Hibiscus Coast

Prior to the arrival of the first humans, the area was covered by dense kauri forest.[6]

Ngāti Kahu inhabited the region peacefully for many years due to relationships with neighbouring iwi in the area.[6] Several Pa sites are located across the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.[6]

Travellers frequently used a waka portage over the low-lying land between Tindalls Bay and Matakatia, allowing people to avoid travelling around the entire peninsula.[7]

Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, between 1841 and 1865, the Crown purchased much of what would later become the Hibiscus Coast and surrounding areas as part of the Mahurangi Purchases.[8]

Six years after the construction of New Zealand's first lighthouse, the Tiritiri Matangi Lighthouse was built in 1864.[9] It remains New Zealand's oldest working lighthouse.[9]

In 1869, Silverdale Primary School opened, becoming the areas first school.

Then in 1875, the Waiwera Hotel was established by entrepreneur and politician Robert Graham.

In the early 20th century, the Hibiscus Coast's population began to rise as developments were undertaken, opening up vast subdivisions over the coast.

During the night of the 27th of September 1939, a fire broke out in the Waiwera Hotel, seeing the building burnt to the ground.[10] The fire was reportedly visible from Auckland City. The hotel's two only guests were able to escape the building safely.[10]

Following the start of World War II, the threat of Japanese invasion saw the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, chosen as one of two Auckland defence sites.[11] Coastal defences were subsequently established in what was then the Shakespear family farm.[11] Eleven pillboxes,[12] and a number of other army barracks were built on the land.[12] By 1961, the batteries and much of the other military equipment had been decommissioned.[11] The base, remains active into the 21st century as part of the Royal New Zealand Navy as the RNZN Tamaki Training Centre.[11]

Following pressure to protect areas of Auckland, Wenderholm became the Auckland Region's first regional park in 1965.[13] Not long after, in 1967, what would become the Shakespear Regional Park was sold to the Auckland Regional Council.[14]

In 1971, the Hibiscus Coast became formally adopted as the name for the area.[15]

On the 20th of December 1999, the Northern Motorway was extended to Silverdale.[16] This created a major link for the area back to the city.

In 2018, the Waiwera Hot Pools closed for renovations;[17] however it never reopened. In 2023, the derelict water park was demolished.[18]

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan in 2020, any New Zealanders who were located there, were required to quarantine upon return to New Zealand at the RNZN facility.[19] As the pandemic continued, the facility was not used further in favour of quarantine hotels and facilities closer to the international airports.

In 2023 work began on O Mahurangi Penlink.[20]

• Gulf Harbour School, is a primary school which first opened in 1998.[36]
• KingsWay School - Junior Campus, is a state-integrated Christian school,[37] which was first established in 1986, moving to a new site in 1990, where the senior campus later opened, and then to its own site in 2014.[38]
• Nukumea Primary School, announced in 2018 as Orewa North West Primary School,[39] in 2021, work began on the third Orewa primary school which, opened in term one 2023.[40]
• Orewa Beach Primary School, was the second of three primary schools located in Orewa, it was founded as Orewa North Primary in 1978.[41][42]
• Orewa Primary School, the first of three very similarly sized[43] primary school located in Orewa, formed from the Orewa District High School was founded in 1956.
• Red Beach Primary, was established in 1989.[44]
• Silverdale Primary School, the oldest school on the coast, was founded in 1869, and in 2006 the school moved to its current site.[45] As of 2019 it no longer offered years 7 and 8 classes.[45]
• Stanmore Bay Primary.
• Wentworth Primary, is a private primary school located in Gulf Harbour, established in 2008 following the success of the secondary school.[46]
• Whangaparāoa Primary.

Orewa College

• Orewa College, formed in 1974 from the Orewa District High School which was originally founded in 1956.[47]
• Wentworth College, a private secondary school located in Gulf Harbour, started in 2003.[48]
• Whangaparaoa College, formed from Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School[49] and was formally established 2005.[50]
• KingsWay School - Senior Campus, a state-integrated Christian secondary school,[37] was first opened in 1992 following growth in the primary school.[38]

Marking the inner boundary of the Hibiscus Coast is Auckland's Northern Motorway (State Highway One).[1] The motorway was extended to Orewa at the end of the 1990s.[16] In early 2009, a further motorway extension connected the motorway to Puhoi, creating the Northern Gateway Toll Road and replacing that section of State Highway 17.[51]

Connecting State Highway One at Silverdale to Puhoi via Orewa and Hatfields Beach, the Hibiscus Coast Highway was formerly a section of State Highway 17[52] and prior to that State Highway One.[16] Motorway extensions allowed the Hibiscus Coast Highway to be repurposed to serve growth in the local areas.

Set to connect State Highway One at Weiti Station (between Silverdale and Albany) to Stillwater and Stanmore Bay, O Mahurangi Penlink will be a crucial connection to the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. The new connection will feature a new crossing of the Weiti River[53] and is set to open in 2026.[54]

Ferry at Tiritiri Matangi Island

Auckland Transport local bus routes are operated by AT Metro across the Hibiscus Coast.[55]

Urban Rapid Transit services operate from the Hibiscus Coast Busway Station and connect the coast to central Auckland and Warkworth.[56] InterCity services also operate via the Hibiscus Coast Busway Station.[57]

Auckland Transport commuter ferry services are operated by Fullers360, running between Gulf Harbour and Downtown Auckland on weekdays.[58][59]

Tourism services are operated by Explore via Gulf Harbour to Tiritiri Matangi Island and operate year-round.[35]

The Hibiscus Coast is home to two outdoor lawn bowling clubs, one in Orewa[61] another in Manly.[62]

A third bowls club formerly operated in Silverdale at the War Memorial Park, but closed prior to 2018.[63]

Founded in 1974, the Hibiscus Coast AFC is an amateur football club based in Stanmore Bay. which competes in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 2.

The Hibiscus Coast formally had three golf clubs, as of 2023 only the Whangaparaoa Golf Club remains operational.

Whangaparaoa Golf Club[64] first opened in the 1950s and is located on 41 acres in Army Bay.[65]

The former Peninsula Golf Course was originally formed in 1956.[66] It was an 18-hole golf course which covered almost 45 hectares.[66] In 2014, Fletcher Living was granted a consent to convert the golf course to a residential development.[66]

Following the development of Gulf Harbour, the Gulf Harbour Country Club opened in 1997,[67] the following year, the club hosted the 1998 World Cup of Golf. Then in 2005 and 2006 the club hosted the New Zealand Open.[67][68] In July 2023 the club closed after "two years of unsuccessfully looking for ways to make the running of the club financially viable".

The Hibiscus Coast Netball Centre is home to six netball courts and is located in Manly, on Edith Hopper Park.[69]

In 2009 the Silverdale Seahawks Netball Club was established.[70]

The Silverdale United Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in Silverdale.[71] The club was established in 1887[72] in 1963 the Kaukapakapa Rugby Club was merged with the Silverdale Club. During the 2011 Rugby World Cup, New Zealand rugby clubs were asked to host country's national teams, as a result, the Silverdale War Memorial Park grounds played host to teams from Japan, Namibia, and Samoa.[71]

The Hibiscus Coast Raiders rugby league club is based in Stanmore Bay.[73] The club is a part of the Auckland Rugby League and compete in the Fox Memorial Championship.

The Hibiscus Coast is home to two Yacht and Sailing Clubs, the Gulf Harbour Yacht Club is based in Gulf Harbour and faces towards the south side of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula whilst the Manly Sailing Club is located on Big Manly Beach on the north side. Both clubs host a variety of Regional, National and International regattas. As of 2023, only the Manly Sailing Club offer Learn to Sail Programmes in their respective classes.

Two Hibiscus Coast beaches, Orewa and Red Beach are patrolled by lifeguards over the summer months.[74] Orewa Surf Lifesaving Club was first established in 1950 with the current club building opening in 1960.[75] Orewa Surf Lifesaving Club is currently developing a new Surf Life Saving Community Hub on the site of the existing club.[76][77] Red Beach Surf Life Saving Club was formed three years after Orewa in 1953,[78] the first club house was completed in 1956 then replaced with a new building in 1983.[78]

The Hibiscus Coast is home to a number of Tennis Clubs.

The Silverdale Tennis Club[79] is located in the Silverdale War Memorial Park. Two tennis clubs are situated in Manly at Edith Hopper Park and Manly Park. Another Tennis Club is located in Victor Eaves Park, Orewa.[80]