Editing Piha (section)

==History==

The area is traditionally a part of [[rohe]] of the [[Tāmaki Māori]] tribe [[Te Kawerau ā Maki]].<ref name="TeKawerau">{{Cite web| date=22 February 2014 | title = Te Kawerau ā Maki Deed of Settlement Schedule |url=https://www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/OTS/Te-Kawerau-a-Maki/Te-Kawerau-a-Maki-Deed-of-Settlement-Documents-22-Feb-2014.pdf | author1 = [[Te Kawerau ā Maki]] | author2 = The Trustees of Te Kawerau Iwi Settlement Trust | author3 = [[New Zealand Government|The Crown]] | access-date = 10 May 2022}}</ref> The area is named for Te Piha, the traditional name of [[Lion Rock (New Zealand)|Lion Rock]] which was later applied to the wider area,<ref name="TeKawerau"/> and refers to the pattern made when waves hit against the rock.<ref name="FieldGuide2008">{{cite book |last1=Cameron |first1=Ewen |last2=Hayward |first2= Bruce |author-link2=Bruce Hayward |last3=Murdoch |first3= Graeme |title=A Field Guide to Auckland: Exploring the Region's Natural and Historical Heritage |isbn=978-1-86962-1513 |publisher=Random House New Zealand |year=2008 |page=174 |edition=Revised}}</ref> The area was the location of many [[pā]] and villages, including a headland at Te Waha Point north of the beach, where many [[Karaka (tree)|karaka]] trees associated with the former pā grow,<ref name="Diamond">{{Cite book| editor-first=James| editor-last=Northcote-Bade |title=West Auckland Remembers, Volume 1 |year=1990 |publisher=West Auckland Historical Society |isbn=0-473-00983-8 |chapter=Prehistoric Sites in West Auckland |first1=John T. |last1=Diamond |author-link1=J. T. Diamond |first2=Bruce W. |last2=Hayward |author-link2=Bruce Hayward |pages=33–34, 36}}</ref> and Lion Rock, which was the location of Whakaari pā.<ref name="McKendryPiha2017"/> Archaeological surveys have shown the remains of platforms, [[midden]] and terraces on Lion Rock, as well as fragments of [[Māori traditional textiles|traditional textiles]], dating back to a time before European contact.<ref name="McKendryPiha2017">{{cite Q|Q104815051}}</ref> The earthworks of Whakaari pā are not well preserved due to erosion.<ref name="Diamond"/>

[[Te Unuhanga-a-Rangitoto / Mercer Bay]] to the south was traditionally known by the name Te Unuhanga o Rangitoto, referencing the traditional story of Te Kawerau ā Maki of early ancestor [[Tiriwa]], who formed the bay by moving [[Rangitoto Island]] from the West coast to the [[Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana]].<ref name="Wai Karekare"/> The English language name references Andrew Mercer, an Auckland settler who received [[New Zealand Government|Crown]] grant in June 1866.<ref name="Wai Karekare">{{Cite book| editor-first=James| editor-last=Northcote-Bade |title=West Auckland Remembers, Volume 2 |year=1992 |publisher=West Auckland Historical Society |isbn=0-473-01587-0 |chapter=Wai Karekare - 'The Bay of the Boisterous Seas' |first1=Graeme |last1=Murdoch |pages=13}}</ref>

At the turn of the 20th century, holidaymakers would travel by coach from [[Glen Eden]] to stay at guest houses in Piha.<ref>{{Cite book| editor-first=Pauline| editor-last=Vela |title=In Those Days: An Oral History of Glen Eden |year=1989 |publisher=Glen Eden Borough Council |isbn=0-473-00862-9 |chapter=From Four Horses to Four Wheels |pages=80–81}}</ref> In February 1939, two Australian visitors to Auckland, G R Mackey and J A Talbot, committed arson at a Piha [[Bach (New Zealand)|bach]]. The fire was lit as a part of an insurance scam, and a body of a recently buried soldier was taken from [[Waikumete Cemetery]] and placed inside the bach.<ref>{{Cite book| editor-first=Pauline| editor-last=Vela |title=In Those Days: An Oral History of Glen Eden |year=1989 |publisher=Glen Eden Borough Council |isbn=0-473-00862-9 |chapter=Piha Fire Case and the Body Taken from Waikumete Cemetery |pages=93}}</ref>

[[Albert Percy Godber]] took photographs in the area in the 1910s.<ref>https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22438930</ref>

Since 1992, six people have disappeared from or in the area of Piha with no trace, with one of the more publicised cases being [[Disappearance of Iraena Asher|Iraena Asher]] and the most recent being French teenager Eloi Rolland in 2020. No trace has been left by any of these people, and none of them have been found.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300189370/the-missing-people-of-piha-25-years-six-cases-no-answers|title=The missing people of Piha: 25 years, six cases, no answers|publisher=Stuff|first1=Jackson|last1=Thomas|first2=Ryan|last2=Anderson|date=3 January 2021}}</ref>

Piha suffered floods and slips from [[Cyclone Gabrielle]] in early 2023,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300807518/watch-devastation-to-aucklands-west-coast-off-the-charts-suburbs-still-cutoff|title=Watch: Devastation to Auckland's west coast 'off the charts', suburbs still cut-off|publisher=Stuff|date=15 February 2023}}</ref> and the main road out was closed to non-residents until May 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/recovery-extreme-weather-disasters/recover-disaster/community-recovery-updates/pihanewslettersmay2023/3-may-piha-community-update.pdf|title=Community update Piha cordon to be lifted at midday on Friday|publisher=Auckland Council|date=3 May 2023}}</ref>