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Manukau City
—  Territorial authority of New Zealand  —
The Manukau skyline looking northwest.
Nickname(s): South Auckland
Manukau City's location within New Zealand
Manukau City's location (shown in orange) within the Auckland metropolitan area. The darker orange indicates the urban area.
Country	New Zealand
Island	North Island
Region	Auckland
Wards	Botany-Clevedon, Howick, Mangere, Manurewa, Otara, Pakuranga, Papatoetoe
Government
- Mayor	Len Brown
Area
- Total	683 km2 (263.7 sq mi)
Population (June 2009 estimate)[1]
- Total	368,500
- Density	539.5/km2 (1,397.4/sq mi)
Time zone	NZST (UTC+12)
- Summer (DST)	NZDT (UTC+13)
Area code(s)	09
Website	http://www.manukau.govt.nz/ http://www.arc.govt.nz/

Manukau City is a large city in the Auckland Region / Greater Auckland area of New Zealand. The city is sometimes referred to as South Auckland, but this term does not possess official recognition and does not encompass areas like East Auckland, which is within the official boundaries of Manukau City. Manukau City is a relatively young city, both in terms of legal status and large-scale settlement - though with a current size of 368,500 inhabitants (June 2009 estimate),^[1] it is also the third-largest in New Zealand as well as the country's fastest-growing.^[2]

The name Manukau, from the Manukau Harbour west of the city, is of Māori origin, and means 'wading birds',^{[citation needed]} although it has been suggested that the name of the harbour was also sometimes rendered as Mānuka, meaning a marker post with which an early chief is said to have claimed the area.^[3]

[edit] History

Manukau City was formed by the amalgamation of Manukau County and Manurewa Borough in 1965. The city expanded in 1989 with New Zealand-wide reorganisation of local government to include Papatoetoe City and Howick Borough. However, some land was lost in the formation of Papakura District at the same time.

[edit] Geography

The Manukau City area is concentrated immediately to the south of the Otahuhu isthmus, the narrowest connection between Auckland City and the Northland region and the rest of the north island. At its narrowest, between the Otahuhu Creek arm of the Tamaki River (itself an estuarial arm of the Hauraki Gulf) in the east and the Mangere Inlet (an arm of the Manukau Harbour) to the west, the isthmus is only some 1500 metres across.

The area to the south of the isthmus contains the heart of Manukau, sprawled on either side of State Highways 1 and 20, the latter of which approaches from the west after crossing Mangere Bridge. The area known as Manukau Central is located close to the junction of these two highways, some 20 kilometres southeast of the centre of Auckland city.

Considerable rural and semi-rural land to the east of Manukau central is also within the city's limits. This extends towards the Hunua Ranges close to the Firth of Thames, and takes in such communities as Clevedon and Maraetai.

Beyond Manukau to the south lie Papakura and the Franklin District, which are less urban but still part of the Auckland Region and to some extent regarded as an integral part of Auckland's urban area.

Auckland Airport is located in Mangere, in the west of Manukau, close to the waters of the Manukau Harbour. Manukau includes the theme park Rainbow's End, and one of the oldest shopping malls in the country, now called Westfield Manukau City.

[edit] Transport

In 2009, work started on a passenger branch railway junctioning with the North Island Main Trunk at Puhinui. ^[4] The new branch will serve a univerity campus.

[edit] Population

For some years before the 1989 reorganisation of local government, the then Manukau City had the highest population of any city or district in the country.

Like most of the rest of the region, Manukau is ethnically diverse, and is home to many cultures, especially Māori and members of Polynesian ethnicities, with a recent concentration of Asians in and near Howick. It is densely populated by New Zealand standards, despite having very few apartments.

As of the late 2000s, slightly less than 50% of the city's population identifies as European, with 17% as Māori, 27% as Pacific and 15% as Asian, with the balance made up of other groups.^[2]

[edit] Schools

[edit] Wards and suburbs

Manukau City is divided into 7 wards. The names of wards and lists of main suburbs/towns are:

[edit] Prominent people

• Jim Anderton, former city councillor, who rose to be the country's Deputy Prime Minister
• Sir Barry Curtis, former long-serving Mayor, from 1983 to 2007
• David Lange, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Member of Parliament for Mangere.

[edit] Local government

The Manukau City Council is the elected local authority of the city.

[edit] Elected members

Elected members of the Manukau City Council, as of October 2007

[edit] Sister cities

• Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Manukau Directory and Info
• Manukau Street Map
• Manukau Libraries

Coordinates: 36°59′S 174°53′E / 36.983°S 174.883°E / -36.983; 174.883