Whiritoa

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Settlement in Waikato, New Zealand

title: "Whiritoa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["hauraki-district", "populated-places-in-waikato"] description: "Settlement in Waikato, New Zealand" topic_path: "general/hauraki-district" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiritoa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Settlement in Waikato, New Zealand ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Whiritoa
image_skyline	WhiritoaBeach.JPG
image_alt	Photographs of Whiritoa Beach
image_caption	Whiritoa Beach
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	New Zealand
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Waikato region
subdivision_type2	District
subdivision_name2	Hauraki District
subdivision_type3	Ward
subdivision_name3	Waihi Ward
leader_title	Territorial Authority
leader_name	Hauraki District Council
leader_title1	Regional council
leader_name1	Waikato Regional Council
leader_title2	Mayor of Thames-Coromandel
leader_name2
leader_title3	Coromandel MP
leader_name3
leader_title4	Hauraki-Waikato MP
leader_name4
seat_type	Electorates
seat
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	0.91
population_footnotes
population_as_of
population_total
population_density_km2	auto
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	10
coordinates
::

It has a convenience store, a library and a volunteer fire department. The local Surf lifesaving club has a close relationship with the community of regularly holidaying families.

At the north end of the 1.5 km beach is a small lagoon and past this is a short walk to Waimama bay. The lagoon has a cycle of being blocked by sand then being dug out by the council digger or enthusiastic members of the public. At the south end a short bush walk crosses through privately owned land to a blowhole.

The beach itself is popular for surfers as it often features a roaming sandbar or two. The shore is often quite steep meaning the waves are sometimes breaking directly on the sand making it difficult for casual swimmers.

History

Whiritoa beach is typical of many beaches along the eastern Coromandel Peninsula, starting its formation around 6,000 to 7,000 years ago.

Early Māori communities removed most of the original coastal forest and dune plants. Farmers then introduced stock to the dune area, disturbing the native sand-binding grasses and causing severe wind erosion. Most of the sand reserves eroded, reducing the height of the dunes and caused sheets of sand to move more than 200 m inland. The sand at Whiritoa Beach was mined for over 50 years; in total more than 180,000 m³ of sand has been removed. Since the 1960s coastal subdivision has covered most of what remains of the sand dune reserves.

Demographics

Whiritoa is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement. It covers 0.91 km2 and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. It is part of the larger Waihi Rural statistical area.

Whiritoa had a population of 264 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 48 people (22.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 96 people (57.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 126 males, 138 females and 3 people of other genders in 99 dwellings. 2.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 60.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 21 people (8.0%) aged under 15 years, 24 (9.1%) aged 15 to 29, 117 (44.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 102 (38.6%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 90.9% European (Pākehā), 13.6% Māori, 2.3% Pasifika, 1.1% Asian, and 6.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 100.0%, Māori language by 2.3%, and other languages by 4.5%. No language could be spoken by 1.1% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 1.1%. The percentage of people born overseas was 19.3, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 36.4% Christian, 1.1% Hindu, 2.3% Buddhist, and 2.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 52.3%, and 6.8% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 39 (16.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 144 (59.3%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 63 (25.9%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $28,000, compared with $41,500 nationally. 21 people (8.6%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 66 (27.2%) people were employed full-time, 48 (19.8%) were part-time, and 15 (6.2%) were unemployed.

References

[http://www.ew.govt.nz/enviroinfo/coasts/coastalcasestudies/Whiritoabeach.htm Sand mining and management at Whiritoa Beach] – Environment Waikato
"Stats NZ Geographic Data Service".
{{NZ census place summary 2018. waihi-rural. Waihi Rural
{{NZ census 2018. 7010843
"Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
"Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::