Ōwhata is a semi-rural suburb of

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

region 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 ...

. In 2015, it had the highest house sales of any suburb in Rotorua. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of "place of the elevated stage" for .

Marae

The local Ōwhata or Hinemoa Marae and is a meeting place for the

Ngāti Whakaue Ngāti Whakaue is a Māori iwi, of the Te Arawa confederation of New Zealand, tracing its descent from Whakaue Kaipapa, son of Uenuku-kopakō, and grandson of Tūhourangi. The tribe lives in the Rotorua district and descends from the Arawa w ...

hapū In Māori language, 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 ...

of Ngāti Korouateka and Ngāti te Roro o te Rangi. It includes the Tūtanekai meeting house. In October 2020, the Government committed $4,525,104 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party. Jones' political career began 2005 New Zealand general election, in 2005 as a l ...

to upgrade the marae and nine others, creating an estimated 34 jobs.

Demographics

Ōwhata covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Ōwhata had a population of 6,468 in the

2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...

, an increase of 252 people (4.1%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 975 people (17.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,180 males, 3,261 females, and 27 people of other genders in 2,145 dwellings. 2.4% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 34.3 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,605 people (24.8%) aged under 15 years, 1,248 (19.3%) aged 15 to 29, 2,547 (39.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,068 (16.5%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 60.5% 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 ...

); 48.0%

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 ...

; 5.9% Pasifika; 9.3% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.1%, Māori by 16.1%, Samoan by 0.3%, and other languages by 9.1%. No language could be spoken by 2.0% (e.g. too young to talk).

New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...

was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 16.4, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 29.1%

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 ...

, 1.9%

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 ...

, 0.3%

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, 4.6%

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 ...

, 0.5%

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 0.3%

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

, and 1.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 54.8%, and 7.1% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 870 (17.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,724 (56.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,272 (26.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,400, compared with $41,500 nationally. 360 people (7.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 2,400 (49.4%) full-time, 654 (13.4%) part-time, and 198 (4.1%) unemployed.

Education

Ōwhata School, or Ōwata te Kura, is a primary school for year 1–6 students with a roll of . It opened in 1966. Mokoia Intermediate is a state intermediate school, with a roll of . It offers education in complete or partial

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

immersion, as well as in English. Rotorua Lakes High School is a state secondary school, with a roll of . It opened in 1971. All these schools are co-educational. Rolls are as of

References

{{Rotorua District Suburbs of Rotorua Populated places on Lake Rotorua