Houghton Bay and Valley is one of the southern suburbs of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, New Zealand. It is located between Island Bay and

Lyall Bay Lyall Bay is a bay and suburb on the south side of the Rongotai isthmus in Wellington, New Zealand. The bay is a popular surf beach, featuring a breakwater at the eastern end. It is home to two surf lifesaving clubs and has also been the site of ...

, on the rocky shores of the

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A ...

. It has two beaches, Houghton Bay and Princess Bay, used by surfers, swimmers and divers.

History

Houghton Bay was named after Captain Robert Houghton, who was the person responsible for the powder magazine on

Matiu / Somes Island Matiu / Somes Island is the largest of three islands in the northern half of Wellington Harbour, New Zealand. It is the former site of military and quarantine internments, as well as animal quarantine until 1995. Since 1995 it has been designat ...

, and later the signal station at Mount Albert above Houghton Bay. In the 19th century The Hermit of Island Bay lived in a nearby cave.

Features

Houghton Bay and Valley is predominantly a residential area, but also contains the southern part of Wellington's Southern Walkway, the Buckley Road reserve, Houghton Valley Playcentre, Houghton Valley School and the Southern Headlands Reserve. Along with other parts of Wellington's South Coast it is a popular recreational diving spot, within the Taputeranga Marine Reserve. In 2005 the decommissioned frigate HMNZS Wellington was sunk off Houghton Bay, and is now an artificial reef and dive location. Houghton Bay is also a surfing spot, like nearby Lyall Bay. Houghton Valley and Bay are home to musicians and artists, and to the Haewai Meadery and Wind Gardens. On the hill overlooking the breakers is the Wellington dance and dining venue, The Pines. The

Aurora Australis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of br ...

can be seen, as the

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day ...

is shielded to some degree by the range of hills along the coastline. A dark sky is necessary as most aurorae are weak and barely visible to the naked eye at this latitude.

Demographics

Houghton Bay statistical area covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Houghton Bay had a population of 1,677 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 126 people (8.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 189 people (12.7%) 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 648 households. There were 810 males and 870 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.93 males per female. The median age was 36.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 336 people (20.0%) aged under 15 years, 324 (19.3%) aged 15 to 29, 867 (51.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 153 (9.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 88.2% European/Pākehā, 8.4% Māori, 4.5% Pacific peoples, 6.6% Asian, and 3.8% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 30.4%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 64.4% had no religion, 23.8% were Christian, 1.3% were Hindu, 0.7% were Muslim, 0.9% were Buddhist and 3.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 618 (46.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 96 (7.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $46,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 822 (61.3%) people were employed full-time, 198 (14.8%) were part-time, and 60 (4.5%) were unemployed.

Education

Houghton Valley School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of as of . The school was founded in 1930.

References

External links