Ōhiwa is a rural settlement in the

Ōpōtiki District Ōpōtiki District is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region on the North Island of New Zealand. It stretches from Kutarere and the eastern shore of Ōhiwa Harbour in the west to Cape Runaw ...

and

Bay of Plenty Region The Bay of Plenty Region is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region in the North Island of New Zealand. Also called just the Bay of Plenty (BOP), it is situated around the Bay of Plenty, marine bight of that same name. The bay was name ...

of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It is on a headland on the eastern side of Ōhiwa Harbour, and on the western side of the Waiotahe River mouth. The New Zealand Geographic Board officially included the macron in the name from 16 July 2020. The Ferry Hotel was opened at Ōhiwa in 1873, together with a ferry service to

Ōhope Ōhope is a coastal town situated on the northeastern coast of the Eastern Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. It is six kilometres east of Whakatāne, and is located between Ōhiwa Harbour to the south and Ōhope Beach to the north ...

. A post office opened in the growing town in 1877. Unstable sand and erosion from 1915 destroyed the town. A second attempt to create sections for baches in the 1960s was also lost to erosion in 1978. Onekawa Te Mawhai Regional Park was created on the headland in 2010. It incorporates areas of archaeological importance from long Māori use of the area, including Onekawa

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

. A local campground provides accommodation.

Demographics

Ōhiwa is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, which covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². It is part of the wider Waiotahi statistical area. Ōhiwa had a population of 171 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 15 people (9.6%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 6 people (−3.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 69 households, comprising 84 males and 93 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.9 males per female. The median age was 55.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 27 people (15.8%) aged under 15 years, 15 (8.8%) aged 15 to 29, 87 (50.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 48 (28.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 89.5% European/

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

, 24.6%

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 Co ...

, and 1.8% Asian. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 61.4% had no religion, 28.1% were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 7.0% had

Māori religious beliefs 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 Co ...

, 1.8% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and 3.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 42 (29.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 15 (10.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $32,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 27 people (18.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 69 (47.9%) people were employed full-time, 18 (12.5%) were part-time, and 6 (4.2%) were unemployed.

References

{{Ōpōtiki District Ōpōtiki District Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region