Editing Paihia (section)

== History and culture ==

===Origin of the Name===
The origin of the name "Paihia" is unclear. A popular attribution, most likely apocryphal, is that when Reverend Henry Williams first arrived in the Bay of Islands searching for a location for his mission station, he told his Māori guide, "Pai here," meaning "Good here," as his Māori vocabulary was limited.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/keyword/paihia|title=New Zealand History - Paihia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/regions/bay-of-islands/paihia/history.html|title=New Zealand Tourism Guide - Paihia History}}</ref>

===European settlement===
[[File:Paihia (48752075113) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Circa 1860s watercolour of Paihia by Mrs Woods]]
[[File:Pahia-Church.jpg|thumb|St. Paul's Anglican Church, built in 1925]]
Henry Williams<ref name="Fitzgerald2011"/> and his wife [[Marianne Williams|Marianne]]<ref name="Fitzgerald2004"/> settled in Paihia in 1823 and built the first church there the same year. [[William Williams (bishop)|William Williams]] and his wife [[Jane Williams (missionary)|Jane]] joined the Paihia mission in 1826.<ref name="Fitzgerald2011"/> [[Bishop]] [[William Grant Broughton]] (the first and only Bishop of Australia) visited the Paihia mission in 1838 and performed several firsts in New Zealand including the first [[Confirmation]] and [[Ordination]] ceremonies.<ref>Wises New Zealand Guide, 7th Edition, 1979. p.331</ref>

{{ship||Herald|1826 ship|2}} was a 55-ton [[schooner]] that the missionaries built and launched off the beach at Paihia on 24 January 1826.<ref name="Fitzgerald2011-1">{{cite book |last1= Fitzgerald  |first1= Caroline |title= Te Wiremu: Henry Williams – Early Years in the North |year=2011|publisher= Huia Publishers, New Zealand |isbn=978-1-86969-439-5 |pages=65–66 }}</ref><ref name="Fitzgerald2004-1">{{cite book |last1= Fitzgerald  |first1= Caroline |title= Marianne Williams: Letters from the Bay of Islands |year=2004|publisher= Penguin Books, New Zealand |isbn=0-14-301929-5  |pages=97–99 }}</ref><ref name="TREARA1">{{cite web| last = McLean | first = Gavin| work= 'Shipbuilding - The wooden era', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |title= Launching the Herald |date = 20 July 2015 |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/5460/launching-the-herald| access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref>

In December 1832 the first mention of [[cricket]] being played in New Zealand was recorded by Henry Williams.<ref name=SuperSport>{{cite web|url=http://www.supersport.com/cricket/content.aspx?id=20410|publisher=SuperSport|title=New Zealand Cricket Team|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193935/https://supersport.com/cricket/content.aspx?id=20410|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> In 1835 a game of cricket was witnessed here by [[Charles Darwin]],<ref name=Moa>Todd, S. (1976) ''Sporting Records of New Zealand.'' Auckland: Moa Publications. {{ISBN|0-908570-00-7}}</ref><ref name=TeAra66>{{cite web|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/cricket-mens/1|title=Beginnings|work=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] }}</ref> in December 1835 while the ''Beagle'' spent 10 days in the [[Bay of Islands]].<ref>Charles Darwin, ''Journal of a Voyage Round the World'', 1831-36</ref><ref>Caroline Fitzgerald, (2011) ''Te Wiremu - Henry Williams: Early Years in the North'' p. 219-230</ref>

In 1835 [[William Colenso]] set up the first [[printing press]] in New Zealand at Paihia.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

In 1850 the mission closed and Paihia declined to a very small settlement by 1890.<ref name=TeAra>{{cite web|url=http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/northland-places/page-7|title=7. Paihia and Waitangi – Northland places – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand|work=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] }}</ref>

===20th century===
The Williams Memorial Church of St Paul is an Anglican church in Paihia. It was constructed from 1925 to 1926 and was consecrated by Archbishop [[Alfred Averill]] in 1926. It was built to commemorate the Anglican missionary [[Henry Williams (missionary)|Henry Williams]] who established a mission at Paihia and converted many local Maori. [[Jones and Palmer]] designed the bluestone church. The church is the fourth to be built on the site and the oldest grave dates back to 1826.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Martin |title=Williams Memorial Church of St Paul (Anglican) |url=https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/3824/Williams%20Memorial%20Church%20of%20St%20Paul%20(Anglican) |website=[[Heritage New Zealand]] |date=7 July 2002}}</ref>

The triptych stained glass windows above the pulpit were commissioned by the Williams Family Trust in commemoration of Sir Nigel Reed for the 175 year family reunion and installed by the artist in 1998. The windows, titled ''Te Ara O Te Manawa'' (Pathway of the Heart), are {{cvt|4|m2}} in total size.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

In 1925 a road was constructed to Puketona<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paihia.co.nz/History.cfm|title=Thumbnail History of Paihia - as a time-line|work=paihia.co.nz|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413232107/http://www.paihia.co.nz/History.cfm|archive-date=13 April 2013}}</ref> on the main road from Kawakawa to Kerikeri (now [[New Zealand State Highway 10|State Highway 10]]) leading to an increase in tourism in the 1930s.<ref name=TeAra/>