Te Korowai-o-Te-Tonga Peninsula, also known as South Head and by its former name of the South Kaipara Peninsula, is a long peninsula in 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, extending north along the western edge of the

Kaipara Harbour Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Auckl ...

for some from near

Helensville Helensville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. New Zealand State Highway 16, State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauk ...

to the harbour's mouth. The peninsula was officially renamed in 2013 as part of a

Treaty of Waitangi settlement Claims and settlements under the Treaty of Waitangi have been a significant feature of New Zealand politics since the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the Waitangi Tribunal that was established by that act to hear claims. Successive governments h ...

. The name, which is

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 ...

for "The cloak of the south", reflects the peninsula's geographical role in guarding the southern half of the Kaipara Harbour from the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

and prevailing westerly winds. The mouth of the Kaipara Harbour separates the peninsula from the larger

Pouto Peninsula The Pouto Peninsula is a landform on the northern Kaipara Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. The Peninsula runs in the north west to south east direction and is approximately 55 km long. The width varies from about 5.4 km to about 14& ...

to the north.

Geography

The Peninsula is mostly low-lying or gently undulating, rising to only some at its highest point. It is bounded in the west by the Tasman Sea, with the long beaches of Te Oneone Rangatira Beach and

Muriwai Beach Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai ...

along its Tasman coast. The settlement of

Muriwai Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai R ...

lies immediately to the south of the peninsula. The peninsula is a sand dune that formed geologically very recently, within the last two million years. Inland from the Tasman Sea coast is the long strip of Woodhill Forest, which is bounded in the east by a string of low-lying lakes, of which the largest and northernmost is Lake Rototoa. The lakes were traditionally Ngā Tapuwae o Kawharu, "The Footsteps of Kawharu", referring to the famed

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are oth ...

warrior Kawharu, who was asked by

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te ...

to travel to the South Kaipara area to assist them in military conflicts. The lakes are an important habitat for many bird species, such as the New Zealand grebe, New Zealand scaup. To the peninsula's east lie numerous small streams and inlets which feed Kaipara Harbour. The northern tip of the peninsula is dominated by a large area of sand and mud, known as the Papakanui Spit and the Waionui Inlet. The sandspit is a roosting site for many migratory

wading bird 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

species. The northwest of the peninsula, adjacent to the Papakanui Spit, is an extensive sand dune used by the

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...

for weapons training.

History

The Waionui Inlet to the north of the peninsula is the site of a number of

midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

s dating to the archaic period of

Māori history The history of the Māori began with the arrival of Polynesian settlers in New Zealand (''Aotearoa'' in Māori), in a series of ocean migrations in canoes starting from the late 13th or early 14th centuries. Over several centuries of isolation, ...

. European settlers began purchasing land on the peninsula from the 1870s. In the 1880s,

Alfred Buckland Alfred Buckland (17 December 1825 – 12 June 1903) was a New Zealand landowner, auctioneer, farmer, pastoralist and businessman. His house, Highwic, is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I structure, with registration number 1 ...

developed much of the peninsula as a cattle run. The land was subdivided into individual farming blocks in the 1920s.

Demographics

South Head statistical area covers the entire peninsula, including the settlement of Shelly Beach, but does not include

Parakai Parakai is a town in the North Island of New Zealand, sited 43 kilometres (27 miles) northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. Helensville is about 3 km (2 miles) to the south-east, and Waione ...

. It covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². South Head had a population of 2,595 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 555 people (27.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 717 people (38.2%) 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 903 households, comprising 1,317 males and 1,281 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. The median age was 42.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 546 people (21.0%) aged under 15 years, 384 (14.8%) aged 15 to 29, 1,278 (49.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 387 (14.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 87.7% European/Pākehā, 18.6% Māori, 3.9% Pacific peoples, 2.9% Asian, and 2.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 18.2, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 60.8% had no religion, 28.0% were Christian, 2.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.1% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.2% were Buddhist and 1.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 327 (16.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 375 (18.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $31,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 390 people (19.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,083 (52.9%) people were employed full-time, 330 (16.1%) were part-time, and 54 (2.6%) were unemployed.

References

{{Rodney Local Board Area Peninsulas of the Auckland Region Rodney District Kaipara Harbour

Geography

History

Demographics

See also

References