Three Kings | |
|---|---|
| Big King from Mt Albert | |
| |
| Coordinates: 36°54′11″S174°45′17″E / 36.902926°S 174.754651°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| City | Auckland |
| Local authority | Auckland Council |
| Electoral ward | Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward |
| Local board | Puketāpapa Local Board |
| Area | |
| • Land | 139 ha (343 acres) |
| Population (June 2024) [2] | |
| • Total | 4,210 |
| Mount Eden | ||
| Mount Roskill | One Tree Hill, Royal Oak | |
| Hillsborough |
Three Kings (Māori : Terī Kingī) [3] is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand that is built around the Te Tātua-a-Riukiuta volcano. It is home to an ethnically diverse population of about 3,500 people.
Three Kings is located six kilometres south of the city centre, between the suburbs of Royal Oak and Mount Roskill.
Three Kings features a small shopping mall and supermarket complex called Three Kings Plaza. It also has a commercial area, and an accident and medical clinic. The Mount Roskill library is situated above the Fickling Convention Centre which hosts a wide range of community events.
Te Tātua-a-Riukiuta, also known as Three Kings, had three prominent peaks and a number of smaller peaks until most of them were quarried away, leaving a sole remaining large peak (often called Big King). It was probably the most complex volcano in the Auckland volcanic field. [4]
Three Kings covers 1.39 km2 (0.54 sq mi) [1] and had an estimated population of 4,210 as of June 2024, [2] with a population density of 3,029 people per km2.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 3,273 | — |
| 2013 | 3,333 | +0.26% |
| 2018 | 3,645 | +1.81% |
| Source: [5] | ||
Before the 2023 census, Three Kings had a significantly different boundary, covering 1.32 km2 (0.51 sq mi). [1] Using that boundary, Three Kings had a population of 3,645 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 312 people (9.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 372 people (11.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,206 households, comprising 1,743 males and 1,902 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female, with 741 people (20.3%) aged under 15 years, 909 (24.9%) aged 15 to 29, 1,641 (45.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 357 (9.8%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 48.5% European/Pākehā, 8.6% Māori, 19.9% Pacific peoples, 29.1% Asian, and 5.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 40.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 42.1% had no religion, 39.3% were Christian, 0.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 2.8% were Hindu, 5.1% were Muslim, 2.1% were Buddhist and 2.5% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,014 (34.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 378 (13.0%) people had no formal qualifications. 594 people (20.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,443 (49.7%) people were employed full-time, 432 (14.9%) were part-time, and 126 (4.3%) were unemployed. [5]
| Name | Area (km2) | Population | Density (per km2) | Households | Median age | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Kings West | 0.65 | 2,301 | 3,540 | 702 | 31.4 years | $23,600 [6] |
| Three Kings East | 0.67 | 1,344 | 2,006 | 504 | 36.1 years | $44,700 [7] |
| New Zealand | 37.4 years | $31,800 |
Three Kings School is a contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of 473 students. [8] The school opened in 1878 as Mt Roskill School, and was a focal point for the Three Kings area, hosting Friday night dances, and other events such as concerts and plays. In 1943, the school changed its name to Three Kings School. [9]
St Therese School is a state-integrated full primary Catholic school (years 1-8) with a roll of 79 students. [10] The school opened in 1946, and was founded by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. [9]
Central Auckland Specialist School is a school for students with high specialist educational needs. It has a roll of 209 students. [11] The school opened on 28 January 2018, after the merger of Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy and Sunnydene Special School. [12] Sunnydene Special School originally opened in 1934 on Queen Street, and moved to Mount Roskill in 1967. Carlson Cerebral Palsy School originally opened in 1954 on Gilles Avenue in Epsom and moved to Three Kings in 1973. [9]
All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of August 2024. [13]
The local state secondary school is Mount Roskill Grammar School. Catholic students attend Marcellin College (coed), St Peter's College (boys) or Marist College (girls). The local intermediate is Mount Roskill Intermediate.
Mount Wellington is a suburb in East Auckland, New Zealand, located 10 kilometres southeast of the city centre. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Stonefields, Tamaki, Panmure, Penrose, and Ellerslie, and by the Tamaki River. The suburb is named after the volcanic peak of Maungarei / Mount Wellington. Sylvia Park is a large business park and shopping centre located in the suburb.
Epsom is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in the centre of the Auckland isthmus between Mount Eden and Greenlane, south of Newmarket, and 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the Auckland City Centre.
Mount Albert is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, which is centred on Ōwairaka / Mount Albert, a local volcanic peak which dominates the landscape. By 1911, growth in the area had increased to the point where Mount Albert was declared an independent borough, which was later absorbed into Auckland. The suburb is located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the southwest of the Auckland City Centre.
Mount Roskill is a suburban area in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is named for the volcanic peak Puketāpapa.
Western Springs is a residential suburb in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located four kilometres to the west of the city centre, Auckland CBD. The park is situated to the north of State Highway 16 and the residential suburb is located southeast of the park on the opposite side of State Highway 16.

Mount Roskill Grammar School is a secondary school in the suburb of Mount Roskill, Auckland; it officially opened in 1953, The school has been noted for its relative academic success given its low socio-economic decile.
New Windsor, founded in 1865, is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the Auckland city centre, between Mount Albert, Blockhouse Bay, Mt Roskill and Avondale.
Lynfield is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of Auckland Council. The suburb is located on the southwestern Auckland isthmus bordering the Manukau Harbour, much of which is densely forested with native forest. Lynfield was developed for suburban housing in the late 1950s and 1960s, modelled after American-style suburbs.
Waikōwhai is an Auckland suburb, under the local governance of the Auckland Council. Waikōwhai has the largest block of native forest left on the Auckland isthmus. The block was considered the too infertile for farming and subsequently not cleared but given to the Wesley Mission. Today the forest block hosts a valuable sample of Auckland's original fauna and flora. Waikōwhai Walkway extends for 10 km (6.2 mi) linking Onehunga to Lynfield Cove.
Hillsborough is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. Hillsborough is a leafy suburb of 20th-century houses. The area is serviced by two shopping areas; Onehunga and Three Kings. The area is served by secondary schools Mount Roskill Grammar School and Marcellin College.
Wesley is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located in the south-west of the Auckland isthmus. The area is a part of the Oakley Creek catchment, and in the 19th and early 20th centuries was primarily swampland owned by the Weslayan Mission. The New Zealand Government developed Wesley as a state housing area in the 1940s and 1950s.
Ōwairaka is a suburb of New Zealand's largest city, Auckland. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. The area was primarily rural until the 1930s, when the area experienced suburban growth. Ōwairaka is known for the Owairaka Athletic Club, a club that came to prominence in the 1960s, due to the success of coach Arthur Lydiard and athletes Murray Halberg and Peter Snell.
The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland, including the CBD. The isthmus is located between two rias : the Waitematā Harbour to the north, which opens to the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana and Pacific Ocean, and the Manukau Harbour to the south, which opens to the Tasman Sea. The isthmus is the most southern section of the Northland Peninsula.
Mount Saint John, is a volcanic scoria cone and Tūpuna Maunga in Epsom, in the Auckland volcanic field of New Zealand.
Te Tātua a Riukiuta / Big King is a volcano and Tūpuna Maunga in Three Kings, New Zealand that erupted 28,500 years ago. The volcano had three prominent peaks known as Three Kings and a number of smaller peaks until most of them were quarried away, leaving a sole remaining large peak known as Big King.
Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 17th century. The rohe was primarily the central Tāmaki Makaurau area and they had pā at Te Tātua a Riukiuta, Puketāpapa, Te Ahi-kā-a-Rakataura, Maungakiekie, Maungawhau, Tītīkōpuke, Ōhinerau, Rangitotoiti, Taurarua, Rarotonga, Ōtāhuhu, Te Pane o Mataaoho, Ihumātao, Matukutūreia and Matukutūruru, until the 1740s, when the paramount Waiohua chief, Kiwi Tāmaki, was defeated by the Ngāti Whātua hapū, Te Taoū. The descendants of the Waiohua confederation today include, Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua and Te Ākitai Waiohua.
Mataaho is a Māori deity. Variously considered a god of earthquakes and eruptions, the guardian of the earth's secrets, the god of volcanic forces, or a giant, Mataaho is associated with many of the volcanic features in the Tāmaki Makaurau Region. In traditional Tāmaki Māori myths, Mataaho either creates the volcanic features of the landscape, or requests the gods to create them. Mataaho holds traditional significance for Te Kawerau ā Maki and Waiohua iwi, and is considered a tupuna (ancestor) of Te Ākitai Waiohua and Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua iwi.
Puketāpapa is a local government area in Auckland, in New Zealand's Auckland Region. It is governed by the Puketāpapa Local Board and Auckland Council, and is located within the council's Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa Ward.
Ngā Oho, also known as Ngā Ohomatakamokamo-o-Ohomairangi, is the name of a historical iwi (tribe) of Māori who settled in the Auckland Region. In the 17th century, Ngā Oho and two other tribes of shared heritage, Ngā Riki and Ngā Iwi, formed the Waiohua confederation of tribes.
The Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau are 14 volcanic cones that hold great historical, spiritual, ancestral and cultural significance to the 13 Māori iwi and hapū of Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau, who have owned them since 2014.