New Zealand - Whakatane - Whakatane Township - From the sea - 1940’s - Photo Postcard Format #t446 Whakatane - A town in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region - 90 km east of Tauranga and 89 km north-east of Rotorua - Urban population of 19,750 (New Zealand's 24th largest urban area) - The Bay of Plenty's third largest urban area - Whakatane District was created in 1976 - Māori pā sites in the area date back to the first Polynesian settlements - According to Māori tradition Toi-te-huatahi landed at Whakatane about 1150 CE in search of his grandson Whatonga. - Failing to find Whatonga, he settled in the locality and built a pa on the highest point of the headland now called Whakatane Heads. - Some 200 years later the Mataatua waka landed at Whakatane. (Reference: Wikipedia)