Bay of Plenty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Environment Bay of Plenty Bay of Plenty Regional Council |
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| Country: | New Zealand |
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| Regional Council | |
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| Name: | Environment Bay of Plenty |
| Chair: | John Cronin |
| Population: | 262,900 June 2006 estimate |
| Land Area: | 12,277km² |
| Website: | http://www.envbop.govt.nz |
| Cities and Towns | |
| Cities: | Tauranga, Rotorua, Whakatane |
| Towns: | Te Puke, Taneatua, Edgecumbe, Opotiki, Kawerau, Murupara, Ohope, Matata, Maketu, Ngongotaha |
| Constituent Territorial Authorities | |
| Names: | Tauranga City Rotorua District Whakatane District Western Bay of Plenty District Kawerau District Opotiki District part ofTaupo District |
| Websites: | http://www.tauranga.govt.nz http://www.rdc.govt.nz http://www.whakatane.govt.nz http://www.wbopdc.govt.nz http://www.kaweraudc.govt.nz http://www.odc.govt.nz |
The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. The largest city in the Bay of Plenty is Tauranga, in the Western area.
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[edit] The bay itself
The bay stretches from the base of the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. The region is bound by the Kaimai and Mamaku Ranges in the west and extends inland to the sparsely populated forest lands around Rotorua, Kawerau and Murupara. Several islands are located in the bay, notably Mayor Island/Tuhua, Motiti Island, Whale Island and, most famously, the active volcano of Whakaari/White Island.
The bay was named by James Cook some time during November 1769. Cook named it the Bay of Plenty after he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages he visited on the coast, in stark contrast to the observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay.
[edit] The region
The local government region has a 2006 estimated population of 262,900, which is projected to increase to 277,900 by the year 2011. The region is dominated by two cities: Tauranga (population 111,500) and Rotorua (54,800). As a compromise between the cities, the town of Whakatane was selected as the seat for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Other towns in the region include Te Puke, Kawerau, Katikati and Opotiki. Agriculture and tourism are the region's two main industries, with the geothermal region around Rotorua being a popular tourist destination.
The area is forested and has extensive agriculture. The climate is nearly tropical, being both humid and warm most of the year. Notable crops are kiwifruit, apples, avocados and timber. As with most of New Zealand, sheep farming is common.
[edit] Demographics
The total resident population of the Bay Of Plenty region at the time of the 2006 Census was 257,379.
Of those, 28 per cent said they belonged to the Māori ethnic group. Twenty-three per cent were under the age of 15 years and 3.9 per cent were unemployed.
[edit] Largest Cities/Towns
- Tauranga 111,500
- Rotorua 54,900
- Whakatane 18,850
- Kawerau 7,100
- Te Puke 7,050
- Opotiki 4,000
- Katikati 2,950
[edit] References
- Subnational Population Estimates: At 30 June 2006, Statistics New Zealand.
- Regional summary tables by regional council, 2006 Census, Statistics New Zealand.
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| North Island: |
Northland | Auckland | Waikato | Bay of Plenty | Gisborne¹ | Hawke's Bay | Taranaki | Manawatu-Wanganui | Wellington |
| South Island: |
Tasman¹ | Marlborough¹ | Nelson¹ | West Coast | Canterbury | Otago | Southland |
| ¹ Unitary authorities |
