Coromandel Peninsula - People

People

Owing to the nature of the land, much of the Coromandel's population is concentrated in a small number of towns and communities along the southeastern and southwestern coasts.

Only five towns on the peninsula have populations of over 1000 (Coromandel, Whitianga, Thames, Tairua, and Whangamata), and of these only Thames has a population of over 5000. Several small towns dot the coast of the Firth of Thames in the southwest. Other small towns on the peninsula include Matarangi, Whangapoua, Whiritoa, Hikuai, Tairua, Pauanui and Colville. The population of several of these centres is highly seasonal, with many Aucklanders having holiday homes in the Coromandel. During the Christmas and New Year holiday period, activity in the area is significantly increased by families and travellers from around the North Island, particularly in Whangamata, Whitianga, Matarangi, Tairua and Pauanui.

The peninsula is a popular place to live for those who have chosen an alternative lifestyle, especially for those who have elected not to live in Auckland. The 1970s saw thousands of hippies relocate from large cities around New Zealand to the Coromandel in search of an environmentally friendly lifestyle associated with the counterculture back-to-the-land movement. In recent times, increasing numbers of affluent Aucklanders have also moved to the Coromandel.

The population density decreases with both distance from the coast and distance north. Of the main population centres, only Coromandel, Colville, Matarangi and Whitianga are in the north of the peninsula, and much of the interior is virtually uninhabited.

The twin towns of Waihi and Waihi Beach, to the southeast of the peninsula, are often considered to be in the Coromandel although they do not strictly lie on the peninsula itself, as they lie just to the north of the Karangahake Gorge, the pass which marks the southern end of the Coromandel Range.