Eastbourne is a suburb of Lower Hutt, a part of Wellington, New Zealand. Lying beside the sea, it is a popular local tourist destination via car from Petone or from ferry crossings from central Wellington. An outer suburb, it lies on the eastern shore of Wellington Harbour, five kilometres south of the main Lower Hutt urban area and directly across the harbour from the Miramar Peninsula in Wellington city. A narrow exposed coastal road connects it with the rest of Lower Hutt via the Eastern Bays and the industrial suburb of Seaview. It is named for Eastbourne in England, another seaside town known as a destination for day-trips.
In the hills bordering Eastbourne there is mainly native bush and trees. With a locally administered possum-eradication programme, much of the native bush has regenerated, including red-flowering northern rātā trees. The bush has numerous tracks running to and from them, including a track along the entire bays hills ridge. With many settlers originating from Stromboli, an island near Sicily, the suburb has an Italian heritage similar to several other suburbs in Wellington; this is expressed particularly in its architecture.[4]
History
The suburb's origins lie in pre-colonial times, with local MāoriIwi having several Kāinga and Pā in the area for hundreds of years, in the bays and the raised headlands respectively. These settlements were located in the bays north of the suburb's centre, such as Point Howard and the Lowry, Rona and Days Bays. These settlements were essential, as they blocked out invasion from the neighbouring iwi in the Wairarapa, Ngāti Kahungunu. Raids were a common affair, and forced local Māori to always be vigilant.[5]
European settlement increased after the devastating 1855 Wairarapa earthquake, because the Waiwhetu river in Seaview was lowered, along with the raising of the shore of Wellington Harbour by 2 metres. Eastbourne's Italian heritage began with the settlement of Rona Bay (originally known as Brown's Bay) by Italians Bartolo and Italia Russo 1892. Renaming it after themselves as Russo Bay, the Russos, originally from Stromboli, they established a hotel and began horticultural and fishing industries. They prompted many relatives and friends to also emigrate, propelling Eastbourne into an elaborate little Italian New Zealander stronghold.[5]
Ballinger Gardens, Eastbourne, demonstrating pleasant garden scenes and older architecture in the suburb.
Prior to its amalgamation into Lower Hutt, the Borough of Eastbourne comprised a separate town, with its own council and civic administration. The Eastbourne Community Board[6], a remnant of the former town council, remains vocal on local issues. A local bus station still bears the "Borough of Eastbourne" name.
T.E.V. Wahine Foremast Memorial
The Wahine disaster was New Zealand's worst modern maritime disaster, occurring on April 10, 1968, when the ferry Wahine struck Barrett Reef in Wellington Harbour during a storm and capsized. 734 people were on board, and 53 died from drowning, injuries, or exposure to the elements. Eastbourne was cut off from the city by heavy seas which washed over Marine Drive. Passengers from the sinking vessel began to go towards Eastbourne and Seatoun. Residents took in survivors, Eastbourne's two hair-dressing salons emptied their establishments of towels and the local bakery delivered sandwiches, soup and trays piled with buns, scones, muffins, pies and cakes to the RSA.[7] Installed in 2010, there now lies a memorial opposite the bus barn for those who died in the disaster.[8]
Demographics
Eastbourne statistical area covers 1.93km2 (0.75sqmi).[2] It had an estimated population of 2,810 as of June 2023,[3] with a population density of 1,456 people per km2.
Eastbourne had a population of 2,709 at the 2018 New Zealand census, a decrease of 12 people (−0.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 9 people (0.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,089 households, comprising 1,308 males and 1,401 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.93 males per female. The median age was 46.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 534 people (19.7%) aged under 15 years, 324 (12.0%) aged 15 to 29, 1,317 (48.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 531 (19.6%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 95.3% European/Pākehā, 5.4% Māori, 1.6% Pasifika, 2.8% Asian, and 2.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 26.0, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 54.5% had no religion, 36.8% were Christian, 0.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.6% were Hindu, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.6% were Buddhist and 2.7% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 990 (45.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 153 (7.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $45,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 765 people (35.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,074 (49.4%) people were employed full-time, 375 (17.2%) were part-time, and 69 (3.2%) were unemployed.[9]
Culture and features today
Eastbourne constitutes Point Howard, Sorrento Bay, Whiorau/Lowry Bay, York Bay, Mahina Bay, Sunshine Bay, Days Bay, Rona Bay, Robinson bay, and Camp Bay.
Eastbourne's culture involves its laid-back, sunny atmosphere, small restaurants, heritage homes and remoteness that invokes a curiosity among other Wellingtonians, who have flocked there for summer day trips since the 19th century.[10]
A regular trans-harbour ferry service connects Wellington's CBD and Eastbourne, docking at the Days Bay wharf in Eastbourne and at Queen's Wharf close to down-town Wellington. The ferry started in 1886, became daily in 1901, was bought by Eastbourne Borough Council in 1913 and stopped between 1948 and 1989.[11] The ferry service is now owned and operated by East by West Ferries who added services between Eastbourne and Seatoun (which ceased in 2021 due to the Seaton Wharf undergoing substantial repairs to maintain safety and preserve its heritage. However after its reopening in 2022, the company chose not to resume services) and services between Eastbourne and Mātiu / Somes Island.[12]
Eastbourne Borough Council Omnibus Service Garage 1939
The southern terminus of buses in Eastbourne is the Bus Barn,[13] or Eastbourne Borough Council Omnibus Service Garage, which was formally opened on 24 May 1939. It has had a Historic Place Category 2 listing (Number 7644) since 8 February 2006.[11] It was in the news in March 2022 when a double-deck bus tried to enter its low doorway.[14]
At the end of Eastbourne beyond Burdan's gate there is a pedestrian-only coastal road (unsealed) which extends out to the Wellington Harbour entrance heads, where there are three lighthouses including both the upper and lower now decommissioned Pencarrow Head Lighthouse which were then replaced in 1935 by the Baring Head Lighthouse. This area, popular with cyclists, provides access to East Harbour Regional Park.
Muritai School Field, Eastbourne
The hills surrounding Eastbourne provide an important habitat for indigenous biodiversity and contain some of New Zealand's rarest and most-endangered plant species.[15]
The Eastbourne banded dotterel colony is located along the eastern shores of Wellington Harbour in Lower Hutt, and is the only breeding site for this species inside Wellington Harbour. In 2020, volunteers monitoring the site noted that a lone cat had eaten eggs and killed chicks, decimating seven nests in one season.[16][17]
Eastbourne ANZAC memorial
Eastbourne has two ANZAC war memorials, one is located along the fencing of Muritai School installed in 1986,[18] and the second is a Pohutukawa (planted on 14 July 1915 by Eastbourne Mayor J P Kelly) together with its plaque forming the first ANZAC memorial erected in New Zealand.
Gallery
Rata Street. Classic cars such as these were often built nearby, at Seaview.
Muritai Street.
Golden Palace Takeaway, Rimu Street
Rimu Street, Eastbourne. Note the prominent Norfolk Pines.
San Antonio School was a co-educational state-integrated Catholic primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,[29][30] with a roll of .[31] Closed in 2022.[32]
Notable residents
Chris Bishop (1983-present), Minister of Housing of New Zealand
Ashley Bloomfield (1966–present), New Zealand public health official.
Ted Nightingale (unknown-unknown), Eastbourne builder and Resene Founder
Margaret Magill (1888–1962), teacher and school principal; served as deputy mayor of Eastbourne
Mimie Wood (1888–1979), secretary, accountant and librarian for the Royal Society of New Zealand; lived in Eastbourne from 1920
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