Farm Cove, New Zealand facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Farm Cove
Suburb
View of Farm Cove from Maungarei
Farm Cove Location in New Zealand
Country	New Zealand
Local authority	Auckland
Electoral ward	Howick ward
Local board	Howick Local Board
Area
• Land	84 ha (208 acre)
Population  (June 2023)
• Total	2,230

	Farm Cove, New Zealand

Farm Cove is a suburb located in East Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is in the Howick ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland. The Rotary Walkway Reserve runs through Farm Cove.

Geography

Farm Cove is located on the eastern shores of the Tāmaki River. The Wakaaranga Creek forms a border to the north between Farm Cove and Half Moon Bay. A kauri tree fossil forest can be found around the shoreline of Farm Cove at Sanctuary Point, which may have formed after a volcanic eruption around 26,000 years ago.

History

Newly constructed seawall and housing in Farm Cove in 1973

For the first 100 years of European settlement, Farm Cove was considered a rural area of Pakuranga. In 1843, settler Joseph Hargreaves purchased 83 acres of land around Farm Cove, and built a residence he called Butley, near the site of modern-day Farm Cove Intermediate. More settlers arrived in the wider area after 1847, when Howick was established as a defensive outpost for Auckland, by fencibles (retired British Army soldiers) and their families. A ferry operated between the Bramley Drive Reserve Beach and Point England between 1847 and 1865, transporting people across the Tāmaki River. In the 19th Century, the Gill dairy farm was established at Farm Cove, which supplied Auckland city.

The suburb was developed by Fletcher Construction in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Fletcher named the suburb after Joseph Hargreaves' farm house, which was demolished only a few years later in 1972. In 1971, the Pakuranga Junior Sailing Club moved to Farm Cove from Pakuranga, and in 1973 the Farm Cove Shopping Centre was opened.

In 1999, Farm Cove Observatory, a private observatory was established by Fred Goodfellow.

Demographics

Farm Cove covers 0.84 km² (0.32 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 2,230 as of June 2023, with a population density of 2655 people per km².

Before the 2023 census, Farm Cove had a larger boundary, covering 0.98 km² (0.38 sq mi). Using that boundary, Farm Cove had a population of 2,583 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 75 people (3.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 111 people (4.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 846 households, comprising 1,233 males and 1,350 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.91 males per female. The median age was 43.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 492 people (19.0%) aged under 15 years, 453 (17.5%) aged 15 to 29, 1,182 (45.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 456 (17.7%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 67.6% European/Pākehā, 5.0% Māori, 2.7% Pacific peoples, 30.2% Asian, and 2.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 37.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 49.8% had no religion, 38.0% were Christian, 0.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 2.0% were Hindu, 1.0% were Muslim, 1.6% were Buddhist and 2.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 699 (33.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 204 (9.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $39,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 528 people (25.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 984 (47.1%) people were employed full-time, 330 (15.8%) were part-time, and 57 (2.7%) were unemployed.

Education

Farm Cove Intermediate is an intermediate school (years 7-8) with a roll of 534, and was established in 1980. Wakaaranga School is a contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of 641. The school was opened in 1976, and its name means "The resting place of the canoe". The schools are both coeducational and are on adjacent sites. Rolls are as of February 2024. There is also a small public kindergarten, located behind Wakaaranga Primary School.