Māori history Origins ) The area was settled early in
Māori history, by people arriving on
Māori migration canoes such as the
Moekākara and
Tainui. Māori settlement of the
Auckland region began at least 800 years ago, in the 13th century or earlier. Some of the first tribal identities that developed for
Tāmaki Māori who settled in West Auckland include Tini o Maruiwi,
Ngā Oho and Ngā Iwi. One of the earliest individuals associated with the area is Tiriwa, a chief of the supernatural
Tūrehu people, who is involved with the traditional story of the creation of
Rangitoto Island, by uplifting it from
Karekare on the west coast. The early Polynesian navigator
Kupe visited the west coast. The
Tasman Sea alongside the coast was named after Kupe, and traditional stories tell of his visit to
Paratutae Island, leaving paddle marks in the cliffs of the island to commemorate his visit.
Early settlement Most Māori settlements in West Auckland centred around the west coast beaches and the Waitākere River valley, especially at
Te Henga / Bethells Beach. Instead of living in permanent settlements, Te Kawerau ā Maki and other earlier Tāmaki Māori groups seasonally migrated across the region. The west coast was well known for its abundant seafood and productive soil, where crops such as
kūmara,
taro,
hue (calabash/bottle gourd) and
aruhe could be grown, and for the diversity of birds, eels, crayfish and berries found in the ranges. Archaeological investigations of
middens show evidence of regional trade between different early Māori peoples, including
pipi,
cockles and mud-snail shells not native to the area. Unlike most defensive
pā found on the Auckland isthmus, not many Waitākere pā used defensive ditchwork, instead preferring natural barriers. Few settlements were found in the central Waitākere Ranges or in the modern urban centres of West Auckland. Some notable exceptions were near the portages where
waka could be hauled between the three harbours of West Auckland:
Te Tōangaroa, the portage linking the
Kaipara Harbour in the north to the Waitematā Harbour via the
Kaipara River and
Kumeū River; and
Te Tōanga Waka, the
Whau River portage linking the Waitematā Harbour to the
Manukau Harbour in the south. While Te Kawerau ā Maki remained neutral, the battle of Te-Rangi-hinganga-tahi, in which the Waiohua paramount chief
Kiwi Tāmaki was killed, was held at Paruroa (
Big Muddy Creek) on Te Kawerau ā Maki lands. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Te Kawerau ā Maki were only rarely directly contacted by Europeans, instead primarily receiving European products such as potatoes and pigs through neighbouring Tāmaki Māori tribes. Significant numbers of Te Kawerau ā Maki lost their lives due to
influenza and the
Musket Wars of the 1820s. After a period of exile from the region, Te Kawerau ā Maki returned to their lands, primarily settling at a musket pā at Te Henga / Bethells Beach.
European history The Cornwallis settlement and the establishment of Auckland settlement shown on an 1853 map of the
Manukau Harbour The earliest permanent European settlement in the Auckland region was the
Cornwallis, which was settled in 1835 by Australian timber merchant Thomas Mitchell. Helped by
William White of the
English Wesleyan Mission, Mitchell negotiated with the chief
Āpihai Te Kawau of Ngāti Whātua for the purchase of of land in West Auckland on the shores of the
Manukau Harbour. After establishing a timber mill in 1836, Mitchell drowned only months later, and the land was sold to Captain
William Cornwallis Symonds. In 1840 after the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi, paramount chief Āpihai Te Kawau made a
tuku (strategic gift) of land on the Waitematā Harbour to
William Hobson, the first Governor of New Zealand, as a location for the capital of the colony of New Zealand. This location became the modern city of
Auckland. Many further
tuku and land purchases were made; the earliest in West Auckland were organised by Ngāti Whātua, without the knowledge or consent of the senior rangatira of Te Kawerau ā Maki, however some purchases in the 1850s involved the iwi.
Early settlements in the 1890s, with the township of
Henderson's Mill in the distance In 1844, of land at Te Atatū and Henderson were sold to
Thomas Henderson and John Macfarlane, who established a kauri logging sawmill on Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek. Communities developed around the kauri logging business at
Riverhead and Helensville, which were later important trade centres for the
kauri gum industry that developed in the Waitākere Ranges foothills. The line was extended to
Henderson by December, and to
Helensville by July 1881. and the
Lower Nihotupu Reservoir in 1948. The construction of the Waitākere Dam permanently reduced the flow of the Waitākere River, greatly impacting the Te Kawerau ā Maki community at Te Henga / Bethells Beach. Between the 1910s and 1950s, most members of Te Kawerau ā Maki moved away from their traditional rohe, in search of employment or community with other Māori. After the construction of the dams, the Nihotupu and Huia areas reforested in native bush. The native forest left a strong impression on residents who lived in these communities, and was one of the major factors that sparked the campaign for the Waitākere Ranges to become a nature reserve. The Auckland Centennial Memorial Park, which opened in 1940, was formed from various pockets of land that had been reserved by the
Auckland City Council starting in 1895.
Titirangi resident Arthur Mead, the principal engineer who created the Waitākere Ranges dams, lobbied the city council and negotiated with landowners to expand the park. Owing to the efforts of Mead, the park had tripled in size by 1964, when it became the
Waitākere Ranges Regional Park.
Urban development was a major employer in West Auckland until the 1980s (pictured: a ceramic swan vase produced by Crown Lynn, dating to the late 1940s/early 1950s) By the early 1950s, four major centres had developed to the west of Auckland: New Lynn, Henderson, Helensville and Glen Eden. These areas had large enough populations to become boroughs with their own local government, splitting from the rural Waitemata County. Over the next 20 years, the area saw an explosion in population, driven by the construction of the Northwestern Motorway and the development of low-cost housing at Te Atatū,
Rānui and
Massey. By this time, the area was no longer seen as scattered rural communities, and had developed into satellite suburbs of Auckland. The post-war years saw widespread migration of Māori from rural areas to West Auckland. This happened a second time in the 1970s, as
urban Māori communities moved away from the inner suburbs of Auckland to areas such as Te Atatū. In 1980,
Hoani Waititi Marae opened in West Auckland, to serve the urban Māori population of West Auckland. By the mid-2000s, West Auckland had the largest
Ngāpuhi population in the country outside of
Northland. Similarly, areas such as Rānui and Massey developed as centres for
Pasifika New Zealander communities. The New Zealand Brick Tile and Pottery Company diversified and expanded into
china production to supply local markets and American troops during
World War II. Under the name
Crown Lynn, the company developed into the largest pottery in the Southern Hemisphere. In 1963,
LynnMall opened, becoming the first American-style shopping mall in New Zealand. It quickly became a major centre for retail in Auckland. The Henderson Borough Council wanted to replicate this success, and in 1968 opened Henderson Square, now known as
WestCity Waitakere. In 1975, West Auckland was connected to the
North Shore when the
Upper Harbour Bridge was constructed across the
Upper Waitematā Harbour. In the late 1980s, the Crown Lynn factory closed due to competition from overseas imports. ==Demographics==