Otangarei

Otangarei
Suburb
Coordinates: 35°41′34″S 174°19′9″E
Country	New Zealand
City	Whangarei District Council
Electoral ward	Whangārei Urban Ward
Area
• Land	77 ha (190 acres)
Population  (June 2024)
• Total	2,290

Kamo		Tikipunga
Whau Valley	Otangarei
Kensington	Mairtown	(Mount Parihaka)

Otangarei is a suburb of Whangārei, in Northland Region, New Zealand.

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of [a] group of people leaping" for Ōtāngarei.

Te Kotahitanga Marae o Otangarei is the community's local marae. It is a meeting ground for the Ngāpuhi hapū of Uri o Te Tangata, and features Te Puawaitanga Hou meeting house.

Demographics

Otangarei covers 0.77 km² (0.30 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 2,290 as of June 2024, with a population density of 2,974 people per km².

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	2,139	—
2013	1,635	−3.77%
2018	2,109	+5.22%
Source:

Before the 2023 census, the suburb had a larger boundary, covering 1.04 km² (0.40 sq mi). Using that boundary, Otangarei had a population of 2,109 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 474 people (29.0%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 30 people (−1.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 585 households, comprising 1,071 males and 1,044 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. The median age was 28.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 624 people (29.6%) aged under 15 years, 465 (22.0%) aged 15 to 29, 813 (38.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 210 (10.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 30.2% European/Pākehā, 78.4% Māori, 11.1% Pacific peoples, 1.7% Asian, and 1.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 5.7, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 44.4% had no religion, 32.6% were Christian, 14.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.1% were Hindu, 0.4% were Muslim, 0.1% were Buddhist and 0.9% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 57 (3.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 462 (31.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $17,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 30 people (2.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 435 (29.3%) people were employed full-time, 189 (12.7%) were part-time, and 177 (11.9%) were unemployed.

Education

Te Kura o Otangarei is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 1 and 82 students as of August 2024. It opened in 1955 as Otangarei Primary School and opened its full immersion Māori language unit in 1996. It expanded to include year 7 and 8 students in 2004, and adopted its current name in 2006. The school offers a choice between full immersion Māori language classes, bilingual classes or mainstream education.

As of 2018, there are also adult education classes in Te Reo Māori, Tikanga Marae and Waiata on a weekly basis for both the Otangarei and wider communities held at Te Puawaitanga Marae by Shaquille Shortland.

Sport

Rugby

City RFC are based in Otangarei and play in the Northland Rugby Union South Zone competitions. The club colours are blue & white hoops.

Rugby league

City Knights (formerly Kensington Knights) are based in Otangarei and play in the Whangarei City & Districts rugby league competitions.