Pakiri is a locality in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, in the former Rodney District

Rodney District

The Rodney District of New Zealand was a local government area in the northernmost part in New Zealand's Auckland Region, created in 1989 from the amalgamation of Helensville Borough and Rodney County. The seat of the district council is at Orewa, and the district includes Kawau Island to the...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Leigh

Leigh, New Zealand

Leigh is a small coastal community in the north of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It lies on the west side of Omaha Cove, a small inlet within Omaha Bay to the south of Cape Rodney. It is 13 km from Matakana, 21 km from Warkworth and approximately 92 km north of Auckland City...

 is about nine km to the south-east. The Pakiri River flows through the area and into the Hauraki Gulf

Hauraki Gulf

The Hauraki Gulf is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has a total area of 4000 km², and lies between the Auckland Region, the Hauraki Plains, the Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island...

 to the north-east.

The area is named for the Ngāti Wai

Ngati Wai

Ngāti Wai is a Māori iwi of the east coast of the Northland Region of New Zealand. Its historical area stretched from Cape Brett in the north to Takatu Point on Tawharanui Peninsula in the south and out to Great Barrier Island, the Poor Knights Islands and other offshore islands.Descendants of...

 chief, Te Kiri.

Pakiri Beach

Pakiri Beach

Pakiri Beach is a beach on the East Coast on the North Island of New Zealand. It is about 90 Kilometres north of Auckland. It is a popular tourist destination known for its natural beauty....

 is a 14 kilometre long white sandy beach to the north. The Auckland Regional Council

Auckland Regional Council

The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...

 purchased two blocks of land in 2005 totalling 178 hectares, with three kilometres of beach frontage, and is developing the whole amount as a regional park.

Suction dredging has been used to mine sand

Sand mining

Sand mining is a practice that is becoming an environmental issue as the demand for sand increases in industry and construction. Sand is mined from beaches and inland dunes and dredged from ocean beds and river beds. It is often used in manufacturing as an abrasive, for example, and it is used to...

 from the sea floor off the coast since the 1950s. This had caused some controversy in 1994 when 170,000 cubic metres of sand was to be extracted to bolster the popular Mission Bay

Mission Bay

Mission Bay may refer to:Australia*the former name of Minjilang, Northern TerritoryNew Zealand*Mission Bay, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland...

 in Auckland, and was brought to the Planning Tribunal in the case Haddon v Auckland Regional Council for violation of the Resource Management Act 1991, and its provisions for kaitiakitanga.

Education

Pakiri School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating

Socio-Economic Decile

Decile, Socio-Economic Decile or Socio-Economic Decile Band is a widely used measure in education in New Zealand used to target funding and support to more needy schools....

of 6 and a roll of 20. The school celebrated its 125th jubilee in 2002.