The town of Whangamatā is on the southeast coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand.

Hauturu or Clark Island is accessible by wading at low tide and is popular in summer months for rock-pool fossickers and kayakers.

The town has two ocean beaches, both of which are extremely safe for swimming and surfing.

15 minutes drive south of Whangamatā is the quietly popular beach Whiritoa.

The percentage of people born overseas was 13.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 54.2% had no religion, 35.3% were Christian, 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% were Hindu, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 1.3% had other religions.

[6] Whangamatā Rural statistical area, which includes Onemana and Opoutere, covers 153.67 km2 (59.33 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 510 as of June 2024,[5] with a population density of 3.3 people per km2.

An Environment Court hearing stipulated that the marina could go ahead as long as certain conditions were met.

The decision was sent back to Conservation Minister Chris Carter, who stated that in the interests of transparency he would then give the final decision to Environment Minister David Benson-Pope, who allowed the marina to go ahead provided that strict conditions were met regarding containment of dredged materials during construction and monitoring of the surf break at the estuary's entrance.