Maraetai is a coastal town and the easternmost suburb of greater

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The closest town, Beachlands, lies approximately 4 km to the west. Its name is

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 ...

meaning "meeting place by the sea". Maraetai was the original name for the smooth, calm tidal passage now known as

Tamaki Strait The Tamaki Strait is one of several passes between the islands of the inner Hauraki Gulf, close to the mouth of the Waitematā Harbour near Auckland city in New Zealand. The strait separates the North Island mainland from Waiheke Island along ...

, which is sheltered by Te Motu Arai-roa ("The Long Sheltering Island") now called

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most po ...

. The site of present-day Maraetai suburb was formerly the pā and kāinga (village) settlement known as Pohaturoa. In English, Maraetai means "meeting place by the sea". One of the better known functions of a marae is to facilitate

hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

(tribal gatherings). Maraetai's residents do not use city mains water and instead must use water tanks and bore water. Many residents prefer it to be kept this way to maintain the town's rural aspect. Maraetai's beaches are popular destinations for other Aucklanders and are often crowded in the summer months.

Demographics

Maraetai covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Rainbow At Maraetai Beach New Zealand

Maraetai had a population of 2,346 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 147 people (6.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 483 people (25.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 831 households, comprising 1,170 males and 1,176 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 42.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 486 people (20.7%) aged under 15 years, 357 (15.2%) aged 15 to 29, 1,170 (49.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 330 (14.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 93.9% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New Z ...

, 9.5%

, 2.9% Pacific peoples, 2.9% Asian, and 2.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 28.3, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 54.3% had no religion, 36.8% were Christian, 0.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.4% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 1.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 498 (26.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 216 (11.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $48,700, compared with $31,800 nationally. 624 people (33.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,047 (56.3%) people were employed full-time, 282 (15.2%) were part-time, and 48 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Education

Maraetai Beach School is a coeducational full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of as of

References

{{Franklin Local Board Area Populated places in the Auckland Region Beaches of the Auckland Region Populated places around the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana