suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
in
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 ...
's East Coast Bays region. The suburb is roughly the same size as Murrays Bay, the suburb to the immediate south.
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Coromandel Peninsula
The Coromandel Peninsula () on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean ...
. An unnamed stream flows north-east through the suburb to the Hauraki Gulf.
The soil is primarily formed from clay and Waitemata sandstone, which can be seen in the cliffs along the coast. Prior to human settlement, the inland Rothesay Bay area was primarily a northern broadleaf podocarp forest, dominated by
tōtara
''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...
kauri
''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...
and
kahikatea
''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...
trees.
Pōhutukawa
Pōhutukawa (''Metrosideros excelsa''), also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, or iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the Myrtus, myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red (or occasionally orange, yellow o ...
trees were a major feature of the coastline. During the 19th century, the area was dominated by mānuka shrubs.
History
Māori history
Māori settlement of 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 ...
began around the 13th or 14th centuries. The North Shore was settled by Tāmaki Māori, including people descended from the ''
Tainui
Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...
'' migratory canoe and ancestors of figures such as Taikehu and Peretū. Many of the Tāmaki Māori people of the North Shore identified as Ngā Oho. While the poor soils around the East Coast Bays hindered dense settlement, traditional resources in the area included fish, shellfish and marine birds.
The warrior Maki migrated from the Kāwhia Harbour to his ancestral home 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 ...
, likely sometime in the 17th century. Maki conquered and unified many the Tāmaki Māori tribes as Te Kawerau ā Maki, including those of the North Shore. After Maki's death, his sons settled different areas of his lands, creating new
hapū
In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
. His younger son Maraeariki settled the North Shore and
Hibiscus Coast
The Hibiscus Coast is a populated area on a stretch of the Hauraki Gulf coast in New Zealand's Auckland Region. It has a population of making it the List of New Zealand urban areas by population, 10th most populous urban area in New Zealand, ...
, who based himself at the head of the Ōrewa River. Maraeariki's daughter Kahu succeeded him, and she is the namesake of the North Shore, ("The Greater Lands of Kahu"), Many of the iwi of the North Shore, including Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Maraeariki, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Poataniwha, Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki and
Ngāti Whātua
Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...
, can trace their lineage to Kahu.
By the 18th century, the Marutūāhu iwi Ngāti Paoa had expanded their influence to include the islands of the
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2, After periods of conflict, peace had been reached by the 1790s. The earliest contact with Europeans began in the late 18th century, which caused many Tāmaki Māori to die of , respiratory diseases. During the early 1820s, most Māori of the North Shore fled for the
Waikato
The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
or Northland due to the threat of war parties during the
Musket Wars
The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...
. Most people had returned by the late 1820s and 1830s.
European settlement
In 1841, the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
purchased the Mahurangi and Omaha blocks; an area that spanned from
Takapuna
Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, New Zealand, Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volca ...
to Te Ārai. The purchase involved some iwi with customary interests in the area, such as Ngāti Paoa, other Marutūāhu iwi and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, but not others, such as Te Kawerau ā Maki or Ngāti Rango. The Crown spent until 1873 rectifying this sale, by making further deals with stakeholders.
Unlike the surrounding bays, most of Rothesay Bay was left as scrubland in the 19th century. The main visitors to the area were itinerant
kauri gum
Kauri gum is resin from kauri trees (''Agathis australis''), which historically had several important industrial uses. It can also be used to make crafts such as jewellery. Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, bef ...
diggers, and small sections of land were part of cattle farms owned by the Vaughan family and by W. Hart. In the 1910s, Scottish immigrant and resident of Albany, John Knight, began developing the land to sell as a subdivision. Construction on Rothesay Bay Road had begun by 1912, and the land was subdivided for sale in 1915 and 1916. While many historical sources describe Knight naming the subdivision after his hometown in Scotland, Knight did not come from Rothesay. The origin of the name is unknown, but it may have come from the Scottish song "Sweet Rothesay Bay", which was referenced in some of the advertising material for the suburb.
A small settlement of holiday homes developed during the 1920s, but even into the 1950s the area was sparsely populated and rural. By 1945, ten families had permanently settled at Rothesay Bay, and a close-knit community developed. The families used the Rothesay Bay beach as a common area to socialise. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a pillbox was installed at the Rothesay Bay Esplanade, and gun emplacements were constructed on the nearby cliffs.
Local government
From 1876 until 1954, the area was administered by the Waitemata County, a large rural county north and west of the city of Auckland. In 1954, the area split from the county, forming the East Coast Bays Borough Council, which became East Coast Bays City in 1975. In 1989, the city was merged into the
North Shore City
North Shore City was a territorial authority unit in the Auckland Region of New Zealand that was governed by the North Shore City Council. It existed from 1989 until November 2010, when the council was incorporated into Auckland Council. It ha ...
. North Shore City was amalgamated into
Auckland Council
Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...
in November 2010.
Within the Auckland Council, Rothesay Bay is a part of the Hibiscus and Bays local government area governed by the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board. It is a part of the Albany ward, which elects two councillors to the Auckland Council.
Demographics
Rothesay Bay covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Rothesay Bay had a population of 2,892 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 ...
, an increase of 6 people (0.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 186 people (6.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,437 males, 1,452 females and 3 people of other genders in 993 dwellings. 2.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 41.2 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 543 people (18.8%) aged under 15 years, 522 (18.0%) aged 15 to 29, 1,389 (48.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 441 (15.2%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 73.9% European (
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 ...
); 4.5% Māori; 1.3% Pasifika; 24.4% Asian; 2.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 95.4%, Māori language by 0.4%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 28.1%. No language could be spoken by 1.2% (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 0.2%. The percentage of people born overseas was 44.7, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 30.6%
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 ...
, 0.5%
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 0.7%
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 0.8%
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.3%
New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, 0.4%
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 0.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 60.4%, and 5.7% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 702 (29.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,035 (44.1%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 363 (15.5%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $50,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 543 people (23.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,188 (50.6%) people were employed full-time, 408 (17.4%) were part-time, and 36 (1.5%) were unemployed.
Amenities
A popular public walkway passes through coastal Rothesay Bay, connecting Campbells Bay to Browns Bay in the north. The walkway passes sections of exposed Waitemata sandstone.