A 3KM LONG SANDY BEACH,
RICH IN HISTORY
The harbour is one of the earliest places settled by Māori, with Kupe landing on the shore in the fourteenth century.
Te Arawa arrived later bringing a leader called Hei, resulting in the local iwi of Ngāti Hei. The bay was called Whanganui-o-hei, the great bay of Hei.
It was later named Cooks Beach after navigator Captain James Cook, who with his crew and expedition astronomer Charles Greene, landed here on the 9th November 1769, to observe the transit of Mercury and establish longitude.
Today, Cooks Beach is a favourite family holiday destination on the Coromandel Peninsula great for walking, swimming and sunbathing with 3km of white sandy beach beneath vine clad hills.