Community

Waiheke Island is home to a permanent population of around 8,000 residents. About 2,000 of these residents commute to Auckland via ferry every day for work. As a popular holiday destination, the population is said to swell to about 50,000 people over the summer months.

Much of the population lives close to the western end of the island, at or close to an east-west isthmus between Huruhi Bay and Oneroa Bay which, at its narrowest, is only 600 metres wide. Here are the settlements of Oneroa and Blackpool; immediately to the east of these are Palm Beach, Surfdale, and Ostend. Further east lies Onetangi, which is located on the central north coast on the wide Onetangi Bay. Much of the eastern half of Waiheke Island is privately owned farmland.

Find out more information about the settlements, beaches and scenery of the settlements.

Social Composition

Socially the island is highly diverse, ranging from those on a minimal wage to some of the wealthiest people in New Zealand. The creative sector is highly represented with many artists, musicians, scientists, writers, poets and actors.

Local News

View the online version of Waiheke Gulf News with news articles, features, covers, columns and property listings at www.waihekegulfnews.co.nz.

View the online version of Waiheke's biggest newspaper updated weekly with news, features and more at www.waihekemarketplace.co.nz.

Waiheke Cinema

Located at 2 Korora Road, Waiheke Island.

View the latest Waiheke Island movies online.

History of Waiheke Island

Discovered and settled by Maori approximately 1000 years ago, Waiheke translates to 'cascading waters'. Some Maori legends relate that one of the pioneering waka (canoes) to New Zealand came upon the island. The first traces of Europeans arrived with the missionary Samuel Marsden in the early 1800s, several years after Captain Cook passed by and acknowledged the island in his travels through the Hauraki Gulf.

Pa sites

Signs of Maori occupation on Waiheke Island still exist today. Archeological sites are scattered over the island including more than forty pa sites, cooking pits and terraced areas.

Stony Batter

Located on the eastern tip of Waiheke is Stony Batter, a historic WWII defense complex that is accessible by walking through countryside with striking views of the Hauraki Gulf and Coromandel Peninsula. Stony Batter today is open to visitors to walk through the network of underground tunnels and chambers that link to magnificent gun emplacements. The purpose of the complex was to provide outer harbour protection incase of an invasion.