Onerahi

Onerahi can mean "long beach", from ('beach') and ('long' or 'wide'). According to a Māori legend, the place was also called Onerahirahi. Twin sisters Reitū and Reipae were being carried on the back of a (falcon) to Ueoneone, a Te Rarawa chief they were in love with. Reitū, who was seated to the front, suggested to the falcon that it might be getting tired carrying the both of them. Reipae overheard the remark, took offence and asked the falcon to land, which it did at Onerahi. After dismounting, Reipae was unable to remount the falcon and remained there, naming the place Onerahirahi, meaning the beach () of quick overhearing (). The land for the town was purchased by Henry Walton and William Smellie Graham from Te Tirarau in the mid-1860s. It had been called Kaiwaka Point, but they renamed it Grahamtown. In 1912 it was renamed Onerahi to prevent a conflict with Grahamstown in the Coromandel. From 1911 to 1933, Onerahi was served by a branch line railway from the North Auckland Line known as the Onerahi Branch. It was built to provide access to a wharf in Onerahi. When coastal shipping declined severely in the 1930s, the railway was closed. Part of its formation has been retained as a walking track. Whangarei Aerodrome, now Whangarei Airport, opened at Onerahi in May 1939 and was soon taken over as an RNZAF training base. It later returned to civilian use, with commercial flights commencing in 1947, and has served Whangārei since. ==Demographics==

Onerahi covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Onerahi had a population of 6,411 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 90 people (−1.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 621 people (10.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,048 males, 3,342 females and 15 people of other genders in 2,454 dwellings. 3.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 40.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,275 people (19.9%) aged under 15 years, 1,068 (16.7%) aged 15 to 29, 2,664 (41.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,404 (21.9%) aged 65 or older. ==Education==

Onerahi Primary School, established in 1893, is a contributing primary (years 1–6) school with a roll of as of Raurimu Avenue School is a full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of as of Both schools are coeducational. == Sport ==

The Onerahi Central Cricket Club celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2006, highlighted by a re-run of their first game against Whangārei Boys' High School with best-of selections. ==Notes==