Waiwera is a locality situated in the north of the Auckland Region

Auckland Region

The Auckland Region was one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, named for the city of Auckland, the country's largest urban area. With one third of the nation's residents, it was by far the biggest population and economy of any region of New Zealand, but the second-smallest land area.On 1...

 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The name is of Māori

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

 origin and means "Hot Water" (Wai = Water and Wera = Hot). Its main claim to fame are the hot water springs

Waiwera Hot Pools

Waiwera Hot Pools is a large thermal spa situated in Waiwera, just north of Auckland, New Zealand. The park is New Zealand's largest water park...

 which were well-known in pre-European times and reputedly visited by Māori from as far away as Thames

Thames, New Zealand

Thames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel District Council....

. The first European settler to promote the springs was Robert Graham

Robert Graham (New Zealand)

Robert Graham was a 19th century New Zealand politician in the Auckland area.He represented the Southern Division electorate in the 2nd New Zealand Parliament from 1855 to 1860, and then represented the Franklin electorate in the 3rd Parliament and the 4th Parliament from 1861 to 1868, when he...

 who established a health resort in 1848. During the late 19th century there was a regular steam ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 service from Auckland.

Waiwera is 6 km north of Orewa

Orewa

Orewa, a town in New Zealand's North Island lies on the Hibiscus Coast, just north of the base of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and 40 kilometres north of central Auckland. Orewa's population was 7,326 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 1,692 from 2001. It is a popular holiday destination...

, 6 km south-east of Puhoi

Puhoi

Puhoi is a settlement located approximately 50 km north of Auckland, New Zealand. Puhoi is probably a Maori word which may be translated as "Slow water"....

, 23 km south-east of Warkworth

Warkworth

Warkworth may refer to:*Warkworth, Northamptonshire, England*Warkworth, Northumberland, England* Warkworth Castle* Warkworth Hermitage*Warkworth, Ontario, Canada*Warkworth, New South Wales, Australia*Warkworth, New Zealand*John Warkworth...

 and approximately 35 km from the Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 City centre. The settlement lies at the outlet of a river also called Waiwera. Less than 1 kilometre north of the Waiwera turn-off lies the turn-off to Wenderholm Regional Park which is situated on the far side of the headland to the north of the Waiwera River outlet.