Aongatete is a settlement and rural community in the

Western Bay of Plenty District Western Bay of Plenty District is a territorial district within the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. The district envelops Tauranga City by land, and includes Matakana Island, at the entrance to Tauranga Harbour. Local government The seat of ...

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 located on State Highway 2, south of

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand (North Island) located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes through ...

and north-west of Ōmokoroa. The landscape consists of a long valley descending into the

Tauranga Harbour Tauranga Harbour is the natural tidal harbour that surrounds Tauranga CBD and the Mount Maunganui area of Tauranga, New Zealand, and which flows into the Pacific Ocean at Mount Maunganui. The harbour is effectively two flooded river systems separ ...

. The local Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park, managed by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

, including walks through puriri and kohekohe forest, along the Aongatete Stream, and to swimming holes. Ngai Tamawhariua are guardians of the 500 hectare native forest, and a

Forest and Bird Forest & Bird ( mi, Te Reo o te Taiao), also known by its formal name as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, is an environmental organisation specialising in the protection and conservation of New Zealand's indigenous f ...

volunteer group helps maintain it. A restoration trust was established in 2006 to trap or poison pests like stoats, rats, cats and possums. The Aongatete Lodge and Outdoor Education Centre, located in the forest, hosts school camps and events like the International Juggling Association Oceania Competition. The settlement includes Aongatete Coolstores, a kiwifruit orcharding, packing and coolstore business. Seeka Limited, a produce company listed on the

NZX New Zealand's Exchange (), known commonly as the NZX, is the national stock exchange for New Zealand and a publicly owned company. NZX is the parent company of Smartshares, and Wealth Technologies. On 30 August 2020, the NZX had a total of ...

, purchased the business for $25 million in March 2019.

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

installed a cell tower at Aongatete in January 2014. Ultra fast

broadband internet In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

was introduced to Aongatete in December 2019. During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, a local couple tried to cheer up the community with humorous displays featuring

teddy bears A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...

Demographics

Aongatete statistical area, which also includes Fairview, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Matahui School

Aongatete had a population of 3,279 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 486 people (17.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 714 people (27.8%) 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 1,287 households, comprising 1,641 males and 1,641 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 51.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 510 people (15.6%) aged under 15 years, 381 (11.6%) aged 15 to 29, 1,593 (48.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 792 (24.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 89.2% 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 ...

, 11.2%

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 ...

, 1.7% Pacific peoples, 3.1%

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 ...

, and 2.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 20.0, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 57.5% had no religion, 30.7% 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 ...

, 1.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% 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 ...

, 0.1% were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 0.7% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 1.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 474 (17.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 492 (17.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 465 people (16.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,332 (48.1%) people were employed full-time, 528 (19.1%) were part-time, and 72 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Education

Matahui Road School is a co-educational private primary school, with a roll of as of . The school was established in 1988 and is governed by the Matahui Road School Charitable Trust.

References

{{Western Bay of Plenty District Western Bay of Plenty District Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region Populated places around the Tauranga Harbour