Whangarei
Whangarei City Whangarei Territorial Region
Urban Area	Population	48,300
	Extent	Hikurangi to Portland Te Hihi to airport
Territorial Authority	Name	Whangarei District Council
	Population	74,463 (2006 census)
	Extent	Whangaruru to Waipu; west to Wheki Valley
Regional Council	Name	Northland Regional Council

Whangarei, pronounced [ɸaːŋaɾei] in Maori and [fæŋæreɪ] in English ("fang-a-ray"; the initial consonant is pronounced /f/ in English), is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although it is commonly classified as a city, officially it is under the jurisdiction of the Whangarei District Council, a local body created in 1989 to administer both the city proper and its hinterland.

Whangarei has a subtropical climate and very few frosts. Summers rarely exceed 30°C, and there is plentiful rainfall, spread relatively evenly over the year.

Whangarei District

Whangarei district includes the town of Hikurangi, and the suburbs of Kamo, Tikipunga, Whau Valley, Otangarei, Kensington, Regent, Maunu, Morningside, Raumanga, and Onerahi as well as a large amount of rural land, including beaches such as Ngunguru, game fishing mecca Tutukaka, and a variety of beaches along Whangarei Harbour.

The district extends as far south as Bream Bay, north towards the Cape Brett peninsula, and west almost to Waipoua Forest. It also includes the Hen and Chicken Islands and the Poor Knights Islands. The mayor of Whangarei District is Stan Semenoff who has held the position since 2007.

Famous people from Whangarei

• Country singer Keith Urban was born there, but was raised in Australia, and has made his name in the United States. He is married to Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman.
• Jane Mander, the noted New Zealand novelist, died in Whangarei in 1949, at the age of 72.
• Ted Salmon, a field hockey player who represented New Zealand twice at the Summer Olympics: 1968 and 1972.
• Arthur Parkin, a field hockey player who won the golden medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
• Suzie Muirhead, a field hockey defender who competed in two Summer Olympics (2000 and 2004).
• Comedian Billy T. James attended Whangarei Boys' High School.
• Winston Peters, current Minister for Foreign Affairs, was born there in 1945.
• Samantha Warriner, silver medalist in Women's Triathlon at the 2006 Commonweatlth Games, lives there.
• Jack Marshall, Prime Minister of New Zealand for part of 1972, attended Whangarei Boys' High School.
• Brad Carter, a member of the New Zealand rock band Steriogram, attended Kamo High School.

Whangarei Falls

External links

• Whangarei District Council
• Northland Regional Council
• Whangarei Street Map
• Whangarei Information & Travel Centre

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Whangarei

• Whangarei District Airport

Coordinates: 35°43′S, 174°18′E

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