A cairn opposite 224 Marine Parade commemorates the shipwrecks of Felixstowe, a barque, and City of Auckland, a full-rigged ship carrying immigrants, in October 1878.[4] Shipwrecks were common on Ōtaki beach in the 19th century.[5]
The area was divided into residential sections and roads built in the early 1920s.[6][7]
Demographics
Ōtaki Beach is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a small urban area and covers 3.36 km2 (1.30 sq mi).[1] It had an estimated population of 2,120 as of June 2024, with a population density of 630.95 people per km2.
Ōtaki Beach had a population of 1,818 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 198 people (12.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 129 people (7.6%) since the 2006 census. There were 765 households, comprising 852 males and 966 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.88 males per female. The median age was 47.7 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 309 people (17.0%) aged under 15 years, 258 (14.2%) aged 15 to 29, 789 (43.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 462 (25.4%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 74.8% European/Pākehā, 37.0% Māori, 3.5% Pasifika, 2.1% Asian, and 1.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 14.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 50.8% had no religion, 35.3% were Christian, 2.0% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 2.5% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 309 (20.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 273 (18.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $25,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 153 people (10.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 603 (40.0%) people were employed full-time, 210 (13.9%) were part-time, and 84 (5.6%) were unemployed.[8]
