Bethlehem is a suburb of

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

in 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 ...

. Originally a small independent town, it has now been absorbed by Tauranga and comprises a number of subdivisions including Bethlehem Heights, Sterling Gate, La Cumbre, Saint Andrews, and Mayfield. It is situated on State Highway 2, and has amenities such as the Bethlehem Town Centre shopping centre.

Demographics

Bethlehem covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Bethlehem had a population of 8,634 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 1,584 people (22.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 3,078 people (55.4%) 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 3,228 households, comprising 4,044 males and 4,593 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.88 males per female, with 1,473 people (17.1%) aged under 15 years, 1,068 (12.4%) aged 15 to 29, 3,369 (39.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 2,724 (31.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 85.8% 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 ...

, 10.8%

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 ...

, 1.5% Pacific peoples, 8.3%

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 1.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 24.7, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 40.2% had no religion, 49.0% 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 ...

, 1.0% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% 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 ...

, 0.2% 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 1.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,569 (21.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,206 (16.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,392 people (19.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,694 (37.6%) people were employed full-time, 1,053 (14.7%) were part-time, and 177 (2.5%) were unemployed.

Marae

Bethlehem has two

Ngāti Ranginui Ngāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends from Waihi in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, to south of Te Puke in the south, and to Tauranga in the east. The rohe does not exten ...

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

: * Hangarau or Peterehema Marae and its Hangarau is affiliated with

Ngāti Hangarau Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

. * Te Wairoa Marae and its Kahu Tapu meeting house are affiliated with

Ngāti Kahu Ngāti Kahu is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kahu take their name from their founding ancestress, Kahutianui, and link their ancestry back to the wak ...

Ngāti Pango Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, a ...

and

Ngāti Rangi Ngāti Rangi or Ngāti Rangituhia is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. Contemporary settlement is mainly around Waiouru, Ohakune, and the Upper Whanganui River in the central North Island. The iwi's area of interest extends north from the Paret ...

Economy

Bethlehem Town Centre

Bethlehem Town Centre is a shopping area covering 20,000 m². It has 1000 carparks and about 50 retailers, including

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

and

Smiths City Smiths City is a New Zealand retail chain selling furniture and home appliances. It was originally founded by Henry Cooper Smith in 1918 as City Market initially involved with auctioning grain and product. History Early history In 1918, Henr ...

Education

Bethlehem Campus

The local Bethlehem Campus includes several Christian educational institutions on a single site. Bethlehem College is a co-educational state-integrated school for Year 1 to 13 students. with a roll of as of . In January 2013 a van of Bethlehem College students and former students crashed in a small village in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, while they were on a volunteer mission at Ark Quest Academy. Student Caitlin Dickson was killed, as were married couple Brian and Grace Johnston. Kenyan bus driver Christopher Mmata was also killed. In 2022 Bethlehem College received considerable media attention when it was revealed that the school contract had a clause in it which made parents and their children agree that marriage is between a man and a woman. Allegations of homophobic bullying within the school came to light following this, resulting in a petition for the

Education Review Office The Education Review Office (ERO) (Māori: ''Te Tari Arotake Mātauranga'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with reviewing and publicly reporting on the quality of education and care of students in all New Zealand school ...

and the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

to investigate the school, launched by

Shaneel Lal Shaneel Shavneel Lal (born 22 January 2000) is a Fijian-New Zealand LGBT rights activist, known for spearheading the movement to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand. Lal is a model, a columnist for ''New Zealand Herald'', and a political com ...

. Bethlehem Tertiary Institute, formerly the Bethlehem Institute of Education, is a tertiary institution offering Degrees and Diplomas in teaching, social work and counselling and a Master of Professional Practice. Over 400 students are enrolled and students may study either onsite with a 'flipped classroom' approach or through innovative distance learning. The academy was founded in 1988 as a primary school with 100 students, and has expanded since to offer secondary and tertiary education. Notable former students include

Kiri Allan Kiritapu Lyndsay Allan (born 1984) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament (MP) in the New Zealand House of Representatives. A member of the Labour Party, she entered the House as a list MP in 2017, and won the East Coast electora ...

(Member of Parliament),

David Farrier David Farrier (born 25 December 1982) is a New Zealand journalist and actor. He has worked in news and documentary, including features on New Zealand television and co-directing the internationally distributed documentary film ''Tickled'' (2016 ...

(journalist and actor), Michael Ashton (makeup artist), Sam Tanner (1500m athlete) and

Mika Vukona Mika John Vukona (born 13 May 1982) is a Fijian-born New Zealand former professional basketball player. Between 2003 and 2018, he spent 13 seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL and helped them win four championships. He wa ...

(professional basketball player).

Other schools

Bethlehem has three other schools. Bethlehem School is a co-educational state primary school, with a roll of . Tauranga Adventist School is a co-educational state-integrated

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

primary school, with a roll of . Te Wharekura o Mauao is a co-educational state secondary school, with a roll of .

References

External links

Bethlehem School website

Tauranga Adventist School website
{{Tauranga Suburbs of Tauranga Populated places around the Tauranga Harbour