Kaeo

Kaeo (Māori: Kāeo) is a township in the Far North District of New Zealand, located some 22 km (14 mi) northwest of Kerikeri.

Sanfords Fishery factory, one of the main employers in Kaeo, closed in December 2011.

[3] A new bridge on State Highway 10 across the Kaio River was opened in February 2024 to reduce queuing and improve traffic safety.

This tribe arrived in the Whangaroa Harbour as late as 1770–1775, having been driven out of the Rawhiti area of the Bay of Islands, after killing and eating Captain Marion du Fresne and his crew.

[6] Wesleydale, the first Wesleyan Methodist mission in New Zealand, was established by Samuel Leigh and William White at Kaeo in June 1823, then abandoned in 1827 after it was sacked by local Māori.

[7] A memorial cairn marks the site of the mission adjacent to the cemetery on the south side of the Kaeo River.

It came to national attention in 2007 when it took the brunt of three major floods within the space of a few months - in February, March and July.

Water flooded homes and shops and destroyed the primary school's pool complex.

[8] Landslips, fallen power lines, and road closures resulted from heavy rain in February 2008.

[8][9] Floods occurred as a result of Cyclone Wilma in January 2011, and 70 people had to be evacuated from Kaeo.

The building served many additional functions until it closed in May 1989 following the Fourth Labour Government's economic reforms.

[20] Whangaroa College, a coeducational secondary (years 7-15) school,[22] has a roll of 123 students as of November 2024.

Pā site Pohue-nui of the Ngati Uru tribe. As seen behind an old house from the east, near SH 10, in February 2013.
Kaeo Post Office shortly after opening