Goodwood Heights is a suburb 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 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 Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It is located approximately 20 kilometres southeast of the

Auckland CBD The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson on land gifted ...

; to the north of Totara Heights, east of

Manukau Central Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, ...

and south of Chapel Downs. It was formerly part of

Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is also referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does not ...

until the merger of all of Auckland's councils into the ' super city' in 2010. Goodwood Heights is the location of St Johns Redoubt, a military camp established in 1863 during the

Invasion of the Waikato The invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

. The suburb developed in the late 1970s, with Everglade Primary School established in the suburb in 1988. In 2020, construction began on Auckland New Zealand Temple, the second

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

temple to be constructed in New Zealand. The temple is expected to be dedicated in 2025.

Geography

Goodwood Heights is located near

, east of the

Auckland Southern Motorway The Auckland Southern Motorway (also known as the Southern Motorway, and historically as the Auckland–Hamilton Motorway) is the major route south out of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand State Highway 1, State High ...

and north of Totara Heights. It is located on a hilly area adjacent to Manukau Central. Redoubt Road, Goodwood Drive and Everglade Road are major roads that run through the suburb. Many streets in Goodwood Heights were named after ornamental tree species. Some streets in the development are named after aircraft or aircraft manufacturers, due to their location on the flight path of planes arriving at

Auckland Airport Auckland Airport is an international airport serving Auckland, the most populous city of New Zealand. It is the largest and busiest airport in the country, with over 18.7 million passengers served in the year ended December 2024. The airpor ...

History

On 21 July 1863 during the

, St John's Redoubt was constructed in modern-day Goodwood Heights. Constructed in order to secure the supply line for troops along Great South Road, the redoubt never saw active engagement, and by the following year troops were withdrawn from the redoubt. In 1960, the site of the redoubt became a historic reserve. The first suburban housing developments along Redoubt Road began from 1952, when farmer Cameron Matthews began selling lots adjacent to Redoubt Road. Dairy farmers Ransom and Ann Smyth began subdividing the Redoubt Road adjacent parts of their property in 1972. In 1975, the

Council began developing Manurewa East, a wide greenfields development to the east of Manurewa, an area that later developed into the suburbs of Goodwood Heights, Totara Heights, The Gardens and

Randwick Park Randwick Park is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is located east of Manurewa and is in the Manurewa-Papakura ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland Council. The suburb had high unemployment and high cr ...

. The name Goodwood Heights was first used as a name for an AGH Developments-constructed subdivision adjacent to Totara Park, which the company began work on shortly after completing work on the Totara Heights subdivision. The origin of the name is not known. The first subdivisions in Goodwood Heights were advertised for sale in April 1979. In 1979, the Smyth family developed an area called Redoubt Park, in the vicinity of Everglade Drive. During construction, both Goodwood Heights and Totara Heights preserved significantly more mature native bush relative to other suburban developments in South Auckland at the time. By 1981, a

Housing New Zealand Housing refers to a property containing one or more shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and human right, playing a crit ...

housing project was developed in the area. Over time, Goodwood Heights was adopted as a name to refer to the wider area. By 1984, Everglade Drive was extended south towards Totara Heights; the first time a road link was constructed between the two suburbs. Everglade Primary School was established in the suburb on 2 February 1988. Auckland New Zealand Temple, the second temple of

in New Zealand, began construction in the suburb in June 2020.

Demographics

Goodwood Heights covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Goodwood Heights had a population of 4,344 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 ...

, a decrease of 57 people (−1.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 273 people (6.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 2,184 males, 2,145 females and 15 people of other genders in 1,191 dwellings. 2.3% of people identified as

LGBTIQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

. The median age was 35.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 759 people (17.5%) aged under 15 years, 1,005 (23.1%) aged 15 to 29, 2,013 (46.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 567 (13.1%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 21.9%

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

(

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-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 ...

); 10.6%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

; 23.9% Pasifika; 53.1% Asian; 2.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 89.5%, Māori language by 2.2%, Samoan by 7.9%, and other languages by 40.4%. No language could be spoken by 2.8% (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 53.0, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 33.8%

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 ...

, 18.1%

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 5.2%

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 ...

, 0.9%

Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 3.2%

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 7.5% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 26.2%, and 5.1% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 861 (24.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,623 (45.3%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,101 (30.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $44,400, compared with $41,500 nationally. 342 people (9.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,986 (55.4%) people were employed full-time, 351 (9.8%) were part-time, and 126 (3.5%) were unemployed.

Education

Everglade School is a coeducational contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of as of

Local government

Goodwood Heights was originally a part of Manukau City when the suburb was first established in the late 1970s. In November 2010, all cities and districts of the Auckland Region were amalgamated into a single body, governed by the

Auckland Council Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...

. Goodwood Heights is a part of the

Manurewa Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located south of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa h ...

local board area. The residents of Manurewa elect a local board, and two councillors from the

Manurewa-Papakura ward Manurewa-Papakura Ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects two councillors and covers the Manurewa and Papakura Local Boards. The two councillors are currently Angela Dalton and Daniel Newman. Demographics Manurewa-Papakura ward covers an ...

to sit on the

Amenities

*Aronia Park is located in Goodwood Heights, and features a rainbow-coloured playground. *St Johns Redoubt Historic Reserve. Established in 1960 at the site of the former St Johns Redoubt, the reserve became a historic reserve in 2000. In 2021,

Te Ākitai Waiohua Te Ākitai Waiohua is a Māori iwi of the southern part of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. History Te Ākitai Waiohua are descended from Kiwi Tāmaki, the grandson of Huakaiwaka, himself the ancestor of the Waiohua iwi, who lived in Tāmaki ...

gifted a

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

name for the reserve, ("Standing Canoes"), a name chosen to evoke the deaths of those who died during the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...

References

Bibliography

* {{Manurewa Local Board Area Manurewa Local Board Area Suburbs of Auckland Populated places established in 1979 1979 establishments in New Zealand