Whitford, New Zealand

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Whitford is a suburb southeast of central Auckland, in Manukau City, New Zealand. It is named after Richard Whitford, a man who operated a flax mill on the Waikopua near Housons Creek.

[edit] Historical facts

Whitford's first European settlers, George and William Trice, started a popular farm on Clifton Road in 1843. Most of the following settlers arrived in the mid-1850s.

The Nathans' “Whitford Park” estate provided feathers from its ostriches for use in the fashion trade from 1869 until the 1920s. Racehorses were also trained there; this practice still occurs today.

The town's Granger’s brickworks operated from the 1870s until 1920. The Trices goldmine was converted to a landfill. Today, metal is quarried from there.

Transport usually occurred via water until the 1920s, when roads and motor transport were improved.

Today, Whitford has a real estate agent, accountant, dentist, service station, restaurant, gift shop and furniture restoration. Lifestyle blocks for city workers now occupy some farms. Beef, sheep, dairy, and timber are the chief economic activities.

Coordinates: 36°56′S, 174°58′E