counties of New Zealand
A system of counties of New Zealand was instituted after the country dissolved its provinces in 1876, and these counties were similar to other countries' systems, lasting with little change (except mergers and other localised boundary adjustmen ...
. Established in 1876, the county covered the Auckland isthmus bar the City of Auckland. The county gradually shrunk in size as the area became more urban with suburban areas becoming part of the City of Auckland or independent boroughs. By 1956 the last part of Eden County was annexed by Auckland and the county ceased to exist.
Geography
Prior to the establishment of Eden County a County of Eden was established in 1842 for land registration purposes, it had larger boundaries going up to the Tapora River (tributary of the Kaipara) and as far south as
Papakura
Papakura is a suburb of South Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council.
The ar ...
and including inner islands of the
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Civil parish, parishes: Waitemata, Titirangi, Takapuna, Pakuranga, Papakura, and Karaka. These parishes would form the basis of future local government boundaries in the area.
Eden County had smaller boundaries with the Whau and Tamaki portages serving as the boundary.
Eden County covered the
Auckland isthmus
The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland and the central business district. ...
from the
Whau river
The Whau River () is an estuarial arm of the southwestern Waitemata Harbour (rather than a river) within the Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. It flows north for from its origin at the confluence of the Avondale Stream and Whau Stream ...
as the northern/western boundary and Portage Road as the southern boundary.
History
The County of Eden was established in 1842. This county was not used for any form of governance but instead for land registration. It was divided into six
hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101.
In mathematics
100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
s in 1848 by Governor
William Hobson
Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Royal Navy, who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Hobson was dispatched f ...
. The hundreds were replaced by the Highway Districts during the 1860s, instead the highway and road district boards controlled local government in the county.
In 1862, the Highways Act empowered local communities to form Road Boards and Highway Districts to administer areas, and by 1867 there were 20 highway districts in the area. Eden County was established with smaller boundaries than the County of Eden. Under the 1876 Counties Act a county was required to adopt the third schedule of the act to operate a county council. Eden County did not adopt this and went into
abeyance
Abeyance (from the Old French ' meaning "gaping") describes a state of temporary dormancy or suspension. In law, it can refer to a situation where the ownership of property, titles, or office is not currently Vesting, vested in any specific perso ...
without ever forming a permanent council.
The first boroughs to secede from Eden County were Parnell and
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill.
Onehunga is ...
in 1877, followed by Newmarket and Newton (later renamed
Grey Lynn
Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914.
Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of t ...
Borough) in 1885. These boroughs were joined by
Mount Eden
Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Z ...
Auckland Domain
The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in Auckland, New Zealand. Consisting of of land, Auckland Domain is the oldest park in the city. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, New Zealand, Grafton, the ...
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...
,
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill.
Onehunga is ...
, Parnell, and Tamaki. The ridings were obsolete after the first election as the county council did not adopt the third schedule of the Counties Act; however, they continued to be used for census purposes until 1951.