Eastern Beach, New Zealand

Waitemata sandstone cliffs at the eastern end of Eastern Beach

Eastern Beach is located on the eastern side of a peninsula between the Tāmaki River and the Tāmaki Strait of the Hauraki Gulf, on the opposite side to Bucklands Beach.[6] The beach looks out towards the Tāmaki Strait and Waiheke Island.[7] The area is primarily formed from Waitemata sandstone. Anticline folding of the layers of sandstone can be seen along the cliffs of the beach, and Macleans Reserve is the location of a chenier plain, a large bed of fossilised shells.[8]

1923 poster advertising the "B" subdivision of Buckland's Beaches, which became Eastern Beach

Eastern Beach is part of the rohe of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, who descend from the crew of the Tainui migratory waka, who visited the area around the year 1300.[9] Early ancestor Tāiki settled with his followers along the eastern shores of the Tāmaki River, along side the descendants of Huiārangi of the early iwi Te Tini ō Maruiwi.[10] The traditional name for Eastern Beach is Okokino, and the headland south of the beach was known by the name Ngataieura.[9] Eastern Beach, along with the surrounding area, was the location of Ngāi Tai agricultural cultivations.[11]

In approximately the first half of the 18th century, Ngāriki, a rangatira of Ngāi Tai, built a fortified pā at Te Naupata (Musick Point), the headland at the end of the peninsula, called Te Waiārohia (a shortening of Te Waiārohia ō Ngāriki). The name refers to the panoramic views the pā commanded of the area.[10][11] Ngāriki and the people of Te Waiārohia often came into conflict with Ngaromania, a rangarita who settled at Te Pupū ō Kawau on the western shores of the Tāmaki River who demanded heavy tolls to those who passed by.[10] From the 1790s, Te Rangitāwhia was the paramount chief of Ngāi Tai, whose principal residences were at Waiārohia and to the south at Ōhuiarangi / Pigeon Mountain.[10]

During the Musket Wars in the 1820s, Te Waiārohia and the Eastern Beach area were evacuated, and the lands became tapu to Ngāi Tai due to the events of the conflict.[12][13] Most members of Ngāi Tai fled to the Waikato for temporary refuge during this time, and when English missionary William Thomas Fairburn visited the area in 1833, it was mostly unoccupied.[14]

In 1836, William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between Tāmaki Māori chiefs covering the majority of modern-day South Auckland, East Auckland and the Pōhutukawa Coast.[15] The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to. Māori continued to live in the area, unchanged by this sale.[16] In 1854 when Fairburn's purchase was investigated by the New Zealand Land Commission, a Ngāi Tai reserve was created around the Wairoa River and Umupuia areas, and as a part of the agreement, members of Ngāi Tai agreed to leave their traditional settlements to the west.[17][14]

In 1847, Howick was established as a defensive outpost for Auckland, by fencibles (retired British Army soldiers) and their families.[18] In 1851, William Mason bought a 320 acre plot from Fairburn at the modern-day site of Bucklands Beach, where he established a farm, growing oats, wheat and tending goats. Mason built a two-stored homestead above the beach, which was demolished in the 1950s.[11] The area became known as Mason's Beach, a name used up until the late 1940s.[11] In 1861, Mason sold his farm to Alfred Buckland, one of the largest agriculturalists in Auckland. The Bucklands family used to spend holidays at the beach, and in 1865 constructed a wharf for cattle and sheep.[19][20] From 1880 until 1922, John Granger operated a lime factory at Eastern Beach, where local shells were crushed and burned.[21]

Eastern Beach and Bucklands Beach became a popular holiday destination from the 1910s.[22] The Buckland farm was first subdivided in 1916 when Bucklands Beach was established,[23] and the Devonport Steamship Company constructed a second wharf at Bucklands Beach for passenger services.[22] During this time, phoenix palms were planted at Eastern Beach, to give the area a tropical appearance.[24] In 1923, Eastern Beach was subdivided and established as a housing estate,[25] and in 1934 became a regularly used site for the Auckland Caravaning Club.[26]

During World War II, concrete pillboxes were built at each end of Eastern Beach on the clifftops by local residents.[27] After the establishment of Howick as a borough in 1952, the area rapidly developed suburban housing.[28]

• Eastern Beach, which has a boat ramp.[29]
• Macleans Park, a large urban park and nature reserve.[30]
• Willow Park Christian Camp is a large camping facility located at Eastern Beach.[31]

Eastern Beach covers 1.18 km² (0.46 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 2,140 as of June 2023,[2] with a population density of 1,814 people per km².

Eastern Beach had a population of 2,190 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 54 people (2.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 9 people (0.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 765 households, comprising 1,050 males and 1,140 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female. The median age was 45.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 360 people (16.4%) aged under 15 years, 405 (18.5%) aged 15 to 29, 1,032 (47.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 390 (17.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 59.0% European/Pākehā, 3.8% Māori, 2.2% Pacific peoples, 37.9% Asian, and 2.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 48.5, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 49.9% had no religion, 35.6% were Christian, 0.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 2.2% were Hindu, 1.8% were Muslim, 3.0% were Buddhist and 2.9% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 594 (32.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 189 (10.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $35,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. 429 people (23.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 816 (44.6%) people were employed full-time, 261 (14.3%) were part-time, and 48 (2.6%) were unemployed.[32]

• La Roche, Alan (2011). Grey's Folly: A History of Howick, Pakuranga, Bucklands-Eastern Beaches, East Tamaki, Whitford, Beachlands and Maraetai. Auckland: Tui Vale Productions. ISBN 978-0-473-18547-3. OCLC 1135039710. Wikidata Q118286377.

• Photographs of Eastern Beach held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.