Māori history (also known as Pukekoiwiriki and Red Hill) was the location of a defended
pā site, which protected the
kāinga and gardens surrounding Pukekiwiriki (pictured: view from Red Hill in the 1960s) The
Auckland Region has been settled by
Māori since around the 13th or 14th centuries. Many
Māori migration canoes visited the wider area, including the
Matahourua,
Aotea,
Mātaatua,
Tainui,
Tākitimu,
Tokomaru,
Te Wakatūwhenua and
Moekākara. Papakura was the location of the
Papakura portage, which allowed people to haul
waka between the southeastern Manukau Harbour at Papakura in the west to the
Wairoa River in the east, likely along the path of the Old Wairoa Road. Other inland ("trails") existed between the Pahurehure Inlet, connecting to the
Waikato in the south. The site became a home for the
Tāmaki Māori people who descended from her, known as Ngā Mārama, who later became a part of the
Waiohua confederation. Around the year 1740, a conflict between
Ngāti Whātua and Waiohua led to the death of paramount chief
Kiwi Tāmaki. Many Waiohua of the isthmus and South Auckland area sought refuge with their
Waikato Tainui relatives to the south. Waiohua gradually returned to the southern Manukau Harbour, including Papakura, living in dispersed villages based on seasonally available resources. Modern-day
iwi and
hapū who associate with the Papakura area include Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua,
Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and
Waikato Tainui hapū Ngāti Pou. The first permanent European residents of Papakura were the McLennan, Cole and Willis families, who arrived between 1846 and 1848 to establish farms at Papakura.
Welsh immigrant George Cole became known as the "father of Papakura" in later years, and is remembered by the name of a street in Papakura, Coles Crescent. The tract of land that was initially purchased was subdivided in 1853, with the street layout that was built initially remaining largely in place today. Cole established an inn for travellers in the Papakura area.
Great South Road and the Invasion of the Waikato at Papakura, photographed between 1863 and 1867 In 1861, Governor
George Grey ordered the construction of the
Great South Road further into the Waikato, due to fears of potential invasion of
Waikato Tainui and concerns about the
Māori King Movement. The road preceded despite objections from Te Ākitai Waiohua to having the road constructed through their lands. Most Māori occupants of the Papakura area felt they had no choice due to their strong ties to Tainui and Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, and were forced to flee to the Waikato in the south. The former residents of the Manukau Harbour began returning to the area in 1866, with the
Native Compensation Court returning small portions of land in 1867. In 1911, the first controlled powered flight in New Zealand took place in Papakura. The flight took place inside a single paddock within the racecourse of the now-defunct Papakura Racing Club. The flight was piloted by
Vivian Walsh and was carried out in a
Howard Wright 1910 Biplane, the parts for which were imported from England in 1910 and assembled by members of the Auckland Aeroplane Syndicate. Papakura struggled to grow as a community between 1900 and 1919, due to repeated fires breaking out in the community, as well as the effects of
World War I and the
1918–1920 flu pandemic. By 1914, the town had grown to have a population of 700. The camp was initially built by the Stevenson family construction business.
Suburbanisation biscuit factory in 2019 In the years after World War II,
South Auckland saw significant housing and industrial developments. By 1964,
Manurewa, Takanini and Papakura had grown into a single contiguous urban area, and by 1987 Papakura had become a part of the urban sprawl of Auckland. Many people drawn to Papakura due to the Papakura cattle stockyards, The
Auckland Southern Motorway was developed gradually in sections, with the motorway over the Pahurehure Inlet at Papakura opening in 1965. By the mid-20th century horse breeding became common, In 1965 a
Cadbury chocolate factory opened on Hunua Road in Papakura, which later became the
Griffin's biscuit factory. The Roselands shopping centre opened in Papakura in 1968. Due to significant growth, the Borough of Papakura became
Papakura City in 1975. ==Demographics==