Whenuapai

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title: "Whenuapai" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["suburbs-of-auckland", "upper-harbour-local-board-area", "airports-in-new-zealand", "populated-places-around-the-waitematā-harbour", "west-auckland,-new-zealand"] topic_path: "geography/new-zealand" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whenuapai" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox New Zealand suburb"]

FieldValue
nameWhenuapai
imageWhenuapai Airfield From The Air.jpg
caption1Aerial view of Whenuapai Airbase, looking eastward
city1Auckland
board
councilAuckland Council
ward
area1703
areasource
population
popdate
popsource
population_density_km2auto
airportsRNZAF Base Auckland
postcode0618
coordinates
mapframey
mapframe-zoom11
::

|name = Whenuapai |image = Whenuapai Airfield From The Air.jpg |caption1 = Aerial view of Whenuapai Airbase, looking eastward |city1 = Auckland |board = |council = Auckland Council |ward = |area = 1703 |areasource = |population = |popdate = |popsource = |population_density_km2 = auto |airports = RNZAF Base Auckland |postcode = 0618 |coordinates= |mapframe = y |mapframe-zoom = 11 | west = Kumeū |northwest = Riverhead | centre = Whenuapai |north = Pāremoremo |northeast = Greenhithe |east = Hobsonville |southeast = West Harbour |southwest = Westgate |south = Massey Whenuapai is a suburb and aerodrome located in northwestern Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the shore of the Upper Waitematā Harbour, 15 kilometres to the northwest of Auckland's city centre. It is one of the landing points for the Southern Cross telecommunications Cables.

Etymology

The name Whenuapai was coined by resident Theophilus Wake, a Māori language name meaning "good land". When Wake settled in the area in 1911, he chose the name Waimarie, meaning "calm waters". As the settlement grew, Wake applied for a post office to be established for the community. The post office service required a different name, due to another location named Waimarie, and Wake chose the name Whenuapai instead. The name Whenuapai was officially adopted on 23 March 1914, and the first references to Whenuapai in newspapers can be found from May 1914.

The traditional Te Kawerau ā Maki name for the area is Rarawaru, which is the name of the stream that flows north from Whenuapai to the Upper Waitematā Harbour.

History

The poor soil quality around the Wallace and Waiarohia inlets dissuaded permanent settlement of the area until after European farming techniques were able to improve the soil quality.

In 1903 the Ockleston's established a pottery located at the tip of the Waiarohia inlet where the Whenuapai rubbish tip is now located. The pottery ceased production in 1914, after the Ockleston's business had been bought out and merge with Clark's at Limeburners Bay in Hobsonville. The bricks The area was settled by pacifist Theophilus Wake in 1911. Wake was joined by other like-minded pacifists in the 1910s, and a community developed at Whenuapai.

RNZAF facilities

Main article: RNZAF Base Auckland

In 1938 under the Public Works Act, the New Zealand Government several hundred acres of land at Whenuapai, in order to create a base for Wellington bomber, prior to the onset of World War II.

Post World War II Auckland became a centre for RNZAF transport and maritime squadrons. From 1945 to 1965 Whenuapai was also Auckland's civil international airport. Whenuapai and Hobsonville bases were integrated in 1965 to form RNZAF Base Auckland. Hobsonville is now closed, with the RNZAF continuing to lease a few remaining facilities.

Today, with a personnel strength of around 1100, Base Auckland is the home for:

Whenuapai Airport 1945–65

In 1945 the government made the RNZAF Station at Whenuapai available for civil airline operations on a temporary basis and with RNZAF activities to take precedence. That "temporary basis" lasted twenty years and the RNZAF had to give up their two smaller hangars and move to the north apron of their own airfield. In the 1940s Whenuapai was one of three aerodromes in the country with sealed runways, the others being Paraparaumu and Ohakea. Whenuapai was adopted as the international airport for Auckland, despite the benefits of the location of the Mangere Aerodrome, due to its ongoing use by the RNZAF meaning there were no additional costs for the Auckland City Council.

For a short time, Auckland had three aerodromes—the seaplane aerodrome at Mechanics Bay where Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) operated from 1940–54; the city's domestic airport—at the then small grass airstrip at Māngere, on the site of the present Auckland Airport; and weekly Pan American and British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (the latter's services originally operated by Australian National Airways) services with DC-4s from Whenuapai. Also immediately post-war; the RNZAF operated many of the civil services while National Airways Corporation (NAC) was being organised, and to add to the confusion; some of Auckland's domestic services departed from Whenuapai as well. Hills adjacent to the Whenuapai site limited the ability of new generation aircraft to use the site.

In 1947 the government closed Māngere to all but light aircraft citing safety concerns, and NAC moved to Whenuapai. (At the same time, the government closed Wellington's Rongotai Airport, for the same reasons, and NAC had to move to Paraparaumu, 35 miles from the city.)

In addition to domestic services, NAC flew a DC-3 weekly to Norfolk Island from Whenuapai, and fortnightly on a route that took a week each way; Whenuapai—Norfolk Island—Nadi—Apia—Tongatapu—Aitutaki—Rarotonga. The Norfolk Island service continued until 1955 when Qantas, chartered to TEAL, took over the route with a DC-4; and the Pacific Service was handed over to TEAL in 1952.

The next major development at Whenuapai was in May 1954, when British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines was wound up, its DC-6s given to TEAL, and that airline sold all except two of its flying boats and moved to Whenuapai. It kept one Solent in reserve and sent the other to Suva to fly the leg to Tahiti, which didn't get a landplane airport until 1960. The first part of the Coral Route was then operated by DC-6 from Whenuapai to Nadi.

Airport diagram for 1956

Despite problems with its runway Whenuapai continued as Auckland's international airport through the 1950s. In 1960 the longest runway was 6590 feet (6664 ft a few years later) which allowed BOAC Comet flights, but larger jet airliners such as the DC-8 and the B707 demanded a new international airport and work on Auckland Airport began. The first international flight from Auckland Airport was on 24 November 1965 and it officially opened on Anniversary Weekend (29–31 January), 1966 after which Whenuapai Airport reverted to purely military use as an Aerodrome.

Reverting to Military Aerodrome and recent developments

The operational tempo at Whenuapai continues at the level it has been at for the last forty years, although the closure of the adjacent Hobsonville base has seen the departure of rotary operations (primarily the UH1H Iroquois) to RNZAF Base Ohakea. With the budget for moving the base to Ohakea exceeding one billion dollars, the previously scheduled closure by the New Zealand Labour government (originally by 2007, then 2010 or, at latest, 2014) was cancelled by the incoming National government of 2008. There were suggestions that it be used as Auckland's second international Airport. Reasons put forward in favour were that more people in the Auckland region already lived closer to the aerodrome than to Māngere Airport and that it was projected that within 15 years Whenuapai would be closer for more than a million Aucklanders.

The three local authorities that comprised the north west sector of the Auckland Region, Rodney District Council, North Shore City Council and Waitakere City Council all favoured the second airport concept at one time or another and at least one poll, by the Waitakere City Council in late 2006, indicated 77% support and 22% opposition by the public.

However, in the local body elections of October 2007, the pro-airport North Shore City mayor was defeated by an anti-airport mayoral candidate with indications that the airport issue was the most important of factors considered by voters.

Subsequently, North Shore City Council reversed support for a Whenuapai International Airport while the Waitakere City Council remained in favour. In 2010, all councils were amalgamated into the new Auckland Council and therefore support for a commercial airport was dropped. The proposal had also been opposed by the government.

Airlines of Whenuapai (Chronological Order)

::data[format=table]

British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC)1963–65
::

:† This was as scheduled operations on its own account. As QANTAS owned half of TEAL until 1961; before then its aircraft only appeared at Whenuapai if chartered by TEAL, or if its aircraft were chartered for a trip across to New Zealand, although it did occasionally appear at Whenuapai between 1956–61 with its Super Constellations at peak traffic times.

Economy

The initial main source of income in Whenuapai came from logging kauri. After the trees were cut down gum diggers arrived. The gum diggers sold their gum at Sinton's store at Brigham Creek or in Hobsonville. After the gum diggers had left most land owners converted their property to pasture or for growing crops.

Tobacco was grown as a crop in Whenuapai and by 1929 more than 120,000 pounds of tobacco were produced at Whenuapai and nearby Riverhead. By 1940 however tobacco production would cease and Motueka became the main area for tobacco cultivation. This was due to increasing taxes and increasing labour costs making tobacco cultivation unprofitable.

Demographics

Whenuapai statistical area, which includes Herald Island, covers 17.03 km2 and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Whenuapai_Village_Hall_(12096449134).jpg" caption="Whenuapai Village Hall"] ::

Whenuapai had a population of 6,300 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 2,604 people (70.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 2,730 people (76.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,177 males, 3,105 females and 21 people of other genders in 2,091 dwellings. 3.2% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 33.5 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,257 people (20.0%) aged under 15 years, 1,329 (21.1%) aged 15 to 29, 3,144 (49.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 573 (9.1%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 62.3% European (Pākehā); 12.6% Māori; 6.9% Pasifika; 30.1% Asian; 2.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 93.3%, Māori language by 2.2%, Samoan by 1.3%, and other languages by 24.9%. No language could be spoken by 3.4% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 35.5, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 28.0% Christian, 4.0% Hindu, 2.4% Islam, 0.4% Māori religious beliefs, 1.5% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, and 1.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.5%, and 6.1% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,461 (29.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,319 (46.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 882 (17.5%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $60,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 1,017 people (20.2%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,240 (64.2%) people were employed full-time, 585 (11.6%) were part-time, and 90 (1.8%) were unemployed.

::data[format=table title="Individual statistical areas"] | Name | Area (km2) | Population | Density (per km2) || Dwellings | Median age | Median income | New Zealand | 38.1 years | $41,500 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Whenuapai | 12.75 | 5,052 | 396 | 1,698 | 34.0 years | $61,300 | | | | Whenuapai West | 4.27 | 1,248 | 292 | 390 | 32.3 years | $58,200 | | | ::

Climate

|metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Whenuapai Aero (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1945–present) | Jan record high C = 30.3 | Feb record high C = 32.4 | Mar record high C = 29.4 | Apr record high C = 27.0 | May record high C = 23.9 | Jun record high C = 21.6 | Jul record high C = 21.0 | Aug record high C = 21.2 | Sep record high C = 22.6 | Oct record high C = 24.1 | Nov record high C = 26.1 | Dec record high C = 29.1 | year record high C = 32.4 | Jan avg record high C = 27.6 | Feb avg record high C = 28.2 | Mar avg record high C = 26.3 | Apr avg record high C = 24.3 | May avg record high C = 21.3 | Jun avg record high C = 18.7 | Jul avg record high C = 17.7 | Aug avg record high C = 18.8 | Sep avg record high C = 19.9 | Oct avg record high C = 21.3 | Nov avg record high C = 23.3 | Dec avg record high C = 25.9 | year avg record high C = 28.6 | Jan high C = 24.0 | Feb high C = 24.7 | Mar high C = 23.2 | Apr high C = 20.5 | May high C = 17.8 | Jun high C = 15.5 | Jul high C = 14.9 | Aug high C = 15.5 | Sep high C = 16.6 | Oct high C = 17.9 | Nov high C = 19.9 | Dec high C = 22.1 | year high C = | Jan mean C = 19.4 | Feb mean C = 19.8 | Mar mean C = 18.3 | Apr mean C = 15.8 | May mean C = 13.5 | Jun mean C = 11.5 | Jul mean C = 10.6 | Aug mean C = 11.5 | Sep mean C = 12.7 | Oct mean C = 13.9 | Nov mean C = 15.7 | Dec mean C = 17.9 | year mean C = | Jan low C = 14.7 | Feb low C = 14.9 | Mar low C = 13.4 | Apr low C = 11.2 | May low C = 9.1 | Jun low C = 7.5 | Jul low C = 6.3 | Aug low C = 7.4 | Sep low C = 8.8 | Oct low C = 9.9 | Nov low C = 11.5 | Dec low C = 13.6 | year low C = | Jan avg record low C = 8.8 | Feb avg record low C = 9.2 | Mar avg record low C = 7.5 | Apr avg record low C = 4.6 | May avg record low C = 1.8 | Jun avg record low C = 0.1 | Jul avg record low C = -1.0 | Aug avg record low C = 1.4 | Sep avg record low C = 2.1 | Oct avg record low C = 4.2 | Nov avg record low C = 5.4 | Dec avg record low C = 7.9 | year avg record low C = -1.4 |Jan record low C = 4.4 |Feb record low C = 3.6 |Mar record low C = 0.9 |Apr record low C = -0.2 |May record low C = -2.3 |Jun record low C = -4.9 |Jul record low C = -4.2 |Aug record low C = -3.4 |Sep record low C = -1.6 |Oct record low C = 0.7 |Nov record low C = 0.2 |Dec record low C = 1.3 |year record low C = -4.9 |rain colour = green |Jan rain mm = 73.5 |Feb rain mm = 67.7 |Mar rain mm = 96.4 |Apr rain mm = 107.9 |May rain mm = 105.3 |Jun rain mm = 139.4 |Jul rain mm = 150.5 |Aug rain mm = 135.2 |Sep rain mm = 120.4 |Oct rain mm = 98.2 |Nov rain mm = 91.8 |Dec rain mm = 101.3 |year rain mm = |source = NIWA (rain 1970–1993){{cite web |url = https://cliflo.niwa.co.nz/ |title = CliFlo -The National Climate Database (Agent numbers: 1410, 23976) |publisher = NIWA |access-date = 12 Jul 2024}}{{cite web |url = https://niwa.co.nz/climate-and-weather/monthly |title = Monthly climate summaries from December 2001 to the present. |publisher = NIWA |access-date = 13 Jul 2025}}

References

References

  1. "RNZAF Auckland Region".
  2. (January 2021). "98-100 and 102-102A Totara Road, Whenuapai: Archaeological Assessment". Clough & Associates Ltd.
  3. (25 June 1914). "The New Zealand Gazette 2541". New Zealand Gazette.
  4. (30 May 1914). "Page 1 Advertisements Column 6". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
  5. (September 2021). "Cultural Impact Assessment for Development at 69-71 Trig Road & 149-157 Brigham Creek Road, Whenuapai". Te Kawerau Iwi Tiaki Trust.
  6. {{LINZ
  7. (10 June 1999). "Waiarohia Structure Plan Area: Archaeological Asessment".
  8. (1992). "West Auckland Remembers, Volume 2". West Auckland Historical Society.
  9. (2011). "Evolving Auckland: The City's Engineering Heritage". Wily Publications.
  10. (January 2004). "The Case for Whenuapai Airport". Waitakere City Council.
  11. (September 2006). "A Study of the views of Residents of North/West, Central and Southern Region of Greater Auckland Area in Respect of a proposal By Waitakere City and Infratil to Develop Whenupai Airport for Commercial Flights". TNS.
  12. Crothers, Charles: "Candidates, Issues and Outcomes", AUT University.
  13. (13 December 2004). "Government won't back Whenuapai airport proposal". The New Zealand Herald.
  14. (October 2022). "9 MCKEAN ROAD, 101 TOTARA ROAD AND 105-107 TOTARA ROAD, WHENUAPAI: ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT". Clough & Associates.
  15. (October 2023). "98-100 AND 102-102A TOTARA ROAD, WHENUAPAI: ARCHAEOLOGICAL/HISTORIC HERITAGE ASSESSMENT". Clough and Associates.
  16. "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service".
  17. {{NZ census 2018. Whenuapai (117000). whenuapai. Whenuapai
  18. "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
  19. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
  20. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer.
  21. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer.
  22. (29 December 2014). "Weather balloons". [[MetService]].

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suburbs-of-aucklandupper-harbour-local-board-areaairports-in-new-zealandpopulated-places-around-the-waitematā-harbourwest-auckland,-new-zealand