Blackhead is a small coastal settlement in

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is located on the east 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 ...

, about 74 kilometres south of Napier. Blackhead Beach is a sandy beach, similar to other Hawke's Bay beaches such as Shoal Beach. The original Māori name for the beach is Te Pariomahu and this is more commonly used by local hapū. There is a marine reserve located offshore from Blackhead Beach. Activities such as swimming, diving, sun bathing, surfing and other recreational water activities are popular at Blackhead. Commercial water operations such as fishing are not very common at Blackhead due to the nearby marine reserve forbidding harm to the marine wildlife. Fishing outside of the reserve is common. The settlement includes a few coastal beach properties and a campground.

Te Angiangi Marine Reserve Te Angiangi Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering a marine area of in the Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It was established in 1997 and is administered by the Department of Conservation. The reserve protects a piece of t ...

covers an area offshore from Blackhead. School groups, families, and visitors to the area can explore the tidal pools at low tide and dive in the pools within the Marine Reserve so long as no marine life is moved or taken. Scuba diving and snorkelling in the waters within the Te Angiangi Marine Reserve enables the public to enjoy the rich marine life in its natural habitat. There is an information board at Blackhead about the many coastal birds in the area.

Marae

The Pourerere Marae, located near Blackhead, is a tribal meeting ground for the

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

hapū of

Ngāi Te Ōatua 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 ...

and

Ngāti Tamaterā Ngāti Tamaterā is a Māori '' iwi'' (tribe) of the Hauraki region of New Zealand, descended from Tamaterā, the second son of Marutūāhu. It is a major tribe within the Marutūāhu confederation and its leaders have been prominent in Hauraki ...

References

{{coord, -40.169, 176.825, type:city_region:NZ, display=title Central Hawke's Bay District Beaches of the Hawke's Bay Region Populated places in the Hawke's Bay Region