Cockle Bay, New Zealand

Cockle Bay Beach

Cockle Bay is located on the eastern edges of metropolitan East Auckland, along the Hauraki Gulf coast.[3] The bay itself is located to the east of the suburb, and looks out towards the Tāmaki Strait, Motukaraka Island and Beachlands.[4]

Aerial view of Cockle Bay in 1928

Aerial view of Cockle Bay in 1959

The Cockle Bay area 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.[5] The traditional name for the bay and surrounding area is Tūwakamana, a shortened version of Te Tūranga-waka-ā-Manawatere. The name recalls the story of the arrival of the Tainui. When the crew arrived, they noticed that Tainui ancestor Manawatere had recently visited the bay, and left a red ochre marking on a pōhutukawa tree, as a sign that the bay was a good place to settle.[5] The followers of Manawatere settled the area from Maraetai to Tūwakamana.[6]

The area was widely cultivated by Ngāi Tai, and protected by the Tūwakamana Pā at Cockle Bay, which commanded a view of the wider Turanga Estuary.[5][7] In addition to traditional cultivations (māra), the bay was an important source of source of tuangi (New Zealand cockles),[5] and even in modern times the bay has some of the most extensive cockle beds in the Auckland Region.[7] Tūwakamana Pā was built by the ancestor Keteanatua, and was abandoned in 1821 during the Musket Wars.[7] Most members of Ngāi Tai fled to the Waikato for temporary refuge during this time, and when missionary William Thomas Fairburn visited the area in 1833, it was mostly unoccupied.[8]

In 1836, English Missionary 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.[9] 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.[10] In 1847, Howick township was established as a defensive outpost for Auckland, by fencibles (retired British Army soldiers) and their families.[11] 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, near Howick.[12][8]

The first European landowner at Cockle Bay was Anglican Reverend Vicesimus Lush, who bought 413 acres in 1853, where he grew oats, potatoes and buckwheat. John Gill bought this farm in 1865.[7] Around 1921, the early New Zealand film The Birth of New Zealand (1922) was shot around Cockle Bay.[13]

The area was subdivided in September 1923, advertised as Cockle Bay Estate, a seaside resort. The new residents of Cockle Bay formed a close-knit community, separate from the nearby township of Howick. During the 1920s, the Chinese community in New Zealand organised large-scale picnics, that were held at Cockle Bay.[7] Cockle Bay was divided between the Howick Town District and the Manukau County. After numerous disputes over maintenance costs, the entirely of Cockle Bay was incorporated into Howick in 1931.[14] In 1934, a nine-hole golf course was established at Cockle Bay,[15] moving to Musick Point in 1954.[16]

After the 1950s, the holiday community gradually became a suburb of Auckland. The community held annual Guy Fawkes bonfires from the 1960s until the early 1970s, where competitions were held for the best effigy to burn.[7] In 1978, the area expanded when the Waikiteroa subdivision was sold in northern Cockle Bay.[17]

Cockle Bay covers 1.73 km² (0.67 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 4,230 as of June 2023,[2] with a population density of 2,445 people per km².

Cockle Bay had a population of 4,224 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 144 people (3.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 108 people (2.6%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,452 households, comprising 2,100 males and 2,124 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 43.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 777 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 723 (17.1%) aged 15 to 29, 1,974 (46.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 750 (17.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 83.0% European/Pākehā, 5.4% Māori, 2.1% Pacific peoples, 14.1% Asian, and 2.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 39.5, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 47.7% had no religion, 41.6% were Christian, 0.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.0% were Hindu, 0.7% were Muslim, 1.2% were Buddhist and 2.1% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,071 (31.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 294 (8.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $42,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 1,050 people (30.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,758 (51.0%) people were employed full-time, 588 (17.1%) were part-time, and 69 (2.0%) were unemployed.[18]

Cockle Bay School is a coeducational contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of 744 as of April 2023.[19][20] The school opened in 1956, originally operating from temporary classrooms from Howick District High School (present-day Howick Intermediate School), due to muddy grounds. The Cockle Bay campus officially opened on 22 March 1958. The school originally served Cockle Bay and the rural surrounding area, as far as Whitford.[7][21] The local high school is Howick College, a decile 8 school in Howick.

• Photographs of Cockle Bay held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.