Sunshine Bay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sunshine Bay
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Suburb
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 Sunshine Bay
Location in New Zealand
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| Country | New Zealand |
| Local authority | Queenstown |
| Electoral ward | Queenstown-Wakatipu Ward |
| Area | |
| • Land | 1,322 ha (3,267 acre) |
| Population
(June 2023)
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| • Total | 3,820 |
  Sunshine Bay  |
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Sunshine Bay is a beautiful area located on the edge of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown. It's a suburb, which means it's a part of the city, found on the lower slopes of the Ben Lomond mountain. You can find it west of Fernhill, right on the northern side of the lake in the South Island of New Zealand.
Contents
Getting Around Sunshine Bay
Sunshine Bay can only be reached by one main road from Queenstown. This means that if something happens on the road, it can be hard to get in or out of the area.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many houses in Sunshine Bay were rented to visitors or people working in tourism. When international travel stopped, fewer tourists came, and this changed how people used the homes. The public bus service, which was popular with tourists, also saw fewer riders.
Community Changes
In August 2020, a company asked for permission to change how some land in Sunshine Bay could be used. They wanted to build about 200 new homes. This kind of change is called "rezoning" and it helps decide what can be built in an area.
Also in August 2020, some parking spots on Arawata Terrace were removed. This happened because a bus got stuck when cars were parked on both sides of the street, making it too narrow for the bus to pass. Removing the spots helped make the road safer and easier for buses to use.
Who Lives in Sunshine Bay?
The area of Sunshine Bay-Fernhill covers about 13.22 square kilometers. As of 2023, it has an estimated population of 3,820 people. This means there are about 289 people living in each square kilometer.
Population Growth
Before 2023, the area for Sunshine Bay-Fernhill was smaller, about 1.31 square kilometers. In 2018, about 2,931 people lived there. This was a big increase from 2013, showing that more people were choosing to live in Sunshine Bay.
A Diverse Community
Sunshine Bay is home to a mix of people from different backgrounds. In 2018, about 72.6% of residents were European/Pākehā. There were also people who identified as Māori (5.6%), Pasifika (1.1%), and Asian (16.0%). Many people in Sunshine Bay were born outside of New Zealand, about 62.8% of the population. This is much higher than the national average for New Zealand.
Most people in the area (64.5%) said they had no religious beliefs. Others identified as Christian (23.6%) or followed other religions like Hindu, Muslim, or Buddhist.
