HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pukerua Bay is a small seaside suburb at the southern end of the Kāpiti Coast,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. In local government terms it is the northernmost suburb of
Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...
City, in the
Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori language, Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is the southernmost regions of New Zealand, region of the North Island of New Zealand. The local government region covers an area of , and ...
. It is 12 km north of the Porirua City Centre on State Highway 59, and 30 km north of central
Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
. In Māori, the words ''puke rua'' literally mean ''two hills'' but it is not clear to which hills the name refers.


Geography

The majority of Pukerua Bay is situated in a saddle between hills, about 60-90m above sea level, offering sea views (and views of
Kapiti Island Kapiti Island (), sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is ...
and occasionally Mounts
Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...
and Ruapehu to the north) from many houses. The Kaikoura range on the South Island including Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku can be seen from some places at the southern end of the township. The coast around Pukerua Bay is fairly steep, with only a few houses nestled in a row behind the two sandy beach areas. The surrounding hills are mainly farm land used for sheep and cattle grazing, providing a rural backdrop to the east and west. The area to the south, along , turns into Taupō Swamp towards Plimmerton. Pukerua Bay's main residential areas are along Rawhiti Road, west of SH 59, the central clifftop, Sea Vista Drive east of SH 59 and the beach frontage extending east (Brendan Beach) and west of Beach Road. There is a pedestrian bridge over SH 59 near Wairaka Road's Kindergarten and pre-school and the school's back entrance (the main entrance is on Rawhiti Road). There are two walks between Pukerua Bay and
Plimmerton The suburb of Plimmerton lies in the northwest part of the city of Porirua in New Zealand, adjacent to some of the city's more congenial beaches. State Highway 59 and the North Island Main Trunk railway line pass just east of the main shoppi ...
(5 km south), one around the rocky coast, and one inland (part of a longer cycleway) parallel to the railway. The inland route is pre-European – it was traditionally known as ''te taua tapu'' (the sacred war-party). The cycleway is known as Te Ara Harakeke (the flax road). The coastal route goes past Marble Arch (Te Ana Puta) to Wairaka Rock on an uninhabited part of Pukerua Bay, the only mainland home of Whitaker's skink (''Oligosoma whitakeri''), an icon of the bay. According to legend, the rock is the petrified wife of culture hero Haunui-a-Nanaia, who pursued her from Māhia Peninsula, naming places on the way including Manawatū,
Ōhau Ōhau is a village and semi-rural community in the Horowhenua District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located just south of Levin, New Zealand, Levin on State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State Highway 1. The ...
and Turakina. The escarpment track between Pukerua Bay and Paekākāriki is exposed and prone to slips from significant rain events affecting SH 59 north of Pukerua Bay. The coastal road was closed three times within a year in 2022. The waters around Pukerua Bay, from a point north halfway to Paekākāriki to Wairaka Point south of Pukerua Bay, are currently protected by a '' rāhui''.


History

The earliest people known to have lived in the area around Pukerua Bay were the Ngāti Ira Māori tribe and later the Muaūpoko, who built Waimapihi
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 ...
near today's seaward end of Rawhiti Road. Pukerua Bay was on the main road for Māori travellers going north or south. About 1822, it was invaded from
Kapiti Island Kapiti Island (), sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is ...
by
Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...
and his
Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...
people. According to oral tradition, the Muaūpoko people fled up the gorge of the Waimapihi stream (on the Ohariu Fault line), abandoning their treasures on the way. The land blocks originally surveyed (Wairaka in the west, Waimapihi and Pukerua in the east) were sold to settlers from Europe for farming in the late 19th century. Charles Gray was the first resident to subdivide and sell residential sections in Pukerua Bay, in the early 20th century. Pukerua Bay's development history is curious because the railway went through it (1886) for years before there was good road access (1940), so it grew at first on the waterfront as a weekend destination. The original railway station was named "Pukerua" until it was changed briefly to Waimapihi in the 1920s and then to "Pukerua ''Bay''" to avoid confusion with "Pukerau" in the
South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
. By the end of the 1920s, Pukerua Bay numbered 100 houses, a small school on land donated by Charles Gray, and a few small stores. Electricity was put through from Plimmerton to Pukerua Bay in 1927 and in 1928 the track between Plimmerton and Pukerua Bay was formed into a narrow road. The beach remained the main attraction for weekend visitors from Wellington (by steam train) as there was still no road bridge at Paremata until 1935 and no highway until the Centennial Highway was completed in 1940. Most of the clifftop development dates from after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and Pukerua Bay has its own branch of the
Returned Services Association The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, best known simply as the RSA, is one of the largest voluntary welfare organisations in New Zealand and one of the oldest ex-service organisations in the world. Wounded soldiers returnin ...
. Pukerua Bay experienced significant growth in the 1950s and 1960s, being connected to Wellington via the
Kapiti Line Metlink's Kapiti Line is the Railway electrification system, electrified southern portion of the North Island Main Trunk railway between New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, and Waikanae on the Kāpiti Coast, operated by Transdev Wellington o ...
(which was double-tracked to Pukerua Bay and electrified to Paekakariki in 1940) and accessible from north and south via State Highway 1 (which ran through Pukerua Bay at the time). In 1973, Pukerua Bay joined Porirua City Council to get the issues of water and sewerage connection addressed. Growth continued in the 1970s with the Sea Vista Drive subdivision and soon the fact that the SH 1 route, with increasing traffic, was going through the middle of Pukerua Bay became an issue. In 1989, an over-bridge over the SH 1 route was opened, after continued lobbying by local residents, which included continually walking across the pedestrian crossing to hold up traffic. The SH 1 route through Pukerua Bay was renumbered on 7 December 2021, due to SH 1 being shifted to the
Transmission Gully Motorway The Transmission Gully motorway () is a , four-lane motorway north of Wellington, New Zealand; it is part of the State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State Highway 1. Construction began on 8 September 2014, with completion originally scheduled for Apr ...
.


Demographics

The Pukerua Bay statistical area covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Pukerua Bay had a population of 1,962 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 66 people (3.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 237 people (13.7%) since the 2006 census. There were 705 households, comprising 963 males and 999 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female. The median age was 40.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 426 people (21.7%) aged under 15 years, 303 (15.4%) aged 15 to 29, 996 (50.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 234 (11.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 91.9% 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 ...
, 14.1% Māori, 3.7% Pasifika, 2.3% Asian, and 2.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 22.9, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 60.1% had no religion, 29.4% 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 ...
, 0.3% 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 ...
, 0.5% were
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 ...
and 2.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 537 (35.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 138 (9.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $44,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 447 people (29.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 891 (58.0%) people were employed full-time, 255 (16.6%) were part-time, and 48 (3.1%) were unemployed.


Features

Pukerua Bay has a branch of Porirua Library, a Returned Servicemen's Association, tennis club, scout hall, sports field, and several nature reserves and trails. Retail facilities include a convenience store, hairdresser and second-hand bookstore. There is one railway station, Pukerua Bay railway station, on the
North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...
railway, with suburban services provided by
Metlink Metlink was the marketing body and umbrella brand for public train, tram and bus Transport in Melbourne, transport operators in Melbourne, Australia. On 2 April 2012, the operations of Metlink were transferred to the newly created public trans ...
. The train journey to Wellington takes about 35 minutes, to
Paraparaumu Paraparaumu is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kāpiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. It is also known to residents as Pram or Paraparam. Like other towns in the area, it has a ...
20 minutes. A second station, Muri railway station, 1.2 km by road north of Pukerua Bay station, was closed on 30 April 2011. Pukerua Bay's
skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...
was rebuilt in 2009 in a collaborative venture between the Porirua City Council, the Residents Association, and PKBSK8 Inc. Funding was also provided by the Caversham Foundation and the Mana Community Grants Foundation. The park is adjacent to the Pukerua Bay railway station, and replaces an old asphalt bowl which the City Council claims was the only purpose-built skatepark in the Southern Hemisphere when it opened in 1976. A popular 10-kilometre walkway, the Escarpment Track, constructed as part of the national Te Araroa Trail, links Pukerua Bay with
Paekākāriki Paekākāriki () is a town in the Kāpiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost Commuter town, towns of the wider Wellington region. It lies north of Porirua and northeast of Wellington Cent ...
. The walk features views to
Kapiti Island Kapiti Island (), sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is ...
.


Education

Pukerua Bay School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . Following primary education, most students go to either Aotea College, Mana College, or Kāpiti College for their secondary school education. Pukerua Bay also has a
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
.


Notable residents

Prominent residents are author Gay Hay, former CEO of
Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...
Dr Keith Turner, and artist Pauline Morse. Former residents include poets Louis Johnston,
Sam Hunt Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played American football, football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sport ...
, James K. Baxter, Denis Glover, Meg Campbell, Alistair Campbell, composer Jenny McLeod, film editor John Gilbert, and actress Davina Whitehouse. Pukerua Bay is also the birthplace and childhood home of film director
Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...
, whose first feature film, '' Bad Taste'', was filmed there. He later went on to direct the '' Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy and its prequel ''
The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...
'' trilogy. Karl Kippenberger, bass player of rock group
Shihad Shihad were a Rock music, rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1988. The band consisted of founders Tom Larkin (musician), Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals) and Jon To ...
also grew up in Pukerua Bay.


Notes


External links


Pukerua Bay Community web sitePukerua Bay Community Profile
from
Statistics NZ Statistics New Zealand (), branded as Stats NZ, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the collection of statistics related to the economy, population and society of New Zealand. To this end, Stats NZ produces New Zealand c ...

Photo of the Napier Express and Pukerua Bay c1932
{{Porirua Populated places in the Wellington Region Suburbs of Porirua Bays of the Wellington Region