The islands of the Hauraki Gulf and the Coromandel Peninsula were likely places of first landfall for Polynesian migrants around 1250–1300 CE. In 1964, a fish lure made from the shell of a pearl oyster was found during an archaeological dig at Tairua. Given the absence of pearl oysters in New Zealand waters, it must have belonged to a migrant from East Polynesia. After Cpt Cook (~1770), Europeans fell into this area as well and after that, the Coromandel was a shining star on the trade sky. With the discovery of gold 1842 the region saw a surge of adventure seekers (and is still today :)
