Kawakawa is a small town in the Northland Region of northern New Zealand. It had a population of 1347 at the 2006 census, down from 1401 in 2001. Kawakawa developed as a service town when coal was found in the area in 1861, but there is no longer coal mining here. The economy is based on farming.

The town is known as "Train town", because the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway runs down the middle of its main street on the way to Opua. 8 km of the 17 km track reopened in 2008.[4]


Entrance to the Hundertwasser toilet building
The town is also famous for its Hundertwasser toilet block, designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who was a resident of the town from 1975 until his death in 2000.