Punaʻauia is a commune in the suburbs of Papeʻete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.

[3] In the late 1890s, the French painter Paul Gauguin lived in Punaʻauia.

Like many of the other communes and islands of French Polynesia, the area was first settled by early Polynesians from Asia around 1,000 years ago.

Captain James Cook came on his expedition to chart the Pacific islands during 1770.

The average annual rainfall is 1,677.0 mm (66.02 in) with December as the wettest month.