A little girl missing in Mount Maunganui overnight has been located safe and well.

October 1 will forever be etched into the minds of Mount Maunganui residents - it was the day a tragedy brought an entire city together.

Police want help finding a 24-year-old woman missing since Sunday.

A person has died after being hit by a train at a railway crossing in the Tauranga suburb of Otumoetai.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a motorcyclist suffered head injuries in a crash in the Bay of Plenty last night.

Tauranga police have asked for the public's help to find Elisha Jade Smith, 16, who went missing on Tuesday, September 1.

The Government says it intends to sell a majority of Tauranga's state houses to a single buyer or consortium.

Car imports should be moved from Auckland to Northport at Marsden Pt, says Ports of Tauranga boss Mark Cairns.

Mature jobseekers in New Zealand often face prejudice when searching for work because of their age, a new survey has found.

A humbling and fitting farewell for war hero, father and friend Les Munro was held in Tauranga this afternoon.

Aucklanders are leaving in such numbers that half the house sales in the Waikato outside Hamilton and nearly a quarter in Tauranga are to those from the big city.

A man who escaped custody from Tauranga District Court last month has been arrested in Northland.

One person suffered minor injuries after their car struck a light post in Tauranga this afternoon.

A fire is a woodshed in under investigation this morning after a person was seriously injured in the blaze.

A car has left the road and crashed into a house in Tauranga this afternoon.

Motorists are driving in excess of 125 km/h on the new Tauranga Eastern Link road and police fear someone could be killed.

A manhunt is underway in Tauranga after a man appearing in court for wounding with intent jumped out of the dock and took off.

There are some tall tales that ring true enough to feed into the legend of Rudd - sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

Sunshine and a better paying job were reasons enough to make the Kontzes pack up in Palmerston North and move to Tauranga two years ago.

Tauranga and Whakatane have been New Zealand's fastest growing towns over the past 80 years.

Three young women have been rescued from the Kaimai Range by Tauranga police and search and rescue.

A 42-year-old Tauranga man was in hospital with serious head injuries after the assault.

Wind gusts and a boisterous swell 137km off the Tauranga coast did not prevent a helicopter medic from landing on a stricken yacht to rescue its two crew.

A New Zealand man has died while playing a game of squash in London.

Gale force winds blowing across Auckland have forced the cancellation of some ferry services and have made driving conditions hazardous.

Wild weather has continued to batter the Bay of Plenty region with high winds flipping a plane on the runway at Tauranga Airport. Plus: Aerial photos of the devastation.

High winds have causes a plane to flip on the runway at Tauranga Airport.

Tornadoes smashed through Mt Maunganui last night, damaging homes, ripping roofs from buildings and sending trampolines and outdoor furniture flying. ASB Baypark Stadium also lost parts of its grandstand roof. Firefighters responded to numerous calls about roofs being ripped of houses around Lodge Ave and Links Ave. Mount Maunganui Intermediate is closed after announcing that it had suffered "considerable damage".

Police say the man who died in a fire at a sleep-out in the Bay of Plenty was an 18-year-old local.