town on the Coromandel. The 2006 census gave the population of Thames as 6700, this excludes nearby settlements such as Tararu, Totara and Kopu which when included bring the population to around 10,000. Many residents work in tourism and locally owned businesses servicing the local farming community.

History

Thames was formed from two historic towns, Grahamstown and Shortland, of which many original buildings still stand. Shortland was in the south of Thames and was founded on the 27th of July 1867 when James Mackay, civil commissioner for the Hauraki District concluded an agreement with local Maori. This agreement secured the rights to local mineral deposits leading to the proclamation of the Thames Goldfield on August 1. Grahamstown was founded the following year at the northern end of present Thames, approximately one mile from Shortland. The two towns merged in 1874 after it emerged the heart of the Goldfield was in Grahamstown. Shortland waned in importance until the turn of the century when the Hauraki Plains were developed for farming and the Shortland railway station was opened.

The land involved in goldmining in Thames was Māori owned; important parts of the goldfield were owned by the Taipari family. In 1878, when Wiremu Hōterene Taipari married a woman of the Ngāti Awa tribe of Whakatāne, Ngāti Awa carvers arrived at Thames and built a meeting house at Pārāwai as a wedding gift for the couple. The house, named Hotunui in honour of an important Ngāti Maru ancestor, now stands in the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Thames High School was built in 1880. It currently educates about 660 students, some of which travel from more than an hour away. Other schools in Thames include Parawai, Thames South, St Francis and Moanataiari Primary schools.

Thames Hospital is the oldest still operating in New Zealand, having been built in the 1860s. The hospital is currently undergoing a $30 million redevelopment.

Flood Hazard

"Prime Minister Helen Clark said that the Thames coast had experienced five major flood events since 1981, three of which occurred in a recent 15 month period - the January 2002 storm, the June 2002 ‘weather bomb’, and the Easter 2003 floods, all producing exceptional flood events. In the June 2002 flood, one person died. The direct and indirect costs associated with the five floods are estimated at $56 million. For the June 2002 flood alone, there were $13.2 million of direct costs to the Thames Coromandel District and other significant costs to the Crown, individual home owners, and businesses."

Born in Thames

• Kylie Bax — model
• Sonny Parker- Welsh international rugby union player
• Lloyd Stephenson — field hockey player
• Tony Martin — Comedian, Television & Radio Personality
• Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park - WW2 Air Commander and AOC 11 Group during Battle of Britain (July - October 1940)

See also

• Taniwha
• David Lange

External links

• Thames Information Website
• Government boosts Thames flood protection
• Goldmining Attractions
• Thames Street map