Mangawhai
Encyclopedia
Mangawhai is a locality in Northland, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 around the Mangawhai Harbour. The township of Mangawhai is at the south west extent of the harbour, and the township of Mangawhai Heads is 5 km north east. Kaiwaka
Kaiwaka
Kaiwaka "the little town of lights" is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Kaiwaka River runs from the east through the area and joins with the Wairau River to form the Otamatea River, which drains into the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 1 passes through Kaiwaka...

 is 13 km south west, and Waipu
Waipu
Waipu is a small town in Bream Bay, in the Northland Region of New Zealand, with a Scottish heritage. The population was 1,491 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 222 from 2001. A highlight of the town's calendar is the annual Highland Games held at New Year...

 is 20 km north west of Mangawhai Heads.

The population for the Mangawhai statistical district was 813 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 189 from 2001. The statistical district covers a significantly larger area than the township. The population for Mangawhai Heads was 852 in 2006, up 132 from 2001.

History

In the early and mid 19th century, Mangawhai Harbour was one of the main access points for the Kaipara
Kaipara District
-Geography:Kaipara District is located in the low hills around the northern shores of the Kaipara Harbour, a large natural harbour open to the Tasman Sea...

. Ngāti Whātua
Ngati Whatua
Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It consists of four hapu : Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei....

 used to drag waka
Waka (canoe)
Waka are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes used for fishing and river travel, to large decorated war canoes up to long...

 from Kaiwaka to Mangawhai. A Ngā Puhi war party landed at Mangawhai in February 1825 (memorial plinth, Mangawhai Museum and all publications regarding Mangawhai early history) and moved 12 km inland to confront the Ngāti Whātua
Ngati Whatua
Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It consists of four hapu : Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei....

 at Te Ika-a-ranga-nui near Kaiwaka.

Later in the 19th century, settlers would travel by boat from Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 to Mangawhai, walk to Kaiwaka, and then travel on the water again across the Kaipara Harbour
Kaipara Harbour
Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Rodney District...

. By the early 1860s, a dray road existed between Mangawhai and Kaiwaka.

Sand mining

Sand mining
Sand mining
Sand mining is a practice that is becoming an environmental issue as the demand for sand increases in industry and construction. Sand is mined from beaches and inland dunes and dredged from ocean beds and river beds. It is often used in manufacturing as an abrasive, for example, and it is used to...

 began at the Mangawhai Harbour entrance pre 1940 (Eye witness accounts by all that resided at Mangawhai). In 1978 the collapse of sand dunes closed the harbour, and it took five and a half years before it was reopened. The Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society believes the sand mining caused the collapse.

From 1993 to 2004, sand was commercially suction-dredged from the sandbars of Mangawhai Heads. In 2004, the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society won an Environment Court decision to stop the issue of new licences. The companies such as McCallum Brothers
McCallum Brothers
McCallum Brothers is an Auckland, New Zealand-based sand and construction aggregate supplier. Its main products are sand and jasper . The company mainly supplies building and roading companies in the North Island of New Zealand, and it also provides sand for beach replenishment...

, re-applied to the Auckland Regional Council
Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...

 for resource consent but the application was turned down in 2005.

An application to sand mine in the Mangawhai Forest is being heard by the Environment Court.

Education

Mangawhai Beach School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating
Socio-Economic Decile
Decile, Socio-Economic Decile or Socio-Economic Decile Band is a widely used measure in education in New Zealand used to target funding and support to more needy schools....

of 6 and a roll of 285.

External links

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