Otahuhu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Suburb: | Otahuhu |
City: | Auckland |
Island: | North Island |
Surrounded by - to the east |
East Tamaki (4.0 km) |
Otahuhu is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand under the local governance of the Auckland City Council. It is located 14 kilometres to the southeast of the city centre, on a narrow isthmus between an arm of the Manukau Harbour to the west and the Tamaki River estuary to the east, and as such is an important part of Auckland's southern transportation approaches for both road and rail, containing a major bus terminus. It is the southernmost suburb of Auckland City and is considered part of South Auckland. The suburb's name is taken from the Māori name of a volcanic cone now known as Mount Richmond. The name derives from that of a Māori chief, Tahuhu, and means "Of Tahuhu".
The isthmus is the narrowest connection between the North Auckland Peninsula and the rest of the North Island, being only some 1200 metres wide at its narrowest point, between the Otahuhu Creek and the Mangere Inlet. The aptly named Portage Road runs across the isthmus at this point and was used in pre-colonial times by Māori to move their canoes between the Manukau and Waitemata harbours.
The suburb was established in 1847, initially as a garrison town to protect the settlement of Auckland from the Māori lands around the Waikato.
According to the 2001 census, Otahuhu has a population of 11991.
Otahuhu was home to the country's first supermarket, and is home to several other icons, including the Counties Manukau Police Headquarters, and Otahuhu College, in which several famous personalities have come from, including heavyweight boxing champion David Tua, former prime minister David Lange, and current Manukau City Mayor, Sir Barry Curtis.