Papakura and the rural south-east
Papakura
2006 population: 42,879
Town on the shores of the Pahurehure inlet of the Manukau harbour, 34 km south of Auckland city. An early frontier settlement, Papakura has retained its independence as a separate district from the surrounding Franklin County. Papakura marks the southern suburban fringe of greater Auckland and the gateway to the rural south, and has the highest Māori population in the Auckland region (24.4%).
Military camp
The Papakura Military Camp was established on the outskirts of the town in 1940 and remains an important army base. In the early 2000s some land was set aside for new housing development, including state housing.
Clevedon
2006 population: 7,887
Rural centre on the west bank of the Wairoa River, 40 km south-east of central Auckland. Its traditional name was Te Wairoa. Whitford to the north, with its 10-acre lifestyle blocks, has become a rural retreat for wealthy commuters. The Clevedon district’s population has the highest proportion of residents of European ethnicity – 91.3% (compared with 64.8% for the Auckland region as a whole).
Traditional bach (holiday-home) settlements along the south coast of Tāmaki Strait from Maraetai to Beachlands have grown into commuter suburbs.
Firth of Thames
Wide south-eastern arm of the Hauraki Gulf. The western shoreline from Ōrere Point south to Miranda is distinctive for its pōhutukawa-fringed cliffs and a series of regional parks. Many of these sites were historic landing places of the Tainui canoe and became Māori settlements. Miranda is named after the HMS Miranda, the warship that led the British assault on Māori territory during the 1860s Waikato war. Today Miranda is popular for its hot springs and as a place to view flocks of migratory birds.
Hūnua Ranges
Steep ranges (rising to 688 m) south-east of Papakura, stretching to the Firth of Thames. The ranges are formed of uplifted blocks of greywacke, and covered with dense forest. The area was a refuge for Māori when British troops invaded the Waikato in 1863. Since the 1950s, some valleys have been dammed, making the area a major water catchment for Auckland.
The Hūnua Falls on the Wairoa River have been a favourite tourist spot since the 19th century. Hūnua Ranges Regional Park (17,000 hectares) is a huge recreational area and protects regenerating kauri.
Drury
Small township 5 km south of Papakura, named after Captain Drury, who surveyed Manukau Harbour. When the Great South Road was built from Auckland to the Waikato River in the early 1860s, Drury became a base for British military operations against Waikato Māori. Today it is a major area for glasshouse horticulture.
Culture clash
The Bombay hills form a symbolic border between Auckland and the rest of the nation. People south of the hills mock Aucklanders’ brashness and self-importance, whereas those to the north lampoon southerners’ plainness and conformity. On either side of ‘the frontier’ you may hear the phrase ‘New Zealand stops at the Bombay hills’.
Bombay
Settlement 10 km south-east of Drury, on an eroded volcano which formed the steep Bombay hills. It is named after a ship that brought English migrants to clear and farm the district in 1863. In the 1890s an Indian community settled in the area; a Sikh temple is prominent at the town’s entrance.
Pōkeno
Small township 18 km south-east of Drury. In the early 1860s General Cameron and the 65th regiment built the Queen’s Redoubt as headquarters for his invasion into Waikato. After the war, tracts of land in the district were confiscated from Māori and resettled by Pākehā farmers.
