Schnapper Rock is a suburb of

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 ...

, New Zealand, on the North Shore. The suburb is governed by

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 ...

. The area was known for a

gum digging 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 ...

hut used by early European settlers in the mid-19th century. North Shore Memorial Park was opened area in 1974, and the area developed into suburban housing in the early 2000s.

Etymology

The name refers to the solid rock landing place used by early colonial residents of Auckland who travelled along

Lucas Creek Lucas Creek is a stream and tidal estuary of Upper Waitematā Harbour in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows through Albany on the western North Shore, and enters the Upper Waitematā Harbour between Pāremoremo and G ...

. The name schnapper is a variation of snapper, which people believed was the correct spelling in the mid-19th century, and refers to the good fishing found in the area.

Geography

Schnapper Rock is an area of the northwestern North Shore in

, New Zealand. It is located on the eastern bank of the upper reaches of the

, an estuarial arm of the

Upper Waitematā Harbour The Upper Waitematā Harbour is an estuary of the Waitematā Harbour in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It flows south-east from the town of Riverhead, and was historically the border between Waitakere City and North Shore City in Auckland ...

. The creek forms the suburb's western border, while Albany Highway acts as the suburb's border to the east. Te Wharau Creek is a tributary of the Lucas Creek, which is found to the southwest of the suburb, between Schnapper Rock and Greenhithe. The highest point in the suburb is the hill to the south of the junction between Kittiwake Road and Schnapper Rock Road, which reaches a height of above sea level. Much of the Albany area is formed from

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

Waitemata Group The Waitemata Group is an Early Miocene group (geology), geologic group that is exposed in and around the Auckland Region of New Zealand, between the Whangarei Harbour in the North and the Raglan, New Zealand, Raglan Harbour in the South. The Gr ...

sandstone and mudstone, with areas of conglomerate rock called Albany Conglomerate. The banks of the Lucas Creek were historically

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 ...

-dominated forests. By the mid-19th century, the area had developed into a

mānuka Mānuka (; ''Leptospermum scoparium'') is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family (biology), family Myrtaceae, native to New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) and south-east Australia. Bees produce mānuka honey from its necta ...

and fern-dominated scrubland.

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 Tāmaki Māori are Māori ''iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M� ...

, 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 early Tāmaki Māori people of the North Shore identified as

Ngā Oho Ngā Oho, also known as Ngā Ohomatakamokamo-o-Ohomairangi, is the name of a historical iwi (tribe) of Māori who settled in the Auckland Region. In the 17th century, Ngā Oho and two other tribes of shared heritage, Ngā Riki and Ngā Iwi, form ...

, and the Lucas Creek has significance to modern iwi including

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 ...

Te Kawerau ā Maki Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Kawerau a Maki, or Te Kawerau-a-Maki is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Predominantly based in West Auckland (Hikurangi also known as Waitākere), it had 251 registered adult members as of J ...

and

Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara (also known as Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara ki te Tonga) is a Māori iwi (tribe) and hapū (sub-tribe) of New Zealand, which is part of the larger Ngāti Whātua iwi. The iwi's rohe is focused around the southern Kaipara Harb ...

. The poor clay soils of the area were not suitable for Māori traditional gardening techniques, but the creek was a good source for eels, crayfish and flounder. An (traditional path) connected Lucas Creek and the

Okura River Okura or Ōkura may refer to: * Okura Hotels, an international chain headquartered in Japan * Ōkura River in New Zealand * Ōkura, New Zealand, a village * Ōkura school of traditional Japanese comic theater * Okura, Yamagata, a village in Japan ...

to the north, which led to Long Bay and the upper

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,Portages of New Zealand, portage, where

waka WAKA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Selma, Alabama, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Montgomery area. It is owned by Bahakel Communications alongside Tuskegee-licensed CW+ affiliate WBMM (channel 22); B ...

could be hauled overland between the two bodies of water, Numerous archaeological sites are found on the banks of the Lucas Creek, because of its importance as a transportation node. The warrior Maki migrated from the

Kāwhia Harbour Kawhia Harbour () is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton. ...

to his ancestral home in the

, likely sometime in the 17th century. Maki conquered and unified many the Tāmaki Māori tribes as

, 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 The Ōrewa River is a river of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows east to reach Whangaparāoa Bay just to the north of Whangaparāoa Peninsula. The town of Orewa is near the river's mouth. Geography The Ōrewa River b ...

. 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 Maraeariki, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Poataniwha,

Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is a Māori people, Māori tribe that is based in the area around Clevedon, New Zealand, Clevedon, part of the Auckland region (''Tāmaki'' in the Māori language). It is one of the twelve members of the Hauraki Collective ...

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 first half of the 19th century, the mouth of the Lucas Creek to the southwest of Albany was one of the most densely settled areas of the North Shore by Tāmaki Māori peoples. 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 ...

. When Tāmaki Māori returned in greater numbers to the Auckland Region in the mid-1830s, Te Kawerau ā Maki focused settlement at

Te Henga / Bethells Beach Te Henga, or Bethells Beach, is a coastal community in West Auckland, New Zealand. The Māori name for the area, "Te Henga", is in reference to the long foredunes which run along the beach and look like the or gunwale of an upturned waka hull. ...

European settlement

The Schnapper Rock area was a part of the Mahurangi Block, which was purchased by the

New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...

in 1841. While

logging was one of the first industries in the area, the supply of kauri was exhausted by the early 1840s. By the late 1840s,

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 ...

digging had become a more prominent industry for the Lucas Creek area. Itinerant gum diggers would scour the area for kauri resin to sell at stores, including one located at Schnapper Rock, which was established in the late 1840s. By 1864, the area began to be subdivided into smaller lots for farmers and residents. The area remained rural until the mid-20th century. After the opening of the

Auckland Harbour Bridge The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins Saint Marys Bay, New Zealand, St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote, Auckland, Northcote on the North Shore, ...

in 1959, larger farms began to be subdivided into smaller farmlets. The semi-rural character of the area remained until the 1990s. North Shore Memorial Park was opened in 1974. It is a cemetery run by Auckland Council sited on . The first references to Schnapper Rock as a suburb come from the early 2000s; prior to this it was considered a part of Albany. The name was name chosen by property developers for the area, and already had strong associations with the North Shore Memorial Park and crematorium. It was officially recognised as a suburb by the New Zealand Gazetteer and

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 ...

in 2007.

Local government

From 1876 until 1954, the area was administered by the

Waitemata County The Waitemata County, historically also known as Waitamata County, was one of the counties of New Zealand in the North Island. Established in 1876, the county covered West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland, Rodney (local board area), Rodney a ...

, a large rural county north and west of the city of Auckland. On 1 August 1974, the Waitemata County was dissolved, and Schnapper Rock became a rural area incorporated into

Takapuna City Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volcanic maar and one of the oldest features of the A ...

. In 1989, Schnapper Rock was merged into the

. North Shore City was amalgamated into

in November 2010. Within the Auckland Council, Schnapper Rock is a part of the

Upper Harbour Upper Harbour may refer to these various places in New Zealand: *Upper Harbour Bridge *Upper Harbour Local Board *Upper Harbour Motorway *Upper Harbour (New Zealand electorate) Upper Harbour is a parliamentary electorate in Auckland that returns ...

local government area governed by the

Upper Harbour Local Board The Upper Harbour Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of the Auckland Council, and is one of the two boards overseen by the council's Albany Ward councillors. The board is named for the upper reaches of Auckland's Waitematā Harbour. ...

. It is a part of the Albany ward, which elects two councillors to the Auckland Council.

Demographics

Schnapper Rock covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Schnapper Rock had a population of 3,867 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 72 people (−1.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 168 people (4.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,932 males, 1,926 females and 9 people of other genders in 1,131 dwellings. 3.6% of people identified as

LGBTIQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

. The median age was 36.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 735 people (19.0%) aged under 15 years, 855 (22.1%) aged 15 to 29, 1,941 (50.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 330 (8.5%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 41.3%

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 ...

); 4.4%

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 ...

; 1.6%

Pasifika Pasifika may refer to: *Pacific Islander people, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands **Pasifika New Zealanders, Pacific peoples living in New Zealand *Pacific Islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia *The Pasifika Festival, an a ...

; 55.2% Asian; 3.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 88.0%, Māori language by 0.9%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 48.9%. No language could be spoken by 1.6% (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 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 58.9, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 27.1%

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 ...

, 2.4%

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 ...

, 1.9%

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 ...

, 0.2%

Māori religious beliefs 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 ...

, 2.5%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 1.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 58.0%, and 6.5% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,050 (33.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,191 (38.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 666 (21.3%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $49,400, compared with $41,500 nationally. 594 people (19.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,752 (55.9%) people were employed full-time, 432 (13.8%) were part-time, and 84 (2.7%) were unemployed.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

*
Photographs of Schnapper Rock
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{Upper Harbour Local Board Area Suburbs of Auckland North Shore, New Zealand Populated places around the Waitematā Harbour