Snells Beach is a small coastal town in the north of

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containin ...

in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. It is situated on the eastern coast of the

Mahurangi Peninsula Mahurangi Peninsula is a landform in the Rodney Local Board Area in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located between two bodies of water: the Mahurangi Harbour and Kawau Bay. Geography The settlements of Snells Beach and ...

and its namesake

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

faces east across Kawau Bay to Kawau Island. The nearest town is Warkworth, to the west, which is linked by 8 buses a day and also Mahu City Express twice a day.

History

Cornish miner James Snell arrived in Kawau in 1854 and bought land, known as Long Beach. Dalmatian immigrants lived in tents on the beach and dug for kauri gum at low tide. Māori called the neighbouring Algies Bay 'horahora wai', meaning encroaching waters. Scottish immigrant Alexander Algie and wife Mina, née Deerness, bought the land near

Martins Bay Martins Bay is an indentation in the southwest coast of New Zealand's South Island. It lies immediately to the south of Big Bay and some 30 kilometres north of the mouth of Milford Sound at the northern tip of Fiordland. The Hollyford River rea ...

, where his brother Samuel settled in 1867. The family ran a boarding house on the beach during the late 1890s, which closed in 1941. A metal road was built along the eastern peninsula in the 1930s. In 2012, the Snells Beach library was marked for closure, leaving many residents bewildered and angry. In 2013, water from Snells Beach was needed for Warkworth's

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. T ...

Demographics

Snells Beach covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Snells Beach had a population of 3,405 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 sh ...

, an increase of 474 people (16.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 678 people (24.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,380 households, comprising 1,656 males and 1,746 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 47.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 606 people (17.8%) aged under 15 years, 438 (12.9%) aged 15 to 29, 1,374 (40.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 984 (28.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 90.7% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New ...

, 10.7% Māori, 5.0% Pacific peoples, 3.3% Asian, and 1.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 25.4, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.5% had no religion, 38.1% were Christian, 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.7% were Buddhist and 1.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 489 (17.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 537 (19.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 399 people (14.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,137 (40.6%) people were employed full-time, 444 (15.9%) were part-time, and 72 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Features and attractions

The 2.5 kilometre long tidal sandy beach, which attracts a variety of shorebirds, is popular for

kite surfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, an ...

paddle boarding Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. This article refers to traditional prone or kneeli ...

, swimming, fishing, and dog walking. The pohutukawa-lined

esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

reserve features footpaths, playgrounds, picnic areas, a public

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...

, a waterfront café, public toilets, showers, boat ramps, and free overnight parking for

motorhome A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation. Features Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...

s. The Mahurangi Shopping Centre includes cafés, retail stores,

The Warehouse The Warehouse Group (TWG) was founded by Stephen Tindall in 1982, and is the largest retail group operating in New Zealand. It is a corporate group that consists of The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Torpedo7, Noel Leeming, 1-day and TheMar ...

, public toilets,

Wifi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wa ...

facilities, and overnight parking for motorhomes. The adjacent Goodalls Reserve hosts a community centre, library, bowling club, tennis club,

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairset ...

, sports fields, dog exercise area, and walking tracks. Nearby is a

petrol station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoli ...

, two motels, and several

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

s. The Brick Bay Sculpture Trail – an outdoor gallery showcasing contemporary sculpture amongst native trees, palms, birdlife and green pastures – is located at the western entrance of Snells Beach. Snells Beach contains the

Rodney District Rodney District was a local government area in the northernmost part of New Zealand's Auckland Region from 1989 to 2010. It included Kawau Island. It was created from the amalgamation of Helensville Borough and Rodney County in 1989. The seat ...

’s regional television broadcaster: Family TV.

Education

Snells Beach Primary is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

contributing primary school catering for years 1-6. It opened in 2009. The school is intended to grow to about 500 students. The roll was students in . Horizon School, formerly Mahurangi Christian School, is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a roll of students as at .. The school is state integrated.

References

External links

New Zealand Tourism GuideSnells Beach Official Website
{{Rodney Local Board Area Rodney District Populated places in the Auckland Region Beaches of the Auckland Region Matakana Coast