Snells Beach is a small coastal town in the north of

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 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 ...

. 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 Mahurangi Harbour is a natural harbour in New Zealand ...

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 (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

faces east across Kawau Bay to

Kawau Island Kawau Island is in the Hauraki Gulf, close to the north-eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the Māori word for the shag.At its closest point it lies off the coast of the Northland Peninsula, just south of Tā ...

. The nearest town is Warkworth, to the west, which is linked by 8 buses a day and also Mahu City Express twice a day.

Geography

Snells Beach is an

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

located on the

, between the

Mahurangi Harbour Mahurangi Harbour is a natural harbour in New Zealand. It is located on the north-eastern coast of the Auckland Region near the town of Warkworth, and empties into the Hauraki Gulf. Geography The Mahurangi Harbour is a drowned river valle ...

and Kawau Bay 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, It is located east of the town of Warkworth, and adjacent to the settlements of Sandspit, New Zealand, Sandspit and Algies Bay. Important

seagrass meadows A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...

are present on the shallow tidal ecosystem at Snells Beach. The seagrass protects Snells Beach from intense wave action and is an important source of food for protected native wildlife that lives and visits the shoreline.

History

Māori history

The wider Mahurangi area has been settled since at least the 13th century. One of the first known

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

to have settled in the area is Ngāi Tāhuhu. ''

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...

'' and ''

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 waka are known to have visited the area, and descendants of captain Manaia of the ''

Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi In Māori tradition, ''Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi'' (also known as ''Māhuhu'') was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled New Zealand. According to Māori traditions, the waka ''Māhuhu-ki-te-ran ...

'' waka are known to have intermarried with Ngāi Tāhuhu. Mahurangi peoples primarily focused settlement along the shores 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, moving between different

kāinga A kāinga ( southern Māori: ''kaika'' or ''kaik'') is the traditional form of village habitation of pre-European Māori in New Zealand. It was unfortified or only lightly fortified, and over time became less important than the well-fortified ...

based on available seasonal resources. Snells Beach and adjacent Algies Bay () were protected by headland

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

to the north and south, which looked out towards

and (Kawau Bay), an important shark fishery. Archaeological middens and terraces have been discovered in the areas adjacent to the north and south headlands of Snells Beach. By the mid-1700s,

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 ...

tribes from 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,Ngāti Pāoa Ngāti Pāoa is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) that has extensive links to the Hauraki and Waikato tribes of New Zealand. Its traditional lands stretch from the western side of the Hauraki Plains to Auckland. They also settled on Hauraki Gulf islands ...

, sought to control the shark fishery located on the Mahurangi coast, between

and the

Whangaparāoa Peninsula The Whangaparāoa Peninsula is a suburban area about 30–50 km north of Auckland, New Zealand. It had residents in It stretches from Red Beach, New Zealand, Red Beach, where it connects to Kingsway, Orewa and Silverdale, and exte ...

. War broke out between Ngāti Pāoa and the Kawerau hapū. By the early 19th century, Kawerau-descended hapū held exclusive land rights to the Mahurangi, while fishing rights were shared between these hapū and the Marutūāhu tribes. By the early 19th Century, the Mahurangi Harbour was primarily settled by Ngāti Rongo and their related hapū Ngāti Kā and Ngāti Raupō, all of whom kept close ties to Ngāti Manuhiri, while Marutūahu tribes frequented the coast during the summertime. In the early 1820s 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 ...

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

and related northern tribes attacked the Mahurangi area settlements in retaliation for past losses, leading to the Mahurangi area being depopulated. Ngāti Rongo, Ngāti Raupō and Ngāti Mahuhiri sought refuge with different tribes in Northland. Ngāti Rongo returned to the Mahurangi area in 1836, under the leadership of Te Hēmara Tauhia, focusing settlement at Te Muri. Ngāti Rongo, Ngāti Raupō and Ngāti Mahuhiri returned to the area by the late 1830s or early 1840s. By this period, many of the Kawerau hapū had developed associations with

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 ...

, and the Mahurangi area was contested between Kawerau, Ngāti Whātua and Marutūāhu tribes.

European settlement

Following the signing of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

in 1840,

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

made the first purchases of the Mahurangi and Omaha blocks on 13 April 1841. While some iwi and hapū with customary interests had been engaged, such as Ngāti Paoa; Ngāti Rongo, Ngāti Raupō and Ngāti Manuhiri were not a part of this transaction, and it took the Crown until the 1850s to finalise a deal these tribes. The area was originally known as Long Beach to early European settlers. It was bought in 1854 by Cornish miner James Snell, who had initially settled at

after first working at mines in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Snell settled at the beach, where his family farmed for generations. Scottish immigrant Alexander Algie and wife Mina, née Deerness, bought the land to the south at Martins Bay, where his brother Samuel settled in 1867. The Algie family established a boarding house on the beach in the late 1890s, which operated until 1941. In 1904, J. Clayden and J. Parkinson discovered a large amount of

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 ...

at Snells Beach, extracting seven tons during low tide. Further digs took place in 1907, predominantly by recent Dalmatian immigrants to the area. By the early 20th century, Snells Beach was becoming a popular spot for holidaymakers, and in the 1930s, the area became better connected to the Auckland roading network, when a metal road was constructed along the

. The first block of shops in Snells Beach was constructed in 1982. The commercial and light industrial area of Snells Beach led to the community becoming the service centre for the wider Mahurangi Peninsula, and the second largest commercial centre in the Warkworth/

Matakana Matakana is a small town in the Rodney Ward of Auckland Council of New Zealand. Warkworth lies about 9 km (5½ miles) to the south-west, Snells Beach the same distance to the south, Ōmaha is about 7 km (4¼ miles) to the east, and ...

areas. During the 2010s, the area transitioned away from being primarily a holiday town to a permanently settled satellite town of Warkworth. In 2012, the Snells Beach library was marked for closure, leaving many residents bewildered and angry.

Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Snells Beach as a small urban area, which covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Snells Beach had a population of 3,678 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 273 people (8.0%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 747 people (25.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,824 males, 1,845 females and 12 people of other genders in 1,452 dwellings. 1.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 48.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 654 people (17.8%) aged under 15 years, 429 (11.7%) aged 15 to 29, 1,521 (41.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,074 (29.2%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 90.0%

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 ...

); 10.8%

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 ...

; 5.2% Pasifika; 4.5% Asian; 1.2% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.0%, Māori language by 1.2%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 9.9%. No language could be spoken by 1.5% (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 27.7, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 34.2%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 0.6%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 1.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 54.2%, and 8.6% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 477 (15.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,605 (53.1%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 792 (26.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $34,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 297 people (9.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,233 (40.8%) people were employed full-time, 483 (16.0%) were part-time, and 51 (1.7%) 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, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

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. Paddleboarding is usually performed in the open ...

, swimming, fishing, and

dog walking Dog walking is the act of a person walking with a dog, typically from the dog's residence and then returning. Leashes are commonly used for this. Both owners and pets receive many benefits, including exercise and companionship. Description Dog ...

. 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 (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

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

motorhome A motorhome (or coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which is as the name suggests, like a home on wheels. Features Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed o ...

s. The Mahurangi Shopping Centre includes cafés, retail stores, 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 Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

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 cen ...

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

, 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 are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

, two motels, and several

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

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 Warkworth Subdivision Rodney Local Board Area Populated places in the Auckland Region Beaches of the Auckland Region Matakana Coast