- Deliverance Cove and Castle Rock
- Castlepoint Lighthouse from the beach at Castlepoint
- Castlepoint Lighthouse looking towards Castle Rock
- New Zealand fur seal on a rock at Castle point
Castlepoint Rangiwhakaoma | |
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Town | |
![]() Deliverance Cove towards Castlepoint and lighthouse | |
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Coordinates: 40°53′55″S176°13′14″E / 40.89861°S 176.22056°E | |
Country | New Zealand |
Region | Wellington Region |
Territorial authority | Masterton District |
Ward |
|
Electorates | |
Government | |
• Territorial Authority | Masterton District Council |
• Regional council | Greater Wellington Regional Council |
• Mayor of Masterton | Gary Caffell |
• Wairarapa MP | Mike Butterick |
• Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP | Cushla Tangaere-Manuel |
Area | |
• Total | 0.81 km2 (0.31 sq mi) |
Population (June 2023) [2] | |
• Total | 60 |
• Density | 74/km2 (190/sq mi) |
Castlepoint is a small beachside settlement on the Wairarapa coast of the Wellington Region of New Zealand. [3] It is home to a lighthouse which stands near the top of the northern end of a reef. The reef is about one kilometre long. At the southern end of the reef, there is an island known locally as "seagull island", due to its large population of seagulls. The southern side of Castle Rock is known as Christmas Bay. Castlepoint is approximately one hour's drive from Masterton.
Castlepoint was so named in 1770 by Captain Cook who was struck by the similarities of Castle Rock to the battlements of a castle. [4] The Maori name for the area is Rangiwhakaoma, which translates as 'where the sky runs'. Smaller cetaceans such as dolphins frequent around Castlepoint while larger whales such as southern right whales and humpback whales may be visible from the shores during their migration seasons. A book chronicling the history of Castlepoint, including Castlepoint Station, Castle Point Lighthouse and the local fishing industry was published in October 2010 by Hedleys Books of Masterton. [5]
Castle Rock is a landmark in Castlepoint and is 162m high. [4] It includes a walk through woods and over bridges and is approximately 45 minutes long.
Mataikona Sand Dunes are an area of large sand dunes approximately 30 minutes north of Castlepoint towards the Matakona River mouth.
Castlepoint is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers 0.81 km2 (0.31 sq mi). [1] It had an estimated population of 60 as of June 2023, with a population density of 74 people per km2.
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
2006 | 27 | — |
2013 | 42 | +6.52% |
2018 | 57 | +6.30% |
Source: [6] |
Castlepoint had a population of 57 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 15 people (35.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 30 people (111.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 24 households, comprising 33 males and 21 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.57 males per female. The median age was 50.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 6 people (10.5%) aged under 15 years, 9 (15.8%) aged 15 to 29, 27 (47.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 12 (21.1%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 94.7% European/Pākehā, and 5.3% Māori. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 68.4% had no religion, and 21.1% were Christian.
Of those at least 15 years old, 9 (17.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 9 (17.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,000, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 27 (52.9%) people were employed full-time, and 6 (11.8%) were part-time. [6]
Castlepoint is part of the larger Whareama statistical area. [7]
The local Whakataki marae is affiliated with the Ngāti Kahungunu hapū of Te Hika a Pāpāuma ki Wairarapa. Its wharenui burned down 1960. [8] [9]
Remote from other settlements Castlepoint's beach has been home since 1872 to an historic annual horse race meeting when "local station hands rode on farm hacks competing for bottles of rum and any stray coins". [10]
The Castle Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse near the village of Castlepoint in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand. In the early days of the 20th century Castle Point was one of the few lighthouses with easy access to a school. The Creamer family came there in 1918 or 1919 and the eldest son Eric had to complete five years of education in three years, so that he could go on to secondary school, there having been little education in previous locations where the family had been stationed. This aspect of the Keeper's lives seems to have been overlooked by the Marine Department. The light was built in 1913 and was originally fuelled by oil. In 1954 the oil lamp was replaced with an electric one powered by a local diesel generator. This was subsequently replaced by a connection to the mains grid in 1961. The lighthouse, is popular with holiday makers and the lighthouse itself is sometimes referred to as "The Holiday Light".
Completed on 12 January 1913, it was one of the last manned lights built in New Zealand, but has been fully automated since 1988 and is now managed from a central control room in Wellington. [11] It is a popular tourist attraction for holidaymakers to the area, although it is not open to the public.
The lighthouse is built out of steel sheets riveted together. This is an unusual method of construction for a lighthouse and the only one so built in New Zealand.
At sea, the light can be seen 22 miles away, and was used by sailors coming from South America to establish a point of reference when making for Wellington Harbour.
A camera set up at the top of an outcrop looking down on the lighthouse gives people a chance to see it on live feed castlepointlighthouse.com.
In December 2017 the lighthouse was controversially installed with multi-colour LED up-lights which would light the exterior of the lighthouse all year round at a cost of $35,000. Many Wairarapa region residents feel the lights are 'gaudy' and a source of unnecessary light pollution.
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of 113,729 km2 (43,911 sq mi), it is the world's 14th-largest island, constituting 44% of New Zealand's land area. It has a population of 3,997,300, which is 77% of New Zealand's residents, making it the most populous island in Polynesia and the 28th-most-populous island in the world.
Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region, is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of 8,049 square kilometres (3,108 sq mi), and has a population of 550,500.
The South Wairarapa District is a district at the south-east tip of the North Island of New Zealand, governed by the South Wairarapa District Council. The district comprises the southernmost part of the Wairarapa, and is part of the Wellington Region.
Carterton is a small town in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and the seat of the Carterton District. It lies in a farming area of the Wairarapa in New Zealand's North Island. It is located 14 km (8.7 mi) southwest of Masterton and 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Wellington. The town has a population of 5,960, out of a total district population of 10,250.
Masterton is a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges. It stands on the Waipoua stream between the Ruamahunga and Waingawa Rivers – 100 kilometres north-east of Wellington and 39.4 kilometres south of Eketāhuna.
Featherston is a town in the South Wairarapa District, in the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is at the eastern foothills of Remutaka Range close to the northern shore of Lake Wairarapa, 63 km (39 mi) north-east of central Wellington and 37 km (23 mi) south-west of Masterton.
Martinborough is a town in the South Wairarapa District, in the Wellington region of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton. The town has a resident population of 2,060.
Greytown, population 2,202, is a rural town in the centre of the Wairarapa region of New Zealand, in the lower North Island. It is 80 km north-east of Wellington and 25 kilometres southwest of Masterton, on State Highway 2. It was awarded the title of New Zealand's Most Beautiful Small Town 2017.
Pongaroa is a town in the Tararua District, in the southeast of the North Island of New Zealand, 110 kilometres southwest of Hastings and 200 kilometres northeast of Wellington. The nearest town is Pahiatua, 50 kilometres to the west. Popular Ākitio Beach is 30 kilometres to the east. The township straddles Route 52, a road between Masterton and Waipukurau.
Tolaga Bay is both a bay and small town on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay.
Mangakino is a small town on the banks of the Waikato River in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the hydroelectric power station at Lake Maraetai, 85 kilometres (53 mi) southeast of Hamilton. The town and its infrastructure are administered as the Mangakino Pouakani ward by the Taupō District Council.
Birdlings Flat, originally named Te Mata Hapuku, is a settlement in Canterbury, New Zealand, at the eastern end of Kaitorete Spit and the southern end of Lake Forsyth, where the lake discharges to the sea. It is not far from eastern end of Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora. The name Birdlings Flat is also commonly used for the nearby pebble beach on the ocean side of Kaitorete Spit.
Te Horo and Te Horo Beach are two localities on the Kāpiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island. Te Horo Beach is the larger of the two settlements and, as its name implies, is located on the Tasman Sea coast. Te Horo is located to the east, a short distance inland. They are situated between Peka Peka and Waikanae to the south and Ōtaki to the north. "Te Horo" in the Māori language means "the landslide".
Ngawha Springs is a small settlement and hot water springs approximately five kilometres east of the town of Kaikohe in Northland, New Zealand. Ngāwhā means "boiling spring".
Tauweru, alternatively Taueru, and previously known as Wardell, or Wardelltown is a locality in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after and located on the middle reaches of the Tauweru River, which drains into the Ruamahanga River near Gladstone and Te Whiti, and the name is a Māori-language word meaning "hanging in clusters".
Urenui is a settlement in northern Taranaki, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 3 close to the shore of the North Taranaki Bight, 13 kilometres east of Waitara and 6 km south-west of Mimi. The Urenui River flows past the settlement into the North Taranaki Bight.
Manakau is a settlement in the Horowhenua District, at the boundary of the Manawatū-Whanganui and Wellington regions of New Zealand's North Island. It lies 8 km north of Otaki and 12 km south of Levin, and is connected to both via State Highway 1, which skirts Manakau's western edge. The township 5 km inland from the coast of the Tasman Sea.
Ōmāpere is a settlement on the south shore of Hokianga Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 12 runs through Ōmāpere. Opononi is on the shore to the north of Ōmāpere.
Mangōnui is a settlement on the west side of Mangōnui Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 10 runs through it. It is the easternmost of the Taipa-Mangonui string of settlements, separated from Coopers Beach to the northwest by Mill Bay Road.
Te Puna West is a rural settlement in the Western Bay of Plenty District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is on a headland on the southern side of Tauranga Harbour, opposite Motuhoa Island, and on the eastern side of Te Puna Estuary, across from Plummers Point. The East Coast Main Trunk forms its southern boundary.