Paeroa translates to long ridge or mountain range – probably referring to the surrounding Coromandel and Kaimai-Mamaku mountain ranges.  Paeroa is part of an area originally called Ohinemuri.  The first settlers in the Ohinimuri were Maori.

Predominantly from the Arawa and Tainui Tribes, they settled there from the 12th and 13th centuries.  Arriving in 1840, the First European settlers were Joshua Thorp and his family from Yorkshire. 

For 30 years there was gradual development in the wider area and in 1870 Asher Cassrels leased a block of land in the Ohinemuri area from the Maori.  The land was located close to the Ohinemuri and Waihou rivers.  It was called Paeroa, and this was the beginning of the Paeroa Township.   Because of its location by the rivers, which were the only access inland, Paeroa quickly grew into a well-known port settlement ad supply centre. 

Gold was discovered in the Ohinemuri in the early 1870s.  The Government’s agent, James Mackay, declared the goldfields open on March 3, 1875.  Hundreds of gold miners arrived in Paeroa hoping to strike it rich.  However, they were unaware of the difficulties involved in mining quartz gold  Heavy machinery and cyanide processes were required to remove the rock and extract the gold.  The cyanide process to extract the gold from the quartz was invented in Karangahake in 1889.  This extraction process is still used throughout the world today.

The Paeroa port was the key transport route for people and products.  Paeroa became a distribution town for all surrounding areas.  The railway line was opened between Paeroa and Auckland in 1895 and Thames in 1898.  The railway offered an alternative method to deliver goods to and from Paeroa.

Throughout the 20th Century Paeroa developed into a service centre for the surrounding farming area.  Rural Paeroa and the Hauraki Plains are now recognized as having very productive soils, making them a profitable agricultural area, especially the dairy industry.  Paeroa Town has steadily grown over the past 130 years and many successful industrial, commercial and retail businesses operate here today.