Foundation Plaque, Papakura District CourtPapakura district (boundary red, urban area orange) in relation to the Auckland metropolitan area (grey)
Papakura District was a local council territory in New Zealand'sAuckland Region that was governed by the Papakura District Council from 1989 until 2010. The area makes up the southernmost part of the Auckland metropolitan area.
The area was originally a small independent city, until it became Papakura District in the 1989 reorganisation of New Zealand's local governments, and has now been overtaken by Auckland's urban sprawl. The district is flanked by beaches on the Manukau Harbour to the west, Manukau City to the north and east, and had Franklin District to the south.
Geography
In 2010, Papakura District boundaries covered 123 square kilometres and the centre of the district was located 32km from downtown Auckland.
The geography of the district encompasses fertile plains, the inlets and foreshores of the Manukau Harbour, and the rolling foothills of the Hunua Range; a relatively narrow but strategically well positioned narrow span of land between the Hauraki Gulf and the Manukau Harbour. Much of the district– particularly in the west– is flat to rolling land. There is extensive peat soil in the Takanini area, which was once a vast wetland and peat bog. In the east, low-to-medium-sized foothills lead out into the Hunua range.
Keri Hill has pastoral lifestyle blocks overlooking Ardmore; Pukekiwiriki offered a strategic vantage point for the indigenous Maori people, but is now a popular suburb; Pahurehure has a harbourside setting on the eastern reaches of Manukau Harbour. Drury is the first genuine country town south of Auckland, and Takanini is Papakura's main industrial zone.
Suburbs
The district was arranged into four wards during the existence of the Papakura District Council, now the entire area makes up a Papakura Local Board in the new Auckland Council territory.
In the major reformation of local government in 1989, Papakura became a district. Prior to that time, a smaller area was known as Papakura City, which was a small city of New Zealand, but the new area included parts of the surrounding rural countryside that had previously been part of Manukau City. After the major change Papakura City became Papakura District, part of the Auckland Region. The whole district counted as part of the Auckland urban area for statistical purposes, forming part of its southern boundary.
On 1 November 2010, the Papakura District Council was merged into the new Auckland Council. All council facilities and services were handed over to the new council.
People
Papakura District's population is estimated to be growing at three times the rate of New Zealand as a whole and is predominantly European. Over 60% residents living in Papakura District belong to the European ethnic group and 36% belong to Maori and Pacific Islander group.[2] The city council is planning for Papakura's population to more than double by 2050.[3]
In addition to the local council chambers, Papakura is served by a large Police Department; one of Auckland's busiest stations, a District Courthouse, and a WINZ office. In 2004, the Papakura Courthouse acted as the Supreme Court for Pitcairn Island.
Papakura District Court
The Papakura District Court was opened by the Hon. Geoffrey Palmer, then Minister of Justice, on 19 May 1986. At present, it is home to two Resident District Court Judges. It has 2 main court rooms used primarily for criminal hearings, a smaller court room used for Family Court hearings, a disputes hearing room and Registrar's hearing room for all criminal first appearances. One of the criminal court rooms is fitted out to hold jury trials, but is no longer used for that purpose, with all trials arising out of local incidents being held at the much larger Manukau District Court.
Armed Forces
Papakura once served a significant military population, but now only the SAS special forces are based at Papakura.[4] Nearby houses were originally Army Homes, but are now privately owned homes.
Overview of Papakura station, viewed from Clevedon Road
Auckland's southern motorway and the North Island Main Trunk railway run through the Papakura District and a large airfield is located nearby at Ardmore. Train and bus services provide the bulk of public transport, with frequent trains on the Southern Line between Papakura and the CBD (Britomart). Recent investment has focused on upgrading and refurbishing the region's trains and suburban railway stations, most recently with the opening of a modern station facility at the town centre. Papakura is the final stop for most southbound public transport in Auckland, and Papakura is the third busiest station on the rail network. Drawn by frequent services into and out of the city, rail commuters come from Papakura itself, Franklin County and the northern Waikato. Though the motorway and Great South Road flow relatively freely at peak times, road commuters are affected by the acute traffic congestion as they get closer to metropolitan Auckland.
Ardmore Airport
Ardmore Airport serves recreational aviators, private and commercial flights. It is the busiest airport in New Zealand based on aircraft movements, and is home to a wide range of innovative small to medium-sized aerospace businesses and popular among the non-commercial aviation sector.
Papakura War Memorial on Great South Road.
Recreation
Some notable sports facilities include an indoor-outdoor swimming pool, an international-quality athletics track, a sports stadium, and venues for rugby, netball, golf, tennis, badminton, soccer, and many other sports. The council also operates a library and a theatre. Papakura also has a number of skate parks, a skate bowl and an extensive BMX track that regularly hosts major cycling events.
Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is also referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does not encompass areas such as East Auckland, which was within the city boundary. It was a relatively young city, both in terms of legal status and large-scale settlement – though in June 2010, it was the third largest in New Zealand, and the fastest growing. In the same year, the entire Auckland Region was amalgamated under a single city authority, Auckland Council.
Franklin District was a New Zealand territorial authority that lay between the Auckland metropolitan area and the Waikato Plains. As a formal territory, it was abolished on 31 October 2010 and divided between Auckland Council in the Auckland Region to the north and Waikato and Hauraki districts in the Waikato region to the south and east. The Auckland portion is now part of the Franklin Ward, which also includes rural parts of the former Manukau City.
Takanini is a southern suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, 28 kilometres southeast of the Auckland CBD.
Auckland is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing 34 percent of the nation's residents, it has by far the largest population and economy of any region of New Zealand, but the second-smallest land area.
Drury is a rural town near Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Located 36 kilometres to the south of Auckland CBD, under authority of the Auckland Council. Drury lies at the southern border of the Auckland metropolitan area, 12 kilometres to the northeast of Pukekohe, close to the Papakura Channel, an arm of the Manukau Harbour.
South Auckland is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki Māori since at least the 14th century, and has important archaeological sites, such as the Ōtuataua stonefield gardens at Ihumātao, and Māngere Mountain, a former pā site important to Waiohua tribes.
Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located 6 km (3.7 mi) south of Manukau Central, and 26 km (16 mi) southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa has a high proportion of non-European ethnicities, making it one of the most multi-cultural suburbs in New Zealand. Employment for many is at the many companies of nearby Wiri, Papakura, and at the steel mill at Glenbrook.
Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland Region, was also governed by Auckland Regional Council. Auckland City was disestablished as a local authority on 1 November 2010, when Auckland City Council was amalgamated with other councils of the Auckland Region into the new Auckland Council. At the time of its disestablishment, the city had a resident population of around 450,000.
Rosehill College is a New Zealand co-educational state secondary school located in the Rosehill area of Papakura in the Auckland region. The college opened on 3 February 1970, and is now the largest secondary school in the area.
Conifer Grove is an upper-middle class suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Located on the eastern shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, on the Manukau Harbour, under authority of the Auckland Council. Established in 1974 at the former site of a farm, the suburb makes up the western side of the Takanini urban area and is in the Manurewa-Papakura ward of Auckland. It includes the Waiata Shores subdivision developed by Fletcher Living in 2018, at the site of the former Manukau Golf Course.
Ardmore is a large rural locality of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the south-east of Auckland CBD, just 27 km away. Ardmore is in the Franklin Ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland, and is under local governance of Auckland Council.
Pahurehure is a suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the south-eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour, under the authority of the Auckland Council. The suburb makes up the southernmost part of the Auckland urban area.
Rosehill is a suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Located to the south of Pahurehure, under authority of the Auckland Council. The suburb makes up the southernmost part of the Auckland metropolitan area, and is located in the Manurewa-Papakura ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland city.
Papakura City was a city near Auckland, New Zealand. It existed from 1975 to 1989.
Papakura is a suburb of South Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately 32 kilometres (20 mi) south of the Auckland City Centre. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council.
The Hunua electorate existed three times for the New Zealand House of Representatives beginning in 1978, based at the south end of the Auckland urban area, and named for the Hunua Ranges. It covered different geographical areas over those periods. The electorate was last represented by Andrew Bayly of the National Party before its dissolution in 2020.
The Papakura Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of the Auckland Council. It is overseen by the Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor.
Franklin is a local government area in the southernmost part of New Zealand's Auckland Region, governed by the Franklin Local Board and Auckland Council. It currently aligns with the council's Franklin Ward.
Papakura is a local government area in Auckland, in New Zealand's Auckland Region. It is governed by the Papakura Local Board and Auckland Council. It is within the council's Manurewa-Papakura Ward.
The Pahurehure Inlet is an inlet of the Manukau Harbour of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is one of the three major inlets of the Manukau Harbour, alongside the Māngere Inlet and Waiuku Inlet.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
