Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of

Northland Region The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...

. It is part of the

Whangārei District Whangarei District is a territorial authority district in the Northland Region of New Zealand that is governed by the Whangarei District Council. The district is made up in area largely by rural land, and includes a fifth of the Northland Region. ...

, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and Hikurangi Town councils, to administer both the city proper and its hinterland. The city population was estimated to be an increase from 47,000 in 2001. The wider Whangarei District had a population of

Etymology

The origin of the name Whangārei is unclear, as a number of pūrākau (traditional stories) are associated with the harbour. One major tradition involves the sisters

Reitū and Reipae Reitū and Reipae (or Reipare) were twin sisters from the Tainui confederation of Māori people, Māori tribes in Waikato, New Zealand, who lived before European settlement. Tainui tradition remembers them for the story of Reitū's courtship by Ue- ...

of the ''

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are oth ...

'' migratory waka, who either flew from the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

north on the backs of birds, or in the form of birds. Other traditions describe the meaning of Whangārei as "lying in wait to ambush", referring to warriors watching over the harbour from Te Tihi-o-Kahukura / Castle Rock, or Whangārei meaning "to gather", referring to the harbour as a gathering place for whales or for important

rangatira In Māori culture, () are tribal chiefs, the hereditary Māori leaders of a hapū. Ideally, rangatira were people of great practical wisdom who held authority () on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land and that ...

History

The harbour is known from traditional histories as a landing point for many of the migratory waka which reached New Zealand, including ''

Tūnui-ā-rangi In Māori tradition, ''Tūnui-ā-rangi'' was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes (or waka) that was used in the migrations that settled New Zealand. The waka is linked to the Ngāi Tāhuhu iwi from the Auckland and Northland regions ...

'' and ''

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Manaia. Whangārei was traditionally an important location for trade during much of pre-European

Māori history The history of the Māori began with the arrival of Polynesian settlers in New Zealand (''Aotearoa'' in Māori), in a series of ocean migrations in canoes starting from the late 13th or early 14th centuries. Over several centuries of isolation, ...

, linking the

Muriwhenua Muriwhenua are a group of northern Māori iwi, based in Te Hiku o te Ika, the northernmost part of New Zealand's North Island. It consists of six iwi, Ngāti Kurī, Ngāi Takoto, Te Pātū, Ngāti Kahu, Te Aupōuri and Te Rarawa, with a combined p ...

iwi of the far north, the residents of the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Tāmaki Māori Tāmaki Māori are Māori ''iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M ...

iwi to the south. An overland route, the Mangapai portage, allowed

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

to be hauled between the Whangārei Harbour in the east, and the Wairoa River and

Kaipara Harbour Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Auckl ...

to the west along the

Mangapai River The Mangapai River is a river of the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is perhaps better described as a silty arm of Whangarei Harbour, located due south of Whangarei. Its average width is some , but the silty nature of its co ...

. A number 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 ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

are associated with the early history of Whangārei, including Ngare Raumati, Ngāi Tāhuhu,

Ngātiwai Ngātiwai or Ngāti Wai is a Māori iwi of the east coast of the Northland Region of New Zealand. Its historical tribal area or rohe stretched from Cape Brett in the north to Takatū Point on Tawharanui Peninsula in the south and out to Great B ...

and Te Parawhau. In the late 18th century,

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

expanded south into the Whangārei area. Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

and the crew of the '' Endeavour'' were the first Europeans to sight the Whangārei Harbour entrance. On 15 November 1769 they caught about a hundred fish in the harbour, which they classified as "

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including ''Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), ''Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', ''Blicca'', '' Brama'', ''Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', ''Lepo ...

" (probably snapper), prompting Cook to name the area

Bream Bay Bream Bay is an embayment and area south-east of Whangārei, on the east coast of New Zealand. The bay runs from Bream Head, at the mouth of Whangārei Harbour, 22 kilometres south to the headland of Bream Tail, east of Langs Beach and north ...

. In the early 19th century when Europeans began visiting the harbour more regularly, Ngāpuhi occupied Whangārei, and the Te Parawhau

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 ...

lived at the head of the harbour. In the 1820s the area was repeatedly attacked by

and

Ngāti Paoa Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

raiders during the

Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori between 1807 and 1837, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an intertribal arms ra ...

. The first European settler was William Carruth, a Scotsman and trader who arrived in 1839 and was joined six years later by Gilbert Mair and his family. Relations between the settlers and local Māori were generally friendly, but in February 1842, all settler farms were plundered in revenge for transgressions of tapu. In April 1845, during the

Flagstaff War The Flagstaff War, also known as Heke's War, Hōne Heke's Rebellion and the Northern War, was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The conflict is best remembered for the actions of Hō ...

, all settlers fled from Whangārei. Most of the original settlers never returned, but by the mid-1850s there were a number of farmers and orchardists in the area. From 1855, a small town developed, driven by the

kauri gum Kauri gum is resin from kauri trees (''Agathis australis''), which historically had several important industrial uses. It can also be used to make crafts such as jewellery. Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, be ...

trade. Today's 'Town Basin' on the Hatea River was the original port. Early exports included kauri gum and native timber, followed later by coal from

Whau Valley Whau Valley is a suburb of Whangārei, in Northland Region, New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs through it. The valley was named for the whau trees which grew there in the 1850s. At the end of the 4 km long Whau Valley Road is the principal ...

Kamo The name Kamo may refer to the following: Places Japan (Note: ''kamo'' ( 鴨), is the common word for ''duck'' in Japanese, but the following names do not necessarily mean ''duck'' and are not necessarily written with that character.) *Kamo, Nii ...

, and

Hikurangi Hikurangi is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The city of Whangārei is 17 km (11 miles) to the south, and Kawakawa is 39 km (24 miles) northwest. The Glenbervie Forest is southeast of the settlement. State Highway ...

. Coal from the

Kiripaka Kiripaka is a locality in Northland, New Zealand. The settlement of Glenbervie lies to the southwest, and Ngunguru is to the northeast. "Kiripaka" means flint, schist or asbestos in the Māori language. Demographics Kiripaka statistical area ...

field was exported via the

Ngunguru River The Ngunguru River is a river of the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It initially flows southwest before turning east to flow into a long, wide estuary which empties into Ngunguru Bay to the northwest of Whangārei. The town of Ng ...

. By 1864, the nucleus of the present city was established. View of Whangarei from the foot of Parahaki

Fire bricks made from fire clay deposits near the Kamo mines supported a brickworks over several decades. Good quality limestone was quarried at Hikurangi, Portland and Limestone Island, and initially sold as agricultural lime, and later combined with local coal to produce Portland cement at the settlement of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

on the south side of the harbour. Local limestone is still used in cement manufacture, but the coal is now imported from the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. Whangārei was the most urbanised area in Northland towards the end of the 19th century, but grew slowly in the 20th century. The district slowly exhausted most of its natural resources but was sustained by agriculture, especially dairying. Shipping was the main transport link until the North Auckland railway line reached the town in 1925, and the road from Auckland was not suitable for travel in poor weather until 1934. These terrestrial travel routes forced a rapid decline in coastal shipping but stimulated Whangārei to become the service centre for Northland. The population was 14,000 in 1945, but grew rapidly in the 1960s, incorporating Kamo and other outlying areas. In 1964, Whangārei was declared a city. Its population the following year was 31,000. The second half of the twentieth century brought the establishment and expansion of the

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

Marsden Point Marsden Point is a broad, flat peninsula that is the southern head of the Whangārei Harbour entrance on the east coast of Northland, New Zealand, southeast of the city of Whangārei. It is the location of Marsden Point Oil Refinery and the No ...

on Bream Bay, the adjacent development of timber processing and the establishment of Northland Port, which is mainly focused on timber exporting.

Future

Building of the Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery commenced in 2018 after the funding target of $20.97 million was raised by a volunteer team in time for a June 2017 deadline. A container port could follow, linked by rail to Auckland. The extensive, flat undeveloped land around Northport is a suggested solution to excess population growth in Auckland and the associated lack of industrial land.

Geography

Geographical features

Mount Parihaka is a volcanic dome rising to the northeast of the city centre. It is about 20 million years old, and part of the Harbour Fault, which also includes Parakiore near

, and

near the town of the same name. The dome is surrounded by the Parihaka Scenic Reserve. There is road access to the summit of Parihaka and walking tracks through the reserve, and a bridge linking it to Mair Park. The dome is frequently called Mount Parahaki, but the original Māori spelling of Parihaka was confirmed by the government in 2005. The Hatea River flows south through the city and empties into

Whangārei Harbour Whangārei Harbour is a large harbour on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The harbour stretches from Whangārei City, and the termination of the Hātea River, south east around the Onerahi peninsula and out to the Pacific Oce ...

. The river has a spectacular waterfall in

Tikipunga Tikipunga is one of the biggest suburbs in Whangārei, New Zealand. It is in the north-east part of the city and has the landmark Whangārei Falls nearby. Demographics Tikipunga covers and had an estimated population of as of with a populati ...

, north of the city.

Matakohe Matakohe is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Matakohe River is a short river which runs from the north into the Arapaoa River, which is part of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 12 passes through Matakohe. Ruawai is 16 km to ...

, or Limestone Island, lies in the harbour close to the city. Owned by Whangārei District, it is subject to ecological

island restoration The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as ...

by the Friends of Matakohe/Limestone Island Society.

Suburbs

Whangārei Central is the main business district. The city's urban area spreads through the valleys of the surrounding area. The suburbs are: * Northern:

, Springs Flat,

, Three Mile Bush,

Otangarei Otangarei is a suburb of Whangārei, in Northland Region, New Zealand. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of group of people leaping" for ''Ōtāngarei''. Te Kotahitanga Marae o Otangarei is the c ...

Mairtown Mairtown is a suburb of Whangārei, in Northland Region, New Zealand. It is about 2 kilometres north of the city centre. Mair Park runs between Mairtown and the Hātea River. The area is named for the early settler Mair Family, including Gilb ...

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

and

* Southern/Western: Morningside,

Raumanga Raumanga is a suburb of Whangārei in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It is the site of Northland Polytechnic's main campus. Demographics Raumanga covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per ...

, Maunu, Horahora,

Woodhill Woodhill or Wood Hill may refer to: People * Herbert Woodhilll (1875–1963), Australian rugby league footballer * Constance Caroline Woodhill Naden (1858–1889), English poet and philosopher Places Australia * Woodhill, New South Wales * ...

, and The Avenues * Eastern:

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

, Port Whangārei, Sherwood Rise,

Onerahi Onerahi, for half a century known as Grahamtown, is a seaside suburb of Whangārei, New Zealand's northernmost city. It is the city's only seaside suburb. It is located 9 km south-east of the centre of Whangārei and is principally a peninsu ...

, and Parahaki.

Climate

Whangārei has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfb''). Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows. Summer days occasionally exceed 30 °C, and there is plentiful rainfall spread relatively evenly throughout the year. Using the Trewartha classification Whangārei is firmly a maritime

subtropical climate The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

due to its absence of winter cold.

Government

National

Whangārei is within the Whangārei electorate and the

Te Tai Tokerau Te Tai Tokerau () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was created out of the Northern Maori electorate ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996. It was held first by Tau Henare representing New Zea ...

Māori electorate. The current MP of the Whangārei electorate is Emily Henderson of the Labour Party. The current MP of the Te Tai Tokerau electorate is Kelvin Davis of the Labour Party.

Local

At a local level Whangārei comes under the Northland Regional Council of which the city is the seat. Whangārei is governed locally by the

Whangārei District Council Whangarei District is a territorial authority district in the Northland Region of New Zealand that is governed by the Whangarei District Council. The district is made up in area largely by rural land, and includes a fifth of the Northland Region. ...

. The city is split into two of the council wards, Denby, which takes the northern suburbs, and Okara, which takes the southern half of the city. Whangārei is covered by the Northland Police District which is split into two areas, Whangārei/Kaipara and Mid/Far North. Judicially, the town is served by the Whangārei District Court and is also the base of the region's only High Court.

Transport

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbere ...

from

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 ...

Cape Reinga , type =Cape , photo = Cape Reinga, Northland, New Zealand, October 2007.jpg , photo_width = 270px , photo_alt = , photo_caption = , map = New Zealand , map_width = 270px ...

passes through Whangārei. State Highway 14 from

Dargaville Dargaville ( mi, Takiwira) is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River in the Kaipara District of the Northland region. The town is located 55 kilometres southwest of Whangārei. ...

connects to State Highway 1 in Whangārei. Whangārei Airport is located southeast of the city centre, in the suburb of

. In July 2013 a second road crossing of the Hatea River was opened, in the form of a

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

. There are several cycle/walk ways under development connecting the city centre with outer suburbs. These include Kamo (currently under construction), Onerahi (completed) and Raumanga/Maunu (several sections completed). The Hatea Loop (Huarahi o te Whai) is a central mixed space walkway connecting the Town Basin, Hihiaua Peninsula, Okara, Pohe Island and Riverside areas of the

central city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city i ...

. Whangārei is served by Northport, a sea port at

. It was previously served by Port Whangārei, in the upper harbour near the city, which was operated by the Northland Harbour Board until 1988, when it was transferred to the Northland Port Corporation. The first two berths at Marsden Point opened in 2002, and Port Whangārei closed to commercial shipping in 2007 when the remaining cargo operations were transferred to Marsden Point.

Bus

Northland Regional Council organises the CityLink bus service. This bus service runs eight urban bus routes, with bicycle racks from 1 October 2018. On 20 November 2019 Whangārei became the first city to use Bee cards. 2% of arrivals and 3% of departures in the Whangārei Central census area were by public bus in 2018. In other neighbouring census areas even fewer used buses.

Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

operate 3 buses a day from Whangārei, taking about 3 hours for the to Auckland and 1hr 45mins to

Kerikeri Kerikeri () is the largest town in Northland, New Zealand. It is a tourist destination north of Auckland and north of the northern region's largest city, Whangarei. It is sometimes called the Cradle of the Nation, as it was the site of th ...

Railway

Whangārei is connected to Auckland and

Otiria Otiria is a rural locality in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It neighbours Moerewa to the east, with the nearest major town, Kawakawa a few kilometres further eastwards. Other nearby localities include Pokapu to the south ...

by the

North Auckland line The North Auckland Line (designation NAL) is a major section of New Zealand's national rail network, and is made up of the following parts: the portion of track that runs northward from Westfield Junction to Newmarket Station; from there, wes ...

, which carries freight only, the container transfer depot being at 33 Porowini Ave.

Station

The railway station lost its last scheduled passenger service on 15 September 1975, although a "with-car" (goods train with a carriage attached) service lasted until June 1976. Restoration of the station by its

Men's Shed Men's sheds or community sheds are non-profit local organisations that provide a space for craftwork and social interaction. The movement originated in Australia around the 1980s as a way to improve the health and wellbeing of older men. Howev ...

occupant began in 2014 and was largely complete by 2020. Its Type C design was protected by a NZHPT Category II listing on 24 March 2006 (List Number 7646). The station was opened by the Minister for Railways,

Gordon Coates Joseph Gordon Coates (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912. Born in rural Northland, Coates grew up on a cattle run ...

, on 11 March 1925. Predecessor stations had been opened in 1880 and 1903. The 1880 station was about to the north, near Walton Street. In 1929 the fastest train took 6hrs 14mins from Whangārei to Auckland. From 1956, railcars reduced the journey to 4hrs 10mins. In 1943 the distance was measured as .

Arts and culture

The Whangārei Art Museum is located in the Town Basin. Artisan markets are held at the nearby Canopy Bridge. The Hundertwasser Arts Centre was built on the site of the former Northland Harbour Board building. The Quarry Arts Centre is located on the edge of the Western Hills in the Avenues. The Hātea Loop walkway is an accessible, circular walkway which connects Town Basin, William Fraser Memorial Park,Te Matau a Pohe, Canopy Bridge, Clapham’s Clocks and Reyburn House gallery. The walkway offers marina views and various family friendly outdoor activities. The Whangārei Theatre Company (formerly WOADS) has been staging theatre productions in Whangārei since 1946. They have currently made their home at the Riverbank Centre in the town basin. Disruptive Performers (Theatre Group) was formed in 2019 and they staged their first production in November 2020. Whangārei is home to many music organisations such as Whangārei Youth Music, the Northland Sinfonia, and Sistema Whangārei.

Education

Tertiary education

NorthTec NorthTec (Tai Tokerau Wānanga) is a tertiary education provider in northern New Zealand, with its main campus in Raumanga, Whangarei. NorthTec provides programmes ranging from foundation, certificate, diploma and degree levels. The degrees are ...

, with its main campus located in the Whangārei suburb of

, is the chief provider of tertiary education in the

. It offers degrees, diplomas and certificates in a wide variety of academic, professional and technical fields. The degrees are nationally monitored for quality and so can lead to postgraduate study at universities and other institutions. NorthTec has around 23,000 students studying either part-time or full-time. The

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

maintains a campus in the city centre. There are also a number of private tertiary educational organisations that provide technical and vocational training.

Schools

There are several schools which offer secondary schooling education within the urban area. Most suburbs have their own primary school. Whangarei Girls' High School

Secondary schools

* Whangārei Boys' High School, a boys' secondary school with a roll of (). * Whangārei Girls' High School, a girls' secondary school with a roll of (). :These two secondary schools have a decile rating of 5 and cover years 9–13. Both schools opened in 1881. *

Kamo High School Kamo is a suburb in Northern Whangārei. approximately five minutes drive from the Whangārei CBD. The name comes from a Māori word meaning "eyelash", but has also been said to mean "to bubble up", referring to hot springs in the area. Mount Pa ...

, which accommodates years 9–13. *

Tikipunga High School Tikipunga is one of the biggest suburbs in Whangārei, New Zealand. It is in the north-east part of the city and has the landmark Whangārei Falls nearby. Demographics Tikipunga covers and had an estimated population of as of with a populati ...

, which caters for years 7–13. :Both of these are co-educational secondary schools serving the northern suburbs. * Huanui College, a private secondary school just out of the urban area in Glenbervie. * Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rāwhitiroa. A Māori language immersion school catering for primary and secondary students.

Intermediate and primary schools

There are two intermediate schools (years 7–8) in the urban area. Several primary schools offer education from years 1–8. * Whangārei Intermediate is an intermediate (years 7–8) school with a roll of 639. * Kamo Intermediate is a popular intermediate school serving the northern suburbs. Primary schools in the urban area include Hurupaki School, Kamo Primary School, Totara Grove School (formerly Kamo East School), Tikipunga Primary School, Otangarei School, Whau Valley School, Whangārei School, a contributing primary (years 1–6) school with a roll of 577, Maunu School, Horahora School, Morningside School, Manaia View School (formerly Raumanga Primary and Raumanga Middle schools, amalgamated), Raurimu Avenue School, and Onerahi School.

Religious and state-integrated schools

Pompallier Catholic College Pompallier Catholic College is a Catholic co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Maunu in Whangarei, New Zealand. It is one of nine secondary schools within the Marist network. Pompallier Catholic College is named after Bisho ...

(opened in 1971) is a Catholic state integrated co-educational secondary school (years 7 to 13) with a roll of 560 and a decile ranking of 7, located in the suburb of Maunu. It is the only Catholic secondary school in Northland serving the wider district.

Saint Francis Xavier Catholic School In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

, the city's Catholic primary school, located in the suburb of Whau Valley adjacent to the Catholic Parish. Christian Renewal School is a composite state integrated co-educational secondary and primary (years 1–13) school with a roll of 201. Around 110 of those students are in high school (years 9–13), as of June 2018. The school was established in 1993 and integrated into the state system in 1997. The secondary half of the school is situated upstairs, and the primary downstairs. The school operates in the Christian Renewal buildings, beside the Renew Church work buildings and auditorium. Excellere College, a Christian school (years 1–13) located in the northern suburb of Springs Flat. One half of the school is secondary, and the other half being primary. There are 205 students at this school. The Whangārei Adventist Christian School, located at Whau Valley Road, has been operating for some 50 years and is the second oldest of the independent Christian schools in Whangārei as well. It was formerly called the Whangārei Seventhday Adventist School. Over 30 students attend the school, as of June 2018.

Special school

Blomfield Special School and Resource Centre provides education and care to students between the ages of five and twenty-one years, and has a roll of 68. The school operates from five locations, four in Whangārei and one in

Kaitaia Kaitaia ( mi, Kaitāia) is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1. Ahipara ...

Infrastructure and services

Healthcare

Whangārei is within the Northland District Health Board. The single primary health care organisation (PHO), Te Kaupapa Mahitahi Hauora Papa O Te Raki Trust, commonly known as Mahitahi Hauora, was created in 2019 through a process of coming together with the previous Northland PHOs. Whangārei Hospital (formerly Northland Base Hospital) is Northland DHB's largest and provides secondary specialist care to all of Northland. It has 246 inpatient beds, and is based in the suburb of Horahora. Mercy Hospital was established in 1963 by the Sisters of Mercy. Kensington Hospital, opened in March 2001, is a private healthcare facility.

Utilities

Northpower Northpower Limited (Northpower) is an electricity distribution company, based in Whangarei, New Zealand. Northpower owns and manages the electricity lines network in the Whangarei and Kaipara districts. The service area covers 5,700 km ...

owns and operates the local electricity distribution network servicing the city, with electricity supplied from Transpower's national grid at the

Maungatapere Maungatapere is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 14 runs through it. Whangārei is 11 km to the east, and Tangiteroria is 18 km to the south west. The settlement takes its name from a rounded volcanic peak of the ...

substation southwest of the city. There is very little generation in Northland and Auckland, so most of the city's electricity is transmitted from the Waikato. Natural gas arrived in Whangārei in 1983, with the completion of the high-pressure pipeline north from Auckland to the city, now operated by

First Gas First Gas Limited is a natural gas transmission and distribution company in New Zealand. First Gas's network has 2,204 km of high pressure pipelines and 4,800 km of gas distribution pipelines. Through Flex Gas, First Gas owns and operates the Ah ...

. First Gas also operates the gas distribution network within the city.

Sports

Whangārei is home to the

Northland rugby union The Northland Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Northland, New Zealand; Northland is a region of New Zealand that covers areas in the districts of Far North, Kaipara, and Whangārei. Established in 1920, they represent the ...

team, a professional side competing in the

Bunnings NPC Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...

, the highest level of provincial rugby in New Zealand. They play out of

Okara Park Okara Park, currently known commercially as Semenoff Stadium (previously known as Toll Stadium due to a sponsorship agreement) is a multi-purpose stadium in Whangarei, New Zealand. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the ...

(currently known as "Toll Stadium" due to a sponsorship agreement), the largest stadium in the region, which also hosted two matches during

Rugby World Cup 2011 The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. The city also hosted a match on 3 June between a Provincial XV team (NZ Provincial Barbarians) and the British and Irish Lions during their 2017 tour.

Cobham Oval Cobham Oval is a cricket ground in Whangarei, New Zealand, next to the Okara Park rugby stadium. It stages daytime-only first-class and List A matches. It is the home ground and headquarters of the Northland cricket team and one of the home g ...

has hosted

Black Caps The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Named the Black Caps, they played their first Test cricket, Test in 1930 against England cricket team, England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth cou ...

one-day international A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...

cricket matches with the first taking place in 2012. The

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club

North Force Northland FC is a football club based in Whangarei, New Zealand. They currently compete in the NRFL Northern Conference. North Force was set up late in 2003 by Kamo & Tikipunga Football clubs so that a combined team could be entered in either ...

who compete in the

Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 The Northern Regional Football League Division One, currently known as Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 for sponsorship reasons, is a semi-professional New Zealand association football league competition. The league includes football clubs loc ...

are based in Whangārei. Whangārei has a

Field Hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

facility that hosted several international matches. Several hockey players from Northland have been selected for the

Black Sticks Women The New Zealand women's national field hockey team is also known as the Black Sticks Women. The team's best performances include a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, a third placing at the 201 ...

since 2000. Whangārei is home to the northernmost

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

in New Zealand. This is a free, weekly, timed 5 km (3 mile), held every Saturday at 8am. The start and finish is under Te Matau o Pohe bridge. The International Rally of Whangārei is based in the region with competitors from Australia, India, China, Japan, South East Asia and Pacific Islands racing on dirt roads in the districts surrounding Whangārei. It is the season opening event for both the

Asia-Pacific Rally Championship The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) is an international rally championship organized by the FIA encompassing rounds in Asia and Oceania. Group N cars dominated the championship for many years but in recent years cars built to R5 and S20 ...

and the

New Zealand Rally Championship The New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) is New Zealand's leading off-road motor rally competition. A multi-event national championship has been held each year since 1975. Today the championship is held for a variety of classes based on engine ...

and is New Zealand's second largest international motorsport competition, second only to the world championship event,

Rally New Zealand The Rally New Zealand is an annual rally race in New Zealand. It was first included as a round of the World Rally Championship in 1977. The race is famous for its fast flowing gravel roads which carry the competitors through forests and alongside ...

. Whangārei Speedway attracts drivers from outside the Northland region. Northland is also represented at the highest national domestic level in Golf. The Northland rugby league team, representing the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

competitions, is based in Whangārei. They currently compete in the

Albert Baskerville Trophy The NZRL Men's National Competition (previously called the National Zonal Competition) is the top-level rugby league competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League. In 2010 the competition replaced the Bartercard Premiership following a Sparc fun ...

as the Northern Swords. Between 2006 and 2007 they were part of the

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...

, playing under the name the Northern Storm. Northland was originally known as North Auckland and has previously used the nickname the Wild Boars.

Notable people

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Whangārei District Council

Whangārei Information & Travel Centre
{{Authority control Whangarei District Populated places in the Northland Region Port cities in New Zealand