Manukau City

Manukau City
—  Territorial authority of New Zealand  —
The Manukau skyline looking northwest.
The Manukau skyline looking northwest.
Nickname(s): South Auckland
Manukau City's location within New Zealand
Manukau City's location within New Zealand
Manukau City's location (shown in orange) within the Auckland metropolitan area. The darker orange indicates the urban area.
Manukau City's location (shown in orange) within the Auckland metropolitan area. The darker orange indicates the urban area.
Country Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand
Island North Island
Region Auckland
Wards Botany-Clevedon, Howick, Mangere, Manurewa, Otara, Pakuranga, Papatoetoe
Government
 - Mayor Len Brown
Area
 - Total 683 km² (263.7 sq mi)
Population (June 2008 estimate)[1]
 - Total 362,000
 - Density 530/km² (1,372.7/sq mi)
Time zone NZST (UTC+12)
 - Summer (DST) NZDT (UTC+13)
Area code(s) 09
Website: http://www.manukau.govt.nz/
http://www.arc.govt.nz/

Manukau City is a large city in the Auckland Region / Greater Auckland area of New Zealand. The city is sometimes referred to as South Auckland, but this term does not possess official recognition and does not encompass areas like East Auckland, which is within the official boundaries of Manukau City. Manukau City is a relatively young city, both in terms of legal status and large-scale settlement - though with a current size of 362,000 inhabitants (June 2008 estimate),[1] it is also the third-largest in New Zealand as well as the country's fastest-growing.[2]

The name Manukau, from the Manukau Harbour west of the city, is of Māori origin, and means 'wading birds', although it has been suggested that the name of the harbour was also sometimes rendered as Mānuka, meaning a marker post with which an early chief is said to have claimed the area.[3]

Contents

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.

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. Manukau includes the theme park Rainbow's End, and one of the oldest shopping malls in the country, now called Westfield Manukau City.

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.

As of the late 2000s, slightly less than 50% of the city's population identifies as European, with 17% as Māori, 27% as Pacific and 15% as Asian, with the balance made up of other groups.[2]

Schools

Main article: List of schools in Auckland#Manukau City

Wards and suburbs

Manukau City is divided into 7 wards. The names of wards and lists of main suburbs/towns are:

Botany-Clevedon Ward
  • Ardmore
  • Whitford
  • Alfriston
  • Tuscany Estate
  • Brookby
  • Orere Point
  • Chapel Downs
  • Clevedon
  • Beachlands
  • Dannemora
  • Maraetai
  • Beachlands
  • Botany Downs
  • Kawakawa Bay
  • North Park
  • Somerville
  • Greenmeadows

Howick Ward

  • Howick
  • Eastern Beach
  • Highland Park
  • Meadowlands
  • Mellons Bay
  • Cockle Bay
  • Shelly Park

Mangere Ward

  • Airport Oaks
  • Mangere Bridge
  • Mangere East
  • Mangere
  • Middlemore
  • Favona

Manurewa Ward

  • Manurewa
  • Clendon
  • Wiri
  • Manukau Heights
  • Manukau Central
  • Weymouth
  • Waimahia Landing
  • Wattle Cove
  • Wattle Downs
  • Silkwood Heights
  • The Gardens
  • Totara Heights
  • Randwick Park
  • Redoubt Park
  • Heron Point
  • Murphy's Heights
  • Mahia Park
  • Hill Park
  • Goodwood Heights
  • Porchester Park
  • Settlers Cove

Otara Ward

  • 'South' Otahuhu
  • Otara
  • East Tamaki
  • Clover Park
  • Flat Bush

Pakuranga Ward

  • Pakuranga
  • Half Moon Bay
  • Bucklands Beach

Papatoetoe Ward

  • Papatoetoe
  • Puhinui

Prominent people

Local government

The Manukau City Council is the elected local authority of the city.

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)
  • Cr Su'a William Sio (Otara)
  • Cr Arthur Anae (Otara)
  • Cr Dick Quax (Pakuranga)
  • Cr David Collings (Pakuranga)
  • Cr Bob Wichman (Papatoetoe)
  • Cr Gary Troup (Papatoetoe)

Sister cities

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Subnational Population Estimates: At 30 June 2008". Statistics New Zealand (23 October 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
  2. 2.0 2.1 About Manukau (from the Manukau City Council website. Accessed 2008-06-21.)
  3. Manukau - Naming the harbour (from Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Accessed 2008-06-22.)

External links