page_title: Te Henga (Bethells Beach)
hierarchical_section_title: Te Henga (Bethells Beach)
caption_attribution_description: Sunset at Bethells Beach/Te Henga, west of Auckland, New Zealand.
context_page_description: Te Henga (Bethells Beach) is a coastal community of the Auckland Region in the north of the North Island, New Zealand. The Māori name for the area "Te Henga" is in reference to the long foredunes which run along the beach and look like the "Henga" or "Gunwhale" of an upturned waka hull. This name originally applied to a wide area of the lower Waitakere River valley, but during the early 1900s the area became popular with visiting European immigrants who began to refer to the area as "Bethells Beach" after the Bethells Family who live there and still own much of the area. In 1976 the New Zealand Geographic Board officially named the area "Te Henga (Bethells Beach)".
  The beach is approximately 37 kilometres west of Auckland City, at the mouth of the Waitakere River where it flows into the Tasman Sea. One of several popular resorts in the area, it is rated the 4th most dangerous beach in New Zealand to swim at due to its strong rips and currents. There have been many fatalaties including in 2009, Rugby League star Sonny Fai who was never located. It experiences a population explosion over summer with thousands of visitors.
context_section_description: Te Henga (Bethells Beach) is a coastal community of the Auckland Region in the north of the North Island, New Zealand. The Māori name for the area "Te Henga" is in reference to the long foredunes which run along the beach and look like the "Henga" or "Gunwhale" of an upturned waka hull. This name originally applied to a wide area of the lower Waitakere River valley, but during the early 1900s the area became popular with visiting European immigrants who began to refer to the area as "Bethells Beach" after the Bethells Family who live there and still own much of the area. In 1976 the New Zealand Geographic Board officially named the area "Te Henga (Bethells Beach)".
  The beach is approximately 37 kilometres west of Auckland City, at the mouth of the Waitakere River where it flows into the Tasman Sea. One of several popular resorts in the area (others include Muriwai, Piha and Karekare), it is rated  the 4th most dangerous beach in New Zealand to swim at due to its strong rips and currents. There have been many fatalaties including in 2009, Rugby League star Sonny Fai who was never located. It experiences a population explosion over summer with thousands of visitors. This has put a lot of pressure on the local infrastructure and environment with an increase in rubbish and parking issues.
caption: Sunset at Bethells Beach
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