Ōhope, until 1974 known as Ohope Beach, is a beach settlement in the eastern

Bay of Plenty 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 Runawa ...

, on the northeast coast of the

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 ...

of New Zealand, six kilometres east and over the hill, from

Whakatāne Whakatāne ( , ) is the seat of the Bay of Plenty region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. Whakatāne District is the encompassing territorial authority, whi ...

Name

The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on ...

gives a translation of "place of hemain body of an army" for . On 10 October 1974, the name of the settlement was formally changed from Ohope Beach to Ohope. On 21 June 2019, the official name of the town was changed to Ōhope (with a macron) by the

New Zealand Geographic Board The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) was established by the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946, which has since been replaced by the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008. Althoug ...

Demographics

Ōhope had a population of 3,177 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 330 people (11.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 324 people (11.4%) 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 1,350 households. There were 1,545 males and 1,632 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 51.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 498 people (15.7%) aged under 15 years, 378 (11.9%) aged 15 to 29, 1,410 (44.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 891 (28.0%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 89.6% European/Pākehā, 14.9% Māori, 1.0% Pacific peoples, 3.2% Asian, and 2.5% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 22.3%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 51.4% had no religion, 37.2% were Christian, 0.6% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.6% were Buddhist and 1.6% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 771 (28.8%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 366 (13.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $36,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,215 (45.4%) people were employed full-time, 438 (16.3%) were part-time, and 60 (2.2%) were unemployed.

Holiday destination

It is a popular holiday destination during the New Zealand summer, with several kilometres of safe

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

beaches. The western end of the beach is popular for

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

during the summer and Christmas period.

Town facilities

Ōhope is home to the

Ohope Beach Primary School Ohope Beach Primary School is located in Ōhope, 6 kilometres from Whakatāne, on the Northeast Coast of the North Island in New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists o ...

, which has five classrooms.

Gallery

image:Ohope Tua Tuas.JPG, Digging for

tuatua ''Paphies subtriangulata'' is a species of edible bivalve clam known as tuatua in the Māori language, a member of the family Mesodesmatidae and endemic to New Zealand. It is found on all three of the main New Zealand islands, buried in fine clea ...

on Ōhope Beach in summer image:Ohope overview.JPG, Ōhope from above

References

External links

Coastal Reserves and Beaches, Whakatane District Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ōhope Whakatane District Beaches of the Bay of Plenty Region Tourist attractions in the Bay of Plenty Region Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region