About the town » Coromandel, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, New Zealand

Coromandel is the name of a town and harbour on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula, which is on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 75 kilometres east of the city of Auckland, although the road between them, which winds around the Firth of Thames and Hauraki Gulf coasts, is 190 km long.

The town was named after the peninsula, which was named after HMS Coromandel, which sailed into the harbour in 1820. At one time the harbour was a major port serving the peninsula's gold mining and kauri industries. An old gold stamper battery is still in fully operational working order. Today, the town's main industries are tourism and mussel farming. Coromandel Harbour is a wide bay on the Hauraki Gulf guarded by several islands, the largest of which is Whanganui Island. The town and environs are a popular summer holiday destination for New Zealanders. Coromandel is noted for its artists, crafts, alternative lifestylers, mussel farming, and recreational fishing. One of the most popular tourist attractions is the Driving Creek Railway. The population was 1476 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 36 from 2001.