Castlecliff

Castlecliff
Suburb
A café in Castlecliff
Interactive map of Castlecliff
Coordinates: 39°56′35″S 174°59′37″E / 39.943031°S 174.993740°E / -39.943031; 174.993740
Country	New Zealand
City	Whanganui
Local authority	Whanganui District Council
Area 2
• Land	865 ha (2,140 acres)
Population  (June 2025)1
• Total	4,260
• Density	492/km2 (1,280/sq mi)

Kai Iwi	Westmere	Tawhero
	Castlecliff	Gonville
(South Taranaki Bight)	(Whanganui River mouth)

Castlecliff is a suburb of Whanganui, in the Whanganui District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. The name was given by the Harbour Board, on the suggestion of the future Prime Minister, John Ballance,³ when it established the township on what were described as "barren sandhills" in 1882. Many of the streets were named after Harbour Board members.⁴ The northern harbour breakwater extended 900 ft (270 m) by 1885.⁵ The freezing works was built in 1891.⁶

Castlecliff covers 8.65 km² (3.34 sq mi)² and had an estimated population of 4,260 as of June 2025,¹ with a population density of 492 people per km².

Castlecliff had a population of 4,026 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 312 people (8.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 762 people (23.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 2,094 males, 1,920 females, and 12 people of other genders in 1,479 dwellings.⁹ 3.7% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. There were 858 people (21.3%) aged under 15 years, 792 (19.7%) aged 15 to 29, 1,719 (42.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 657 (16.3%) aged 65 or older.⁷

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 70.6% European (Pākehā); 43.0% Māori; 6.3% Pasifika; 3.4% Asian; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.3%, Māori by 12.5%, Samoan by 0.8%, and other languages by 5.1%. No language could be spoken by 2.5% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 1.1%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.5, compared with 28.8% nationally.⁷

Religious affiliations were 23.9% Christian, 0.6% Hindu, 0.1% Islam, 6.3% Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.9% New Age, and 1.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 58.0%, and 8.9% of people did not answer the census question.⁷

Of those at least 15 years old, 387 (12.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,845 (58.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 942 (29.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 111 people (3.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 1,350 (42.6%) full-time, 423 (13.4%) part-time, and 162 (5.1%) unemployed.⁷

Castlecliff School is a state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students,¹³¹⁴ with a roll of 142.¹⁵ It opened in 1892.¹⁶

Aranui School is another state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students,¹⁷ with a roll of 57.¹⁸ It opened in 1965.¹⁹

Te Kura o Kokohuia is a Year 1 to 8 state primary school,²⁰ with a roll of 227.²¹ It was the first bilingual school in Whanganui. It was in existence in 1991.²²

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Tupoho is a Māori language immersion primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,²³ with a roll of 170.²⁴ It started in 1996 as a satellite school of Te Kura o Kokohuia.²⁵

All these schools are co-educational. Rolls are as of March 2026.²⁶