Orewa

File:Orewa Beach.JPG

File:Eaves Bush path.jpg features remnant kauri forests, including one tree estimated to be over 300 years old, and is also the location of Nukuhau, a Kawerau defensive pā]]

Orewa is a coastal town on the Hibiscus Coast, located on the northern shores of the Ōrewa River.{{LINZ |id=34086 |name=Orewa |access-date=12 January 2024}}{{LINZ |id=34089 |name=Ōrewa River |access-date=12 January 2024}} Ōrewa Beach lines the eastern margin of the settlement,{{LINZ |id=34087 |name=Ōrewa Beach |access-date=12 January 2024}} which is one of the major beaches surrounding Whangaparāoa Bay.{{LINZ |id=48116 |name=Whangaparāoa Bay |access-date=12 January 2024}} The highest point in Orewa is an {{convert|134|m}} hill in the Nukumea Scenic Reserve, from which the Nukumea Stream flows.{{LINZ |id=8889 |name=Nukumea Scenic Reserve |access-date=12 January 2024}}

The beach settlement of Hatfields Beach is located to the north across the Nukumea Stream,{{LINZ |id=32912 |name=Nukumea Stream |access-date=12 January 2024}} South of Orewa heading towards the Whangaparāoa Peninsula is the suburb of Red Beach, and the Highgate and Millwater developments of Silverdale are located to the southwest.{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/highgate-design-build-focus-with-lone-lot-left/KEPKK63RDZSGKDTHAV7GLZAJCU/ |title=Highgate design-build focus with lone lot left |website=The New Zealand Herald |date=11 January 2024 |access-date=12 January 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/480965/kainga-ora-s-social-housing-development-on-hold-after-neighbourhood-backlash |title=Kāinga Ora's social housing development on hold after neighbourhood backlash |website=Radio New Zealand |date=17 December 2022 |first=Rayssa |last=Almeida |access-date=12 January 2024}}

Prior to human settlement, Orewa was primarily a kauri-dominated forest. By the 1840s, the Orewa beach was primarily sandhills, and likely had areas of peat swamp.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}} Alice Eaves Scenic Reserve is an area of Orewa that includes remnant kauri forest, including one estimated to be over 300 years old.{{Cite report |last=Rodney District Council|title=Alice Eaves Scenic Reserve Management Plan |url=http://www.rodney.govt.nz/DistrictTownPlanning/plans/ReserveManagement/Documents/Alice_Eaves/AliceEaves_Amended_Plan_March08.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603174056/http://www.rodney.govt.nz/DistrictTownPlanning/plans/ReserveManagement/Documents/Alice_Eaves/AliceEaves_Amended_Plan_March08.pdf |archive-date=3 June 2010 |access-date=7 January 2022 |format=Approved by the Hibiscus Coast Area Committee on 17 September 1998 Amended by the Strategy and Community Committee on 6 March 2008}}

File:Orewa River 2014.jpg ]]

The name Orewa was originally used to describe the Ōrewa River and estuary, and was later applied to the beach during European times.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}} The etymology of {{lang|mi|Ōrewa}} is unknown, but the most likely origin is that it is a shortening of {{lang|mi|Te Wai-o-Rewa}} ("The Waters of Rewa"), referring to an early Kawerau rangatira called Rewa. References to the Ōrewa River in English date from at least the 1840s,{{cite web|url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23164017 |title=[Creator unknown] :[Sketch of coastal land, Cape Rodney to Orewa, North Auckland, showing blocks and native land] [ms map]. |date=1849 |website=National Library of New Zealand |access-date=12 January 2024}}

The Hibiscus Coast area has been settled since at least the 13th century, with many of the first Māori occupants identifying as Ngā Oho.{{cite report|url=https://hearings.aupihp.govt.nz/download/files/LILGQ0DdYgPfrLm8Q4HxeI5h2u2xskaQg9pwt5tC9QnL |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231227033643/https://hearings.aupihp.govt.nz/download/files/LILGQ0DdYgPfrLm8Q4HxeI5h2u2xskaQg9pwt5tC9QnL |date=November 2013 |archive-date=27 December 2023 |title=Cultural Impact Assessment for Hall Farm Orewa West |first=Fiona |last=McKenzie |publisher=Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust}} The wider area between the Ōrewa River and Mahurangi River was traditionally known as Mahurangi, named after a pā located at the mouth of the Waiwera River.{{Cite web| date=22 February 2024 | title = Deed of Settlement Schedule: Documents |url=https://www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/OTS/Te-Kawerau-a-Maki/Te-Kawerau-a-Maki-Deed-of-Settlement-Documents-22-Feb-2014.pdf | author1 = Te Kawerau ā Maki | author2 = The Trustees of Te Kawerau Iwi Settlement Trust | author3 = The Crown | access-date = 12 January 2024}} The Ōrewa River estuary features some of the most densely found archaeological sites in the area, and was an important sheltered harbour, which offered marine resources such as shellfish and flounder, and connections to inland walking routes. Portages, where waka could be hauled overland between waterways, connected the Hibiscus Coast area to the Kaipara Harbour in the west. The Aotoetoe portage travelled north between the Kaukapakapa River and the Ōrewa River.{{cite journal|url=https://folksong.org.nz/he_tangi_te_kiwi/portages_of_early_auckland.html |title=Portages of early Auckland - to and from the Waitemata Harbour: The hub of an ancient communications network |first=Brian |last=Hooker|journal=Auckland-Waikato Historical Journal|number=70|date=September 1997|pages=39–40|access-date=21 July 2022}}{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}}

Likely in the 17th century, the warrior Maki migrated from the Kāwhia Harbour to his ancestral home in the Auckland Region. Maki conquered and unified many of the Tāmaki Māori tribes as Te Kawerau ā Maki, including those of the North Shore and Hibiscus Coast.{{Cite web| date=December 2018 | title = Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area |url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/arts-culture-heritage/heritage-walks-places/docswaitakererangesheritagearea/waitakere-ranges-heritage-area-local-parks-design-guide.pdf | publisher = Auckland Council| access-date = 28 June 2021}}{{Cite book| editor-first=James| editor-last=Northcote-Bade |title=West Auckland Remembers, Volume 1 |year=1990 |publisher=West Auckland Historical Society |isbn=0-473-00983-8 |chapter=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 |first1=Graeme |last1=Murdoch |page=13-14}} After Maki's death, his sons settled different areas of his lands, creating new hapū, including the wider Hibiscus Coast hapū of Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Maraeariki, Ngāti Poataniwha and Ngāti Kahu.{{Cite web|url=https://www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/OTS/Ngati-Manuhiri/Ngati-Manuhiri-Deed-of-Settlement-21-May-2011.pdf |title=Deed of Settlement of Historical Claims |author1=Ngāti Manuhiri |author2=The Crown|date=21 May 2011|publisher=New Zealand Government|access-date=18 May 2022}}{{cite report|url=https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/WT/wt_DOC_207129138/Te%20Raki%20Vol%201W.pdf |title=Tino Rangatiratanga me te Kāwanatanga: The Report on Stage 2 of the Te Paparahi o Te Raki Inquiry. Waitangi Tribunal Report 2023 Wai 1040 Part I Volume 1 |isbn= 978-1-86956-365-3 |publisher=Waitangi Tribunal |date=2023 |access-date=19 December 2023}}

Maki's younger son Maraeariki primarily settled at the head of the Ōrewa River.{{cite web|url=https://restorehb.org.nz/resources-matauranga-maori/ |title=He taonga o te rohe |first=Mel |last=Whaanga |publisher=Restore Hibiscus & Bays |date=March 2022 |access-date=30 June 2023}}{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=4}} An island in the Ōrewa River adjacent to his kāinga, Te Motu-o-Marae-Ariki, was named in remembrance of him.{{LINZ |id=54405 |name=Te Motu-o-Marae-Ariki|access-date=12 January 2024}} His hapū Ngāti Maraeariki grew to occupy lands between Whangaparāoa and Ōmaha, while continuing to focus settlement at Orewa. By the mid-1700s, Marutūāhu tribes from the Hauraki Gulf, especially Ngāti Pāoa, sought to control the Whangaparāoa Bay shark fishery, and waged war against Ngāti Kahu, a hapū formed from Maki's granddaughter Kahu, who were primarily based on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula.{{cite report|url=http://www.clough.co.nz/monographs/clough_monograph4.pdf|title=Site R10/80 Whangaparaoa Peninsula: Final Excavation Report|first1=Simon |last1=Bickler|first2=Rod |last2=Clough|first3=Ken |last3=Phillips|first4=Mica |last4=Plowman|first5=Glen |last5=Farley|first6=Andrew |last6=Dodd|first7=Barry |last7=Baquié|year=2008 |publisher=Clough & Associates Ltd |access-date=10 January 2024}} During this period, Kawerau-descended hapū held exclusive land rights to the Hibiscus Coast area, while fishing rights were shared between Ngāti Kahu and Marutūāhu tribes.

Orewa is home to two known defensive pā sites: Nukuhau Pā at Alice Eaves Scenic Reserve above the Nukumea Stream,{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=6}}{{cite web|url=https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=31375 |title=Nukuhau Pa - Hillfort in New Zealand |website=The Megalithic Portal|access-date=12 January 2024}} which was held by Kawerau-descendant hapū.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}} The second is Orewa South Bridge Pa, at the southern mouth of the Orewa estuary.{{cite web|url=https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=31603 |title=Orewa South Bridge Pa - Hill Figure or Geoglyph in New Zealand |website=The Megalithic Portal|access-date=12 January 2024}} Traditional names recorded for the area include Nukumea, the stream to the north of Orewa, Wahakataka, the northern tributary of the Ōrewa River at Arran Hills and Te Rua Taniwha, at the western end of the Orewa estuary. Te Rua Taniwha is associated with Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara ancestor Pokopoko-whiti-te-ra, who was famed for having slain a taniwha here.{{cite web|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/HearingDocuments/domevalley-pcsubsv4-2020-11-09.pdf|title=Objection to Resource Consent Application: BUN60339589 |author=Haranui Marae Trust Board |publisher=Auckland Council |date=24 May 2020 |access-date=12 January 2024}}{{cite journal|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/TPRSNZ1895-28.2.5.1.4|title=Art. IV.—The History of Otakanini Pa, Kaipara. |first1=S. |last1=Percy Smith |author-link1=Percy Smith (ethnologist) |via=Papers Past |journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand |volume=28 |date=1895 |page=41-47|access-date=12 January 2024}}{{cite book|url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bes02Reli-t1-body-d4-d6-d2.html|title=Maori Religion and Mythology Part 2 |first1=Elsdon |last1=Best |author-link1=Elsdon Best |via=New Zealand Electronic Text Collection |publisher=P. D. Hasselberg |location=Wellington|year=1982|page=501}}

In September 1821 during the Musket Wars, a Ngāpuhi taua (war party) ventured south to avenge past losses against Ngāti Kahu in the 1790s. The Kawerau-descendant tribes were heavily defeated, and survivors fled to the Waikato, gradually returning in the 1830s.{{cite report|url=https://nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/penlink/docs/penlink-cultural-and-environmental-context-cultural-environmental-design-framework.pdf |title=Penlink Cultural & Environmental Design Framework: Penlink Cultural and Environmental Context |author=Boffa Miskell |publisher=Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency |access-date=4 July 2023}} On return, Ngāti Kahu formed intertribal marriages with Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, seasonally migrating between Orewa, Te Haruhi Bay and Ōkura. Naval officer Byron Drury recorded a settlement at the mouth of the Ōrewa River in 1853 called Poaheke, where the residents had been influenced by Wesleyan missionaries.{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZ18530108.2.14 |via=Papers Past |title=Remarks on the River Hokianga |first1=Byron |last1=Drury |author-link1=Byron Drury |newspaper=New Zealander |volume=9 |issue=703 |date=8 January 1853 |page=4}} Ngāti Kahu settlement at Whangaparāoa continued until the 1870s.

File:Front view of Major De Grut's house, Orewa, Rodney District, including native trees and fence (cropped).jpg

Early kauri timber merchants were drawn to the Weiti River catchment to the south of Orewa by the late 1830s,{{sfn|Grover|1996|pp=5}} The Ōrewa River catchment was used during the 1840s and 1850s to a lesser extent. Due to the former kauri forest, the Orewa area was a location that drew kauri gum diggers,{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}} who harvested the area until the early 20th century.{{cite book |last1=Hayward |first1=Bruce W. |author-link1=Bruce Hayward |title=Kauri Gum and the Gumdiggers |publisher=The Bush Press |date=1989 |isbn=0-908608-39-X |page=4}}

Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840,{{Cite book |last=Rigby |first=Barry |url=https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/WT/wt_DOC_93961548/Wai%20674%2C%20F001.pdf |title=The Crown, Maori and Mahurangi 1840-1881 |publisher=Waitangi Tribunal |year=1998}} the Crown made the first purchases of the Mahurangi and Omaha blocks on 13 April 1841, which included Orewa. While some iwi and hapū with customary interests had been engaged, such as Ngāti Paoa and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, others, including Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Manuhiri and Ngāti Rango, were not involved with transactions.{{cite report|url=https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/WT/wt_DOC_93961548/Wai%20674%2C%20F001.pdf |title=The Crown, Maori and Mahurangi 1840-1881 |first=Barry |last=Rigby |date=August 1998 |publisher=Waitangi Tribunal |access-date=4 July 2023}}{{sfn|Stone|2001|pp=188}}{{Cite web| date=22 February 2014 | title = Deed of Settlement of Historical Claim |url=https://www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/OTS/Te-Kawerau-a-Maki/Te-Kawerau-a-Maki-Deed-of-Settlement.pdf | author1 = Te Kawerau ā Maki | author2 = The Trustees of Te Kawerau Iwi Settlement Trust | author3 = The Crown | access-date = 4 July 2023}} This led to Ngāti Manuhiri being alienated from land on the Hibiscus Coast.

The earliest permanent European resident in Orewa is likely sawyer and boatbuilder John Ryan, who bought land in 1854 but had lived in the area since the 1840s.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}} In the early 1850s, the Brunton family purchased land adjacent to the Orewa waterfall, establishing a home and jetty. The Brunton family constructed a bridge in 1880, and their house was home to the Orewa Falls post office.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}}

In 1856, Captain Isaac Rhodes Cooper built Orewa House with the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=5}}{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}} This became the family residence of Channel Islands migrants, the de Jersey Gruts, in 1868,{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=5}} after the family struggled to establish a farm at Birkenhead.{{cite q|Q120679112|author1=McClure, Margaret|date=1987|pp=23-26}} Orewa House was the de Jersey Grut home for three generations,{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=5}} becoming a commercial guest house in 1906.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=5}} By the late 1880s, the clay road to Auckland was diverted to Wainui, leading the de Grut family to cut a road to Waiwera themselves.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=5}}

In the latter 19th century as kauri gum deposits became rarer, land at Orewa was developed into orchards, where apples, pears, grapes and citrus fruit were grown for the Auckland market. Gradually the orchards were replaced by dairy farms in the 1920s, when fruit growing became economic.{{cite report|url=https://www.epa.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Documents/Fast-track-consenting/Strathmill/the-application/Archaeological-Report.pdf|title=Proposed Subdivision, 250 & 256 West Hoe Heights, Ōrewa, Auckland: Archaeological Assessment |date=February 2023 |first1=Charlotte |last1=Judge|first2=Sarah |last2=Phear |publisher=Clough & Associates Ltd |access-date=12 January 2024}}

In 1918, Francis Hitchins purchased the de Grut farm, selling Orewa House to Alice and Edward Eaves in 1919. Hitchins attempted to subdivide the farm, but land sales were disappointing, so onsold the farm to Dr. E. B. Gunson in the mid-1920s.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}} Orewa became a popular destination for campers and holidayers in the 1920s,{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=93}} which led to the height of popularity of Orewa House.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}} By the 1930s, coastal steamers were no longer the major form of transportation due to improved roading infrastructure,{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=6}} and in the 1940s Orewa Hall was constructed, where films were shown to the community.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=41}}

File:Orewa shops.JPG

File:Orewa Market.jpg

Orewa was subdivided for suburban housing in the 1950s.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=31-42}} The Orewa town centre was developed in 1953, which included a shopping precinct and Hillary Square.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=19}} The square is named after Sir Edmund Hillary, whose family owned a holiday bach at Orewa, where he stayed in summers in the 1930s.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=31}} This period saw the establishment of the Orewa Surf Life Saving Club in 1950,{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=57}} and the Orewa Bowling Club in 1952.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=53}} In 1957, the Orewa Skating Rink was constructed. The rink developed into an entertainment precinct for the Hibiscus Coast in the 1960s, including a minigolf range and concert space. The rink was demolished in 1983.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=61}}

Orewa experienced a building and population boom in the 1960s, due to the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge,{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=7}} rapidly urbanising between 1964 and 1975.{{cite report|url=https://knowledgeauckland.org.nz/media/1419/a-brief-history-of-aucklands-urban-form-2019-web.pdf |title=He hītori mō te hanga ā-tāone o Tāmaki Makaurau: A brief history of Auckland's urban form |date=December 2019 |publisher=Auckland Council |access-date=5 May 2023}} In 1966, Alice Eaves Scenic Reserve was established on the former lands adjacent to Orewa House, after the Eaves family donated the land to the Waitemata County Council after Alice Eaves' death,{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=5-6}} and in the same year the Orewa Picture Theatre was constructed adjacent to Hillary Square.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=5}}

In 1968, Alan Horobin opened Orewa Marineland, a home for rescue animals including chimpanzees, llamas, seals, dolphins and "Sid the Sea elephant". Marineland closed in 1978.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=77}} The Orewa Combined Business Association formed in 1970.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=79}} The Orewa Community Centre was constructed in 1972.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=45}} Development of the northern shores of the Ōrewa River began in 1983 with further developed in 1995.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=17}}

A {{convert|2.5|m}} concrete statue by Marinus van Kooten of Sir Edmund Hillary was unveiled in Hillary Square in 1983. The statue degraded over time, and was replaced with a bronze statue by Chen Wei Ming in 1991.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=31}} In 1990, the Centrestage Theatre was developed in Orewa by the United Players.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=45}}

By the late 1990s, the Auckland Northern Motorway was extended to Orewa.{{Cite web |year=2008 |title=Auckland Motorways |url=https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/auckland-motorways/docs/2008.pdf |website=NZTA}} This created a major link for the area back to the city. In 2004, a 12-storey apartment complex called the Nautilus was completed at Orewa. The only high rise building on the Hibiscus Coast, it is home to over 300 people, and in 2009 faced issues for being a leaky building.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=85}}

Orewa made political headlines on 27 January 2004, when New Zealand National Party leader Don Brash, then the leader of the opposition in Parliament, gave what became known as the Orewa Speech in front of the local Rotary club on a theme of race relations in New Zealand and, in particular, the special status of Māori. He advocated 'one rule for all'.{{cite web |title=Nationhood - Don Brash Speech Orewa Rotary Club |url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0401/S00220.htm |website=Scoop Independent News |publisher=Scoop Media |access-date=22 November 2020}}

In 2008, Kensington Park, the former site of the Orewa Caravan Park, was developed into a new housing area.{{sfn|Destination Orewa Beach|2021|pp=91}}

Orewa covers {{convert|7.16|km2||abbr=on}}{{Cite web|title=Stats NZ Geographic Data Service|url=https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz/data/|at=Statistical Area 3 2023 (generalised)|access-date=16 December 2024}} and had an estimated population of {{Decimals|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Orewa North|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Orewa West|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Orewa South|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Millwater North|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Ara Hill|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Orewa Central|y}}|R}}|0}} as of {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|||y|y||,}} with a population density of {{Decimals|({{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Orewa North|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Orewa West|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Orewa South|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Millwater North|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Ara Hill|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Orewa Central|y}}|R}})/7.16|0}} people per km².

{{Historical populations|2006|7,371|2013|8,586|2018|10,242|2023|13,107|percentages=pagr|align=left|source={{NZ census 2018|Orewa North (112700), Orewa South (112900) and Orewa Central (113000)}}|footnote=The 2006 population is for a smaller area of 6.80 km².}}

Orewa had a population of 13,107 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 2,865 people (28.0%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 4,521 people (52.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 5,931 males, 7,140 females and 33 people of other genders in 5,433 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%2Bdo1.50480%2B112702%2B112701%2B113000%2B112901%2B112902%2B112102.2023&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}} 2.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 51.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,893 people (14.4%) aged under 15 years, 1,515 (11.6%) aged 15 to 29, 5,163 (39.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 4,533 (34.6%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 81.4% European (Pākehā); 6.4% Māori; 2.6% Pasifika; 15.2% Asian; 1.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.4%, Māori language by 0.8%, Samoan by 0.3%, and other languages by 19.8%. No language could be spoken by 1.5% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 39.8, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 41.9% Christian, 1.6% Hindu, 0.7% Islam, 0.1% Māori religious beliefs, 1.1% Buddhist, 0.4% New Age, 0.2% Jewish, and 1.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 46.1%, and 6.7% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 2,199 (19.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 5,436 (48.5%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 2,901 (25.9%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $37,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 1,671 people (14.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 4,605 (41.1%) people were employed full-time, 1,401 (12.5%) were part-time, and 183 (1.6%) 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.50480.2013%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=Orewa (50480)}}

File:20230101 154222 Orewa College (cropped).jpg]]

Orewa District High School was founded in 1956. In 1974, the school was split into Orewa School and Orewa College. Orewa Beach School was founded in 1978 (originally as Orewa North School), and another primary school opened at Red Beach to the south in 1988.{{cite web|url=http://www.orewaprimary.school.nz/index.php?mid=1|title=Our School|publisher=Orewa Primary School|access-date=2008-08-24}}

Orewa College is a secondary (years 7–13) school with a roll of {{NZ school roll data|25|y}} students.{{TKI|25|Orewa College}}

Orewa School and Orewa Beach School are contributing primary (years 1–6) schools, with rolls of {{NZ school roll data|1407|y}} students{{TKI|1407|Orewa School}} and {{NZ school roll data|1406|y}} students{{TKI|1406|Orewa North School}} respectively.

All three schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of {{NZ school roll data|||y|y||.}}

From 1877 until 1974, Orewa was administered by the Waitemata County, a large rural county north and west of the city of Auckland.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=4}} In 1974 the county was dissolved,{{cite book | last1=Adam |first1=Jack | last2=Burgess |first2=Vivien | last3=Ellis | first3=Dawn |title=Rugged Determination: Historical Window on Swanson 1854-2004 |publisher=Swanson Residents and Ratepayers Association Inc. |date=2004 |isbn=0-476-00544-2|pages=38–39}} becoming part of Rodney County, them from 1989 to 2010 Rodney District. Orewa was the administrative centre for the Rodney District.{{cite web|url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22599194 |title=Rodney District |website=National Library of New Zealand |access-date=9 January 2024}} The Rodney District was amalgamated into Auckland Council in November 2010, under a single unitary authority system.{{Cite journal| doi = 10.26686/pq.v11i4.4572| issn = 2324-1101| volume = 11| issue = 4| last = Blakeley| first = Roger| title = The planning framework for Auckland 'super city': an insider's view| journal = Policy Quarterly| date = 2015| doi-access = free}}

Within the Auckland Council, Orewa is a part of the Hibiscus Coast subdivision of the Hibiscus and Bays local government area, governed by the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board.{{cite web |title=Council profile |url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/about-auckland-council/how-auckland-council-works/local-boards/all-local-boards/hibiscus-bays-local-board/Pages/about-hibiscus-bays.aspx |website=aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |publisher=Auckland Council |access-date=9 January 2024}} It is a part of the Albany ward, which elects two councillors to the Auckland Council.

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|author=Destination Orewa Beach |year=2021 |publisher=Destination Orewa Beach |title=Orewa: Then + Now |isbn=978-0-473-58724-6}}
• {{cite book|last=Grover |first=Robin |title=Why the Hibiscus? Place Names of the Hibiscus Coast|year=2008 |isbn=978-0-473-13484-6 |publisher=Silverdale Printing}}
• {{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=R. C. J. |author-link1=Russell Stone (historian) |title=From Tamaki-makau-rau to Auckland |publisher=Auckland University Press |date=2001 |isbn=1869402596}}

• [https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/search/searchterm/Orewa/field/title/ Photographs of Orewa] held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.

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{{Hibiscus Coast}}

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Category:Populated places in the Auckland Region

Category:Beaches of the Auckland Region

Category:Hibiscus Coast