Hikutaia is a locality on the Hauraki Plains of New Zealand. It lies on State Highway 26, south east of Thames and north of Paeroa. The Hikutaia River runs from the Coromandel Range through the area to join the Waihou River. The area has a rich history of Māori settlement, with several pā in the vicinity. The local iwi are Ngāti Maru and Ngāti Paoa. James Cook and Joseph Banks rowed up the Waihou River on 20 November 1769 and disembarked near Hikutaia. They were impressed by the kahikatea which formed a dense forest in the area. Banks described it as "the finest timber my Eyes ever beheld". In 1794, acting on Cook's description of the forest, Captain Dell and his crew of the ship Fancy camped in a place they called Graves End, which is...
