In the drink named Lemon & Paeroa, what is paeroa?

Paeroa is mineral water which comes from the town of Paeroa in the North Island of New Zealand. The town of Paeroa (from a Maori word meaning “long ridge”) was founded in the early 1880s as a port for the Ohinemuri goldfield, 5 miles (8 km) southeast. There is a 7-metre (23 ft) tall Lemon & Paeroa bottle statue in the township which is one of the most photographed locations in the country. It is also considered a New Zealand icon.

The spring where the mineral water comes from is located near the Ohinemuri and Waihou rivers. The land at the spring was originally used to service gold mines, and was a cow paddock when it was discovered. Locals frequently visited the spring following its discovery to drink the water.

James Coote (circa 1840 - 1914) and Alexander Hogg (9 February, 1841 – 17 November, 1920) , who were both from Paeroa, owned the land where the spring was located. In August 1887 they subdivided the property, transferring the plot with the spring (13 acres) to Sir John Logan Campbell (3 November, 1817 – 22 June 1912). The land was bought by timber merchant James McAndrew in 1896, who built a sawmill there. The land then transferred through several owners during the next decade until December 1908, when Robert Fewell (30 August, 1873 - 8 April, 1964) and his brother-in-law, Frank Brinkler, bought the sawmill and the land around it including the spring.

Mixed with lemon juice, it is sold commercially as a soft drink branded as Lemon & Paeroa, or L&P.