Western Heights is a neighbourhood of

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

, in West Auckland, New Zealand. Western Heights School and the nearby shops are the centre of the community. Western Heights is a "frontier suburb", separating suburban Auckland from lifestyle farming blocks, orchards and the Waitākere Ranges. Part of the area was called Summerland, from an export apple grown in local orchards in the mid-20th century.

History

In the 1920s, the area was sparsely populated. The Sturges Road area was home to orchards, primarily grown by immigrant families from

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

Demographics

Western Heights covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Western Heights had a population of 9,291 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 ...

, a decrease of 33 people (−0.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 780 people (9.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 4,575 males, 4,704 females and 18 people of other genders in 2,817 dwellings. 1.9% of people identified as

LGBTIQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

. There were 1,785 people (19.2%) aged under 15 years, 1,755 (18.9%) aged 15 to 29, 4,473 (48.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,278 (13.8%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 41.5%

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

(

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 ...

); 10.2%

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 ...

; 12.2% Pasifika; 45.9% Asian; 2.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 92.3%, Māori language by 2.3%, Samoan by 3.5%, and other languages by 36.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.3% (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 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 46.9, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 36.2%

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 ...

, 9.0%

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 ...

, 4.6%

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 ...

, 0.6%

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 ...

, 2.2%

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 ...

, 0.1%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and 1.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 39.5%, and 6.0% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 2,322 (30.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 3,267 (43.5%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,926 (25.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 972 people (12.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 4,080 (54.4%) people were employed full-time, 870 (11.6%) were part-time, and 207 (2.8%) were unemployed.

Education

Western Heights School and Summerland Primary are coeducational contributing primary (years 1–6) schools with rolls of and respectively, as of Summerland Primary opened in 2002. The area is named for the summerland apple variety once grown there. The local State secondary schools are Henderson High School, Waitakere College,

Massey High School Massey High School is a co-educational state secondary school in West Auckland, New Zealand established in 1969. The school is located on the western edge of the city, thus obtaining students from both suburban and rural backgrounds. In 2017 i ...

Liston College Liston College is a school in Henderson, New Zealand, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand, for year seven to 13 boys and offers a Roman Catholic, Catholic education to its students. It was the second List of Christian Brothers schools, school open ...

and St Dominic's College.

References

External links

Photographs of Western Heights
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{Henderson-Massey Local Board Area Suburbs of Auckland Henderson-Massey Local Board Area West Auckland, New Zealand