They then surrounded the house, one of three at the end of Springbank Lane, while police negotiators urged the man to come out. He refused at first but was eventually taken into custody about 3pm.
Senior Sergeant Chris McLellan of Kerikeri police said the man had been referred to mental health services. No decision had been made as to whether he would be charged.
"Our priority now is to make sure he is looked after and gets the support he needs."
The property was searched but no guns or other weapons were found. About 20 officers, including eight members of the AOS, were involved. The scale of the operation was justified by information police had at the outset that the man was armed, he said. "All precautions were taken to ensure members of the public were safe, and that he was safe."
Mr McLellan thanked the public for their patience and other emergency services for their help. Two ambulances and two fire appliances, from Kerikeri and Whangarei, were on hand in case something went wrong or police had to enter the house in a hurry.
The incident capped a busy 48 hours for Bay of Islands police.
On Tuesday, with other emergency services, they mounted a major rescue operation for a man reported missing in the Dove's Bay area.
He was found floating in Te Puna Inlet by members of the public, including some of his relatives, and rushed to Dove's Bay Marina by boat. He was unresponsive when treated by an advanced paramedic and flown to hospital in a critical condition.
Mr McLellan said the man was last night still in a critical condition in Whangarei Hospital but was stable and communicating.
"I've never seen anything like it. The people who rescued him did an outstanding job."
And yesterday morning, police cordoned off a number of streets in Moerewa, in the area behind the BP station, when a man they wanted to arrest fled and hid under a house. He later gave himself up.
