Waiwera is a small town in the north of the

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...

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 ...

. Waiwera is 6 km north of

Orewa Orewa is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. It lies on the Hibiscus Coast, just north of the base of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, Whangaparāoa Peninsula and 40 kilometres north of central Auckland. It is a popular holiday destin ...

, 6 km south-east of Puhoi, 23 km south-east of Warkworth and approximately 35 km from the

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 ...

City centre. The settlement lies at the outlet of a river also called Waiwera. Less than 1 kilometre north of the Waiwera turn-off lies the turn-off to

Wenderholm Regional Park Wenderholm Regional Park is a regional park north of Auckland in New Zealand's North Island. It is situated between the estuaries of the Puhoi River and the Waiwera River, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island and features a homestead k ...

which is situated on the far side of the headland to the north of the Waiwera River outlet.

History

The name is of

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 ...

origin and means "Hot Water" (Wai = Water and Wera = Hot), and is a shortened version of the traditional name Waiwerawera. Its main claim to fame was the hot water springs which were well known in pre-European times and reputedly visited by Māori from as far away as

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. The first European settler to promote the springs was Robert Graham who established a health resort in 1848. During the late 19th century there was a regular steam

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

service from Auckland. The commercial hot pools closed in 2018.

Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Waiwera as a rural settlement, which covers . Waiwera is part of the larger Wainui-Waiwera statistical area. Mahurangi Island, Waiwera

Waiwera had a population of 240 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 3 people (1.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 48 people (25.0%) 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 150 households, comprising 123 males and 120 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female. The median age was 54.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 21 people (8.8%) aged under 15 years, 21 (8.8%) aged 15 to 29, 126 (52.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 72 (30.0%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 86.2% European/Pākehā, 8.8% Māori, 1.2% Pacific peoples, 6.2% Asian, and 3.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 42.5% had no religion, 35.0% were Christian, 1.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.2% were Hindu, 2.5% were Muslim, 1.2% were Buddhist and 6.2% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 48 (21.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 27 (12.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. 33 people (15.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 90 (41.1%) people were employed full-time, 30 (13.7%) were part-time, and 9 (4.1%) were unemployed.

References

{{Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Area Populated places in the Auckland Region Beaches of the Auckland Region Spa towns in New Zealand Landforms of the Auckland Region Hibiscus Coast