Westshore is a northern coastal suburb of the city of
Napier in
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...
, New Zealand.
History
The first European settlers built houses on Westshore in 1850, when it was little more than a sandspit. Prior to the
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
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, Westshore was already a popular seaside resort, a long-time popular spot for yachting and boating activities. In 1931 the earthquake struck Napier, reclaiming the
Ahuriri Lagoon
Ahuriri Lagoon ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Orotū) was a large tidal lagoon at Napier, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, that largely drained when the area was raised by the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
Before the earthquake, the lagoon ...
. This freed up land and allowed Westshore to expand as a suburb, as previously a narrow shingle spit was the only land available. The earthquake also transformed the previously dangerous and shingly seashore into a safe and sandy swimming beach.
Projects such as beach front beautification, landscaping and other improvements have helped to make Westshore one of the most popular and preferred beaches in Napier.
The Napier Swimming and Lifesaving Club was amongst the earliest Surf Lifesaving Clubs active in New Zealand, beginning in the 1910s. In October, 1958 the new Surf Section of the Napier Swimming and Lifesaving Club commenced patrols at Westshore Beach which, with improved access, had become the preferred swimming beach for the Napier public. The members of this new section wanted to form their own club, and on 28 October 1959 the Westshore Surf Lifesaving Club was formed. The Club operates from a two-story clubrooms building which opened in 1963 near the beachfront. Westshore is patrolled by surf-lifesavers in the summer months.
Geography
Westshore is located on the northern coast of Napier on the shores of the
Hawke Bay
Hawke Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui), formerly named ''Hawke's Bay'', is a large bay on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, surrounded by the Hawke's Bay region. It stretches from Māhia Peninsula in the northeast to Cape Kidnapp ...
. The
1931 earthquake freed up land which was previously underwater as part of the Ahuriri lagoon, and transformed the once dangerous shingle shore into a safe and sandy beach. Recreational activities popular at Westshore beach include swimming, picnicking and sunbathing.
The earthquake raised the coastal land around Napier by about two metres. With the land that was made available, housing in Westshore increased, and there are also many motels in the suburb. Reclaimed land also includes the land on which the
Hawke's Bay Airport
Hawke's Bay Airport , commonly referred to as Napier Airport, is Hawke's Bay's main commercial airport, serving domestic flights to the main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as well as smaller centres such as Gisborne, Wairoa ...
was built. Westshore is one of Napier's most popular beaches. Relative to the steep and shingle beach on the foreshore of Marine Parade, Westshore is the more preferred swimming beach in Napier.
Demographics
Westshore had a population of 1,143 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 84 people (7.9%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 69 people (6.4%) 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 498 households. There were 543 males and 600 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.91 males per female. The median age was 50.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 168 people (14.7%) aged under 15 years, 162 (14.2%) aged 15 to 29, 516 (45.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 297 (26.0%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 87.7% European/Pākehā, 15.2% Māori, 1.8% Pacific peoples, 3.7% Asian, and 2.9% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
The proportion of people born overseas was 17.6%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 47.0% had no religion, 42.3% were Christian, 0.5% were Hindu, 0.3% were Muslim, 0.3% were Buddhist and 2.1% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 216 (22.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 153 (15.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $34,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 462 (47.4%) people were employed full-time, 159 (16.3%) were part-time, and 24 (2.5%) were unemployed.
Education
Westshore School is a primary school located in Westshore and caters from New Entrants to Year 6,
with a roll of as of
References
{{coord, -39.4778, 176.8823, region:NZ-HKB, display=title
Beaches of the Hawke's Bay Region
Suburbs of Napier, New Zealand
Populated places around Hawke Bay