Waitangirua is a suburb of

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

City approximately 22km north of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

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 ...

. Waitangirua was established during the 1960s, almost exclusively as a Government housing development for New Zealand's burgeoning working class immigrant population. As such the ethnic demographic of Waitangirua at the time of establishment comprising primarily Pacific Island, Scottish, Indian, Irish, English and Chinese as well as

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 ...

. Many of the original settling families still live in Waitangirua today. The hilly suburb until the late 90s was almost semi-rural surrounded by farmland with

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

to the North East, Pauatahanui Inlet and Estuary further to the North, and the Belmont hills and

Hutt Valley The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zeala ...

to the East. The diverse multi-racial nature of Waitangirua makes for a colourful community dominated by a vibrant and exuberant youth culture. Several scenes from the

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at t ...

film ''

Eagle vs Shark ''Eagle vs Shark'' is a 2007 New Zealand romantic comedy film written and directed by Taika Waititi (in his directorial debut) and financed by the New Zealand Film Commission. The film had its world premiere at Sundance in the World Cinema Dram ...

'' were shot on location in Waitangirua.

Demographics

Waitangirua statistical area covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Waitangirua had a population of 4,398 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 378 people (9.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 327 people (8.0%) 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 1,044 households. There were 2,097 males and 2,301 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.91 males per female. The median age was 26.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 1,323 people (30.1%) aged under 15 years, 1,128 (25.6%) aged 15 to 29, 1,599 (36.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 345 (7.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 22.0% European/Pākehā, 28.8% Māori, 66.0% Pacific peoples, 8.3% Asian, and 1.9% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 29.9%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 23.7% had no religion, 62.2% were Christian, 0.7% were Hindu, 1.8% were Muslim, 1.2% were Buddhist and 2.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 219 (7.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 843 (27.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $19,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,230 (40.0%) people were employed full-time, 390 (12.7%) were part-time, and 297 (9.7%) were unemployed.

Education

Corinna School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of as of . Natone Park School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of . Tairangi School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of . Te Kura Maori O Porirua is a co-educational state Māori language immersion primary school for Year 1 to 13 students, with a roll of .

References

External links

Waitangirua Community Profile
at

Statistics NZ Statistics New Zealand ( mi, Tatauranga Aotearoa), branded as Stats NZ, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the collection of statistics related to the economy, population and society of New Zealand. To this end, Stats ...

{{Porirua Suburbs of Porirua