Flat Bush
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Flat Bush (also known as Ormiston or Flatbush) is a southeastern suburb in the city of
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand. It has recently become one of the city's largest new planned towns after being developed as an urban area of Auckland for several decades. Located east of Ōtara, plans for substantial expansion began under the Manukau City Council — having bought 290 hectares in the area in 1996. As of 2023, substantial residential development means the area has grown to over 45,000 people, a similar population to
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, and includes a large shopping centre: Ormiston Town Centre.


History


Early history

The Flat Bush area is part of the
rohe The MÄori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several . Background In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...
of NgÄi Tai ki TÄmaki, who descend from the crew of the ''
Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand MÄori people, MÄori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related MÄori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki MÄori, Hauraki, NgÄti Maniapo ...
''komanawa waka, who visited the area around the year 1300. The traditional name for the wider forested area was , a name now essentially applied to the HÅ«nua Ranges. NgÄi Tai centred life along the coasts between the TÄmaki River and Wairo River, settling at locationsin an annual cycle of encampments based on what resources were seasonally available. Puke-i-Ä€ki-Rangi was a defended NgÄi Tai
The word pÄ (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any MÄori people, MÄori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
site. The name literally means "The Hill That Way Propelled Skyward". Over time, NgÄi Tai formed unions with many TÄmaki MÄori groups in the area, including
Waiohua Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a MÄori people, MÄori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 17th century. The rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Auckland, TÄmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and they had pÄ (for ...
and NgÄti PÄoa. During the
Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among MÄori people, MÄori between 1806 and 1845, after MÄori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...
in the 1820s, NgÄi Tai Ki TÄmaki sought temporary refuge in the
Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, WaipÄ District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
. In 1836, English missionary William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between TÄmaki MÄori chiefs covering the majority of modern-day
South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by TÄmaki MÄ ...
and
East Auckland East Auckland () is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Settled in the 14th century, the area is part of the traditional lands of NgÄi Tai ki TÄmaki. The area was developed into farmland in the ...
. The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to. MÄori continued to live in the area, unchanged by this sale. In 1854 when Fairburn's purchase was investigated by the New Zealand Land Commission, a NgÄi Tai reserve was created around the Wairoa River and Umupuia areas, and as a part of the agreement, members of NgÄi Tai agreed to leave their traditional settlements to the west. In 1847, Howick was established as a defensive outpost for Auckland, by fencibles (retired
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
soldiers) and their families. During the 1850s, the area was generally referred to as the Howick Ranges. The first recorded references to the area being called Flat Bush are from 1859, the name coming from the
kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from MÄori language, MÄori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...
forests of the area, which looked especially flat when viewed from the surrounding hills. The name was well established by the 1860s. The wider
East TÄmaki East TÄmaki is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is a largely industrial area adjacent to a rapidly growing population. Prior to the 1960s it was largely a dairy farming area. A landmark is Smales Mountain which in 2010 has the remains of ...
area was settled primarily by Scottish and Irish Presbyterian settlers. Originally growing crops such as potatoes, oats and wheat, by the turn of the century, many of these farms were converted into dairy farms. Baverstock Road School, the first school in the area, was established in 1875, renamed East Tamaki School in 1884 and Flat Bush School in 1894. It was closed in 1937 when the Howick District High School was opened. In 1921, the East TÄmaki Co-operative Dairy Company was formed, producing milk and butter for the wider Auckland area.


Suburban development

The Manukau City Council identified Flat Bush as a crucial site for future urban development in the 1970. In 1997, the Manukau City Council drafted a development plan for Flat Bush, with the first construction beginning in 1998 in the Chapel Park subdivision. Swathes of new residential subdivisions were dubbed Ormiston in the mid-2000s, due to Botany Community Board concerns around associating with ÅŒtara (a socioeconomically deprived and ethnically diverse part of the city). The name Ormiston originated from Ormiston Road, which was named after Tom and Mary Ann Ormiston, who farmed in the area from 1915. By the mid-2000s, the population of Flat Bush was greatly increasing. In 2007, Fo Guang Shan Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in New Zealand, was officially opened In the following year, New Zealand's first
cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...
on Ormiston Road was constructed. The suburb contains the 94-hectare Barry Curtis Park, named in recognition of Manukau's longest standing mayor, Barry Curtis, The suburb's new shopping centre, Ormiston Town Centre, was officially opened to the public on 25 March 2021. The Flat Bush area is expected to grow to 40,000 residents by 2025.


Demographics

Flat Bush covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Flat Bush had a population of 45,147 in the
2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, an increase of 12,903 people (40.0%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 21,930 people (94.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 22,560 males, 22,512 females and 72 people of other genders in 11,022 dwellings. 2.2% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 33.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 9,297 people (20.6%) aged under 15 years, 9,810 (21.7%) aged 15 to 29, 22,047 (48.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 3,993 (8.8%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 14.7% European (
PÄkehÄ ''PÄkehÄ'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a MÄori language, MÄori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
); 5.7% MÄori; 12.0% Pasifika; 71.6% Asian; 3.0% 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 85.6%, MÄori language by 1.1%, Samoan by 4.0%, and other languages by 52.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.7% (e.g. too young to talk).
New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
was known by 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 63.2, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 29.5%
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 15.2%
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as SanÄtanÄ«s) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym SanÄtana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 5.8%
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 0.3%
MÄori religious beliefs MÄori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the MÄori people * MÄori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * MÄori language, the language of the MÄori people of New Zealand * MÄori culture * Cook Islanders, the MÄori people of the Co ...
, 5.4%
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.1%
New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, and 8.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 29.7%, and 5.5% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 11,055 (30.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 12,849 (35.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 11,946 (33.3%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $46,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 4,098 people (11.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 20,403 (56.9%) people were employed full-time, 3,744 (10.4%) were part-time, and 1,032 (2.9%) were unemployed.


Education

A strategy to build schools in the area was developed by the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
in 2007. Ormiston Senior College is a senior secondary school for years 11–13 with a roll of . Ormiston Junior College covers years 7–10 and has a roll of students. Ormiston Primary School is a contributing primary school (years 1–6) with students. The three schools are spread over two blocks. The Senior College opened in 2011, the Junior College in 2017, and the primary school in 2015. Baverstock Oaks School is a primary school while Te Uho o te Nikau Primary School is a full primary school (years 1–8) with rolls of and students, respectively. Baverstock Oaks opened in 2005 and Te Uho o te Nikau in 2019. Sancta Maria College is a state-integrated Catholic secondary school (years 7–13) with a roll of . Sancta Maria Catholic Primary School is a state-integrated contributing primary school (years 1–6) with students. The two schools are on the same site. The college opened in 2004 and the primary school in 2010. Tyndale Park Christian School is a private composite school (years 1–13) with a roll of . The school was founded in 1981. All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of


Amenities

Murphy's Bush is a nature reserve in Flat Bush, that features a historic precinct and the largest remnant forest in Auckland.


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Photographs of Flat Bush
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{Subject bar, auto=y, d=y Suburbs of Auckland Howick Local Board Area East Auckland