Sunnyvale is a

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 ...

of West Auckland,

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 ...

. Sunnyvale is under the local governance of

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 ...

. Sunnyvale used to be an orchard and wine growing area in Auckland with

West Brook Wines West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

founded there.

Geography

Sunnyvale is a suburb of West Auckland located north-west of the

Waikumete Cemetery Waikumete Cemetery, originally Waikomiti Cemetery, is New Zealand's largest cemetery. It occupies a site of 108 hectares in Glen Eden, Auckland, and also contains a crematorium in the south-west corner of the cemetery. History Waikumete Cemeter ...

, due south of

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

. Two of the major streams of West Auckland meet at Sunnyvale: the

Oratia Stream The Oratia Stream is a stream of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows north-east from its source at the township of Waiatarua in the Waitākere Ranges, before entering into the Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, which f ...

and the

Waikumete Stream The Waikumete Stream is a stream of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows north from its sources in Titirangi, before joining the Oratia Stream. Both bodies are tributaries of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, which flo ...

, at McLaren Park. Sunnyvale forms a part of the Waitematā lowland forests ecological zone. The free-draining soils and broad terraces provided a habitat that was ideal for large broadleaf trees, including

pūriri ''Vitex lucens'', commonly known as pūriri, is an evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand. History Pūriri was first collected (by Europeans) at Tolaga Bay by Banks and Solander during Cook's first visit in 1769. The plant was described by S ...

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, ...

, karaka and tītoki.

History

Sunnyvale was a name originally used to refer to both Sunnyvale and

Oratia Oratia is a semi-rural locality on the western edge of metropolitan West Auckland in New Zealand. It is approximately to the south west of Auckland CBD (Central Business District), and sits at the eastern edge of the Waitākere Ranges Herit ...

, the rural locality to the south-west. Over time the name was exclusively applied to Sunnyvale. Sunnyvale used to be an orchard and wine growing area, and was the location where

was founded.

Demographics

Sunnyvale covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Sunnyvale had a population of 6,333 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 390 people (6.6%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 1,308 people (26.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,090 males, 3,210 females and 33 people of other genders in 1,851 dwellings. 3.0% 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 32.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,434 people (22.6%) aged under 15 years, 1,428 (22.5%) aged 15 to 29, 2,910 (45.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 561 (8.9%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 38.9%

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 ...

); 17.3%

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 ...

; 26.7%

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 ...

; 32.8% Asian; 4.1% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 92.0%, Māori language by 4.3%, Samoan by 9.0%, and other languages by 28.5%. No language could be spoken by 3.1% (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 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 41.4, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 41.4%

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 ...

, 7.3%

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 ...

, 4.2%

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 ...

, 1.5%

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 ...

, 1.8%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, and 1.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 36.8%, and 5.5% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,272 (26.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,229 (45.5%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,386 (28.3%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $43,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 414 people (8.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,715 (55.4%) people were employed full-time, 558 (11.4%) were part-time, and 201 (4.1%) were unemployed.

Education

Sunnyvale Primary School 20231125 133731 01

Local State primary and secondary schools include Sunnyvale Primary School, Holy Cross,

Massey High School Massey High School is a co-educational state secondary school in West Auckland, New Zealand established in 1969. The school is located on the western edge of the city, thus obtaining students from both suburban and rural backgrounds. In 2017 i ...

, Henderson High School,

Liston College Liston College is a school in Henderson, New Zealand, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand, for year seven to 13 boys and offers a Roman Catholic, Catholic education to its students. It was the second List of Christian Brothers schools, school open ...

, and St Dominic's College. Sunnyvale Primary School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a roll of as of

References

External links

Photographs of Sunnyvale
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{Henderson-Massey Local Board Area Suburbs of Auckland Henderson-Massey Local Board Area West Auckland, New Zealand