Saint Heliers

Infobox New Zealand suburbs
name =St Heliers

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caption1 =St Heliers beach looking west towards Achilles Point
city1 =Auckland City
city2 =
ward =
established =
area =
population =6,339
popdate =
trainstations =
ferryterminals =
airports =
hospitals =
north =Hauraki Gulf
northeast =
east =Bucklands Beach
southeast =Glendowie
south =Glen Innes
southwest =Saint Johns
west =Orakei
northwest =Kohimarama


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Saint Heliers is a residential Auckland City suburb, located at the eastern end of the city, where the Tamaki estuary divides it from Manukau City.

This area was originally called Glen Orchard after Lieutenant-Colonel William Taylor's farm. Under later owners it was a stud farm managed by a Major Walmsley who apparently suggested the name Saint Heliers Bay because of its resemblance to the Bay of St Heliers, a fashionable holiday resort on the Channel Island of Jersey.

The "St Heliers and Northcote Land Company" was formed in 1882. The purpose of this company was not only to sell land but to provide a horse tram service for Auckland. Land sales were poor and the scheme eventually failed but the company did build a 1500 ft long pier at St Heliers before becoming insolvent.

St Heliers was usually reached by boat, the trip from Auckland taking only 30 minutes, whereas the eight mile land route via Newmarket, Remuera and Meadowbank was usually far too onerous. During this period St Heliers was a centre for local farmers and the location of the villas of a few rich business people. After Tamaki Drive was built in the late 1920s St Heliers became a commuter suburb and a destination for sunday drives, altering its genteel image.

The wharf is long gone but there is periodically talk of rebuilding it, especially when Tamaki Drive is gridlocked with traffic. Some years a temporary wharf is put in place during the summer months.

Geography

St Heliers has one relatively unknown volcano, which erupted as far as 50,000 years back. Its crater had formed a lake by the time Europeans arrived, and was later converted into the sports fields of Glover Park. On the seaward side, a pā has once stood, and the landward side is marked by the water tower at its highest point."St Heliers" - "City of Fire", insert magazine in the "The New Zealand Herald", Friday 15 February 2008]

Gallery

References

*"The Heart of Colonial Auckland, 1865-1910" - Terence Hodgson. Random Century NZ Ltd, 1992.
* "Delving Into The Past Of Auckland's Eastern Suburbs: Section 6, Saint Heliers Bay" - Elizabeth T. Jackson. Premier Print Services, 1976