Community spirit, cool cafes and amazing walks add to the gold mining town's charm, finds Elisabeth Easther.

Five people required medical attention after getting into difficulty in the water near Bay of Plenty today.

Sure, there's gold in 'them thar hills' but there's far more to do in the mining town than a weekend is time for, find Donna McIntyre and her family.

A cyclist has died in hospital more than two weeks after he was hit by a car in Waihi.

Heart valves from a 3-year-old boy who died in a river just 200m from his home will save the lives of up to three other infants.

The mother of a 3-year-old boy found dead in a river 200 metres from his home has posted a tribute to her son on Facebook.

A Waihi man who is on trial for the New Year's day murder of an expatriate New Zealander told his friend the next day "I think I stabbed someone last night".

The wife of a man fatally stabbed at New Year's in Waihi Beach told a jury of her encounter of a "non-threatening" and "polite" teen accused of killing him.

High Court hears a man accused of killing a man in Waihi Beach bragged to New Year's revellers he was "the king" and that he had "shanked someone."

Donna McIntyre escapes the city on a campervan holiday.

Willie Apiata has paid tribute to his mother, calling her a hero who kept the family together through difficult times.

A New Year's Eve party at a Waihi Beach home has become part of the police inquiry into the killing of a 64-year-old holidaymaker, allegedly by a local teenager.

As a Waihi teen appears in court charged with the murder of Robert Wilkinson, friends of the victim remember him as an "all round nice guy".

A teenager has been charged with the murder of a holidaymaker at Waihi early on New Year's Day.

Stressed Waihi homeowners are close to signing their houses over to an American mining giant after sudden ground movement which affected their properties.

Several knives have been collected by police investigating the murder of a holidaymaker at Waihi Beach early on New Year's Day.

The family of a man murdered in a brutal New Year attack at Waihi Beach have broken their silence and appealed for the killer come forward.

The man stabbed outside a caravan early on New Year's Day has died in hospital, prompting police to ramp up their investigation to a homicide.

Waihi police are asking for New Year's Eve revellers to supply their festive photographs, in the hope police can identify a man who critically stabbed a holidaymaker.