The town lies on the banks of the Motueka River and has been inhabited since 1855 when the Salisbury brothers arrived in the river valley.
Other rivers entering the sea along the coast of the bay include the Riwaka, the Motueka and Serpentine Rivers.
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A major tributary of the Motueka River, it flows north from its origins southeast of the Hope Saddle, meeting the Motueka at Kohatu, 15v kilometres west of Wakefield.