Farm Cove, New Zealand

Farm Cove is located on the eastern shores of the Tāmaki River.{{Cite web |url=https://gazetteer.linz.govt.nz/place/20567 |title=Farm Cove |website=New Zealand Gazetteer |publisher=Land Information New Zealand|access-date=25 June 2023}} The Wakaaranga Creek forms a border to the north between Farm Cove and Half Moon Bay.{{Cite web |url=https://gazetteer.linz.govt.nz/place/22048 |title=Half Moon Bay |website=New Zealand Gazetteer |publisher=Land Information New Zealand|access-date=25 June 2023}}{{Cite web |url=https://gazetteer.linz.govt.nz/place/47351 |title=Wakaaranga Creek |website=New Zealand Gazetteer |publisher=Land Information New Zealand|access-date=25 June 2023}} A kauri tree fossil forest can be found around the shoreline of Farm Cove at Sanctuary Point, which may have formed after a volcanic eruption around 26,000 years ago.{{sfn|La Roche, Alan|2011|pp=139}}

For the first 100 years of European settlement, Farm Cove was considered a rural area of Pakuranga.{{sfn|La Roche, Alan|2011|pp=139}} In 1843, settler Joseph Hargreaves purchased 83 acres of land around Farm Cove, and built a residence he called Butley, near the site of modern-day Farm Cove Intermediate.{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/655/rec/1 |title=24 August 1843 |at=MJ_0114 |publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |access-date=21 June 2023}}{{sfn|La Roche, Alan|2011|pp=325}} More settlers arrived in the wider area after 1847, when Howick was established as a defensive outpost for Auckland, by fencibles (retired British Army soldiers) and their families.{{sfn|La Roche, Alan|2011|pp=48}} A ferry operated between the Bramley Drive Reserve Beach and Point England between 1847 and 1865, transporting people across the Tāmaki River.{{sfn|La Roche, Alan|2011|pp=325}} In the 19th Century, the Gill dairy farm was established at Farm Cove, which supplied Auckland city.{{sfn|La Roche, Alan|2011|pp=139}}

The suburb was developed by Fletcher Construction in the late 1960s and early 1970s.{{cite web|url=https://collection.fletcherarchives.co.nz/objects/2468/fletcher-construction-co-ltd-residential-housing-new-zealand |title=Fletcher Construction Co Ltd: residential housing, New Zealand |website=Fletcher Archives |access-date=25 June 2023}} Fletcher named the suburb after Joseph Hargreaves' farm house,{{sfn|La Roche, Alan|2011|pp=139}} which was demolished only a few years later in 1972. In 1971, the Pakuranga Junior Sailing Club moved to Farm Cove from Pakuranga,{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/304/rec/3 |title=4 July 1967 |at=MJ_4256 |publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |access-date=25 June 2023}} and in 1973 the Farm Cove Shopping Centre was opened.{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/4497/rec/4 |title=24 October 1973 |at=MJ_4693 |publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |access-date=25 June 2023}}

In 1999, Farm Cove Observatory, a private observatory was established by Fred Goodfellow.{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/1344/rec/8 |title=4 June 1999 |at=MJ_6621 |publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |access-date=25 June 2023}}

Farm Cove covers {{Convert|0.84|km2||abbr=on}}{{Cite web|title=Stats NZ Geographic Data Service|url=https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz/data/|at=Statistical Area 2 2023 (generalised)|access-date=25 January 2025}} and had an estimated population of {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Farm Cove|y}} as of {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|||y|y||,}} with a population density of {{Decimals|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Farm Cove|y}}|R}}/0.84|0}} people per km².

{{Historical populations|2006|2,472|2013|2,163|2018|2,235|2023|2,061|percentages=pagr|align=left|source={{NZ census 2018|Farm Cove (148400)|farm-cove|Farm Cove}}|footnote=The 2006 population is for a larger area of 0.98 km².}}

File:Sea wall, Farm Cove, Pakuranga, 1973 (cropped).jpg

Farm Cove had a population of 2,061 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 174 people (−7.8%) since the 2018 census, and a decrease of 102 people (−4.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,017 males and 1,041 females in 702 dwellings.{{cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_005&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=doTotal%2Bdo1.148401.2023&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_DWD_003|publisher=Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses}} 3.1% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 43.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 348 people (16.9%) aged under 15 years, 363 (17.6%) aged 15 to 29, 978 (47.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 369 (17.9%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 64.5% European (Pākehā); 6.0% Māori; 2.5% Pasifika; 31.9% Asian; 2.0% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 4.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 93.3%, Māori language by 0.6%, Samoan by 0.1%, and other languages by 32.8%. No language could be spoken by 1.2% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.1%. The percentage of people born overseas was 40.6, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 33.5% Christian, 1.2% Hindu, 1.2% Islam, 0.1% Māori religious beliefs, 1.7% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, and 2.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.1%, and 6.7% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 651 (38.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 744 (43.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 318 (18.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $49,900, compared with $41,500 nationally. 336 people (19.6%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 909 (53.1%) people were employed full-time, 270 (15.8%) were part-time, and 30 (1.8%) were unemployed.{{Cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_008&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=hq011%2Bhq010%2Bhq009%2Bhq008%2Bhq007%2Bhq006%2Bhq005%2Bhq004%2Bhq003%2Bhq002%2Bhq001%2Bhq000%2Bws1%2Bsp99%2Bra80%2Bra08%2Bra07%2Bra06%2Bra05%2Bra01%2Bra04%2Bra03%2Bra02%2Bra00%2Brb1%2Bls66%2Bls03%2Bls02%2Bls05%2Bls04%2Bls01%2Beg6%2Beg5%2Beg4%2Beg3%2Beg2%2Beg1%2BbiTotal%2Bbi0%2Bbi1%2BasTotalLG%2Bas4%2Bas3%2Bas2%2Bas1%2Bws4%2Bws3%2Bws2%2Bge3%2Bge2%2Bge1%2Brc%2BasMed%2BegTotal%2BlsTotal%2BgeTotal%2BrbTotal%2BraTotal%2BhqTotal%2BibTotal%2Bibmed%2BwsTotal.148401.2013%2B2018%2B2023&to[TIME]=false&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_003&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001|publisher=Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses|at=Farm Cove (148401)}}

Farm Cove Intermediate is an intermediate school (years 7-8) with a roll of {{NZ school roll data|1272|y}},{{TKI|1272|Farm Cove Intermediate}} and was established in 1980.{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/5517/rec/6 |title=19 April 1980 |at=MJ_5252 |publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |access-date=25 June 2023}} Wakaaranga School is a contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of {{NZ school roll data|1560|y}}.{{TKI|1560|Wakaaranga School}} The school was opened in 1976,{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/4037/rec/2 |title=3 February 1976|at=MJ_4963 |publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |access-date=25 June 2023}} and its name means "The resting place of the canoe".{{cite web|url=https://www.wakaaranga.school.nz/our-history|title=Our History|publisher=Wakaaranga School|accessdate=22 August 2020}} The schools are both coeducational and are on adjacent sites. Rolls are as of {{NZ school roll data|||y|y||.}} There is also a small public kindergarten, located behind Wakaaranga Primary School.

{{Reflist}}

{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFLa Roche, Alan2011}}

• {{cite q|Q118286377}}

• [https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/search/searchterm/farm%20cove Photographs of Farm Cove] held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.

{{Howick Local Board Area}}

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Category:Suburbs of Auckland

Category:Populated places on the Tāmaki River

Category:Howick Local Board Area

Category:East Auckland