Whitianga

Whitianga is the main settlement of Mercury Bay on the North Island of New Zealand. The population was 3768 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 690 from 2001. The population is now 4100 an increase of 332 since 2006.

Geography

Whitianga is located on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula, 208 km from Auckland, 93 km from Thames, 42 km from Tairua. It is situated on the coast of Mercury Bay along the 5 km long east-facing Buffalo Beach. The town centre is at the southern end of the beach.

Buffalo Beach is named after the HMS Buffalo, which was wrecked during a storm while anchored in Mercury Bay. Her anchor can be seen at a monument at Buffalo Beach.

A passenger ferry crosses from Whitianga to Ferry Landing, close to Cooks Beach. The alternative to the two-minute ferry crossing is a 45-minute drive around Whitianga Harbour.

History

Māori history

Whitianga has been continuously occupied for more than a thousand years since Māori explorer Kupe’s tribe settled here after his visit in about 950 AD. Following this visit, many of Kupe's tribe settled here. Te Whitianga o Kupe is the original place name of the town, meaning Kupe's crossing place.

Melissa Etheridge

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Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Her self-titled debut album Melissa Etheridge was released in 1988 and became an underground hit. The album peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200, and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. In 1993, Etheridge won her first Grammy award for her single "Ain't It Heavy" from her third album, Never Enough. Later that year, she released what would become her mainstream breakthrough album, Yes I Am. The album featured three Top 40 hits, including "I'm the Only One" (No. 8) and "Come to My Window" (No. 25), the latter which scored Etheridge her second Grammy award. Yes I Am peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and spent 138 weeks on the chart, earning a RIAA certification of 6x Platinum, her largest to date.