Auckland

History

Māori settlers

The area now known as Auckland was first settled by Māori people in around 1350. The region was valued for its rich and fertile land. Māori constructed terraced pa (fortified villages) on the volcanic peaks. The earthworks are still visible today on volcanoes such as Mount Eden and One Tree Hill. At the time of European settlement, Maori numbers in what is now the central Auckland area had been greatly reduced due to inter-iwi warfare and consequent migration - one of the appeals of the area to Europeans was it was virtually uninhabited. Ngati Whatua and Tainui were the main tribes traditionally living in the area. Tamaki Makau Rau means isthmus of one thousand lovers.

Related Topics:
Māori - Pa - Mount Eden - One Tree Hill - Ngati Whatua - Tainui

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Birth of Auckland

After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840 the new Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson, had the task of choosing a capital for the colony. At the time Kororareka, now called Old Russell, in the Bay of Islands, served as the effective capital. However, Kororareka's geographical position made it very remote, inaccessible and off-centre from the rest of the New Zealand archipelago, and the town had a notorious reputation for drunkenness and immorality.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Waitangi - William Hobson - Capital - Kororareka - Bay of Islands

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Even in 1840 Port Nicholson (now the location of Wellington) probably seemed the obvious choice for an administrative capital. Centrally situated at the south of the North Island, close to the South Island, and growing fast, it had a lot to commend it. But the New Zealand Company and the Wakefield brothers had founded and continued to dominate Port Nicholson. Furthermore, it already had a bad reputation with the Māori for unscrupulous or even illegal occupation of land.

Related Topics:
Port Nicholson - Wellington - North Island - South Island - New Zealand Company - Wakefield brothers - Māori

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On the initial recommendation of the missionary Henry Williams, supported by the Surveyor General, Felton Mathew, Hobson selected the south side of Waitemata Harbour as his future capital. The Chief Magistrate, Captain William Cornwallis Symonds, soon purchased the necessary land from the Ngati Whatua owners, and a foundation ceremony took place at 1pm on 18 September 1840, probably on the higher ground at the top end of present-day Queen Street. Hobson named the new settlement in honour of George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, a patron and friend of his. The New Zealand Government Gazette announced the royal approval of the name on 26 November 1842.

Related Topics:
Henry Williams - Felton Mathew - Waitemata Harbour - William Cornwallis Symonds - Ngati Whatua - 18 September - 1840 - Queen Street - George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland - 26 November

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From the outset a steady flow of new arrivals from within New Zealand and from overseas came to the new capital. Initially settlers from New South Wales predominated, but the first immigrant ships sailing directly from Britain started to arrive as early as 1842. From early times the eastern side of the settlement remained reserved for government officials while mechanics and artisans, the so-called "unofficial" settlers, congregated on the western side. This social division still persists in modern Auckland.

Related Topics:
New South Wales - Immigrant

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Eventually Port Nicholson became the capital and, now known as Wellington, remains so today. The advantages of a central position became even more obvious as the South Island grew in prosperity with the discovery of gold in Otago, and with the development of sheepfarming and refrigeration. Parliament met for the first time in Wellington in 1862. In 1868 Government House moved there too.

Related Topics:
Port Nicholson - Wellington - South Island - Gold - Otago - Refrigeration - 1862 - Government House

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Growth of Auckland

Auckland formed a base for Governor George Grey's operations against the rebel Maori King Movement in the early 1860s. Grey's modus operandi involved opening up the Waikato and King Country by building roads, most notably Great South Road, (a large part of which now forms State Highway 1). This enabled rapid movement, not only of soldiers, but also civilian settlers. It also enabled the extension of Pakeha influence and law to the South Auckland region.

Related Topics:
George Grey - Maori King Movement - Waikato - King Country - Great South Road - State Highway 1 - Pakeha - South Auckland

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During the mid 19th century, European settlement of New Zealand was predominantly in the South Island. Auckland however gradually became the commercial capital. Market gardens were planted on the outskirts, while kauri tree logging and gum digging opened up the Waitakere Ranges.

Related Topics:
South Island - Kauri - Waitakere Ranges

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A Russian scare at the end of the century caused coastal guns to be bought and fortifications built, notably at Devonport and on Waiheke Island, where they can still be seen.

Related Topics:
Devonport - Waiheke Island

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By 1900 Auckland was the largest New Zealand city.

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In World War II the city was overflown by a Japanese seaplane, chased ineffectually by a Royal New Zealand Air Force De Havilland Tiger Moth.

Related Topics:
Royal New Zealand Air Force - De Havilland Tiger Moth

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In the 1950s the Auckland Harbour Bridge was constructed, linking North Shore with the city. As flying boat services from Mechanics Bay by aircraft such as the Short Solent were replaced by landplanes, an airport was opened at Mangere, supplanting earlier airfields at Ardmore and Whenuapai.

Related Topics:
Auckland Harbour Bridge - North Shore - Mechanics Bay - Short Solent - Mangere - Ardmore - Whenuapai

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Following the initiative of Michael Joseph Savage's New Zealand Labour Party large numbers of state houses were constructed through the late 1930s, '40s and '50s, usually on quarter-acre sections - a tradition that survives despite frequent subdivision. Auckland is a largely suburban city: although it has not much more than a seventh of the population of London, it sprawls over a considerably larger area - a fact that serves to make public transport by Auckland's rail and bus systems unpopular and uneconomic.

Related Topics:
Michael Joseph Savage - New Zealand Labour Party

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All four electrical power cables supplying the Central Business District failed on 20 February 1998, causing the 1998 Auckland power crisis. It took five weeks before an emergency overhead cable was completed to restore the power supply to the Central Business District. For much of that time, about 60,000 of the 74,000 people who worked in the area in 1998 worked from home, or from relocated offices in the suburbs. Most of the 6,000 apartment dwellers in the area had to find alternative accommodation.

Related Topics:
20 February - 1998 - 1998 Auckland power crisis

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