Ōmaha is a small beach town on Ōmaha Bay in the

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban areas of New Zealand, urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands o ...

, in the north of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It is located 74.7 km north of central

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. It is on a sandspit that adjoins Tāwharanui Peninsula and separates

Whangateau Harbour The Whangateau Harbour is a natural harbour in New Zealand. It is a sandspit estuary, located on the north-eastern coast of the Auckland Region north-east of Matakana, and empties into the Hauraki Gulf. Due to the harbour's high quality wate ...

from Ōmaha Bay. The nearest sizeable town is Warkworth which is situated 16.8 km south west of Ōmaha.

History

Ōmaha was a

Marutūāhu __NOTOC__ Marutūāhu (also spelled, Marutūahu or Marutuahu) is a confederation of Māori ''iwi'' (tribes) in the Hauraki region (the Hauraki Gulf, Coromandel Peninsula and Hauraki Plains) of New Zealand. The confederation comprises the tribes ...

settlement until 1841, when it was bought by the Crown. Early European settlement took place at Sandspit. The

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

name means 'bountiful food' or 'great resources'. Nearby

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

was historically named Ōmaha by

, and Ōmaha Beach was called Mangatawhiri by

Ngāti Manuhiri Ngāti Manuhiri is a Māori iwi of the Mahurangi Peninsula area of New Zealand. They have an interest in the region from the Ōkura River in the south to Mangawhai in the north, and extending out to Great Barrier Island. They are descended from ...

. The Omaha Road Board was formed 26 September 1867 and administered the area until 1903, when it was dissolved. Omaha saw growth during the 1970s when a bridge to Ōmaha was constructed by Broadlands Properties, who then subdivided the land and built housing. To prevent erosion a wooden barrier was constructed. Despite these efforts on the 19th of July, 1978 a strong storm destroyed the barrier and caused damage to several beach front properties. To solve the issue of erosion and flooding with high tides three

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid aquatic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concrete ...

s were constructed to divert currents from Ōmaha. Alongside these groynes the harbour would be

dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing ...

d with sand taken to the beach. Following the work to protect the foreshore more building permits were permitted; however, most came with a caveat requiring them to be raised slightly above the ground.

Geography

The sandspit of Ōmaha was formed during the last glacial period, approximately 5000 to 6000 years BP. The beach sediment composition is over 70%

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

sand, which gifted Ōmaha the natural "white" appearance. There are three artificial

s had been placed at northern part of the sandspit, to accumulate sediment from

longshore drift Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle, shells) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming w ...

. Local council in last two decades had been placing various groups of plant to stabilize the dunes, including '' Spinifex'', pingao, iceplant and

marram grass ''Ammophila'' (synonymous with ''Psamma'' P. Beauv.) is a genus of flowering plants consisting of two or three very similar species of grasses. The genus name ''Ammophila'' originates from the Greek words ἄμμος (''ámmos''), meaning "sand ...

. Ōmaha Spit has also been identified by the Department of Conservation as a "significant breeding site for the endangered New Zealand dotterel. As a result, The Omaha Shorebird Protection Trust was established in 2009 to monitor the dotterel population at Ōmaha. Fundraising of $162,000 by the Trust saw construction of a predator-proof fence completed in August 2012 helping to protect the birds, their chicks and eggs from predation by cats, rats, stoats, wessels and hedgehogs.

Demographics

In the early 1980s the population was less than 100. By the start of the 1990s it had increased to 300. Statistics New Zealand describes Ōmaha as a rural settlement, which covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Ōmaha is part of the larger Tawharanui Peninsula statistical area. Windswept_Omaha_Beach

Ōmaha had a population of 744 in the

2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...

, a decrease of 9 people (−1.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 120 people (19.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 339 males and 405 females in 318 dwellings. 0.8% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 60.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 87 people (11.7%) aged under 15 years, 60 (8.1%) aged 15 to 29, 297 (39.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 300 (40.3%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 96.4%

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

(

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

); 6.0%

; 2.0% Pasifika; 0.8% Asian; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 99.2%, Māori language by 0.8%, Samoan by 0.4%, and other languages by 7.3%. No language could be spoken by 0.8% (e.g. too young to talk).

New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...

was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 17.3, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 34.7%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, and 0.8% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 56.5%, and 7.3% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 141 (21.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 381 (58.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 99 (15.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $45,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 117 people (17.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 225 (34.2%) people were employed full-time, 111 (16.9%) were part-time, and 3 (0.5%) were unemployed.

Community

Ōmaha has a boat ramp, surf club, an 18 hole golf course, tennis courts, bowling club and children's playgrounds. From 2018 it has been served by 7 buses a day to Warkworth.

References

External links