Pākiri is a locality in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, in the former

Rodney District Rodney District was a local government area in the northernmost part of New Zealand's Auckland Region from 1989 to 2010. It included Kawau Island. It was created from the amalgamation of Helensville Borough and Rodney County in 1989. The seat ...

of New Zealand.

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

is about to the south-east. The Pākiri River flows through the area and into the

Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Ngāti Wai Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

chief, Te Kiri. The beach was originally known by the name Ngā One Haea o Pākiri ("The Gleaming White Sands of Pakiri"), Pākiri being the name of the Ngāti Wai

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 ...

found at the headlands of the Pākiri River. Ngāti Manuhiri, an iwi descended from the early Ngāti Wai ancestors in the area, are the

mana whenua In New Zealand, tangata whenua () is a Māori term that translates to "people of the land". It can refer to either a specific group of people with historical claims to a district, or more broadly the Māori people who's common ancestors are bur ...

for the Pākiri area.

Geography

Pākiri Beach is a white sandy beach to the north. It is a tourist destination known for its natural environment. The

Auckland Regional Council The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The ARC ...

purchased two blocks of land in 2005, totalling , with of beach frontage, and is developed this into the Pākiri Regional Park.

History

During the 1860s, Pākiri Beach was the location of a

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

sawmill at the mouth of the Pākiri River. A Pakiri Road District was formed 26 September 1867 but no evidence exists of a road board ever being operational and the district is not mentioned after 1876. Suction

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

has been used to mine sand from the sea floor off the coast since the 1950s. This caused controversy in 1994, when of sand was to be extracted to bolster the popular Mission Bay in Auckland, and was brought to the Planning Tribunal in the case ''Haddon v Auckland Regional Council'' for violation of the

Resource Management Act 1991 The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zea ...

, and its provisions for

kaitiakitanga Kaitiakitanga is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship of the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as kai ...

Demographics

Pākiri is in an SA1 statistical area which covers and includes Pākiri Beach. The SA1 area is part of the larger Cape Rodney statistical area. The SA1 statistical area had a population of 192 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 21 people (12.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 51 people (36.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 93 males, 99 females and 3 people of other genders in 72 dwellings. 4.7% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 50.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 21 people (10.9%) aged under 15 years, 30 (15.6%) aged 15 to 29, 93 (48.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 48 (25.0%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 76.6% 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 ...

); 37.5%

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 ...

; 6.2% Pasifika; 3.1% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 95.3%, Māori language by 7.8%, Samoan by 1.6%, and other languages by 6.2%. No language could be spoken by 3.1% (e.g. too young to talk). The percentage of people born overseas was 10.9, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 26.6%

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 ...

, 18.8%

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 ...

, 1.6%

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 1.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 48.4%, and 6.2% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 27 (15.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 99 (57.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 42 (24.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $36,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 12 people (7.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 72 (42.1%) people were employed full-time, 39 (22.8%) were part-time, and 3 (1.8%) were unemployed.

Education

Pakiri School is a coeducational full primary school (years 1-8) with a roll of students as of Most children are of Māori descent and are affiliated to Ngati Wai and Ngati Manuhiri. The school celebrated its 125th jubilee in 2002.

References

{{Rodney Local Board Area Wellsford Subdivision Rodney Local Board Area Populated places in the Auckland Region