Kaikohe is a shortened version of the original, Kai kohekohe - meaning 'to eat berries'. When early Maori were besieged, they were forced to hide in kohekohe trees where they survived by eating the fruit.
Kaikohe was the well-defended territory of the last of the Ngapuhi chiefs, Hone Heke and Hongi Hika, whose names are synonymous with the dramatic formation of New Zealand as a nation. The first European settlers arrived in 1845 to convert Maori to Christianity and if the growth of Kaikohe can be pinpointed from around 1860 onwards it was due to the gum trade
Towards the end of the 19th century Kaikohe boasted a blacksmith, a wheelwright, general storekeepers, a saddler, a photographer, an auctioneer and a shoe maker as George Patterson built the Kaikohe Hotel. By the 1970s Kaikohe was the big little northern town bustling with business and commerce, replete with well-stocked schools and home to a thriving arts community.
Then along came the 1980s. In relatively quick succession the Borough of Kaikohe
lost its individuality to merge with the Far North District Council and some of the major industries shipped out as centralisation took hold. Many locals decamped in search of work elsewhere and shops were reluctantly shut against the combination of that flight and large-scale retail competition. A once thriving community atrophied and the
face of Kaikohe showed in a moribund main street.
In 2005 Ngawha Prison opened to a stated fanfare of promised business contracts worth $10 million to the town annually. Despite the announced pledge, it didn't happen. Contracts were awarded to national companies and not to local businesses. Kaikohe was left to stumble along. And yet Kaikohe has singularly strong advocates and none better than the bubbling Sally Macauley, Far North District Councillor, past Deputy Mayor and Northland District Health Board Deputy Chairman. In 1998 she was Chairman of the then Western Community Board.
"There was a need for more recreational facilities for our youth so we raised $180,000 for the development of a skateboard park, a children's playground and a small basketball area and they are all well utilised by locals and visitors."
Today a revitalised Kaikohe Business Association has established a Business Improvement District Programme to raise funds for town beautification and Mrs Macauley sees Broadway being lined with artefacts of Maori design celebrating Ngapuhi
heritage and welcoming tourists to the town.