Wharekahika or Hicks Bay (officially Wharekahika / Hicks Bay) is a bay and coastal area in the

Gisborne District Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority (with the combined powers of ...

of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

of New Zealand. It is situated 150 km east of Opotiki and 186 km north of Gisborne city, along State Highway 35 between Potaka and

Te Araroa Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching circa along the length of the country's two main islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Officially opened in 2011, it is made up of a mixture of previously made ...

. The area is named after

Zachary Hickes Zachary Hicks (1739 – 25 May 1771) was a Royal Navy officer, second-in-command on Lieutenant James Cook's first voyage to the Pacific and the first among Cook's crew to sight mainland Australia. A dependable officer who had risen swiftly ...

, second-in-command of

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 ...

's '' Endeavour'', which sailed along the

East Cape East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It can also refer to the broader Gisborne cape. East Cape was originally named "C ...

on 31 October 1769. On 10 June 2019, the name of the bay was officially changed to Wharekahika / Hicks Bay.

Demographics

The population of Hicks Bay was 162 in the 2018 census, an increase of 9 from 2013. There were 75 males and 87 females. 14.8% of people identified as European/Pākehā and 96.3% as Māori. Dilapidated Hicks Bay Wharf

The statistical area of East Cape, which covers 991 square kilometres and also includes

and

Tikitiki Tikitiki is a small town in Waiapu Valley on the north bank of the Waiapu River in the Gisborne Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The area in which the town resides was formerly known as ''Kahukura''. By road, Tikitiki is north-northeast ...

, had a population of 1,389 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 ...

, a decrease of 30 people (-2.1%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 174 people (-11.1%) 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 462 households. There were 735 males and 654 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.12 males per female. The median age was 39.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 360 people (25.9%) aged under 15 years, 213 (15.3%) aged 15 to 29, 603 (43.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 210 (15.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 22.7% European/Pākehā, 91.6% Māori, 2.2% Pacific peoples, 0.6% Asian, and 1.1% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 2.4%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 41.9% had no religion, 41.0% were Christian, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.2% were Buddhist and 5.8% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 105 (10.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 294 (28.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $18,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 297 (28.9%) people were employed full-time, 171 (16.6%) were part-time, and 105 (10.2%) were unemployed.

Marae

The local Hinemaurea ki Wharekahika Marae is a meeting place for the

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand ...

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 ...

Ngāti Tuere 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 ...

, Te Whānau a Te Aotakī and Te Whānau a Tuwhakairiora. It includes the Tūwhakairiora meeting house. In October 2020, the Government committed $520,760 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 Hinemaurea ki Wharekahika Marae and

Pōtaka Marae Potaka ( mi, Pōtaka) is a village and rural community in Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It marks the northern and western end of the Gisborne District and the Ngāti Porou tribal territory. Lottin Point Whakatiri, located north ...

, creating 12 jobs.

Education

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kawakawa Mai Tawhiti is a Year 1–13 Māori language immersion school. It had a roll of as of

References

{{Gisborne District Bays of the Gisborne District Populated places in the Gisborne District