Pencarrow Head, also known as Pencarrow, is a headland in the

Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...

of New Zealand and the name of the surrounding area. The name is Welsh and formed from Pen which translates to English as Head and Carrow which is a burial site. The addition of Head is a translation mistake as Head is already in the name. It is the eastern headland that marks the entrance to Wellington Harbour. The area is located south of

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

and is part of Lower Hutt. The area is hilly and has no road access; a walking or mountain biking track follows the coast line. The head marks the northern end of Fitzroy Bay. The main attraction of Pencarrow Head is the

Pencarrow Head Lighthouse Pencarrow Head Lighthouse is a decommissioned lighthouse at Pencarrow Head in the Wellington region of the North Island of New Zealand. Upper lighthouse Constructed in 1859, the Pencarrow Head Lighthouse was the first permanent lighthouse ...

, the first permanent lighthouse in New Zealand constructed in 1859. It is one of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

's most notable heritage locations and New Zealand's only female lighthouse keeper, Mary Bennett, worked here. The return walk from Eastbourne takes four hours. The Pencarrow lakes, Lake Kohangapiripiri and Lake Kohangatera, are freshwater wetlands that were blocked from the sea by earthquake activity. Stock grazing was discontinued in 2004 and the wetlands are recovering from stock and farming impacts. The area is under joint management by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

and the

Greater Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environm ...

Demographics

Pencarrow statistical area covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Pencarrow had a population of 651 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 63 people (10.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 78 people (13.6%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 228 households. There were 312 males and 342 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.91 males per female. The median age was 46.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 123 people (18.9%) aged under 15 years, 102 (15.7%) aged 15 to 29, 342 (52.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 84 (12.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 88.9% European/Pākehā, 12.9% Māori, 3.7% Pacific peoples, 5.1% Asian, and 1.8% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 18.0%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 57.1% had no religion, 32.7% were Christian, 0.9% were Hindu, 0.5% were Muslim, 1.8% were Buddhist and 2.8% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 87 (16.5%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 105 (19.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $39,700, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 291 (55.1%) people were employed full-time, 84 (15.9%) were part-time, and 15 (2.8%) were unemployed.

References

{{Lower Hutt Lower Hutt Headlands of the Wellington Region Wellington Harbour Populated places around the Wellington Harbour