South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions 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 ...
, the largest city in
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 ...
. The area is south of the
Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the
Manukau Harbour
The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea.
Geography
The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...
. The area has been populated by
Tāmaki Māori since at least the 14th century, and has important archaeological sites, such as the Ōtuataua stonefield gardens at
Ihumātao, and
Māngere Mountain, a former
pā
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
site important to
Waiohua
Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 17th century. The rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and they had pā (for ...
tribes.
The area was primarily farmland until the mid-20th century, when the construction of the
Auckland Southern Motorway led to major suburban development, and the establishing 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 ...
, which was later amalgamated into Auckland. Large-scale
state housing
Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
areas were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, which led to significant
Urban Māori and
Pasifika communities developing in the area. The presence of 165 different ethnicities makes South Auckland one of the most diverse places in New Zealand but also one of the most socio-economically deprived.
Definition
South Auckland is not a strictly defined area. It primarily refers to the western and central parts of the former
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 ...
, which existed between 1989 and 2010, and surrounding areas of
Franklin.
Major areas of South Auckland include
Māngere
Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...
,
Manukau
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, ...
,
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 ...
,
Ōtāhuhu,
Ōtara,
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
Papatoetoe
Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of Auckland CBD.
Papatoetoe was traditionally an important area fo ...
. A strict definition sometimes used for South Auckland includes just the
Māngere-Ōtāhuhu,
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 ...
,
Ōtara-Papatoetoe,
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 ...
local board areas.
The term South Auckland was first used in the 1880s, to refer to areas of the southern
Auckland Province
The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.
Area
The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, bo ...
, such as
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
,
Ngāruawāhia
Ngāruawāhia () is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located north-west of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato River, Waikato and Waipā Rivers, adjacent to the Hakarimata Rang ...
,
Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato, Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipā District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south ...
, or
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
. The first references to modern South Auckland come from 1962, in discussions for the creation 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 ...
.
The term began developing negative connotations in the 1970s, with non-residents associating the term with deprivation, crime and violence.
From 1989, many organisations began using the term
Counties Manukau as an alternative way to describe South Auckland.
The name South Auckland is often used imprecisely by the press or politicians, to describe lower socio-economic areas south of the
Auckland City Centre.
Some areas of the
Auckland isthmus occasionally referred to as South Auckland are
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 ...
,
Penrose,
Mount Wellington, and
Panmure. Some
Howick ward suburbs to the east are often called South Auckland, including
Flat Bush
Flat Bush (also known as Ormiston or Flatbush) is a southeastern suburb in the city of Auckland, 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 de ...
and
East Tāmaki
East Tāmaki 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 ...
. Towns south of Auckland are also often referred to as South Auckland, including
Pukekohe
Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...
and
Waiuku, and occasionally some towns in the northern
Waikato
The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
Region, such as
Pōkeno and
Tuakau
Tuakau () is a town in the Waikato region at the foot of the Bombay Hills, formerly part of the Franklin District until 2010, when it became part of Waikato District in the North Island of New Zealand. The town serves to support local farming, ...
.
Natural history
South Auckland is an area on the eastern shores of the
Manukau Harbour
The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea.
Geography
The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...
, and the upper headwaters of the
Tāmaki River. Many features of the
Auckland volcanic field are found in South Auckland, such as
Māngere Mountain,
Matukutūreia and the
Pukaki Lagoon. Many of the mountains of South Auckland have been quarried, such as
Matukutūruru,
Maungataketake and
Ōtara Hill (either entirely or partially). Some of the northern-most features of the older
South Auckland volcanic field can be found in the area, such as
Pukekiwiriki and the
Hūnua Falls.
Both the Manukau Harbour and the Tāmaki River are
drowned river valley
A ria (; , feminine noun derived from ''río'', river) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea.
Definitions
Typically rias have a dendritic ...
systems. The Manukau Harbour formed between 3 and 5 million years ago when tectonic forces between the
Pacific Plate and
Australian Plate
The Australian plate is or was a major tectonic plate in the eastern and, largely, southern hemispheres. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, Australia remained connected to India and Antarctica until approximately when Indi ...
uplifted the
Waitākere Ranges
The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. ...
and subsided the Manukau Harbour. It began as an open bay, eventually forming as a sheltered harbour as the
Āwhitu Peninsula
The Āwhitu Peninsula is a long peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand, extending north from the mouth of the Waikato River to the entrance to Manukau Harbour.
The Peninsula is bounded in the west by rugged cliffs over the Tasman Sea, but ...
developed at the harbour's mouth.
Over the last two million years, the harbour has cycled between periods of being a forested river valley and a flooded harbour, depending on changes in the global
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
. The present harbour formed approximately 8,000 years ago, after the
Last Glacial Maximum
The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Last Glacial Coldest Period, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period where ice sheets were at their greatest extent between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago.
Ice sheets covered m ...
.
Historically, much of inland South Auckland was composed of wetlands. Many areas of remnant native bush are found in South Auckland, such as the
taraire forest at Kirks Bush in Papakura, and areas of the
Auckland Botanic Gardens
Auckland Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden in the New Zealand city of Auckland. It is located in the suburb of Manurewa, in the Manurewa (local board area), Manurewa Local Board Area. The garden covers , and holds more than 10,000 plants.Auc ...
in Manurewa.
History
Early Māori history
The Auckland area was an early location visited by many of the
Māori migration canoes
Māori oral histories recount how their ancestors set out from their homeland in ''waka hourua'', large twin-hulled ocean-going canoes ('' waka''). Some of these traditions name a homeland called Hawaiki.
Among these is the story of Kupe, wh ...
, including the ''
Matahourua'', ''
Aotea'', ''
Mātaatua'', ''
Tainui
Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...
'', ''
Tākitimu
''Tākitimu'' was a ''waka (canoe), waka'' (canoe) with ''whakapapa'' throughout the Pacific Ocean, Pacific particularly with Samoa, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand in ancient times. In several Māori mythology, Māori traditions, the ''Tāk ...
'', ''
Tokomaru'', ''
Te Wakatūwhenua
In Māori tradition, ''Te Wakatūwhenua'' was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that were used in the migrations that settled New Zealand. ''Te Wakatūwhenua'' is said to have landed at Cape Rodney (just north of Leigh
Leigh may r ...
'' and ''
Moekākara'' waka.
Some of the earliest stories about the region involve
Te Tō Waka, the portage at
Ōtāhuhu, that allowed
waka to cross between the east coast and the
Manukau Harbour
The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea.
Geography
The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...
, where only 200 metres of land separated the two.
The crossing of the ''Tainui'' waka is memorialised in the name of
Ngarango Otainui Island in the
Māngere Inlet
Mangere Inlet is an arm of the Manukau Harbour, the southwestern of the two harbours of Auckland, New Zealand and itself an arm of the Tasman Sea. The inlet lies between the Auckland isthmus and South Auckland, and has a size of 6.6 km2 a ...
, where the wooden skids used to haul the waka were left after the trip was made,
and other waka including the ''Matahourua'', ''Aotea'', ''Mātaatua'' and ''Tokomaru'' all have traditional stories associated with the portage.
Portages remained important features Tāmaki Māori. In South Auckland, the
Waokauri and Pūkaki portages at
Papatoetoe
Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of Auckland CBD.
Papatoetoe was traditionally an important area fo ...
was used to avoid Te Tō Waka, controlled by the people who lived at
Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond. The
Papakura portage connected the Manukau Harbour at Papakura in the west to the
Wairoa River in the east, likely along the path of the Old Wairoa Road,
and
Te Pai o Kaiwaka at
Waiuku connected the Manukau Harbour to the
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...
in the south.
Tāmaki Māori peoples settled the eastern coastline of the
Manukau Harbour
The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea.
Geography
The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...
as early as the 14th century.
Settlements in the area were based on what resources were available seasonally,
such as Manukau Harbour fish and shellfish.
In the 15th century, Tāmaki Māori people created extensive garden sites at
Ihumātao,
Wiri and the slopes of
Māngere Mountain.
These garden sites used Polynesian agricultural techniques and traditions, with the stone walls acting acted as boundaries, windbreaks and drainage systems for the crops grown in the area, which included
kūmara
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of the ...
(sweet potato), hue (
calabash gourds),
taro
Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...
,
uwhi (ube yam),
tī pore (Pacific cabbage tree) and
aute (the paper mulberry tree). The environment-modifying techniques used in the Ōtuataua Stonefields allowed early Tāmaki Māori to propagate crops which were not suited to a cooler climate.
A number of early
Tāmaki Māori iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
and
hapū
In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
are associated with South Auckland.
Ngā Oho was used as a unifying name for Tāmaki Māori who descended from the ''
Tainui
Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...
'' and ''
Te Arawa
Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...
'' migratory waka.
Descendants of Tāhuhunui-o-te-rangi, captain of the ''
Moekākara'' waka, settled around
Ōtāhuhu and adopted the name
Ngāi Tāhuhu,
while descendants of Tāiki, a Tainui ancestor of
Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, named the
Tāmaki River after himself (Te Wai ō Tāiki) and settled on the eastern shores of the river alongside the descendants of Huiārangi (of the early iwi Te Tini ō Maruiwi), including the shores of Te Waiōtara (the
Ōtara Creek).
Over time, Ngā Riki emerged as a group who settled between Ōtāhuhu and
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 Ngā Oho was used to describe the people who lived around Papakura.
Many of the volcanic features of South Auckland became fortified
pā
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
sites for Tāmaki Māori, notably
Māngere Mountain,
Matukutūruru,
Matukutūreia and
Pukekiwiriki.
There are few pā sites inland from the coasts, due to the flat land being unsuitable for fortified sites.
The pā is known by the name Te Pā-o-te-tū-tahi-atu, a name that describes the pā as temporary, due to the surrounding flat landscape not being ideal for fortifications.
In the early 17th century, the area became a part of the
rohe
The Māori 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
Te Kawerau ā Maki.
Waiohua

In the 17th century, three major tribes of Tāmaki Makaurau, Ngā Iwi, Ngā Oho and Ngā Riki, joined to form the
Waiohua
Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 17th century. The rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and they had pā (for ...
under the
rangatira Huakaiwaka. The union lasted for three generations, and was centred around the
pā
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
of
Maungawhau and later
Maungakiekie on the
Auckland isthmus.
Other Tāmaki Māori groups such as Ngāi Tāhuhu were considered either allies of Waiohua, or hapū within the union.
Māngere Mountain / Te Pane-o-Mataaho / Te Ara Pueru was a major
pā
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
for the
Waiohua
Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 17th century. The rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and they had pā (for ...
, a confederacy of
Tāmaki Māori iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
.
The mountain complex may have been home to thousands of people, with the mountain acting as a central place for rua (food storage pits).
Paramount chief
Kiwi Tāmaki
Kiwi Tāmaki (died ) was a Māori people, Māori warrior and paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation in Auckland region, Tāmaki Makaurau (modern-day Auckland isthmus). The third generation paramount chief of Waiohua, Kiwi Tāmaki consolid ...
stayed at Māngere seasonally, when it was the time of year to hunt sharks in the Manukau Harbour. To the south, the twin peaks of
Matukutūreia and
Matukutūruru were home to the Ngāi Huatau hapū of Waiohua,
settled by Huatau, daughter of Huakaiwaka.
Around the year 1740, a conflict between
Ngāti Whātua
Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...
and Waiohua led to the death of paramount chief
Kiwi Tāmaki
Kiwi Tāmaki (died ) was a Māori people, Māori warrior and paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation in Auckland region, Tāmaki Makaurau (modern-day Auckland isthmus). The third generation paramount chief of Waiohua, Kiwi Tāmaki consolid ...
, who became the major occupants of the
Tāmaki isthmus and
Māngere
Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...
.
Ngāti Whātua was significantly smaller than the Waiohua confederation and chose to focus life at
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 ...
, Māngere and
Ōrākei. Gradually, the Waiohua people who had sought refuge with their
Waikato Tainui relatives to the south, re-established in the South Auckland area,
mainly in a disbursed circuit around the Manukau Harbour. During this time, the tribal identities of
Te Ākitai Waiohua,
Ngāti Tamaoho
Ngāti Tamaoho is a Māori iwi (tribe) of Auckland and the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is part of the Waiohua confederation of tribes. They have three marae, which are at Karaka, Mangatangi and Pukekohe. The tribe is a strong support ...
and
Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua developed. Ngāti Whātua people who remained in the area and interwed with Waiohua developed into the modern iwi
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
By the 19th century, most Tāmaki Māori peoples moved away from fortified pā and favoured
kāinga closer to resources and transport routes.
In the 1820s, the threat of
Ngāpuhi
Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...
war parties from the north 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 Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...
caused most of the Tāmaki Makaurau area to become deserted.
Ngāti Whatua and Waiohua relocated to the
Waikato
The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
under the protection of
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato iwi of the ...
.
A peace accord between Ngāpuhi and
Waikato Tainui was reached through the marriage of Matire Toha, daughter of Ngāpuhi chief Rewa was married to Kati Takiwaru, the younger brother of Tainui chief
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato iwi of the ...
, who settled together on the slopes of Māngere Mountain.
Ngāti Whātua returned to the Māngere-Onehunga area by the mid-1830s,
re-establishing a pā on Māngere Mountain called Whakarongo. During the 1840s, Waiohua descendant tribes returned to their
papakāinga (settlements) at Ihumātao,
Pūkaki, Papahīnau, Waimāhia and
Te Aparangi.
Māngere-Onehunga was the main residence of Auckland-based Ngāti Whātua until the 1840s.
Colonial era
In January 1836 missionary
William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between
Tāmaki Māori chiefs,
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato iwi of the ...
and Turia of
Ngāti Te Rau, covering the majority of modern-day South Auckland between
Ōtāhuhu and
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 ...
. The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to. Māori continued to live in South Auckland, unchanged by this sale.
The Fairburn Purchase was criticised for the sheer size of the purchase, and in 1842 the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
significantly reduced the size of his land holdings, and the Crown partitioned much of the land for European settlers.
On 20 March 1840, Ngāti Whātua chief
Apihai Te Kawau signed the
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
at Orua Bay on the Manukau Harbour, inviting Lieutenant-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 ...
to settle in Auckland, hoping this would protect the land and people living in Tāmaki Makaurau.
In the winter of 1840, Ngāti Whātua moved the majority of the iwi to the
Waitematā Harbour
The Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city ...
, with most iwi members resettling to the
Remuera-
Ōrākei area, closer to the new European settlement at
Waihorotiu (modern-day
Auckland City Centre). A smaller Ngāti Whātua presence remained at Māngere-Onehunga.
In 1846, the
Wesleyan Methodist Church established a mission at the foot of
Maungataketake, near Ihumātao. The following year, Governor
George Grey
Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...
established the village of
Ōtāhuhu. The village was created as a way to protect the township of Auckland, and was settled by retired British soldiers of the
Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps.
Grey also asked
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato iwi of the ...
(then known as a powerful chief and negotiator, but later the first
Māori King
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 ...
) to settle at
Māngere Bridge as a second defensive site, which developed into a
Ngāti Mahuta
Ngāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe (or hapū) of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato tribe (or iwi) of Māori people, Māori in the North Island of New Zealand. The territory (rohe) of Ngāti Mahuta is the Kawhia Harbour, Kawhia and Huntly, New Zealand, Hunt ...
village.
Papakura was established in the late 1840s by a small group of settler families.
The South Auckland area flourished in the 1850s, when Manukau Harbour and Waikato tribes produced goods to sell or barter at the port of
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 ...
,
primarily corn, potato, kūmara, pigs, peaches, melons, fish and potatoes.
Ōtāhuhu developed as an agricultural centre and trade hub, with the Tāmaki River becoming one of the busiest waterways in New Zealand by the late 1850s.
In April 1851, the
Tāmaki Bridge was constructed along the
Great South Road, spurring growth in the
Papatoetoe
Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of Auckland CBD.
Papatoetoe was traditionally an important area fo ...
area.
By 1855, the Great South Road was extended as far south as
Drury.
Coal mining became a major industry in Drury during this time, and in 1862 one of the first tramways in New Zealand was constructed to transport coal from the mine to the Manukau Harbour.
Invasion of the Waikato
In 1861, Governor
George Grey
Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...
ordered the construction of the Great South Road further into the Waikato, due to fears of potential invasion of
Waikato Tainui.
On 9 July 1863, due to fears of the Māori King Movement, Governor Grey proclaimed that all Māori living in the South Auckland area needed to swear loyalty to the Queen and give up their weapons. Most people refused due to strong links to Tainui, leaving for the south before the Government's
Invasion of the Waikato. Small numbers of people remained, in order to tend to their farms and for
ahi kā (land rights through continued occupation).
Most Māori occupants of the area felt they had no choice due to their strong ties to Tainui and Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, and were forced to flee to the south. While fleeing, Te Ākitai Waiohua rangatira
Ihaka Takanini and his family were captured by his former neighbour, Lieutenant-Colonel
Marmaduke Nixon, and taken prisoner on
Rakino Island, where Ihaka Takanini died.
During the war, many stockades and redoubts were constructed by the Crown troops. This included St John's Redoubt on
Great South Road, constructed in order to secure the supply line for troops and in operation until 1864.
Early skirmishes between the Crown and Kīngitanga forces happened in the forested land around Drury and
Pukekohe
Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...
areas, including the
Defence of Pukekohe East in September 1863.
After the war, the Crown confiscated 1.2 million acres of Māori land around the
Waikato
The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
, including Waiohua land in South Auckland.
The former residents of the Manukau Harbour began returning to the area in 1866,
with the
Native Compensation Court returning small portions of land in 1867.
Most land was kept by the crown as reserves, or sold on to British immigrant farmers.
Farming communities
Small farming communities such as began developing in the area in the latter 19th century along the Great South Road corridor.
In 1875, the
North Island Main Trunk
The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...
began operating in South Auckland, linking the South Auckland area to
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 ...
and the
Waikato
The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
by train,
and leading to development along this corridor.
The first
Māngere Bridge was opened in 1875, linking Māngere to Onehunga.
The township of Woodside in modern-day
Wiri dwindled in importance after the railway opened, slowly being overtaken by neighbouring
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 ...
. Much of South Auckland was known for wheat production, until the 1880s when dairy farming became popular.
The first local governments in the area, were established in the 1860s in order to better fund roading projects.
During the 1890s, the wetlands of South Auckland were a major location for
kauri gum
Kauri gum is resin from kauri trees (''Agathis australis''), which historically had several important industrial uses. It can also be used to make crafts such as jewellery. Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, bef ...
digging. Papakura township was adjacent to the large Ardmore Gumfield (also known as the Papakura Gumfield), which stretched from
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 ...
to
Clevedon
Clevedon (, ) is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, England. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019. It lies ...
. By the 1900s, Auckland gumfields and swamps began being converted into farmland and orchards. In 1890, the Māori King,
Tāwhiao
''Kīngitanga, Kīngi'' Tāwhiao (Tūkaroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao, ; c. 1822 – 26 August 1894), known initially as Matutaera, reigned as the Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1860 until his death. After his flight to ...
, had a residence constructed for his family members at Māngere Bridge, where members of the family including
Mahuta Tāwhiao,
Tumate Mahuta and
Tonga Mahuta stayed while attending schools in Auckland.
The first
Chinese New Zealanders
Chinese New Zealanders (; ) or Sino-New Zealanders are New Zealanders of Chinese people, Chinese ancestry. The largest subset of Asian New Zealanders, many of the Chinese immigrants came from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or other countrie ...
arrived in South Auckland in the 1910s,
Between the 1920s and 1940s, significant portions of South Auckland were used for Chinese-owned and operated market gardens. In 1911, the first controlled powered flight in New Zealand took place in
Takanini
Takanini is a southern suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, 28 kilometres southeast of the Auckland CBD.
The suburb is home to a Fonterra milk plant, the Addison housing development, as well ...
. The flight took place inside a single paddock within the racecourse of the now-defunct Papakura Racing Club. The flight was piloted by
Vivian Walsh and was carried out in a
Howard Wright 1910 Biplane, the parts for which were imported from England in 1910 and assembled by members of the Auckland Aeroplane Syndicate.
During the 1920s, Papatoetoe and Manurewa became some of the fastest growing areas of Auckland.
These were joined by
Māngere East, which developed after the opening of the
Otahuhu Railway Workshops in the late 1920s.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
Papakura Military Camp
Papakura Military Camp is a New Zealand Army military camp located in the Auckland suburb of Papakura North, in northern New Zealand. It is the home of the New Zealand Special Air Service.
Geography
The camp was established on the outskirts ...
was established as an important base for the
New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...
. Areas of Papatoetoe and Manurewa were used as military camps for the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
.
Middlemore Hospital
Middlemore Hospital is a major public hospital in the suburb of Ōtāhuhu, Auckland, New Zealand. The hospital has approximately 800 beds. There are 24 operating theatres across two sites.
History
In 1943, during World War II, construction com ...
opened in 1947, originally intended to be a temporary military hospital.
In the 1950s, Chinese New Zealand gardeners
Fay Gock and
Joe Gock began cultivating
kūmara
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of the ...
(sweet potatoes) at their farm beside
Pukaki Creek, using plants donated to them by their neighbours at Pūkaki Marae. The Gocks developed a disease-resistant variety of kūmara that became the modern Owairaka Red variety.
Suburban development
The development of the
Auckland Southern Motorway in the mid-1950s led to an explosion in the population of Papatoetoe and Manurewa.
In 1958, the first modern supermarket in New Zealand was opened in Papatoetoe, by
Tom Ah Chee, Norm Kent and John Brown,
and in 1967 the third American-style mall in Auckland was opened,
Southmall Manurewa.
In 1960, the Manukau Sewage Purification Works (now Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant) was opened in the Manukau Harbour,
using algae-based oxidation ponds, around
Puketutu Island.
A new purpose-built
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 ...
was opened in Māngere 1966 to replace the
dual commercial and military airport at Whenuapai. The construction of the airport led to significant reclamation of the
Manukau Harbour
The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea.
Geography
The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...
,
and the volcanic scoria of
Maungataketake and Puketutu Island was quarried for construction material.
South Auckland's demographics rapidly changed from the 1950s to the 1970s. Between the 1940s and 1960s, Māori living in rural areas were encouraged to move to cities by the
Māori Affairs Department, in order to create a larger industrial labour force.
Urban Māori populations first settled in the inner suburbs of Auckland and areas close to factories; often areas with poor housing. To counter overcrowding in the central suburbs, the New Zealand Government undertook large scale state housing developments, creating planned suburbs in
Ōtara and
Māngere
Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...
in the 1970s, and adding large areas of state housing around Manurewa and Papatoetoe.
Large-scale immigration of
Pasifika New Zealanders
Pasifika New Zealanders (also called Pacific Peoples) are a pan-ethnic group of New Zealanders associated with, and descended from, the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands (also known as Pacific Islander#New Zealand, Pacific Islanders) ou ...
began in the 1950s and 1960s, typically from primarily from
Western Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabit ...
(modern-day Samoa),
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
, the
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...
and
Niue
Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...
. By the mid-1970s,
gentrification
Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
caused many Pasifika communities to relocate away from the central suburbs, moving to areas such as South Auckland.
In 1965,
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 ...
was formed by the amalgamation of the
Manurewa Borough and Manukau County. The new city decided to create a new commercial and administrative centre, leading to the development of
Manukau
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, ...
in a previously rural area between Manurewa and Papatoetoe.
After the construction of Manukau, South Auckland from Ōtāhuhu to Papakura became a continuous part of the urban sprawl of Auckland.
In the mid-1970s, construction on
State Highway 20 (commonly known as the Southwestern Motorway) began in South Auckland, including
a new motorway bridge to be built alongside the existing Māngere Bridge.
Construction was halted by May 1978, when workers organised a
labour strike
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became co ...
over insufficient redundancy payments. The partially constructed bridge was picketed for a period of two and a half years, becoming the longest continuous labour strike in the history of New Zealand.
The
Auckland Botanic Gardens
Auckland Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden in the New Zealand city of Auckland. It is located in the suburb of Manurewa, in the Manurewa (local board area), Manurewa Local Board Area. The garden covers , and holds more than 10,000 plants.Auc ...
opened in Manurewa in 1982,
the same year as,
Rainbow's End a theme park in Manukau. Over time, Rainbow's End expanded to become the largest theme park in New Zealand.
In the 1989 local government reforms, Manukau, Papatoetoe and
Howick in
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 Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The area was developed into farmland in the ...
amalgamated into the Manukau City,
and in 2010 all areas of the
Auckland Region
Auckland () is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban areas of New Zealand, urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands o ...
were merged into a single unitary body, administered by
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 ...
.
By the 2010s, areas of South Auckland such as Papatoetoe had developed as major areas for
South Asian
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
communities.
Between 2016 and 2020,
Ihumātao was occupied by protesters, who were concerned at the construction of a housing development on the archaeological site, and called for the land to be returned to
mana whenua. In late 2020, the
New Zealand Government
The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...
purchased the site, with no decision being made on the future of the land.
Areas south of Papakura began developing into new suburban housing in the late 2010s. The first of these was
Paerata Rise north of Pukekohe, joined by
Auranga, an area of coastal
Karaka. A major development is planned for the Drury-
Ōpaheke area, to be developed in stages from the 2020s through to the 2050s. Three new train stations will be constructed in the area between Papakura and Pukekohe. In the 2010s, a
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
line was proposed to link the
Auckland City Centre to Māngere. In the 2040s, the Auckland Council plans to create a new regional park on Puketutu Island. Much of the island was quarried in the 1950s, and is slowly being refilled with biosolids. At the end of this process, the quarried peaks will be reformed.
Demographics
South Auckland covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
South Auckland had a population of 336,693 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 19,815 people (6.3%) since the
2018 census, and an increase of 62,193 people (22.7%) since the
2013 census. There were 167,883 males, 168,006 females and 810 people of
other genders in 89,619 dwellings. 2.2% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+. There were 80,334 people (23.9%) aged under 15 years, 79,758 (23.7%) aged 15 to 29, 145,350 (43.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 31,248 (9.3%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 23.1%
European (
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 ...
); 20.7%
Māori; 42.8%
Pasifika; 29.2%
Asian; 1.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 90.1%, Māori language by 5.1%, Samoan by 13.5%, and other languages by 27.3%. No language could be spoken by 3.0% (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 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 40.6, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 45.7%
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 ...
, 8.4%
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 ...
, 4.1%
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 ...
, 2.0%
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 ...
, 1.5%
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 ...
, 0.2%
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 5.5% other religions. People who answered that they had
no religion were 26.3%, and 6.6% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 42,492 (16.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 120,042 (46.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 93,837 (36.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 16,116 people (6.3%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 131,325 (51.2%) people were employed full-time, 23,265 (9.1%) were part-time, and 12,879 (5.0%) were unemployed.
Politics and governance
Local government
Road boards were the first local government in South Auckland in the 1860s, which were established across the
Auckland Province
The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.
Area
The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, bo ...
due to a lack of central government funding for road improvements.
In South Auckland, over 20 road boards were established to administer upkeep for major arterial connections, some of which included the Drury Road Board, Mangere Road Board, Awhitu Road Board and the Hunua Road Board. In 1876, the
Manukau County was established as the local government for South Auckland. In 1881, the Town District Act allowed communities of more than 50 households to amalgamate into a town district. Large town districts were able to form boroughs, which had their own councils and a greater lending power. The county was split into two bodies in 1912: the Manukau County Council and a new body, the
Franklin County Council. Between 1912 and 1955, seven areas of South Auckland split from the Manukau, Franklin or
Eden Counties to form independent boroughs:
Pukekohe
Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...
and
Ōtāhuhu in 1912,
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 ...
in 1937,
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 ...
in 1938,
Papatoetoe
Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of Auckland CBD.
Papatoetoe was traditionally an important area fo ...
in 1946 and
Waiuku and
Tuakau
Tuakau () is a town in the Waikato region at the foot of the Bombay Hills, formerly part of the Franklin District until 2010, when it became part of Waikato District in the North Island of New Zealand. The town serves to support local farming, ...
in 1955.
In the early 1960s, a movement began to amalgamate the various town and borough councils in South Auckland into a single city,
which became known as the
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 ...
. Churchill was an early name proposed for the city, which was disparaged at the time. The city formed in 1965, and later that year was joined by
Papatoetoe City, after the Papatoetoe borough grew in population.
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 ...
became recognised as a city in 1975, and in 1986 Ōtāhuhu joined with
Mount Wellington to form a unified city, known as
Tamaki City. With the 1989 local government reforms, Manukau, Papatoetoe and
Howick in
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 Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The area was developed into farmland in the ...
merged to form a larger
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 ...
, while Tamaki City was amalgamated into
Auckland City along with the rest of the
Auckland isthmus.
On 1 November 2010, Manukau City and Franklin District were merged with the surrounding areas of Auckland to form a single local government area, managed 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 ...
as a unitary authority.
Within the new system, South Auckland was primarily split into five areas which elect a local board:
Māngere-Ōtāhuhu,
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 ...
,
Ōtara-Papatoetoe,
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
Franklin. Ōtāhuhu, previously administered by the Auckland City to the north, was again a part of a South Auckland local government body, and a number of southern and eastern townships within the former
Franklin District
Franklin District was a New Zealand territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority that lay between the Auckland metropolitan area and the Waikato Plains. As a formal territory, it was abolished on 31 October 2010 and divided be ...
became part of the
Waikato
The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
and the
Hauraki districts in the
Waikato Region
The Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City, as well as ...
, including
Tuakau
Tuakau () is a town in the Waikato region at the foot of the Bombay Hills, formerly part of the Franklin District until 2010, when it became part of Waikato District in the North Island of New Zealand. The town serves to support local farming, ...
,
Pōkeno,
Pukekawa,
Whakatīwai and
Pūkorokoro / Miranda.
In addition to local boards, a number of councillors represent South Auckland on the Auckland Council. Voters in the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu and Ōtara-Papatoetoe areas vote for two councillors as a part of the
Manukau ward, and people in the Manurewa and Papakura areas vote for two
Manurewa-Papakura ward councillors. Franklin area residents vote for a single
Franklin ward councillor.
National government
Traditionally, South Auckland has strongly supported the
Labour Party in general elections. Notably, the general electorates of
Māngere
Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...
,
Panmure-Ōtāhuhu and
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 ...
are three of Labour's safest seats. However, after the
2023 election, Labour lost the electorate of
Takanini
Takanini is a southern suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, 28 kilometres southeast of the Auckland CBD.
The suburb is home to a Fonterra milk plant, the Addison housing development, as well ...
which is considered to be a marginal seat.
Notable people
People who hail from South Auckland include Olympic champion
John Walker, mountaineer
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...
, and former Prime Minister
David Lange
David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. A member of the New Zealand Labour Party, Lange was also the Minister of Education ...
. Many successful sportspeople are South Aucklanders, including rugby players
Jonah Lomu and
Eric Rush, rugby league player
Ruben Wiki, heavyweight boxers
David Tua and
Joseph Parker
Joseph Dennis Parker, (born 9 January 1992) is a New Zealand professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Interim championship, interim heavyweight title since 2024. Previously, he held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016 ...
, cricketer
Daryl Tuffey, kickboxer
Mark Hunt, indycar racer
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a New Zealand racing driver who races the 9 Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) Dallara DW12-Honda car in the IndyCar Series. He is a six-time drivers' champion of the IndyCar Series, having claimed the title in ...
, and shot-putter
Valerie Adams. Prominent entertainers from South Auckland include musicians
Young Sid,
Savage,
Pauly Fuemana, and
P-Money.
References
Bibliography
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{{Subject bar, auto=y, d=y
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
Geography of Auckland
Māori culture in Auckland
Polynesian-New Zealand culture in Auckland
Populated places established in the 19th century