Whangārei Heads is a locality and volcanic promontory on the northern side of the

Whangārei Harbour Whangārei Harbour is a large harbour on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The harbour stretches from Whangārei City, and the termination of the Hātea River, south east around the Onerahi peninsula and out to the Pacific Ocea ...

in Northland, New Zealand.

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

is to the north-west, and Ocean Beach is to the south-east, with Taurikura between the two.

Mount Manaia Mount Manaia is a dominant landmark approximately southeast of Whangārei city on the Whangārei Heads peninsula. Standing 420 metres, the summit offers outstanding views of the Marsden Point Oil Refinery, Bream Bay and the Hauraki Gulf t ...

rises to to the east. Immediately to the west is McLeod Bay, which is about long. The McDonald sandbank lies a few metres offshore at low tide. The promontory to the south of the settlement consists of a hill, Mount Aubrey, and a small gravel beach about 200 metres wide, Reotahi Bay.

Geology

The heads contain the remnants of a number of extinct volcanoes with the dominant rocks being

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...

. They were formed between 16 and 22 million years ago during the early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

. They are part of a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

that extended to the

Hen and Chickens Islands The Hen and Chicken Islands, usually known as the Hen and Chickens, lie to the east of the North Auckland Peninsula off the coast of northern New Zealand. They lie east of Bream Head and south-east of Whangārei with a total area of . ...

History

Gilbert Mair purchased the entire peninsula - everything south of a line running from McLeod Bay to the Pacific Coast, about – from the Māori chief Te Tao, in 1839. He intended to resell it to Captain Bernard, but the latter was lost with his ship. The chief Te Tirarau claimed compensation of three horses because his ancestor had had blood spilt on the land, but settled for two horses in 1844. The government review of the land purchase in 1844 awarded Mair only , but Mair had sold his interest in the land to Logan Campbell. Campbell pursued his claim to the remainder of the land. A group of settlers from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, led by the Rev. Norman McLeod, settled at McLeod Bay in about 1855 although the ownership of the land had not been settled. In 1861, Campbell received the right to buy at 10/- an acre, and was granted which he sold to the Nova Scotians. On 8 February 1907 a tugboat named ''Awarua'', belonging to the

Devonport Steam Ferry Company Devonport may refer to: * Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, England ** HMNB Devonport, naval base/dockyard ** Plymouth Devonport (UK Parliament constituency), parliamentary constituency formerly known as Devonport * Devonport, New Zealand, a suburb of Au ...

, struck an uncharted rock and sunk near the Whangārei Heads. She left for

Kauri Mount ''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 ...

to pick up logs to be delivered to

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 ...

. The ship was built in Blackwall, England in 1884 and weighed 159 tons. The crew all survived.

Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Whangārei Heads as a rural settlement. The settlement covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². The settlement is part of the larger Bream Head statistical area. Whangārei Heads had a population of 948 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 15 people (−1.6%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 186 people (24.4%) since the 2013 census. There were 465 males and 483 females in 414 dwellings. 2.2% 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 ...

. The median age was 53.2 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 171 people (18.0%) aged under 15 years, 72 (7.6%) aged 15 to 29, 411 (43.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 294 (31.0%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 94.9%

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 ...

); 10.4%

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 ...

; 1.3% Pasifika; 2.2% Asian; 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.9% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.1%, Māori language by 1.3%, and other languages by 6.0%. No language could be spoken by 1.6% (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 20.6, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 25.0%

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%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, and 0.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 65.8%, and 7.0% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 177 (22.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 399 (51.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 141 (18.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $35,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 96 people (12.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 303 (39.0%) people were employed full-time, 129 (16.6%) were part-time, and 18 (2.3%) were unemployed.

Bream Head statistical area

Bream Head statistical area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Bream Head had a population of 1,431 in the

, an increase of 39 people (2.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 321 people (28.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 708 males and 720 females in 615 dwellings. 2.9% of people identified as

. The median age was 53.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 264 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 114 (8.0%) aged 15 to 29, 633 (44.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 423 (29.6%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 95.0%

(

); 12.8%

; 2.3% Pasifika; 1.9% Asian; 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.1%, Māori language by 1.5%, and other languages by 6.3%. No language could be spoken by 1.5% (e.g. too young to talk).

was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 20.8, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 22.4%

, 0.2%

, 0.4%

, and 0.8% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 68.1%, and 7.1% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 267 (22.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 612 (52.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 210 (18.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $36,400, compared with $41,500 nationally. 141 people (12.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 456 (39.1%) people were employed full-time, 207 (17.7%) were part-time, and 24 (2.1%) were unemployed.

Education

Whangarei Heads School is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of students as of The school was established in 1858, and is the second oldest school still in operation on its original site in the country.

References

External links

Whangarei Heads School
{{Whangarei District Whangarei District Headlands of the Northland Region Populated places in the Northland Region