Ōhiwa is a rural settlement in the

Ōpōtiki District Ōpōtiki District is a territorial authority district in the North Island of New Zealand. The Ōpōtiki District Council is headquartered in the largest town, Ōpōtiki. The district falls within the Bay of Plenty region. Lyn Riesterer has be ...

and

Bay of Plenty Region The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway ...

of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. It is on a headland on the eastern side of Ōhiwa Harbour, and on the western side of the

Waiotahe River The Waiotahe River (formerly ''Waiotahi River'') is a river of the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows north from its origins west of Oponae and east of Matahi to reach the Bay of Plenty west of Ōpōtiki. On 27 August ...

mouth. The New Zealand Geographic Board officially included the macron in the name from 16 July 2020. The Ferry Hotel was opened at Ōhiwa in 1873, together with a ferry service to

Ōhope Ōhope, until 1974 known as Ohope Beach, is a beach settlement in the eastern Bay of Plenty, on the northeast coast of the North Island of New Zealand, six kilometres east and over the hill, from Whakatāne. Name The New Zealand Ministry for Cu ...

. A post office opened in the growing town in 1877. Unstable sand and erosion from 1915 destroyed the town. A second attempt to create sections for baches in the 1960s was also lost to erosion in 1978.

Onekawa Te Mawhai Regional Park Onekawa Te Mawhai Regional Park is a protected area at Ōhiwa in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island, owned and managed by Bay of Plenty Regional Council in partnership with the Upokorehe hapū. The park covers 26.8 hectares, ...

was created on the headland in 2010. It incorporates areas of archaeological importance from long Māori use of the area, including Onekawa

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive terraces – and also to fortified villages. Pā sites o ...

. A local campground provides accommodation.

Demographics

Ōhiwa is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, which covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². It is part of the wider Waiotahi statistical area. Ōhiwa had a population of 171 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 15 people (9.6%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 6 people (−3.4%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 69 households, comprising 84 males and 93 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.9 males per female. The median age was 55.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 27 people (15.8%) aged under 15 years, 15 (8.8%) aged 15 to 29, 87 (50.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 48 (28.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 89.5% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, 24.6%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

, and 1.8%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 61.4% had no religion, 28.1% were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 7.0% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.8% were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and 3.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 42 (29.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 15 (10.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $32,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 27 people (18.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 69 (47.9%) people were employed full-time, 18 (12.5%) were part-time, and 6 (4.2%) were unemployed.

References

{{Ōpōtiki District Ōpōtiki District Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region