- History of Auckland
The human history of the
Auckland metropolitan area stretches from earlyMāori settlers in the14th century to the first European explorers in the late18th century , over a short stretch as the official capital of (European-settled)New Zealand in the middle of the19th century to its current position as the fastest-growing and commercially dominatingmetropolis of the country.Māori occupation
Pre-European occupation
"Tāmaki Makau Rau" ('Isthmus of one thousand lovers', also translated as 'Tamaki-the bride sought by a hundred suitors'), [ [http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/managementplans/victoriapark/history.asp Historical Context] (from the
Auckland City Council website, Victoria Park Management Plan)] now known as Auckland, was first settled byMāori people around 1350. The narrow Aucklandisthmus was a strategic location with its two harbours providing access to the sea on both the west and east coasts. It also had fertile soils which facilitatedhorticulture and the two harbours provided plentiful "kai moana" (seafood ). Māori constructed terraced "pā" (fortified villages) on the volcanic peaks. The Māori population in the region is estimated to have peaked at 20,000 in pre-European settlement times. Earthworks are still evident today around some of the larger volcanoes such as Mount Albert,Mount Eden and One Tree Hill.Arrival of Europeans
Ngāti Whātua andTainui were the main tribes living in the area when Europeans arrived, having captured it by conquest several generations previously. The arrival of Europeans in New Zealand changed the balance of power between "iwi ", as European settlement to the north enabled traditional rivalsNgāpuhi and allied northern iwi to acquire muskets by trade. Initially no military advantage accrued; despite lacking muskets, Ngāti Whātua defeated musket-equipped Ngāpuhi in the battle ofMoremonui , killing 2,000. However once Ngāpuhi became skilled with muskets, they displaced Māori from the Auckland area in a series of campaigns over the 1820s.Āpihai Te Kawau (c. 1760-1869), leader of the Ngāti Taou
hapu , was a good friend ofSamuel 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 "pā" from Hongi Hika's Ngāpuhi forces.Europeans also brought new diseases (notably
smallpox andtuberculosis ) which, as elsewhere, lead to significant mortality and morbidity amongst immunologically naive Māori. The result was the Auckland isthmus remained a virtually vacated buffer zone between "iwi", with a population probably under 500 in 1840.As the
Musket Wars drew to a close, pressure for British intervention to quell lawlessness, in large part driven by missionary pressure to protect the Māori, led to the annexation of New Zealand and the despatch of Lt Governor Hobson to sign theTreaty of Waitangi in1840 . (James Cook had claimed New Zealand for Britain by right of discovery, and though New Zealand was part ofNew South Wales from 1788 until 1840, the Crown did not formally claim the country until 1840. [ SeeHistory of New Zealand .] )By 1840 Te Kawau had become the paramount chief of Ngāti Whātua. Cautious of reprisals from the Ngāpuhi 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 to the
Bay of Islands to make the offer and signed theTreaty of Waitangi on20 March . [ [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/K/TeKawauApihai/TeKawauApihai/en Te Kawau, Apihai] (from Te Ara: The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966)]As the 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". By the end of the 1840s, Māori were a minority in the Auckland area. Despite scares during theNew Zealand wars , Māori re-emerged as a cultural and political force only after theBastion Point occupation and Māori cultural revival of the late 20th century. [ [http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/NgatiWhatua/en Ngati Whatua] (from Te Ara: The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966)] [ [http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/auckland/introduction/ngatiwhatua/default.asp Ngāti Whātua history] (from theAuckland City Council website)]Birth of the city
Capital of New Zealand
After the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840 the new Governor of New Zealand,William Hobson , had the task of choosing acapital for the colony. At the time, the main European settlements were in theBay 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.Even in 1840
Port Nicholson (nowWellington Harbour ) seemed the obvious choice for an administrative capital. Centrally situated at the south of theNorth Island , close to theSouth Island and growing fast, it had a lot to commend it. But theNew Zealand Company and theWakefield brothers had founded and continued to dominate Port Nicholson.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 ofWaitematā Harbour as his future capital, while setting up a temporary capital atOkiato (also known now as Old Russell) in the Bay of Islands. The Chief Magistrate, CaptainWilliam Cornwallis Symonds , soon purchased the further land from Ngāti Whātua, The sale price for the initial 3,000acres (12 km²) was for cash and goods to the value of £341.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 inTainui 's fertileWaikato andHauraki Plains for the Australian prison colonies andSydney market.Hobson’s barque, the "Anna Watson", arrived in Auckland Harbour on 15 September 1840. By coincidence, three days before the "Platina" had arrived looking for Hobson. This ship carried 130 colonists and a prefabricated Governor's residence, which was modelled on
Napoleon Bonaparte ’s prison fromSt Helena . A foundation ceremony took place at 1.00 pm on18 September 1840, probably on the higher ground at the top end of present-day Queen Street. Hobson named the new settlement in honour ofGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland , a patron and his friend. The "New Zealand Government Gazette" announced royal approval of the name on26 November 1842.From the outset a steady flow of new arrivals from within New Zealand and from overseas came to the new capital. The first European settlers in Auckland,
William Brown andJohn Logan Campbell , had arrived a month earlier on a hunch about Hobson’s intentions and bought Browns Island. Soon after Hobson founded Auckland, they built the city’s first house, Acacia Cottage, which can still be seen on the side of One Tree Hill, in the park that Campbell donated to the city in his old age.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, in areas likeFreemans Bay . This social division still persists somewhat in modern Auckland, with the eastern suburbs generally being more upscale.Auckland was the seat of
Auckland Province from 1853 until the abolition of provinces in 1876.Loss of capital status
Eventually in
1865 ,Port Nicholson became the capital and, now known asWellington , remains so today. The advantages of a central position became even more obvious as theSouth Island grew in prosperity with the discovery ofgold inOtago , and with the development of sheep farming andrefrigeration , especiallyrefrigerated ship s which allowed chilled meat to be safely shipped to Britain. Parliament met for the first time inWellington in 1862. In 1868 Government House moved there too.Growth of the city
Auckland formed a base for Governor George Grey's operations against the
Māori King Movement in the early 1860s. Grey's modus operandi involved opening up theWaikato andKing Country by building roads, most notablyGreat 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 ofPākehā influence and law to theSouth Auckland region. Auckland grew fairly rapidly, from 1,500 in 1841 to 12,423 by 1864, with most growth occurring in close proximity to the port area inCommercial Bay , as well as some small developments towardsOnehunga (another port), and at a few favoured spots beside the harbour. During the mid 19th century, European settlement of New Zealand was predominantly in theSouth Island . Auckland however gradually became the commercial capital. Market gardens were planted on the outskirts, whilekauri tree logging and gum digging opened up theWaitakere Ranges .Throughout the 19th century Auckland’s intense urban growth concentrated around the port in a very similar manner to most other
mercantile cities. At this time Auckland experienced many of the pollution and overcrowding problems that plagued other 19th century cities, although as primarily a port rather than a manufacturing centre it avoided large-scaleindustrialisation , and by 1900, Auckland was the largest New Zealand city. The overcrowding of the inner city had by then created a strong demand for the city to expand, which was made possible whentrams appeared in New Zealand around this time, supported by ferry services, mostly to what would becomeNorth Shore City .A Russian scare at the end of the 19th century had caused coastal guns to be bought and fortifications built, notably at North Head and on
Waiheke Island , where they can still be seen.Twentieth century
New transport and urban sprawl
While trams and railway lines shaped Auckland's rapid extension in the early first half of the 20th century, they were soon overtaken by motor vehicles, with Auckland boasting one of the highest car-ownership rates of the world even before
World War II . Their growing popularity meant that urban development was freed from narrow corridors, and could occur anywhere new roads were built, leading to a rapid decentralisation, with urban growth spreading all over the isthmus. In 1959 the newAuckland Harbour Bridge linked North Shore with the city, further extending its reach.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 . Again, coastal fortifications were built or extended, with a large military base onRangitoto Island storing mines supposed to block the innerHauraki Gulf in the event of an impending Japanese invasion, which in the end never came to pass.Following the initiative of
Michael Joseph Savage 'sNew Zealand Labour Party large numbers of state houses were constructed through the late 1930s, '40s and '50s,Fact|date=August 2007 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.1985 "Rainbow Warrior" bombing
The
Greenpeace flagship craft, the "Rainbow Warrior", was docked in the Port of Auckland in July 1985 awaiting departure to lead a flotilla ofyacht s protesting against Frenchnuclear testing atMururoa Atoll in theTuamotu Archipelago ofFrench Polynesia . Just before midnightNZST onJuly 10 ,1985 , two explosive devices attached to the hull by operatives of the French intelligence service (DGSE ) were detonated, creating a gaping hole in the side of the vessel. The ship began to sink rapidly, the crew were evacuated but one crew member,Fernando Pereira , drowned on the sinking ship. Two of the French agents were subsequently arrested by theNew Zealand Police onpassport fraud andimmigration charges.Problems in infrastructure
In 1993, the Police Eagle helicopter and a traffic-spotting plane collided in mid-area, falling to the packed motorway below during Friday night rush hour. Four people died and traffic became grid-locked over much of the inner city. [cite web|url=http://www.aucklandfirepolice.org.nz/history_responses.html|title=Our History - Responses|publisher=Auckland Volunteer Fire Police Unit]
All four electrical power cables supplying the Central Business District failed on
20 February 1998, causing the1998 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.Mercury Energy , operators of the cable that failed, had to spend many millions of dollars on the temporary cable, and compensation for local businesses.The
2006 Auckland Blackout showcased the fact that Auckland's power-supply infrastructure is still very vulnerable to disruption. A faulty powerline shackle caused a short-circuit at theOtahuhu substation, with the blackout affecting wide parts of the conurbation, including the CBD, but sparing most ofWaitakere City andNorth Shore City . While the blackout lasted only about half a day, it reignited political pressure aiming to improve the national electricity grid.References
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