Tawa is the northernmost suburb within the Wellington city boundary, located roughly 15 km north of Wellington's CBD between Churton Park and Porirua in the North Island of New Zealand. It takes its name from the broadleaf tree, which was once prolific throughout the area, although its most famous tree is the Bucket Tree, a large macrocarpa with the topiary of an upside-down bucket. Tawa is also known for its large number of churches, representing a wide range of Christian denominations.

Within Tawa, there are a number of named areas: Lindenvale, Westhaven, Redwood and Southgate to the west and Linden, Greenacres and Sundale to the east of the central Tawa area.

Tawa lies in a wide section of a roughly north/south valley which opens up on the north into the Porirua Basin. The valley is about 4.5 km in length (north-south) and 2.5 km wide (east-west). The Belmont range, to the east, separates the Tawa valley from the Hutt Valley, while the Ohariu Valley is located to the west of Tawa. The northern entrance to Tawa is where Kenepuru Drive becomes Main Road, and its southern entrance is the Tawa exit of the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway (State Highway 1). The Porirua Stream flows northwards along the valley, fed by a number of tributaries, including the Takapu Stream.

Loosely following the path of the Porirua Stream through the valley is the North Island Main Trunk line; the Kāpiti Line of the Wellington suburban railway, operated by Transdev Wellington (under the trading name Metlink). Slightly to the east, the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway, a dual-carriageway section of State Highway 1, follows a similar path. Both have played an important role in the suburb's development and in providing access. The literally named Main Road runs down the centre of the suburb and provides access to the smaller suburban streets. Main Road and Kenepuru Drive were part of State Highway 1 before the building of the motorway in the 1950s.

Tawa has five suburban passenger railway-stations: Kenepuru, Linden, Tawa, Redwood and Takapu Road. A significant^[quantify] number of commuters travel daily by train into the Wellington CBD to work. As a result, trains are a significant component of Tawa's public transport, but the suburb is also served by a bus route linking Porirua and Johnsonville. Despite these bus and train services, a substantial area on Tawa's fringes remains over 400 metres from public transport, particularly in Redwood, Greenacres and Linden. Measured this way, while the parts of Tawa near the railway and Main Road are among the best-served suburbs in Wellington in terms of public transport, these areas on the fringes are among the worst served. As a result, park-and-ride facilities provided at Takapu Road, Redwood, and Tawa railway stations are normally full on weekdays and parking near Linden station is at a premium, with all on-street parks close to the station occupied.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009 the Wellington City Council commenced work on a shared pedestrian/cycle trail through Tawa to Porirua City Centre. The trail comprises a combination of new paths following the Porirua Stream and rail corridor, and some widened existing footpaths. The Wellington City section of the trail, between Takapu Road railway station in the south and Kenepuru railway station in the north, was completed in 2013. The Porirua City section of the trail was built on an existing unsealed trail and completed about March 2014.

Before 1959, Tawa was known as Tawa Flat, thought to be a reference to the Tawa trees that grew there and the flat and arable floor of the valley as it widened out in the Tawa area. The first known use of the name "Tawa Flat" was by John Woodman who used it as his address in the electoral roll for the Wellington Country District, published in the Wellington Provincial Gazette of 28 August 1854. As others living in the area gave their address in the 1854 roll as "Porirua Road", it is possible that John Woodman was the originator of the name.

When New Zealand became a separate Colony from New South Wales in 1841, the royal charter established three provinces. The Tawa area became part of New Munster which included that part of the North Island south of the Patea River and the whole of the South Island. In 1846 the British Parliament passed the first constitution act, the New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 which reformed the provinces and the Tawa area became part of New Ulster which now included all of the North Island. The provinces were reformed again with the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 which established six provinces with Tawa included in the Wellington Province. Provincial Government was abolished in 1876 and replaced with 36 borough councils and 63 county councils. The Tawa area became part of the Porirua Riding of the Hutt County, formed in 1877. The Hutt County covered all the area south of the Waikanae River and West of the Remutaka Ranges that lay outside of Wellington City. As the population of local areas grew, a number of local boroughs were split off from the Hutt County. In 1908, a smaller Makara County with offices in Porirua was formed from the Mākara and Porirua Ridings or the south-western part of the Hutt County. The new Makara County included Porirua, Tītahi Bay, and Tawa Flat, and all of the area to the south lying to the west of Wellington City outside the areas covered by Wellington City and the new and independent boroughs of Miramar, Karori, Onslow, and Johnsonville.