The history of Kohukohu
According to Te Tai Tokerau tradition, the legendary Polynesian explorer, Kupe visited the are
Village Main Street
a in 925 AD prior to his return voyage to Hawaiiki. Angry at the food from the hangi (earth oven) being insufficiently cooked, he cursed those responsible using the word kohu. Hence Kohukohu.
The word kohu also has two other meanings - "misty" and "basin". As misty mornings promise a lovely day in the Hokianga, this may be the preferred meaning. Take your choice!
The first recorded European to enter the Hokianga Harbour arrived in 1819 and by the 1830s, Kohukohu was the heart of New Zealand's timber industry. The country's first Catholic mass was celebrated 8 kilometres north of Kohukohu at Totara Point in 1838.
For nearly one hundred years Kohukohu was an important timber milling town and the largest commercial centre on the north of the harbour. In 1900, the township had a population of almost 2,000 people.