Bream Head is a promontory on the east coast of Northland in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

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 ...

. Located at the end of a 30 kilometre-long peninsula, the head juts into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the southeast of

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

. The Te Whara Track in the Bream Head Scenic Reserve is at least 700 years old. The

Hen and Chicken Islands The Hen and Chicken Islands, usually known as the Hen and Chickens, lie to the east of the North Auckland Peninsula off the coast of northern New Zealand. They lie east of Bream Head and south-east of Whangārei with a total area of . H ...

are located off the headland at a distance of 12 kilometres. It forms the northern extremity of Bream Bay, and guards the entrance to

Whangārei Harbour Whangārei Harbour is a large harbour on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The harbour stretches from Whangārei City, and the termination of the Hātea River, south east around the Onerahi peninsula and out to the Pacific Ocea ...

, a natural inlet extending to the northwest. The

Marsden Point Oil Refinery Marsden Point Oil Refinery was an oil refinery located at Marsden Point, Whangārei, Northland, New Zealand, which operated from 1964 to 2022. It was the only significant oil refinery in New Zealand, and was owned and operated by the New Zealand ...

is located on the opposing shore of the harbour five kilometres to the west. To Bream Head's immediate north is a long sandy beach called Ocean Beach.

Biology

It contains a scenic reserve, the Bream Head Scenic Reserve, which unlike Bream Head is an official name. This has a long history of

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 ...

occupation, being now wāhi tapu, and is one of the most important coastal broadleaf forest reserves in Northland with its population of native flax snail – pūpūharakeke and Whirinaki skinks.

Geology

Bream Head features a prominent bluff usually known by the same name or Te Whara in height,NZ TopoMap:Bream Head
/ref> and to its west Mount Lion at a height of , the remains of a

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

andesitic volcano.

Gallery

Image:Ocean_Beach, Northland, New_Zealand.jpg, Ocean Beach, looking South Image:Ocean_Beach, Northland, New_Zealand2.jpg, Ocean Beach, looking North Image:Bream Head end.jpg, The eastern tip of Bream Head Image:Bream Head.jpg, Bream Head, viewed from the south

References

{{Whangarei District Whangarei District Headlands of the Northland Region Volcanic plugs of New Zealand Volcanoes of the Northland Region