The whales became stranded and died despite the desperate efforts of hundreds of holiday-makers.
An outgoing tide at Colville Bay, north of Coromandel township, caught 63 cows early yesterday morning.
Many of the cows had calves.
Fishermen noticed the whales, most between 3m and 4m in length, struggling about 300m offshore about 6am.
They called emergency services.
When Department of Conservation workers arrived two hours later, 20 whales had already died in the shallow, flat bay.
Up to 500 residents, iwi and holidaymakers worked with Doc and whale protection group Project Jonah with wet blankets, bed sheets and buckets to keep the remaining whales wet.
When the tide approached in the early afternoon, the remaining 42 whales were refloated.
"The community here were phenomenal," Doc spokeswoman Katrina Knill said.
"It was sad to lose a few.
"But we were just lucky it was the middle of the holidays and so many people - up to eight per whale - could help out."
She said the slightly overcast weather had also helped.
The lack of direct sunlight meant the whales took longer to dehydrate.
There were fresh signs of life among the mass stranding.
One cow gave birth to a calf minutes after being refloated.
Doc planned to remain at the beach overnight to ensure the whales, many of which were still disoriented, would not become stranded again.
There was a murmur of relief as the pod seemed to be heading out to open water.
However, many helpers were distressed by the sight of the bodies of the dying.
Mike Steers, an English tourist who began helping with the rescue at 9am, said his wife had been in tears all afternoon.
"She felt so helpless.
"We were glad we could do a little.
"But it is a difficult sight."
Doc senior adviser Mike Donoghue said the bay was a typical place for whales to become disoriented.
"It is shallow, sloping and sandy.
"Their sonar would have shattered in the sand and had a weak signal return."
He said it was also possible whales become stuck while waiting for sick members of the pod to swim out of the bay.
The dead whales were being supervised overnight by local iwi Ngati Tamatera before a burial ceremony today.
Security was required as some local fishermen were keen to remove the whale meat and teeth.
Iwi member David Hamon said they were ensuring the surrounding land was not sacred ground before they placed the whales in 150cm graves at the northern end of the bay.
He said he would sleep on the beach next to the whales as a sign of respect for the dead animals.
"It's a sad moment.
"Maori have a strong, strong connection with whales.
"We treat them as we would our dead on the marae.
"You don't leave your dead by themselves".
Mass strandings of pilot whales were common on New Zealand shores.
It was the fourth mass stranding of whales in the Coromandel in the past 20 years.
