Welcome Bay is a suburb of

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

, New Zealand. It is located from central Tauranga. Neighbouring suburbs include Hairini and Maungatapu. There are a number of schools in Welcome Bay, including three primary schools. The name Welcome Bay has been used for the area as early as 1872 by the ''

Bay of Plenty Times The ''Bay of Plenty Times'' is the regional daily paper for the Bay of Plenty area, including Tauranga, in the North Island of New Zealand. History The ''Bay of Plenty Times'' was first produced on 4 September 1872 as a bi-weekly publication. It ...

''.

Demographics

Welcome Bay covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Welcome Bay had a population of 10,284 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 1,617 people (18.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 2,757 people (36.6%) 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 3,372 households, comprising 5,088 males and 5,199 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.98 males per female, with 2,493 people (24.2%) aged under 15 years, 1,833 (17.8%) aged 15 to 29, 4,656 (45.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,308 (12.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 80.1% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, 22.5%

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 ...

, 3.3% Pacific peoples, 6.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 2.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 21.6, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.4% had no religion, 32.2% were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 2.9% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.8% were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 0.1% were

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

, 0.5% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 2.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,521 (19.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,203 (15.4%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,194 people (15.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 4,035 (51.8%) people were employed full-time, 1,260 (16.2%) were part-time, and 330 (4.2%) were unemployed.

Marae

The local Tahuwhakatiki or Romai Marae and its Rongomainohorangi meeting house are a traditional meeting place for the

Ngāti Ranginui Ngāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends from Waihi in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, to south of Te Puke in the south, and to Tauranga in the east. The rohe does not exte ...

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 Pirirākau. In October 2020, the Government committed $500,000 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

to upgrade the marae, creating 6 jobs.

Climate

Welcome Bay is a sub-tropical climate zone, with warm humid summers and mild winters. Typical summer daytime maximum air temperatures range from 22°C to 26°C, but seldom exceed 30°C. Winter daytime maximum air temperatures range from 12°C to 17°C. Annual sunshine hours average least 2200 hours. Southwest winds prevail for much of the year. Sea breezes often occur on warm summer days. Winter usually has more rain and is the most unsettled time of year. In summer and autumn, storms of tropical origin may bring high winds and heavy rainfall from the east or northeast.

Transport

Public transport in Welcome Bay solely consists of bus services. The suburb is served by one 'Bay Hopper' routes; Route 40(City - 15th Ave - Welcome Bay).

Education

Welcome Bay has two co-educational state primary schools for Year 1 to 6 students: Welcome Bay School, with a roll of , and Selwyn Ridge School, with a roll of . Tauranga Waldorf School is a co-educational state-integrated primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of . Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Otepou is a co-educational Māori language immersion school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of .

References

{{Tauranga Suburbs of Tauranga Populated places around the Tauranga Harbour