Coastlands


Coastlands is a beach settlement in the Whakatane District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located north of Whakatāne, directly across the Whakatāne River.
The area is within the rohe of the Ngāti Awa iwi. It is the site of aurupa, or graveyard, which is still used by Ngāti Awa.
The local hapū, Ngāi Taiwhakaea II, has a marae called Taiwhakaea II and a meeting house of the same name.
A tsunami siren is located at Coastlands.
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.

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 wake 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.

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.