Long Bay, New Zealand

Suburb in Auckland, New Zealand

Long Bay

Suburb

Coordinates: 36°41′06″S 174°44′28″E﻿ / ﻿36.685°S 174.741°E﻿ / -36.685; 174.741
Country| New Zealand
City| Auckland
Local authority| Auckland Council
Electoral ward| Albany ward
Local board| Hibiscus and Bays
Established| 1862[1]
Area

[2]

• Land| 285 ha (704 acres)
Population

(June 2024)[3]

• Total

| 3,910
Postcode(s)|

0792

Okura | (Karepiro Bay) | (Hauraki Gulf)

|
|

Long Bay

| (Hauraki Gulf)
Torbay Heights | Torbay | (Hauraki Gulf)

Long Bay (Māori: Oneroa)[4] is one of the northernmost suburbs of the North Shore, part of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area located in New Zealand.

## Etymology

[edit]

The origin of the name Long Bay is unclear. It is either a geographical description of the long beach,[5] or named after Alfred or Arthur Long, some of the early farmers in the area.[5][6] Traditional Māori names for the area include Whakarewatoto, referencing a battle in southern Long Bay,[7][8] and Te Oneroa ō Kahu ("The Long Beach of Kahu"), referencing the Ngāti Kahu ancestress Kahu.[7] The shortened version of this name, Te Oneroa, was used to describe the Ngāti Kahu settlement in the area until the 1850s,[9] and the name Oneroa is used in modern contexts.[4]

## Geography

[edit]

Long Bay is the site of an extensive beach. The beach forms a part of the Long Bay Regional Park, while the surrounding shoreline is a part of the Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve

Long Bay is a suburb of the North Shore of New Zealand, and the northernmost suburb of the North Shore along the east coast of the Hauraki Gulf.[10][11] The suburb has two major streams: Vaughan Stream / Awaruaika Creek,[12][13] and the Awaruku Creek in the south (also known as the Waikariwatoto Creek).[14][5] The bay forms the eastern border of the suburb, and looks out to the Hauraki Gulf and the Coromandel Peninsula.[15]

The eastern coast is occupied by the Long Bay Regional Park, and the shoreline is in Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve, which opened in 1995.[16] The beach is sandy and swimming is safe. It offers forest walks and scenic cliffs.[17] This beach has low tide water.[18][19] Smaller beaches to the north, such as Pohutukawa Bay, accessible except at high tide, are among Auckland's most popular naturist spots;[9][20] The headland at the northeast of the suburb is called Piripiri Point.[21]

The land at Long Bay is primarily made up of Waitemata Group sandstone, which formed during the Miocene approximately 16 to 22 million years ago on the seafloor. Gradually, the seafloor was uplifted due to tectonic forces.[5] Prior to human settlement, inland Long Bay was primarily a northern broadleaf podocarp forest, dominated by tōtara, mataī, miro, kauri and kahikatea trees. Pōhutukawa trees were a major feature of the coastline.[22]

## History

[edit]

### Māori history

[edit]

Te Piripiri / Pipiri Point (right) was used as a defensive pā site

Māori settlement of the Auckland Region began around the 13th or 14th centuries.[23][7] The North Shore was settled by Tāmaki Māori, including people descended from the Tainui migratory canoe and ancestors of figures such as Taikehu and Peretū.[24]

Many of the early Tāmaki Māori people of the North Shore identified as Ngā Oho.[25] While the poor soils of the East Coast Bays area was a barrier to agriculture and settlement, Long Bay was one of the three most densely settled areas of the North Shore,[26] and the area features extensive archaeological sites.[12] Long Bay was a focal point for transport in the wider area, with many ara (overland paths) connecting Long Bay to Ōkura over the cliffs, and to Oteha and the Lukas Creek in Albany to the south-west.[24][26]

The warrior Maki migrated from the Kāwhia Harbour to his ancestral home in the Auckland Region, likely sometime in the 17th century. Maki conquered and unified many the Tāmaki Māori tribes as Te Kawerau ā Maki, including those of the North Shore.[27][28] A major conflict between Maki and Ngā Oho occurred in southern Long Bay called Te Whakarewatoto,[7] which became a name his Ngāti Manuhiri descendants used for the area.[8]

After Maki's death, his sons settled different areas of his lands, creating new hapū. His sons Manuhiri and Maraeariki settled the North Shore and Hibiscus Coast. Maraeariki's daughter Kahu succeeded him, and she is both the namesake of the North Shore, Te Whenua Roa ō Kahu ("The Greater Lands of Kahu"),[8][29] and the beach and bay of Long Bay, Te Oneroa ō Kahu ("The Long Beach of Kahu").[7] Many of the iwi of the North Shore, including Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Maraeariki, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Poataniwha, Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki and Ngāti Whātua, can trace their lineage to Kahu.[29][30]

From the conquest until the early 19th century, Ngāti Kahu and Ngāti Poataniwha, two hapū who descend from Kahu, lived at Long Bay.[12][13] A defensive headland pā was constructed at Te Piripiri (Pipiri Point),[13][5] and a kāinga was settled at Te Awaruaika (the shores of Awaruaika, or Vaughans' Stream).[26][13] By the 18th century, the Marutūāhu iwi Ngāti Paoa had expanded their influence to include the islands of the Hauraki Gulf and the North Shore.[31] After periods of conflict, peace had been reached by the 1790s.[32] The earliest contact with Europeans began in the late 18th century, which caused many Tāmaki Māori to die of rewharewha, respiratory diseases.[33] During the early 1820s, most Māori of the North Shore fled for the Waikato or Northland due to the threat of war parties during the Musket Wars. Most people had returned by the 1830s,[12][8] and remained at Te Oneroa until the 1850s.[9]

### European settlement

[edit]

Watercolour by Alice McArthur showing Long Bay in 1897 The Vaughan Homestead is the historic farmhouse of the Vaughan family, who farmed the area for over 100 years. Residential and commercial development underway in 2017

The first Europeans to visit the area were in the 1830s, when timber merchants and kauri gum diggers harvested resources from Long Bay.[12] In 1841, the Crown purchased the Mahurangi and Omaha blocks; an area that spanned from Takapuna to Te Ārai. The purchase involved some iwi with customary interests in the area, such as Ngāti Paoa, other Marutūāhu iwi and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, but not others, such as Te Kawerau ā Maki or Ngāti Rango.[34][35][30][36] The Crown spent until 1873 rectifying this sale, by making further deals with stakeholders.[35][36]

The first European settlers arrived in the 1850s,[12] including Alexander Pannil and Joshua Alias, who worked to clear the bush for farming.[6] In 1860, Captain Charles Cholmondeley-Smith and his family leased land at Long Bay for a sheep farm, but left after three years as the venture was unsuccessful.[6] In 1862, the Vaughan family purchased 600 acres of farmland at Long Bay, where they ran a sheep and cattle farm for 100 years.[12][37] The historic Vaughan Homestead was constructed in 1863.[13]

In 1929 Tom Vaughan, opened a campground for holidaymakers at the southern end of the beach, near the Awaruku Creek.[5] After the death of their mother Margaret Vaughan in 1935, the Vaughan sons Bert and Tom split the property into two east and west sections and farmed these separately.[38] During the Second World War, a gun emplacement was built on the coast north of the park in case to defend against invasion by Japanese forces.[39]

The area was sparsely populated in the first half of the 20th century, with only five cottages in Long Bay existing in 1942.[6] After the construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1959, the population of the area began to gradually increase.[40] In 1965 the Vaughan family sold the eastern section of their farm to the Auckland Regional Council,[12] who developed Long Bay Regional Park in the early 1970s as one of the first regional parks in Auckland.[13] Long Bay College was established in 1975,[5] when the surrounding area was still predominantly rural farmland.

In the 1990s zoning changes at Long Bay enabled significantly more housing to be constructed.[41] Areas of farmland above Long Bay Regional Park were protected from development by an Environment Court ruling in July 2008.[42][43] Due to changes in the Auckland Council's Unitary Plan, major housing developments were constructed at Long Bay in the late 2010s.[44][45]

## Local government

[edit]

The first local government in the area was the Lake District, which was established in 1866, followed by the Weiti Highway Board in 1867.[46] From 1876 the area was administered by the Waitemata County, a large rural county north and west of the city of Auckland.[47] In 1954, the area to the south formed the East Coast Bays Borough, with Long Bay remaining a part of the Waitemata County.[47][48]

On 1 August 1974, the Waitemata County was dissolved,[49] and Long Bay became a rural area incorporated into Takapuna City.[50] In 1989, Long Bay was merged into the North Shore City.[48] North Shore City was amalgamated into Auckland Council in November 2010.[51]

Within the Auckland Council, Long Bay is a part of the Hibiscus and Bays local government area governed by the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board. It is a part of the Albany ward, which elects two councillors to the Auckland Council.

## Amenities

[edit]

* Long Bay Regional Park, one of the most visited regional parks in Auckland.[13] Within the park is the Vaughan Homestead, the historic home of the Vaughan family which was leased to the Torbay Historical Society in 1993, who restored the building.[52]
* Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve, the first urban marine reserve in New Zealand, established in 1995.[53]
* Sir Peter Blake Marine Education and Recreation Centre, a marine educational facility that was established in 1990.[54]

## Demographics

[edit]

Long Bay covers 2.85 km2 (1.10 sq mi)[2] and had an estimated population of 3,910 as of June 2024,[3] with a population density of 1,372 people per km2.

Historical populationYear| Pop.| ±% p.a.

|
|

2006| 147| —
2013| 183| +3.18%
2018| 1,365| +49.46%
2023| 3,141| +18.14%
Source: [55][56]

Long Bay had a population of 3,141 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,776 people (130.1%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 2,958 people (1616.4%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,548 males, 1,584 females and 12 people of other genders in 933 dwellings.[57] 3.1% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 36.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 705 people (22.4%) aged under 15 years, 588 (18.7%) aged 15 to 29, 1,557 (49.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 291 (9.3%) aged 65 or older.[56]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 50.6% European (Pākehā); 3.0% Māori; 1.3% Pasifika; 46.2% Asian; 3.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 89.1%, Māori language by 0.3%, Samoan by 0.3%, and other languages by 45.8%. No language could be spoken by 2.6% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.1%. The percentage of people born overseas was 62.0, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 27.4% Christian, 1.4% Hindu, 1.4% Islam, 1.4% Buddhist, 0.1% New Age, and 1.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 62.8%, and 4.0% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 840 (34.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 876 (36.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 480 (19.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $49,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 627 people (25.7%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,320 (54.2%) people were employed full-time, 330 (13.5%) were part-time, and 51 (2.1%) were unemployed.[56]

## Education

[edit]

Long Bay College is a secondary (years 9 - 13) school with a roll of 1844 students.[58] The college celebrated its 25th jubilee in 2000.[59] Long Bay School is a contributing primary (years 1 - 6) school with a roll of 542 students.[60][61] Both schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of July 2025.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Long Bay - About".
2. ^ a b "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service". Statistical Area 2 2023 (generalised). Retrieved 23 December 2024.
3. ^ a b "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
4. ^ a b "Oneroa Long Bay". Discover Auckland. Tātaki Auckland Unlimited. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
5. ^ a b c d e f g Lutz, Heike; Chan, Theresa (2011). North Shore heritage – North Shore area studies and scheduled items list: volume 2 parts 6+ (PDF). Heritage Consultancy Services (Report). Auckland Council. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
6. ^ a b c d Willis 2018, pp. 4–5.
7. ^ a b c d e Boffa Miskell. Penlink Cultural & Environmental Design Framework: Penlink Cultural and Environmental Context (PDF) (Report). Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
8. ^ a b c d Ngāti Manuhiri; The Crown (21 May 2011). "Deed of Settlement of Historical Claims" (PDF). New Zealand Government. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
9. ^ a b c Ewen Cameron, Bruce Hayward and Graeme Murdoch (1997). A Field Guide to Auckland: Exploring the Region's Natural and Historic Heritage. p. 132\. ISBN 1-86962-014-3.
10. ^ "Long Bay". New Zealand Gazetteer. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
11. ^ Gregory's Auckland & Surrounds Street Directory (3rd ed.). 2008. p. map 39. ISBN 978-0-7319-2048-8.
12. ^ a b c d e f g h Trilford, Danielle; Campbell, Matthew (30 July 2018). Long Bay Regional Park Northern Entrance, archaeological investigations (HNZPTA authority 2016/575) (PDF) (Report). CFG Heritage Ltd. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
13. ^ a b c d e f g Regional Parks Management Plan: Volume 1: Management Policies (PDF) (Report). Auckland Regional Council. August 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
14. ^ "Awaruku Creek". New Zealand Gazetteer. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
15. ^ "Long Bay". New Zealand Gazetteer. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
16. ^ "Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
17. ^ Long Bay Beach at travelaol.com
18. ^ Photo of low tide water
19. ^ Long Bay beach at trampingtracks.co.nz
20. ^ Coates, Joe (28 January 2018). "The Best Nudist Beaches in New Zealand". Culture Trip. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
21. ^ "Piripiri Point". New Zealand Gazetteer. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
22. ^ Veart, Dave (2018). The Māori Archaeology of Te Raki Paewhenua/North Shore (Report). Auckland North Community and Development. p. 10\. ISBN 978-0-9941358-4-1.
23. ^ Pishief, Elizabeth; Shirley, Brendan (August 2015). "Waikōwhai Coast Heritage Study" (PDF). Auckland Council. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
24. ^ a b Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki (April 2016). Cultural Values Assessment Report to New Zealand Transport Agency for Northern Corridor Improvements Project (NCI) (PDF) (Report). NZ Transport Agency. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
25. ^ Mossman, Sarah (August 2018). Cultural Values Assessment for America's Cup 36 - Wynyard and Hobson Planning Application (PDF). Te Kawerau Iwi Tribunal Authority (Report). Retrieved 30 June 2023.
26. ^ a b c Heritage Consultancy Services (1 July 2011). North Shore Heritage - Thematic Review Report Volume 1 (PDF) (Report). Auckland Council. ISBN 978-1-927169-21-6. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
27. ^ "Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area" (PDF). Auckland Council. December 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
28. ^ Murdoch, Graeme (1990). "Nga Tohu o Waitakere: the Maori Place Names of the Waitakere River Valley and its Environs; their Background History and an Explanation of their Meaning". In Northcote-Bade, James (ed.). West Auckland Remembers, Volume 1. West Auckland Historical Society. p. 13-14. ISBN 0-473-00983-8.
29. ^ a b Whaanga, Mel (March 2022). "He taonga o te rohe". Restore Hibiscus & Bays. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
30. ^ a b Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki and the Trustees of the Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki Trust and the Crown (7 November 2015). "Deed of settlement schedule documents" (PDF). NZ Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
31. ^ New Zealand Government; Ngāti Paoa (20 March 2021). "Ngāti Pāoa and the Trustees of the Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust and The Crown Deed of Settlement of Historical Claims" (PDF). New Zealand Government. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
32. ^ "Wenderholm Regional Park: Our History" (PDF). Auckland Council. 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
33. ^ McKenzie, Fiona (May 2017). "Cultural Values Assessment for the Warkworth North Structure Plan and Associated Development" (PDF). Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust. Auckland Council. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
34. ^ Rigby, Barry (August 1998). The Crown, Maori and Mahurangi 1840-1881 (PDF) (Report). Waitangi Tribunal. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
35. ^ a b Stone 2001, pp. 188.
36. ^ a b Te Kawerau ā Maki; The Trustees of Te Kawerau Iwi Settlement Trust; The Crown (22 February 2014). "Deed of Settlement of Historical Claim" (PDF). Retrieved 4 July 2023.
37. ^ Verran, David 2010, pp. 36.
38. ^ Gray & Sturm 2008, pp. 22.
39. ^ "Long Bay". Auckland Regional Council. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
40. ^ Gray & Sturm 2008, pp. 119.
41. ^ He hītori mō te hanga ā-tāone o Tāmaki Makaurau: A brief history of Auckland's urban form (PDF) (Report). Auckland Council. December 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
42. ^ Thompson, Wayne (21 July 2008). "Court ruling delights Long Bay park group". The New Zealand Herald.
43. ^ "Outcome From the Environment Court". Long Bay Okura Great Park Society. November 2008 newsletter. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
44. ^ Gibson, Anne (2 August 2014). "Long Bay development starts to rise". The New Zealand Herald.
45. ^ "Long Bay Urban Development – Woods". Retrieved 16 November 2021.
46. ^ Bloomfield 1973, pp. 50–51, 122.
47. ^ a b Reidy, Jade (2009). "How the West Was Run". In Macdonald, Finlay; Kerr, Ruth (eds.). West: The History of Waitakere. Random House. pp. 238–239\. ISBN 9781869790080.
48. ^ a b Mace, Tania (October 2006). "Browns Bay Heritage Walk" (PDF). North Shore City Council. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
49. ^ Adam, Jack; Burgess, Vivien; Ellis, Dawn (2004). Rugged Determination: Historical Window on Swanson 1854-2004. Swanson Residents and Ratepayers Association Inc. pp. 38–39\. ISBN 0-476-00544-2.
50. ^ Thematic Heritage Overview: AGRICULTURE/horticulture/undeveloped land/public open space 1960 - PRESENT (PDF) (Report). Auckland Council. July 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
51. ^ Blakeley, Roger (2015). "The planning framework for Auckland 'super city': an insider's view". Policy Quarterly. 11 (4). doi:10.26686/pq.v11i4.4572. ISSN 2324-1101.
52. ^ Gray & Sturm 2008, pp. 122.
53. ^ Gray & Sturm 2008, pp. 139.
54. ^ Gray & Sturm 2008, pp. 137–139.
55. ^ "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Long Bay (116500). 2018 Census place summary: Long Bay
56. ^ a b c "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Long Bay (116500). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
57. ^ "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
58. ^ Education Counts: Long Bay College
59. ^ "Jubilees & reunions - Long Bay College". Education Gazette New Zealand. 78 (5). 29 March 1999.
60. ^ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
61. ^ Education Counts: Long Bay School

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Bloomfield, G.T. (1973). The Evolution of Local Government Areas in Metropolitan Auckland, 1840–1971. Auckland University Press, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-647714-X.
* Gray, Marie; Sturm, Jennifer, eds. (June 2008). ...And Then Came the Bridge. A History of Long Bay and Torbay. Torbay Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-473-13957-5.
* Stone, R. C. J. (2001). From Tamaki-makau-rau to Auckland. Auckland University Press. ISBN 1869402596.
* Verran, David (2010). The North Shore: An Illustrated History. North Shore: Random House. ISBN 978-1-86979-312-8. OCLC 650320207. Wikidata Q120520385.
* Willis, Jenny (2018). Early History of East Coast Bays (Second ed.).

## External links

[edit]

* Photographs of Long Bay held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.

* v
* t
* e

East Coast Bays, Auckland, New Zealand

Populated places|

* Browns Bay
* Campbells Bay
* Castor Bay*
* Long Bay
* Mairangi Bay
* Murrays Bay
* Northcross
* Ōkura
* Redvale
* Rothesay Bay
* Torbay
* Waiake

Geographic features|

* Karepiro Bay
* Ōkura River
* Pōhutukawa Bay

Facilities and attractions|

* Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve
* Long Bay Regional Park
* Sir Peter Blake Marine Education and Recreation Centre

Government|

* Auckland Council
* Hibiscus and Bays Local Board
* Albany Ward
* North Shore City Council (defunct)
* Rodney District Council (defunct)
* East Coast Bays electorate

Organisations|

* East Coast Bays AFC
* East Coast Bays Barracudas
* The Corelli International Academic School of the Arts (defunct)
* Long Bay College

*Castor Bay is located outside of the East Coast Bays subdivision of Hibiscus and Bays

Long Bay, New Zealand at Wikipedia's sister projects:

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*[±% p.a.]: Per annum growth rate
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