located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity whangarei district
___MASK92___ ( alt . ) is the northernmost city in ___MASK54___ and the regional capital ___MASK9___ ___MASK24___ . It is part ___MASK9___ the ___MASK92___ District , a local body created in 1989 to administer both the city proper and its hinterland from the former ___MASK92___ City , ___MASK92___ County and Hikurangi Town councils . The city population was estimated to be up from 47 , 000 in 2001 . The wider ___MASK92___ area had an estimated population ___MASK9___ 85 , 900 in 2015 . The ___MASK24___ ( Mori : " Te Tai Tokerau ", also " Te Hiku - o - te - Ika ", " the Tail of the Fish " ( of Maui )) is the northernmost of New Zealand ' s 16 local government regions . New Zealanders often call it the Far North , or , because of its mild climate , the Winterless North . The main population centre is the city of Whangarei and the largest town is Kerikeri . Waipu is a small town in Bream Bay , in the ___MASK24___ of New Zealand , with a Scottish heritage . The population was 1 , 491 in the 2006 Census , an increase of 222 from 2001 . A highlight of the town ' s calendar is the annual Highland Games held at New Year . Just outside the town are the Waipu Caves , which contain a significant population of glow worms . ___MASK78___ , officially the Commonwealth of ___MASK78___ , is a country comprising the ___MASK99___ of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . It is the world ' s sixth - largest country by total area . The neighbouring countries are ___MASK34___ , Indonesia and ___MASK29___ Timor to the north ; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north - ___MASK29___ ; and New Zealand to the south - ___MASK29___ . ___MASK78___ ' s capital is Canberra , and its largest urban area is Sydney . The ___MASK37___ is the largest ___MASK9___ the Earth ' s oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean ( or , depending on definition , to Antarctica ) in the south and is bounded by Asia and ___MASK78___ in the west and the Americas in the ___MASK29___ . ___MASK44___ ( or ; Tongan : " Puleanga Fakatui o ___MASK44___ "), officially the Kingdom of ___MASK44___ , is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago comprising 169 islands of which 36 are inhabited . The total surface area is about scattered over of the southern Pacific Ocean . It has a population of 103 , 000 people of whom 70 % reside on the main island of Tongatapu . The ___MASK42___ is located in Northland , New Zealand . Whangarei City is the principal town and the district seat . Other towns include Hukerenui , Hikurangi , Titoki , Portland , Ruakaka and Waipu . The district contains a large amount of rural land , including beaches such as Ngunguru , game fishing mecca Tutukaka , a variety of beaches along Whangarei Harbour , as well as Matakohe or Limestone Island in the Harbour , now subject to ecological restoration . The main airport for the district is Whangarei Airport . The district extends as far south as Bream Bay , north towards the Cape Brett Peninsula , and west almost to Waipoua Forest . It also includes the Hen and Chicken Islands and the Poor Knights Islands . The mayor of ___MASK42___ is Sheryl Mai . The district population is 85 , 900 from the June 2015 estimate . ___MASK62___ is the capital city and second ___MASK13___ populous urban area of New Zealand , with residents . It is at the south - western tip of the North Island , between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range . ___MASK62___ is the major population centre of the southern North Island and is the administrative centre of the ___MASK62___ Region , which also includes the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa . As the nation ' s capital city , the New Zealand Government and Parliament , Supreme Court and ___MASK13___ of the civil service are based in the city . The ___MASK81___ or Te Waipounamu (" Mori ") is the larger ___MASK9___ the two major islands ___MASK9___ New Zealand , the other being the smaller but more populous North Island . It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait , to the ___MASK35___ by the Tasman Sea , and to the south and ___MASK29___ by the Pacific Ocean . The ___MASK81___ covers and is influenced by a temperate climate . Onerahi is a ___MASK43___ suburb of Whangarei , New Zealand ' s northern most city . It is the city ' s only ___MASK43___ suburb . It is located 9 km south - east of the centre of Whangarei , and follows the Whangarei harbour coastline until it meets the Pacific Ocean . ___MASK12___ is a city in the North Island of New Zealand . It is the ___MASK13___ populous urban area in the country . ___MASK12___ has a population of , which constitutes percent of New Zealand ' s population . It is part of the wider ___MASK12___ Region  the area governed by the ___MASK12___ Council  which also includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf , resulting in a total population of . ___MASK12___ also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world . The Mori language name for ___MASK12___ is or , meaning " Tmaki with a hundred lovers ", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions . It has also been called karana , the Mori enunciation of " ___MASK12___ ". Marsden Point lies 30 kilometres southeast ___MASK9___ Whangarei and around 140Km from ___MASK12___ ' s CBD . It forms the south - eastern tip ___MASK9___ the entrance to the Whangarei Harbour on the ___MASK29___ coast ___MASK9___ Northland , New Zealand . New Year is the ___MASK86___ at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar ' s year count increments by one . Ngunguru is a coastal settlement in Northland , ___MASK54___ . Whangarei is 26 km to the south ___MASK35___ . The Ngunguru River flows between the settlement and a long low sandspit into Whangaumu Bay , which stretches southwards . North of Ngunguru are Tutukaka and Matapouri Tectonic uplift is the portion ___MASK9___ the total geologic uplift ___MASK9___ the mean Earth surface that is not attributable to an isostatic response to unloading . While isostatic response is important , an increase in the mean elevation ___MASK9___ a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes ___MASK9___ crustal thickening ( such as mountain building events ), changes in the density distribution ___MASK9___ the crust and underlying mantle , and flexural support due to the bending ___MASK9___ rigid lithosphere . New ___MASK67___ is a special collectivity of France located in the ___MASK85___ Pacific Ocean , east of Australia and east of Metropolitan France . The archipelago , part of the Melanesia subregion , includes the main island of Grande Terre , the Loyalty Islands , the Chesterfield Islands , the Belep archipelago , the Isle of Pines , and a few remote islets . The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea . Locals refer to Grande Terre as "" (" the pebble "). ___MASK54___ is an island nation in the southwestern ___MASK37___ . The country geographically comprises two main landmasses  that ___MASK9___ the North Island , or Te Ika - a - Mui , and the ___MASK81___ , or Te Waipounamu  and numerous smaller islands . ___MASK54___ is situated some ___MASK29___ ___MASK9___ Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly south ___MASK9___ the Pacific island areas ___MASK9___ New ___MASK67___ , Fiji , and ___MASK44___ . Because ___MASK9___ its remoteness , it was one ___MASK9___ the last lands to be settled by humans . During its long period ___MASK9___ isolation , ___MASK54___ developed a distinct biodiversity ___MASK9___ animal , fungal and plant life . The country ' s varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks , such as the Southern Alps , owe much to the tectonic uplift ___MASK9___ land and volcanic eruptions . ___MASK54___ ' s capital city is Wellington , while its most populous city is Auckland . The ___MASK36___ Island or Te Ika - a - Mui (" Mori ") is one ___MASK9___ the two main islands ___MASK9___ New Zealand , separated from the slightly larger but much less populous ___MASK81___ by Cook Strait . The island ' s area is , making it the world ' s 14th - largest island . It has a population ___MASK9___ Ruakaka is a small township in the ___MASK36___ ___MASK9___ New Zealand approximately 30 kilometres south ___MASK9___ Whangarei in the Bream Bay area . Originally a small beachside community , Ruakaka has seen development due to its proximity to the expansion ___MASK9___ the country ' s only oil refinery at Marsden Point during the 1980s . A recently established timber processing plant at Marsden Point has further stimulated growth . The Tasman Sea ( Mori : " Te Tai - o - Rehua ") is a marginal sea ___MASK9___ the South Pacific Ocean , situated between ___MASK78___ and New Zealand . It measures about across and about from north to south . The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman , who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania . The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s as part ___MASK9___ his first voyage ___MASK9___ exploration . Bream Bay is a locality and bay on the ___MASK29___ coast of New Zealand . Captain James Cook named this area to include the bay itself , but also some surrounding locations , stretching north to Whangarei and south to Mangawhai . However , ' Bream Bay ' is loosely used as a collaboration of the three major towns that satellite the main metropolitan area which are Ruakaka , One Tree Point and Waipu . The physical bay itself geographically spreads from the mouth of Whangarei Harbour ( Bream Head ), 22 kilometers south , to the southernmost point of Waipu Cove ( Bream Tail ). The area also inhabits 3 native reserve islands , located just off the coast of Bream Bay : the Hen and Chickens Islands and Sail ___MASK60___ . ___MASK55___ ((), officially the Republic of ___MASK55___ , is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand ' s North Island . Its closest neighbours are ___MASK18___ to the west , New Caledonia to the ___MASK85___ , New Zealand ' s Kermadec Islands to the southeast , Tonga to the east , the Samoas and France ' s Wallis and Futuna to the northeast , and Tuvalu to the north . Hukerenui is a settlement in Northland , ___MASK54___ . State Highway 1 passes through the area . Kawakawa is ___MASK25___ , and Hikurangi is southeast . The Southern Alps ( Mori : K Tiritiri o te Moana ) are a ___MASK66___ range extending along much ___MASK9___ the length ___MASK9___ New Zealand ' s ___MASK81___ , reaching its greatest elevations near the island ' s western side . The term " Southern Alps " generally refers to the entire range , although separate names are given to many ___MASK9___ the smaller ranges that form part ___MASK9___ it . Hikurangi is a settlement in Northland , ___MASK54___ . The city ___MASK9___ Whangarei is 17 km ( 11 miles ) to the south , and Kawakawa is 39 km ( 24 miles ) ___MASK25___ . The Glenbervie Forest is southeast ___MASK9___ the settlement . State Highway 1 once passed through the town , but now bypasses it to the west . Mount Hikurangi is a volcanic dome rising 365 metres ( 1 , 198 ft ) to the west ___MASK9___ the town . It is 1 . 2 million years old , and part ___MASK9___ the Harbour Fault which also includes Parakiore , near Kamo , and Parihaka in Whangarei . ___MASK92___ Airport is a small airport to the ___MASK56___ ___MASK29___ of ___MASK92___ city , in the suburb of Onerahi , on the ___MASK29___ coast of Northland on the North Island , New Zealand . The airport has a single terminal with two gates .