Tītahi Bay, also written Titahi Bay, is a suburb of

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

in metropolitan

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, in the lower

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

of New Zealand. It lies at the foot of a short peninsula on the west coast of the

Porirua Harbour Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour, commonly known as Porirua Harbour, is a natural inlet in the south-western coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The harbour is within the main urban area of the Wellington Region, and is surrounded by the city ...

, to the north of Porirua city centre.

History

The legendary Polynesian navigator

Kupe Kupe was a legendary Polynesian explorer who, according to Māori oral history, was the first person to discover New Zealand. He is generally held to have been born to a father from Rarotonga and a mother from Raiatea, and probably spoke a ...

landed at Komanga Point, 3 kilometres west of Titahi Bay, leaving an anchor stone which today can be seen at the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

. The area was settled by

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 Co ...

for many years before the arrival of Europeans, and several pa sites are located nearby. The area was the site of many inter-

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

conflicts, notably in the 1820s, when the area was invaded by the followers of

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...

. The first European residents were whalers operating from Korohiwa, between Titahi Bay and Komanga Point. During World War II, a camp housing US military personnel was built in Titahi Bay. In December 2010, the name of the suburb was officially changed to Tītahi Bay by the addition of a macron.

Demographics

Tītahi Bay, comprising the statistical areas of Titahi Bay North and Titahi Bay South, covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². These figures do not include Onepoto, which had a population of at that time. Tītahi Bay had a population of 6,432 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 411 people (6.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 753 people (13.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,247 households, comprising 3,105 males and 3,327 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.93 males per female, with 1,536 people (23.9%) aged under 15 years, 1,251 (19.4%) aged 15 to 29, 2,889 (44.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 756 (11.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 67.5% European/

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

, 36.1%

, 19.6% Pasifika, 8.0% Asian, and 2.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 16.9, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 50.9% had no religion, 34.7% were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 2.0% had

Māori religious beliefs 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 Co ...

, 1.6% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 0.4% were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 0.7% were

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and 2.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,014 (20.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 906 (18.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 774 people (15.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,538 (51.8%) people were employed full-time, 609 (12.4%) were part-time, and 330 (6.7%) were unemployed.

Features

Titahi Bay Beach

Titahi Bay is one kilometre long and forms a bay. The boat sheds at the northern and southern ends of the beach are often featured in photographs of the area. Titahi Bay Beach Houses

Surfing is a popular activity there. Titahi Bay is a beach break that can be surfed on all tides and is generally best during periods of onshore winds. The surf breaks have a vast array of size and skill sets, from the Rocks (1.5–2 m) to the famous Locals (1-2m) to the Fishermans (inside 2-3m, outside 3-5m) mainly all from a northwesterly swell direction. This all changes when the south swell arrives, with different breaks from different swell directions. A surfing club has operated for over 30 years. Two NZ champions originate from the area. The Titahi Bay Surf Life Saving Club is located in the centre of the bay. The fossilised remains of a forest from the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

era are located at Titahi Bay and form an intertidal reef. The forest was dominated by podocarps and tree-ferns and dates from the last interglacial period 150,000–70,000 years ago.

Titahi Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade

Founded in 1945, the Titahi Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade operates an

Iveco Iveco S.p.A., an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company with headquarters in Turin, Italy. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy Commercial vehicle, commercial veh ...

EuroCargo ML120E Type 2 (Medium Pump) Appliance and currently has 20 volunteer firefighters. The Titahi Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade operates in the

New Zealand Fire Service The New Zealand Fire Service (, "Service to the People"; also known as the NZFS) was New Zealand's main firefighting body from 1 April 1976 until 1 July 2017 – at which point it was dissolved and incorporated into the new Fire and Emergency ...

's Fire Region 3.

Porirua Little Theatre

It was founded in 1950 as Titahi Bay Little Theatre by Ellinore Ginn, in the recreation hall used by

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

encamped at Titahi Bay during World War II.

Transport

Bus route 210 runs between Titahi Bay and Johnsonville Railway Station. Bus route 220 runs between Titahi Bay and Ascot Park.

Education

Titahi Bay School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, Titahi Bay North School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, and Ngati Toa School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students. St Pius X School is a co-educational state-integrated Catholic primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of . Titahi Bay Intermediate is a co-educational state intermediate for Year 7 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .

Location in films

Many location shots in the 2007

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. Known for quirky comedy films and expanding his career as a voice actor and producer on numerous projects, he ...

film ''

Eagle vs Shark ''Eagle vs Shark'' is a 2007 New Zealand romantic comedy film written and directed by Taika Waititi and financed by the New Zealand Film Commission. The film had its world premiere at Sundance in the World Cinema Dramatic section of the festiva ...

'' originated in Tītahi Bay.

Sports

Sporting organisations in Titahi Bay: *Titahi Bay Boating Club *Titahi Bay Bowling Club *Titahi Bay Golf Club *Titahi Bay Surf Life Saving Club *Titahi Bay Tennis Club *Titahi Bay Boxing Club *Titahi Bay Surfers (Porirua Surfing Troupe Inc.) The cliffs along Titahi Bay have a history of rock climbing. Titahi Bay became the most popular rock-climbing spot in the Wellington area in the 1940s.

Climate

Notable people

* Ron Farrell, rugby league player *

Sean Wade Sean Patrick Wade (born 2 February 1966 in Wellington) is a long-distance runner from New Zealand, who represented his native country in the men's marathon at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There he finished in 83rd place. Wade wa ...

, Olympic runner *

Michael Campbell Michael Shane Campbell (born 23 February 1969) is a New Zealand professional golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and, at the time, the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the ...

, international golfer *

Gary McCormick Gary McCormick is a New Zealand poet, radio and television personality, debater and raconteur. McCormick began writing poetry in 1968. His published volumes are Gypsies (with Jon Benson, 1974), Naked and Nameless (1976), Poems for the Red Engi ...

, radio and TV personality *

Emmett Skilton Emmett Skilton (born 23 September 1987) is a New Zealand actor and director. He played the lead character, Axl Johnson, in the comedy-drama, The Almighty Johnsons, and most recently had roles in Avatar: The Way of Water and American comedy s ...

, film and television actor * Lynnette Brooky, sportsperson *

Tamati Ellison Tamati Edward Ellison (born 1 April 1983) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. Career Domestic Ellison was born in Wellington, and made his debut for the Wellington Lions in the 2003 NPC final defeat against Auckland. He also captained ...

, sportsperson *

TJ Perenara Thomas Tekanapu Rawakata Perenara (born 23 January 1992), commonly known as TJ Perenara, is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a half-back for the Black Rams Tokyo in the Japan Rugby League One. He has previously played for the Hu ...

, All Black

References

{{coord, 41, 06, S, 174, 50, E, display=title, region:NZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Suburbs of Porirua Bays of the Wellington Region