Coastlands
Coastlands is a beach settlement in the Whakatāne District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located north of Whakatāne, directly across the Whakatāne River. A tsunami siren is located at Coastlands. History and culture. Lady on the Rock. According to tradition, when the Mataatua waka first arrived at Whakatāne from Hawaiki 600 years ago, the men left the women alone in the canoe while they went to visit the shore. The canoe started to drift back out to sea. Wairaka, the daughter of captain-navigator Toroa, seized the paddle, and brought the  waka back to shore. She forbade the tapu forbidding women to handle canoes, shouting ""Kia Whakatane au i ahau"", translating as ""I will act the part of a man""; this phrase is the origin of Whakatāne's name. Other traditions suggest it was Muriwai, Toroa's sister, who had brought the canoe to shore. The Lady on the Rock statue, a bronze statue at the top of the Turuturu Rock at the mouth of the Whakatane River, commemorates the bravery of Wairaka. It was unveiled in 1965 as a memorial to the wife of Sir William Sullivan. Local Māori. The  area is within the "rohe" (tribal area) of the Ngāti Awa iwi. It is the site of a "urupa", or graveyard, which is still used by Ngāti Awa. The local hapū, Ngāi Taiwhakaea II, has a marae called Taiwhakaea and a meeting house called Taiwhakaea II. In October 2020, the Government committed $305,099 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae. The upgrade was expected to create 8 jobs. Recent history. There was an attempted robbery of a berry farm and cafe in Coastlands in February 2017. There were 60 customers and 15 staff inside at the cafe  at the time, but only two people were injured. A 7.44 hectare farming block was opened for development in November 2018. A planning permission application was filed in December 2019 to build a beachside retirement village on the site. Demographics. Coastlands had a population of 1,776 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 276 people (18.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 297 people (20.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 579 households. There were 882 males and 894 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 40.5 years (compared  with 37.4 years nationally), with 426 people (24.0%) aged under 15 years, 273 (15.4%) aged 15 to 29, 855 (48.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 228 (12.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 68.2% European/Pākehā, 42.4% Māori, 3.7% Pacific peoples, 2.5% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 14.7%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 46.6% had no religion, 34.3% were Christian, 0.7% were Buddhist and 11.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15  years old, 243 (18.0%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 219 (16.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $34,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 732 (54.2%) people were employed full-time, 207 (15.3%) were part-time, and 60 (4.4%) were unemployed. Education. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Orini ki Ngati Awa is a co-educational state Māori language immersion primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .