Marsden Point is a broad, flat peninsula that is the southern head of the

Whangārei Harbour Whangārei Harbour is a large harbour on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The harbour stretches from Whangārei City, and the termination of the Hātea River, south east around the Onerahi peninsula and out to the Pacific Oce ...

entrance on the east coast of Northland, New Zealand, southeast of the city of

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and ...

. It is the location of

Marsden Point Oil Refinery Marsden Point Oil Refinery is a 96,000 BPD refinery located at Marsden Point, Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand. It is the only oil refinery in New Zealand, and is operated by Refining NZ. The point was named after Samuel Marsden. The regional sur ...

and the Northport cargo port.

Geography

The point is a broad, flat barrier spit, a peninsula of sand dunes,

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

and estuarine deposits, that forms the southern head of the

entrance. It is southeast of

and around from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

's CBD. The flat, developed terrain contrasts starkly with the forest-covered peaks and pinnacles of the mountains across the channel on the northern head, including the 420-metre

Mount Manaia Mount Manaia is a dominant landmark approximately 30 kilometres southeast of Whangārei city on the Whangārei Heads peninsula. Standing 420 metres, the summit offers outstanding views of the Marsden Point Oil Refinery, Bream Bay and th ...

. The point is at the northern end of the 22-kilometre long

Bream Bay Bream Bay is an embayment and area south-east of Whangārei, on the east coast of New Zealand. The bay runs from Bream Head, at the mouth of Whangārei Harbour, 22 kilometres south to the headland of Bream Tail, east of Langs Beach and north ...

, which has mostly white-sand beaches. Easy access to beaches and recreational fishing grounds, with a climate of warm summers and mild winters, make the area a popular holiday spot and residential location. It is in the

Whangarei District Whangarei District is a territorial authority district in the Northland Region of New Zealand that is governed by the Whangarei District Council. The district is made up in area largely by rural land, and includes a fifth of the Northland Region. ...

and the

Northland Region The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...

local government areas. The Greater Marsden Point Area extends from One Tree Point, within Whangārei Harbour, to just south of the Ruakākā township on the open coast, an area of some 2,500 hectares.

People

The

tangata whenua In New Zealand, tangata whenua () is a Māori term that literally means "people of the land". It can refer to either a specific group of people with historical claims to a district, or more broadly the Māori people as a whole. Etymology Accordi ...

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several ce ...

are the Patuharakeke hapu, whose ''rohe'' (area) stretches on the seaward side from a point at the north of

Mangawhai Heads Mangawhai Heads is a township in Northland, New Zealand. Waipu is 21 kilometres northwest, and Mangawhai is 5 kilometres southwest. Mangawhai Heads Beach is an intermediate-level surf beach. The Mangawhai Cliffs Walkway, north of the townshi ...

to the mouth of the

Mangapai River The Mangapai River is a river of the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is perhaps better described as a silty arm of Whangarei Harbour, located due south of Whangarei. Its average width is some , but the silty nature of its co ...

, just south of Whangārei.

Industry

, the country’s only oil refinery, opened on the tip of the point in 1964, with its jetty in the harbour entrance channel. Northport, the main cargo port for Northland, is further up the channel, beside the refinery, and opened in 2002. A

Carter Holt Harvey __NOTOC__ Carter Holt Harvey Limited is a privately-owned New Zealand-based company controlled by Rank Group Limited, the corporate vehicle of the country's richest man, Graeme Hart. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the company has three main div ...

laminated veneer lumber Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is an engineered wood product that uses multiple layers of thin wood assembled with adhesives. It is typically used for headers, beams, rimboard, and edge-forming material. LVL offers several advantages over typi ...

factory, built in 2001, is just to the south-west of the refinery. The

Marsden A Marsden A was a 250 MW oil-fired power station near the Marsden Point Oil Refinery at Marsden Point, Ruakaka, Northland, New Zealand. It was built between 1964 and 1966 and commissioned in 1967. It acted as an emergency reserve power stati ...

and

Marsden B Marsden B was an unused 250 MW oil-fired power station near the Marsden Point Oil Refinery at Marsden Point, Ruakaka, Northland, New Zealand. Due to rising oil prices, the plant was mothballed in 1978 without ever being commissioned. The M ...

oil-fired power stations were built near Ruakākā in the 1960s and 1970s, and dismantled in 2011–2012. A

Marsden Point Branch The Marsden Point Branch is a branch line railway, which is to be built in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It will diverge from the North Auckland Line at Oakleigh, south of Whangārei, and serve Northport at Marsden Po ...

railway is proposed to be built from the

North Auckland Line The North Auckland Line (designation NAL) is a major section of New Zealand's national rail network, and is made up of the following parts: the portion of track that runs northward from Westfield Junction to Newmarket Station; from there, wes ...

to Northport.

References

{{coord, -35.840986, 174.494734, type:landmark_region:NZ, display=title Peninsulas of the Northland Region Whangarei District Populated places in the Northland Region