Manukau City

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manukau City
Country: Flag of New Zealand New Zealand
Population: 328,968 (2006 census)
Territorial Authority
Name: Manukau City
Mayor: Len Brown
Extent: East to Hauraki Gulf;
South to Papakura;
West to Manukau Harbour.
Land Area: 683km²
Website: http://www.manukau.govt.nz
Regional Council
Name: Auckland Regional Council
Website: http://www.arc.govt.nz
Manukau City (orange). The darker orange shows the urban area within the (grey) greater Auckland conurbation's urban area.
Manukau City (orange). The darker orange shows the urban area within the (grey) greater Auckland conurbation's urban area.
The Manukau skyline looking northwest.
The Manukau skyline looking northwest.

Manukau City is a city in the Auckland region of New Zealand and the third most populous city in New Zealand. The area is commonly referred to as South Auckland, but this term does not possess any official recognition and does not encompass East Auckland, which is within the official boundaries of Manukau City. Manukau includes the theme park Rainbow's End, and one of the oldest shopping malls in the country, now called Westfield Manukau City.

The name Manukau is of Māori origin, and may mean "wading birds", although it has been suggested that the name of the harbour after which the city is named was originally Manuka, a type of native tree.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] History

Manukau City was formed by the amalgamation of Manukau County and Manurewa Borough in 1965. The city expanded in 1989 with New Zealand-wide reorganisation of local government to include Papatoetoe City and Howick Borough. However, some land was lost in the formation of Papakura District at the same time.

[edit] Geography

The Manukau City area is concentrated immediately to the south of the Otahuhu isthmus, the narrowest connection between Auckland City and the Northland region and the rest of the north island. At its narrowest, between the Otahuhu Creek arm of the Tamaki River (itself an estuarial arm of the Hauraki Gulf) in the east and the Mangere Inlet (an arm of the Manukau Harbour) to the west, the isthmus is only some 1500 metres across.

The area to the south of the isthmus contains the heart of Manukau, sprawled on either side of State Highways 1 and 20, the latter of which approaches from the west after crossing Mangere Bridge. The area known as Manukau central is located close to the junction of these two highways, some 20 kilometres southeast of the centre of Auckland city.

Considerable rural and semi-rural land to the east of Manukau central is also within the city's limits. This extends towards the Hunua Ranges close to the Firth of Thames, and takes in such communities as Clevedon and Maraetai.

Beyond Manukau to the south lie Papakura and the Franklin district, which are less urban but still part of the Auckland Region and to some extent regarded as an integral part of Auckland's urban area.

Auckland International Airport is located in Mangere, in the west of Manukau, close to the waters of the Manukau Harbour.

[edit] Population

For some years before the 1989 reorganisation of local government, the then Manukau City had the highest population of any city or district in the country.

Like most of the rest of the region, Manukau is ethnically diverse, and is home to many cultures, especially Māori and members of Polynesian ethnicities, with a recent concentration of Asians in and near Howick. It is densely populated by New Zealand standards, despite having very few apartments.

[edit] Schools

[edit] Wards and suburbs

Manukau City is divided into 7 wards. Names of wards and lists of main suburbs/towns in each follow:

Botany-Clevedon Ward

Howick Ward

Mangere Ward

Manurewa Ward

Otara Ward

Pakuranga Ward

Papatoetoe Ward

[edit] Prominent people

[edit] Local government

Manukau City Council may become a thing of the past if the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Restructuring Auckland's Councils decide to scrap the local council. Plans of restructuring Auckland into one city may see the current 8 councils formed into only one single city council. This means that possibly by 2009 there may be an Auckland City sub-offices in Manukau City Centre and Howick, replacing the current Manukau City Council. A single Auckland City Council may soon govern all areas of the Auckland Region and there will no longer be Papakura, North Shore, Rodney, Waitakere, and of course Manukau. (Possibly Franklin as well). Manukau City and the Manukau suburbs may soon be handed over to an Auckland City Council.

[edit] Elected members

Elected members of the Manukau City Council, as of October 2007

  • Mayor Len Brown
  • Cr Maggie Burrill (Botany-Clevedon)
  • Cr Michael Williams (Botany-Clevedon)
  • Cr Sharon Stewart QSM (Howick)
  • Cr Jami-Lee Ross (Howick)
  • Cr Alf Filipaina (Mangere)
  • Cr Syvlia Taylor (Mangere)
  • Cr Hugh Graham (Mangere)
  • Cr John Walker (Manurewa)
  • Cr Colleen Brown MNZM, JP (Manurewa)
  • Cr Daniel Newman (Manurewa)
  • Cr Anne Candy QSO, JP (Manurewa)

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 36°59′S, 174°53′E