Whangamatā
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The town of Whangamatā is on the southeast coast of the
Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula () on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean ...
in the
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 ...
of New Zealand. It is located 30 kilometres north of
Waihi Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. The town is at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, close to the western end of the Bay of Plenty. The nearby res ...
, to the north of the western extremity of 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 ...
. In holiday times the population swells considerably: New Year's celebrations fill the town to over 25,000 though this falls soon after New Year's Day. A number of off-shore islands can be seen from the beach. ''Hauturu'' or Clark Island is accessible by wading at low tide and is popular in summer months for rock-pool fossickers and kayakers. ''Whenuakura'', sometimes known as Donut Island, sits about a kilometre east of the southern part of Whangamatā beach (Otahu Beach).
Tuatara The tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') is a species of reptile endemic to New Zealand. Despite its close resemblance to lizards, it is actually the only extant member of a distinct lineage, the previously highly diverse order Rhynchocephal ...
roamed on Whenuakura until fairly recently. Whenuakura Island has a large collapsed blow hole which has formed a small beach inside the island – hence the alternative name. The town has two ocean beaches, both of which are extremely safe for swimming and surfing. There is a safe boating harbour at the North end of the town and another estuary at the South end. 15 minutes drive south of Whangamatā is the quietly popular beach Whiritoa. Other beaches just north of Whangamatā are Onemana and Opoutere.


Place name

The
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 ...
name 'Whangamatā' comes from the words 'whanga', which means bay, and 'matā', which means a hard stone, in reference to the
obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...
which washes up on the beach. Areas along the coast such as Onemana were locations where matā (
chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...
) and matā tūhua (obsidian) were found and processed into stone tools.


Demographics

Stats NZ describes Whangamatā as a small urban area. It covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Whangamatā had a population of 4,269 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 195 people (4.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 753 people (21.4%) since the 2013 census. There were 2,100 males, 2,151 females and 15 people of other genders in 1,926 dwellings. 1.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 59.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 519 people (12.2%) aged under 15 years, 405 (9.5%) aged 15 to 29, 1,623 (38.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,719 (40.3%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 91.4% 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 ...
); 14.8%
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 ...
; 2.2% Pasifika; 2.5% Asian; 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.6%, Māori language by 1.8%, Samoan by 0.1%, and other languages by 5.1%. No language could be spoken by 0.9% (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 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 14.0, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 28.2%
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 ...
, 0.6%
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 ...
, 0.1%
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 ...
, 0.3%
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 ...
, 0.4%
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 ...
, 0.4%
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 0.8% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 59.9%, and 9.3% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 624 (16.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,190 (58.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 936 (25.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $30,500, compared with $41,500 nationally. 267 people (7.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,236 (33.0%) people were employed full-time, 588 (15.7%) were part-time, and 63 (1.7%) were unemployed.


Rural area

Whangamatā Rural statistical area, which includes Onemana and Opoutere, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Whangamatā Rural had a population of 522 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 90 people (20.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 165 people (46.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 261 males and 258 females in 231 dwellings. 1.1% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 53.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 69 people (13.2%) aged under 15 years, 60 (11.5%) aged 15 to 29, 237 (45.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 153 (29.3%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 86.2% 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 ...
); 23.0%
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 ...
; 0.6% Pasifika; 1.7% Asian; 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.7%, Māori language by 7.5%, Samoan by 0.6%, and other languages by 7.5%. No language could be spoken by 1.1% (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 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 19.5, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 25.9%
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 ...
, 1.1%
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 ...
, 0.6%
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 ...
, 0.6%
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 0.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 64.4%, and 7.5% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 99 (21.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 252 (55.6%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 102 (22.5%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $33,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 39 people (8.6%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 171 (37.7%) people were employed full-time, 87 (19.2%) were part-time, and 9 (2.0%) were unemployed.


Education

Whangamata Area School is a coeducational composite school (years 1–13) with a roll of students as of


Marina

A controversial marina has been constructed on the Whangamatā estuary. An
Environment Court The Environment Court of New Zealand () is a specialist court for plans, resource consents and Natural environment, environmental issues. It mainly deals with issues arising under the Resource Management Act 1991, Resource Management Act, meani ...
hearing stipulated that the marina could go ahead as long as certain conditions were met. Chris Carter, a former Minister of Conservation, blocked the development but his decision was judicially reviewed by the marina developers. The decision was sent back to Conservation Minister Chris Carter, who stated that in the interests of transparency he would then give the final decision to
Environment Minister An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of a ...
David Benson-Pope David Henry Benson-Pope (born 1950) is a New Zealand politician. He is a former Member of Parliament for Dunedin South and has been a member of the Dunedin City Council since 2013. Benson-Pope previously served as a Dunedin city councillor fro ...
, who allowed the marina to go ahead provided that strict conditions were met regarding containment of dredged materials during construction and monitoring of the surf break at the estuary's entrance. The marina opened in November 2009.


Climate


See also

* Whangamata Beach Hop


References


External links


Whangamata Area School

Whangamata Surf Lifesaving Club Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whangamata Thames-Coromandel District Populated places in Waikato Surfing locations in New Zealand Beaches of Waikato