Paihia Attractions

In the southwest of the Bay of Islands is the little town of Paihia (pop. 3000), which developed out of a mission station founded in 1823 and is now the chief town in the bay. Among the missionaries active in this area were Henry Williams and William Colenso, who were present at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Features of interest in the town are St Paul's Church (1926) and the Museum of Shipwrecks (on board the barque Tui), with treasures recovered from local shipwrecks.