Auckland
| Auckland |
|
| Population: | 1,241,6001 |
| Area: | 1,086 km² (419 sq mi) |
| Location: | |
| Mayor: | Multiple, including Dick Hubbard, Sir Barry Curtis, Bob Harvey, George Wood |
| Urban Area |
|---|
| Extent: | North to Waiwera,
northwest to Kumeu,
east to Maraetai,
south to Drury and Runciman;
excludes Waitakere Ranges
& Hauraki Gulf Islands |
| Territorial Authorities |
|---|
| Names: | Auckland City
North Shore City
Urban parts of Waitakere City and Manukau City
Papakura District
Some parts of Rodney District and Franklin District |
| Regional Council: | Auckland |
| 1Statistics New Zealand estimated resident population, Auckland Urban Area, 30 June 2005. |
|---|
|
The
Auckland Metropolitan Area, or
Greater Auckland, in the
North Island of
New Zealand, is the largest
urban area in New Zealand.
It is a
conurbation, made up of
Auckland City (excluding the Hauraki Gulf islands),
North Shore City, and the urban parts of
Waitakere and
Manukau cities, along with
Papakura District and some nearby urban parts of
Rodney and
Franklin Districts. In
Māori it bears the traditional name
Tāmaki Makau Rau or the transcribed version of Auckland,
Ākarana. Auckland's population is over 1.2 million, making it by far the largest city in New Zealand, with approaching one third of the country's entire population.
Auckland lies between the
Hauraki Gulf of the
Pacific Ocean to the east, the low
Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the
Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the
Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow
isthmus between the
Manukau Harbour on the
Tasman Sea and the
Waitemata Harbour on the
Pacific Ocean. It is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two separate bodies of water.
Māori settlers
Main article MāoriTāmaki Makau Rau (isthmus of one thousand lovers), now known as Auckland, was first settled by
Māori people around 1350. The region was valued for its rich and fertile land. Māori constructed terraced
pa (fortified villages) on the volcanic peaks. Māori population is estimated to have peaked at 20,000 in the region in
pre-settlement times, a figure which would later qualify in New Zealand as a city. Earthworks are still evident today around some of the larger volcanoes such as
Mount Albert,
Mount Eden and
One Tree Hill.
The isthmus, around 8km wide with Mount Eden and One Tree Hill at its narrowest point, led to the area having great strategic qualities. The isthmus also has the highly productive soils providing
agricultural opportunities, and the two harbours providing diverse
kai moana (seafood).
Ngāti Whātua and
Tainui were the main tribes traditionally living in the area. The arrival of Europeans, using guns as one of many trade commodities, changed the balance of power between
iwi with the inevitable result of armed conflict. European settlement caused Māori numbers in what is now central Auckland city to be greatly reduced due to inter-iwi warfare, new diseases (especially
smallpox and
tuberculosis), and the common ills experienced by
indigenous peoples from
colonisation. There was a period of migrations of both Europeans and Māori, one of the initial appeals of the area to Europeans being its low indigenous population.
Āpihai Te Kawau (c. 1760-1869), leader of the Ngati Taou
Hapu, was a good friend of
Samuel Marsden. Over a ten-month period in 1821-1822 he conducted a principal part in the 1,000 mile
Amiowhenua expedition. This series of battles raged through much of the central and southern North Island. It ended when Te Kawau's Ngāti Whātua forces, uniting with the Taranaki they were embattled with, jointly defended the Tainui Matakitaki pa from
Hongi Hika's Ngapuhi forces.
By 1840 Te Kawau had become the paramount chief of Ngāti Whātua. Cautious of reprisals from the Nga Puhi defeated at Matakitaki, Te Kawau found it most convenient to offer
Governor Hobson land around the present central city. He and six other chiefs travelled the
Bay of Islands to make the offer and signed the
Treaty of Waitangi on
20 March.
Ngāti Whātua would certainly have expected from English
colonialism increased security and trading benefits. This would include greater access via the quickly developed port facilities for the lucrative trade in produce grown in
Tainui's fertile
Waikato and
Hauraki Plains for the
Australian prison colonies and
Sydney market. The sale price for the initial 3,000
acres (12 km²) was for cash and goods to the value of £341.
As Māori population declined for nearly a century, so did the quantity of land held by Ngāti Whātua. Within 20 years, 40% of their lands were lost, some through government land confiscation. At close to the lowest level of population, Ngāti Whātua land holding was reduced to a few acres at
Orakei, land which Te Kawau had declared "a last stand".
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, the main European settlements were in the
Bay of Islands. However, the Bay of Islands' geographical position made it very remote, inaccessible and off-centre from the rest of the New Zealand archipelago.
|
1888 German map of Auckland |
Even in 1840
Port Nicholson (now
Wellington Harbour) 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.
On the initial recommendation of the missionary
Henry Williams, supported by the Surveyor General,
Felton Mathew, and the offer of land from Ngāti Whātua, Hobson selected the south side of
Waitemata Harbour as his future capital, while setting up a temporary capital at
Okiato (also known now as Old Russell) in the Bay of Islands. The Chief Magistrate, Captain
William Cornwallis Symonds, soon purchased the further land from Ngāti Whātua, 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 royal approval of the name on
26 November 1842.
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 somewhat in modern Auckland, with the eastern suburbs generally being more upscale.
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 sheep farming and
refrigeration, especially
refrigerated ships which allowed chilled meat to be safely shipped to Britain. Parliament met for the first time in
Wellington in
1862. In
1868 Government House moved there too.
Growth of Auckland
Auckland formed a base for Governor
George Grey's operations against the rebel
Māori 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
Pākehā influence and law to the
South Auckland region.
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.
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.
By 1900 Auckland was the largest New Zealand city.
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.
In the 1950s
Auckland Harbour Bridge was constructed, linking
North Shore with the city.
As flying boat services from
Mechanics Bay and
Hobsonville by aircraft such as the
Short Solent and
Short Sunderland were replaced by landplanes, an airport was opened at
Mangere, supplanting earlier airfields at
Ardmore and
Whenuapai.
|
An aerial view of the city |
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 (1,000 m²) sections - a tradition that survives despite frequent subdivision. To this day, a large percentage of the houses in Auckland only have one full story. Due to these factors, Auckland is a largely suburban, low-density 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.
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 worked from home or from relocated offices in the suburbs. Many of the 6,000 apartment dwellers in the area had to find alternative accommodation.
|
Approaching Rangitoto Island from Auckland |
Volcanoes
Auckland straddles the
volcanoes of the
Auckland Volcanic Field. The 50 volcanic vents in the field take the form of cones, lakes, lagoons, islands and depressions, and several have produced extensive lava flows. Most of the cones have been partly or completely quarried away. The volcanoes are all individually extinct although the volcanic field itself is merely dormant. The most recent and by far the largest volcano,
Rangitoto Island, was formed within the last 1000 years, and its eruptions destroyed the Māori settlements on neighbouring
Motutapu Island. Rangitoto's size, its symmetry, its position guarding the entrance to
Waitemata Harbour and its visibility from many parts of the Auckland region make it Auckland's most iconic natural feature. It is eerily quiet as almost no birds and insects have settled on the island because of the rich acidic soil and type of flora that has adapted to grow out of the black broken rocky soil.
Isthmus and harbours
|
Auckland CBD looking across the harbour from Mission Bay |
Auckland lies on and around an
isthmus, less than two km wide at its narrowest point, between
Mangere Inlet and
Tamaki River. There are two harbours in the Auckland urban area surrounding this isthmus,
Waitemata Harbour to the north, which opens east to the
Hauraki Gulf, and
Manukau Harbour to the south, which opens west to the
Tasman Sea.
Bridges span both of these harbours,
Auckland Harbour Bridge on Waitemata Harbour and
Mangere Bridge on Manukau Harbour.
Climate
Auckland has a warm-temperate climate, with warm, humid summers and cool, damp winters. January temperatures average 21-24
°C. February can be warmer than January, but temperatures rarely exceed 30
°C July maximum temperatures average 14-16 °C. High levels of rainfall occur almost year-round (over 1100 mm per year), especially in winter. Climatic conditions vary in different parts of the city owing to geography such as hills, land cover and distance from the sea. On
27 July 1939 Auckland received its only recorded snow fall
This is unlike some
South Island cities, which may get snow most years -
Christchurch regularly gets snow down to
sea level.
As car ownership rates are very high, and emissions controls relatively weak in New Zealand, Auckland suffers from an elevated level of
air pollution. This can sometimes be visible as
smog, especially on calm winter days. However, the maritime local climate ensures that most pollution is eventually dispersed, and thus the smog levels never reach levels as seen, for example, in
Los Angeles or
Mexico City.
Cultures
Main article Culture of New ZealandAuckland serves as a home to many cultures. The majority of inhabitants claim European — predominantly British — descent, but substantial
Māori,
Pacific Islander and
Asian communities exist as well. Auckland has the largest
Polynesian population of any city in the world. A large proportion of the population is also made up of people of
Asian origin (mainly
East Asian and
South Asian). This is due to New Zealand's world-leading level of immigration, which flows primarily into Auckland. Ethnic groups from all corners of the world have a presence in Auckland, making it by far the country's most
cosmopolitan city. It is estimated that over 14 people from other countries immigrate to Auckland every day.
The 2001
New Zealand Census showed that:
* 66.9% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to
European ethnic groups.
* 14.9% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to
Pacific ethnic groups.
* 14.6% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to
Asian ethnic groups.
* 11.5% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to the
Māori ethnic group.
* 1.3% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to other ethnic groups.
(Note that these percentages do not add up to 100%, as some people belong to more than one ethnic group).
Religion
Like the rest of the country, more than half of Aucklanders are nominally
Christian, but fewer than 10% regularly attend church and almost 40% profess no religious affiliation (2001 census figures). The main denominations are
Anglican,
Presbyterian and
Roman Catholic.
Pentecostal and
charismatic churches are the fastest growing. The charismatic and
fundamentalist Destiny Church, headquartered in Auckland, has gained headlines because of its political activities. A higher percentage of
Polynesian immigrants are regular churchgoers than other Aucklanders, although church attendance drops off in second- or third-generation Polynesian Aucklanders. Other immigrant cultures have added to the religious diversity of the city, adding faiths such as
Buddhism,
Hinduism,
Islam and
Sikhism to Auckland's religious landscape. There is also a small, long-established
Jewish community. There is an even smaller
Rationalist group.
Attractive aspects of Auckland life are its mild climate, plentiful employment and educational opportunities, and numerous leisure facilities. For quality of life, Auckland currently ranks 5th behind
Zurich and
Geneva in a survey of the world's top 55 cities. (Link:
Mercer Consulting quality of life survey)
Auckland placed 31st on the UBS list of the world's richest cities.
Leisure
Auckland is popularly known as the "City of Sails" because the harbour is often dotted with hundreds of yachts and has more per capita than any other city in the world.
Viaduct Basin hosted two
America's Cup challenges, and its cafes, restaurants, and clubs add to Auckland's vibrant nightlife. High Street,
Queen Street, Ponsonby Road, and
Karangahape Road are also very popular with urban socialites.
Newmarket and Parnell are upmarket shopping centres.
Otara's and
Avondale's famous fleamarkets and Victoria Park Market are a colourful alternative shopping experience.
Waitemata Harbour has popular beaches at
Mission Bay,
Devonport,
Takapuna, Long Bay and Maraetai, and the west coast has popular surf spots at
Piha and
Muriwai. Many Auckland beaches are patrolled by
surf lifesaving clubs which are part of
Surf Life Saving Northern Region.
Pleasant ferry trips go to Devonport,
Waiheke Island and Rangitoto Island. Pleasant picnic spots are at
Auckland Domain,
Albert Park,
One Tree Hill Domain and
Western Springs. Auckland has its fair share of rugby and cricket grounds (notably
Eden Park), and venues for motorsports, tennis, badminton, swimming, soccer, rugby league, and many other sports.
Every year in March, an 8.4-km (5.2-mile)
fun-run known as "Round the Bays" starts in the city and goes along the waterfront to the suburb of
St Heliers. It attracts many tens of thousands of people and has been an annual event since
1972.
The Auckland Town Hall and Aotea Centre host conferences and cultural events such as theatre,
kapa haka, and opera. Many national treasures are displayed at the
Auckland Art Gallery, such as the work of
Colin McCahon. Other significant cultural artefacts reside at the
Auckland War Memorial Museum, the
National Maritime Museum, and the
Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). Exotic creatures can be observed at the
Auckland Zoo and
Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World. Movies and rock concerts (notably, the "
Big Day Out") are also well patronised.
Work
Every business day, many professional workers commute from all points of the region to downtown Auckland. Most major international corporations have an Auckland office. The most expensive office space is around lower Queen Street and the Viaduct Basin. A large proportion of the technical and trades workforce is based in the industrial zones of
South Auckland.
Housing
Housing varies considerably between suburbs from 1950's state funded rental houses in the lower income neighbourhoods to palatial waterfront estates. The most common residence of Aucklanders is a bungalow on a "
quarter acre" (1,000 m²), with the resulting large urban sprawl and reliance on motor vehicles. The regional council is trying to curb this trend, with housing density strategies such as more townhouses and apartments, and prohibiting subdivision of properties on the city fringes.
In some areas, the Victorian
bay villas are being increasingly torn down to make way for large plaster mansions with tennis courts and swimming pools. The rampant demolition of the older properties is being combatted by the Auckland City Council passing laws that cover heritage suburbs or streets.
|
Panoramic view over Auckland from Mount Eden |
Main article Transport in AucklandAuckland is very dependent on car use as its main form of transport. With public transport use having declined heavily during the second half of the 20th century, while spending on roads and motorways rose, New Zealand (and specifically Auckland) now has a car ownership rate higher than most other parts of the world, with one car per two inhabtants.
[North Shore City Council website, 'Sustainable Transport' [1]] This focus has been partly due to the low population density of the Auckland region (again, similar to New Zealandin general terms), which makes public transport much less cost-effective compared to many urban centres in other parts of the world. Auckland thus suffers from associated problems like congestion on the main routes and vehicle-traffic-induced pollution.
Auckland is connected to the surrounding cities and the rest of New Zealand by a number of motorways, mainly to
Waitakere City,
North Shore City and
Manukau City.
Auckland also has two main railway trunk lines, going in the general western and southern directions from the
Britomart Transport Centre in downtown Auckland. A large system of bus lines is getting improved patronage and better service as more money and political / planning attention is being spent on it during the last decade, but is still perceived as lacking in quality. Public transport use is still very in terms of the
modal share.
Auckland, specifically the harbor downtown, is also connected to various outlying coastal suburbs and other towns via ferries. The same ferry terminal also services outlying islands for commuters and tourists.
The following is a list of tourist attractions and landmarks in the Auckland Metropolitan Area.
* Auckland's
Sky Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the
Southern Hemisphere, stands 328 m tall.
*
Mount Eden's summit offers a nice view of Auckland and the surrounding area. It is the highest point in Auckland. However, there is local concern about the environmental impact the large numbers of tourist buses are having on the cone - they're said to be literally (if slowly) squashing it.
*
One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie) - a volcanic cone which dominates the skyline in the southern, inner suburbs. It no longer has a tree on the summit.
*
Mount Victoria although slightly out-of-the-way for the casual tourist, offers a spectacular view of the city. A brisk walk from the Devonport Ferry terminal, the cone is steeped in history as is the nearby North Head.
*
Rangitoto Island - guards the entrance to Waitemata Harbour, and forms a prominent feature on the eastern horizon.
*
Eden Park - the city's primary
stadium and a frequent home for
All Blacks rugby and
Black Caps cricket matches.
*
Mt Smart Stadium - a stadium used mainly for
rugby league and
soccer matches. Also used for concerts.
*
Western Springs Stadium - a natural
amphitheatre used mainly for
speedway races,
rock and
pop concerts.
*
Aotea Square,
Queen Street and
Karangahape Road- the hub of downtown Auckland.
*
Auckland Harbour Bridge - connecting Auckland and the
North Shore is an iconic symbol of Auckland.
*
Viaduct Basin - Marina in downtown Auckland, venue for the America's Cup regatta 2000 and 2003. It is now a thriving commercial centre.
*
Botany Town Centre, Howick - a complete shopping complex, one of the largest in Auckland includes a cinema, bowling alley, food court and many shops to visit.
*
Sylvia Park - a shopping complex in
Mount Wellington opened in June 2006. Once completed it will become one of the largest malls in the southern hemisphere. It contains the largest
Warehouse store in New Zealand.
*
Auckland City*
Auckland (region)*
Jafa*
Los Angeles,
United States*
Brisbane,
Australia*
Guangzhou, the
People's Republic of China*
Fukuoka,
Japan*
Busan,
South Korea*
Auckland City Council - Official website
*
Auckland.Wiki - An independent editable guide to Auckland.
*
Auckland Museum*
Auckland Transport Website*
* .
