Otangarei is a suburb 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 ...

, in

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 ...

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 ...

. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on ...

gives a translation of "place of group of people leaping" for ''Ōtāngarei''. Te Kotahitanga Marae o Otangarei is the community's local

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 ...

. It is a meeting ground for the

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

of Uri o Te Tangata, and features Te Puawaitanga Hou meeting house.

Demographics

Otangarei covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Otangarei had a population of 2,109 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 474 people (29.0%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 30 people (−1.4%) 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 585 households, comprising 1,071 males and 1,044 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. The median age was 28.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 624 people (29.6%) aged under 15 years, 465 (22.0%) aged 15 to 29, 813 (38.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 210 (10.0%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 30.2% European/Pākehā, 78.4% Māori, 11.1% Pacific peoples, 1.7% Asian, and 1.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 5.7, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 44.4% had no religion, 32.6% were Christian, 14.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.1% were Hindu, 0.4% were Muslim, 0.1% were Buddhist and 0.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 57 (3.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 462 (31.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $17,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 30 people (2.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 435 (29.3%) people were employed full-time, 189 (12.7%) were part-time, and 177 (11.9%) were unemployed.

Education

Te Kura o Otangarei is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 1 and students as of It opened in 1955 as Otangarei Primary School and opened its full immersion Māori language unit in 1996. It expanded to include year 7 and 8 students in 2004, and adopted its current name in 2006. The school offers a choice between full immersion

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

classes, bilingual classes or mainstream education. As of 2018, there are also adult education classes in Te Reo Māori, Tikanga Marae and Waiata on a weekly basis for both the Otangarei and wider communities held at Te Puawaitanga Marae by Shaquille Shortland.

Sport

Rugby

City RFC are based in Otangarei, Whangārei and play in the Northland Rugby Union South Zone competitions. The club colours are blue & white hoops.

Rugby league

City Knights (formerly Kensington Knights) are based in Otangarei, Whangarei and play in the Whangarei City & Districts rugby league competitions.

Notes

{{Whangarei District Populated places in the Northland Region Suburbs of Whangārei