Āwhitu Peninsula
Āwhitu Peninsula | |
|---|---|
Looking north from Āwhitu Peninsula bush and farmland to the Manukau Harbour and the Auckland CBD | |
| Coordinates: 37°09′58″S 174°37′59″E / 37.166°S 174.633°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Auckland |
| Ward | Franklin ward |
| Local board | Franklin Local Board |
| Electorates | |
| Government | |
| • Territorial Authority | Auckland Council |
| • Mayor of Auckland | Wayne Brown |
| • Port Waikato MP | Andrew Bayly |
| • Hauraki-Waikato MP | Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke |
| Area | |
• Total | 221.40 km2 (85.48 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2024) | |
• Total | 3,140 |
| • Density | 14/km2 (37/sq mi) |
The Āwhitu Peninsula is a long peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand, extending north from the mouth of the Waikato River to the entrance to Manukau Harbour.
The Peninsula is bounded in the west by rugged cliffs over the Tasman Sea, but it slopes gently to the east, with low-lying pastoral and swamp land along the edge of the Waiuku River and Manukau Harbour. At the northern tip, the Manukau Heads rises to a 285-metre (935 ft) prominence above the entrance to the similarly named harbour. The nearby historic Manukau Heads Lighthouse is one of the few in the country open to the public.
The peninsula is relatively sparsely populated, despite its proximity to the centre of Auckland city (which lies 30 kilometres (19 miles) to the northeast). The largest settlement on or near the peninsula is Waiuku, which lies at the peninsula's isthmus. There are rural settlements at Grahams Beach and Matakawau Point.