St Heliers is a seaside 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 ...

with a population of as of This suburb is popular amongst visitors for the beaches, cafés, and views of

Rangitoto Island Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The wide island is a symmetrical shield volcano cone capped by central scoria cones, reaching a height of . Rangitoto is the youngest and largest of the appr ...

, the distinctive volcanic island in the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Tamaki Drive, and used to be the place where the Tamaki estuary formally divided Auckland from

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 entire Auckland region was amalgamated under a single city authority, 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 ...

, in 2010. Local government of St Heliers is the responsibility of the

Ōrākei Local Board The Ōrākei Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of Auckland Council. It is coterminous with the Ōrākei ward. It was chaired in its first two terms by local politician Desley Simpson following the 2010 and 2013 elections. In the 20 ...

, which also covers the suburbs of

Ōrākei Ōrākei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, on the shore of the Waitematā Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and Ōr� ...

, Kohimarama, Mission Bay, Glendowie, St Johns, Meadowbank,

Remuera Remuera is an affluent suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian era, Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy ...

and Ellerslie.

Demographics

Saint Heliers (the name used by Stats NZ) covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Saint Heliers had a population of 11,436 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 90 people (−0.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 438 people (4.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 5,430 males, 5,979 females and 27 people of other genders in 4,392 dwellings. 2.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 45.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,956 people (17.1%) aged under 15 years, 1,785 (15.6%) aged 15 to 29, 5,211 (45.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 2,481 (21.7%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 80.6% 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 ...

); 4.5%

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 ...

; 2.4% Pasifika; 16.1% Asian; 3.2% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.9%, Māori language by 0.7%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 22.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.2% (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 0.2%. The percentage of people born overseas was 37.0, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 38.8%

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 ...

, 1.2%

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 ...

, 0.7%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 1.2%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.7%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and 1.0% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 50.2%, and 5.9% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 4,578 (48.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 3,603 (38.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,299 (13.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $60,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 2,856 people (30.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 4,725 (49.8%) people were employed full-time, 1,494 (15.8%) were part-time, and 186 (2.0%) were unemployed.

History

Pre-European history

The area around Glover Park and Achilles Point was named Te Pane o Horoiwi ("The Head of Horoiwi") by

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 ...

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 name refers to the place where Horoiwi, one of the migrants aboard to ''Tainui'' waka, settled with his family in approximately the

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCI) through December 31, 1300 (MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched ...

. Te Pane o Horoiwi

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 ...

was located at the end of The Rise, at the high point of the tuff ring of Whakamuhu / Glover Park, an extinct volcano. Te Waiohua iwi traces its origin to a mingling of the people who first inhabited the area with members of Tainui who settled the area, such as Horoiwi. Around 1750,

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 ...

expanded their territory further into

Tāmaki Makaurau 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 ...

, displacing Te Waiohua. Ngāti Whātua gifted the land to

Ngāti Pāoa Ngāti Pāoa is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) that has extensive links to the Hauraki and Waikato tribes of New Zealand. Its traditional lands stretch from the western side of the Hauraki Plains to Auckland. They also settled on Hauraki Gulf islands ...

in the late 1700s. The area was abandoned in the 1820s due to raids by

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 ...

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 ...

, however people returned to the area by the late 1830s. Retrieved 7 October 2013.

European settlement

The area around St Heliers was a part of the Kohimarama Block, which was purchased by the British crown from Ngāti Pāoa in 1841. European settlement began on the north-facing slopes of St Heliers bay, with the establishment of the Glen Orchard homestead, believed to have been built in the 1850s. The building was recognised as a place of historic, architectural and social significance by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

in October 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2013. This Regency-style residence incorporates Italianate influences, and has a grand and elegant appearance. Glen Orchard is a historic example of a prosperous rural homestead, and is linked to the settlers who comprised Auckland's early elite. It is known as the residence of Lieutenant-General William Taylor (1790–1868), and his son Charles John Taylor, who married into the family of the fourth New Zealand Premier,

Alfred Domett Alfred Domett (20 May 18112 November 1887) was the fourth Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier of New Zealand, a close friend of the poet Robert Browning and author of the epic poem ''Ranolf and Amohia, a South Sea Day Dream''. Born in Englan ...

. William Taylor was a retired senior officer of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

’s

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations manda ...

. In 1879 Glen Orchard became Auckland’s first stud farm, managed by Major Walmsley, who suggested the name St Heliers Bay, supposedly because it reminded him of the fashionable holiday resort Bay of Saint Helier in

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, one of Britain’s

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

. In the mid-1880s the homestead became the centre piece of a planned model seaside suburb that was the foundation of present day St Heliers.

Residential development

In November 1881 St Heliers Bay was bought by the St Heliers and Northcote Land Company. The aim of this company was to make the land available for residential development. The company realised the area would be more attractive for potential future buyers if St Heliers’ connections to the

's town centre were improved. At that time St Heliers was usually reached by boat, the trip from Auckland taking only 30 minutes, whereas the land route via Newmarket,

and Meadowbank was usually much more onerous. During this period St Heliers was a centre for local farmers and the location of the villas of a few rich business people. Despite advertisements in ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

'' land sales were poor and the company's scheme failed. The advertisement indicates the need for better transport links. The St Heliers and Northcote Land Company built a 460m (1500 foot) pier at St Heliers in 1882 before becoming insolvent. However, the tramway connection to Auckland was never realised . By 1890 St Heliers had become a popular waterfront destination for day trippers, with excursions running from Auckland and Thames. Moonlight excursions from Auckland were especially popular. For this particular excursion the ''Eagle'' and ''Osprey'' boats were used, since they allowed dancing on board. After Tamaki Drive was opened in 1932, St Heliers became a commuter suburb and a destination for Sunday drives.

Landmarks and features

Achilles Point

Achilles Point is regarded as the rocky promontory on the east side of Ladies Bay, but the name can also indicate the whole headland between St Heliers and the Tamaki River estuary. It offers great views of 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 ...

, and the Gulf Islands. Retrieved 11 October 2013. In 1940 it was named Achilles Point in honour of the New Zealand battleship ''HMS Achilles'' and her crew. The ''Achilles'' opened fire on the German cruiser ''Admiral Graf Spee'' in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939. In doing so she became the first New Zealand unit to strike a blow at the enemy in

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 ...

, and the first New Zealand warship to take part in a naval battle. This confrontation off Argentina was later called Battle of the River Plate, Glover park

the first major naval engagement of World War II, during which the ''Achilles'', defeated the ''Admiral Graf Spee''.

Parks

Dingle Dell Reserve

Dingle Dell was first established as a reserve in the 1880s. Dingle Dell was part of Major Thomas Bunbury's four farms, which he bought in 1842. It became a public reserve in 1930 and is now owned and managed by the

, Retrieved 4 October 2013. after which native trees were planted in the reserve. By the 1950s, Dingle Dell Reserve was described as the forgotten "Cinderella of Auckland's Parks" in ''

''. Today it is still a peaceful area located in the heart of St. Heliers, where people can enjoy a picnic or bush walk. The park hosts, amongst others, the native plants

kohekohe Kohekohe (''Didymocheton spectabilis'') is a medium-sized tree in the Meliaceae family, native to New Zealand. It is found in lowland and coastal forests throughout most of the North Island and also occurs in the Marlborough Sounds in the no ...

and tanekaha.

Glover Park

St Heliers has one relatively unknown volcano, a

maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...

of unknown age. Its crater had formed a swamp by the time European settlers arrived in the area. On the seaward side, a Māori defended settlement once stood, and the landward side is marked by the water tower at its highest point. The Auckland City Council acquired the land in the 1930s and in 1953 half the area was drained and consolidated. In the same year the Tamaki Ex-Servicemen's Women's Auxiliary planted trees to commemorate the men of the district who had lost their lives during World War I and II. Unfortunately the drainage project of 1953 proved a failure because the area remained unstable and susceptible to flooding. Additional drainage in 1959 made the park safe, and allowed the area to be converted into the sports fields of Glover Park. It is unclear whether the trees that were planted in 1953 are still the same trees present in Glover Park today.

Statues, Memorials and Sculptures

* St Heliers Memorial Fountain * St Heliers War Memorial

Events

Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon Park – New Zealand's first triathlon for children was held at St Heliers in 1992 and attracted approximately 500 participants. Children compete over distances starting with a 50-metre swim, 4-kilometre cycle and 1-kilometre run. Since 1992 this event has grown considerably with 20,000 children competing in one of the 13 TRYathlons around the country in 2013. Round The Bays Fun Run – This annual event is the result of the international running boom of the 1970s and 1980s, during which millions of people took up running. Retrieved 11 October 2013. The Auckland Round the Bays Fun Run is one of the largest in the world, and was initiated by the Auckland Joggers Club in the early 1970s. The run is 8.4 km long over Tamaki Drive, the flat road following the contours of the

, passing

Hobson Bay Hobson Bay is a bay in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the east of the Auckland City Centre, and is bisected by the Eastern Line (Auckland), Eastern Line and Tamaki Drive. Description Hobson Bay is a tidal ...

, Okahu Bay, Mission Bay, Kohimarama Beach, and finishing in St Heliers Bay Reserve. Nowadays it is estimated that between 70,000 and 80,000 runners participate each year.

Education

St Heliers School is a full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of . St Ignatius Catholic School is a state-integrated contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of . Both these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of

Gallery

File:WaitemataHarbourSunset.jpg, Waitematā Harbour at sunset, taken from the point between Kohimarama and St Heliers Beaches File:Saint Heliers In Auckland.jpg, Waterview of St Heliers File:StHeliersBeachAucklandKiteSurfer.jpg, St Heliers Beach in Auckland File:StHeliersAucklandShopWindowDisplay.jpg, Shop window display of a shoe shop in St Heliers in Auckland File:St Heliers Bay, St Heliers, Auckland (21476946089).jpg, alt=View of the eastern end of St Heliers Bay. Photographed by William Archer Price between 1910 and 1930., View of the eastern end of St Heliers Bay. Photographed by William Archer Price between 1910 and 1930. File:St Heliers Bay, St Heliers, Auckland (21587878605).jpg, alt=View of St Heliers Bay, Auckland, taken from Cliff Road looking west. St Heliers Bay Hotel and wharf are in the middle distance. Photographed by William Archer Price between 1910 and 1930., View of St Heliers Bay, Auckland, looking west. The wharf is in the middle distance. Photographed by William Archer Price between 1910 and 1930.

References

External links

St Heliers Bay Village Association Inc.Ōrākei Local BoardWeet-Bix Kids TRYathlonRound The Bays Fun Run
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{Ōrākei Local Board Area Suburbs of Auckland Maars of New Zealand Populated places around the Hauraki Gulf Ōrākei Local Board Area