Warkworth is a town on the Northland Peninsula in the upper North Island of New Zealand. It is in the northern part of the Auckland Region. It is located on State Highway 1, 64 km north of Auckland and 98 km south of Whangārei, and is at the head of Mahurangi Harbour.
The Mahurangi Harbour and surrounding area has been settled by Māori since at least the 13th century. As Warkworth is the upper most navigable point on the Mahurangi River, it was a crossroads between overland traffic and waka, and gained the name Puhinui, referring to the waterfalls found at the river. The people of the Mahurangi Harbour area would move seasonally between different kāinga based on available resources, and came to the dense kauri forests at Puhinui to utilise resources such as berries, eels and felling trees to construct waka.
European settler John Anderson Brown first settled at Warkworth in 1843, establishing a timber mill on the banks of the Mahurangi River. The town was officially established in 1853, and became a hub for the timber and ship building industries. The town became a hub for the Wilsons Cement Works in 1884, and by the 1930s as roads improved transitioned into becoming a commercial and service hub for the wider rural area.
Today Warkworth is a bustling, vibrant and thriving hub of the Matakana Coast, Warkworth is within easy reach of Pūhoi, Kaipara Flats, Mahurangi East, Matakana, Leigh and Wellsford. You’ll find boutique shops as well as larger chain stores, all amenities and a burgeoning dining scene that offers plenty of choice for a café brunch or a fine evening out.
A full suite of primary and secondary schooling options are available too.
