TARANAKI

local government region, west North Island, New Zealand. It is centred on the Taranaki Peninsula and extends north to the Mokau River and south and east to include the Waitotara River. Its topography is marked by numerous stream valleys, including those of the Patea and Waitara rivers. Taranaki's first European settlement was New Plymouth (1841), the name used when the area was made a province in 1853. Before the province was abolished in 1876, it had been the scene of the Taranaki War (186061) fought between the Maoris and Europeans over the Waitara land purchase. Taranaki is the Maori name (officially recognized) for Mount Egmont, a large volcano that dominates the local scenery. Taranaki is an important dairying area, concentrating on the fertile ring plain circling Mount Egmont. The region's principal towns include New Plymouth, Hawera, Stratford, Inglewood, Waitara, Eltham, and Patea. The peninsula, extending into the Tasman Sea, is bounded by the Taranaki bights, which meet at Egmont Cape. The North Taranaki Bight is lined by coastal cliffs rising to several hundred feet in the north. The bight's good natural harbours are blocked by drifting sand, and the only adequate port is artificial (at New Plymouth). South Taranaki Bight, similarly handicapped by drifting sand, is bordered by an alluvial plain. Area 3,040 square miles (7,876 square km). Pop. (1991) 107,222.