Local history
The Firth of Thames was visited by Captain Cook in 1769, and the resulting timber and spar trade with local Hauraki tribes continued on into the 19th century. The discovery of gold in Coromandel in 1852, and the opening up of the Thames area for goldmining from 1867, completely changed the region.
For the remainder of the 19th century, and on into the 20th century, Thames was the second biggest town in the Auckland Province. The boom years for Thames were the 1870s and 1880s, with the Coromandel township area gaining in importance in the 1890s. From the 1900s the search for gold shifted to the Waihi area. The depression of the 1930s hit Thames hard, but after the Second World War new manufacturing industries, agriculture and tourism became important.
Publications
Zelma and John Williams
Thames and the Coromandel Peninsula: 2000 years (1994)
The most recent general history. This has the added advantage of a comprehensive bibliography, on pages 251 and 252, of most of the earlier material published about the region. These include details of various jubilee publications for Coromandel County, Thames Borough and local schools, churches and sport clubs.
Paul Monin
This is my place, Hauraki contested 1769 - 1875 (2001)
This book is unrivalled for early Maori and Pakeha relations
Coromandel Town History Research Group Inc.
In search of the rainbow, the Coromandel story (2002)
A recent addition to the history of the Coromandel area. This covers various aspects of the Coromandel township area in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Newspapers
The Auckland Research Centre also has microfilm copies of various Thames newspapers for 1869 to 1872, and the Thames Advertiser from April 1874 to December 1882.
The Hill's index covers birth, death and marriage notices in our copies of Thames newspapers from 1868 to 1909 inclusive, and the New Zealand Herald (1863-) does include Thames and Coromandel news.
Further information
The Thames School of Mines and Mineralogical Research, the Thames Museum and the Coromandel School of Mines and Historical Research, as well as Thames Public Library, all have useful material for further research on the history of the region. Information on the mining industry is also available at Archives New Zealand in Mt Wellington.
Also see the Thames Coromandel District Council website. | 
