Manurewa

Manurewa has been inhabited since at least the 13th century.[10] Matukutūreia and Matukutūruru were home to two hilltop pā, collectively known as Matukurua.[5] The names of the mountains commemorate a story of two chiefs. The chief of Matukutūruru ("the bittern standing at ease") was captured while eel fishing. The chief of Matukutūreia ("the vigilant bittern") saved the pā and the people of Matukutūruru.[5] Over 8,000 hectares of stonefield gardens were tended by Tāmaki Māori peoples on the lower slopes of the volcanoes,[11][12] where crops such as kūmara and bracken fern root were grown.[13]

The Manurewa area was settled by Ngā Riki, who were one of the three Tāmaki Māori groups who joined together to form the Waiohua in the 17th and 18th-centuries.[14] During this time, the two pā were home to the Ngāi Huatau hapū of Waiohua,[5] settled by Huatau, daughter of Huakaiwaka.[15][3] The chief Huarangi was based at Matukutūruru with his wife Takawai of Ngāi Tahuhu. After her death, he married Kohe, a high ranking woman from Ngāti Pāoa, a union that was widely disapproved by the hapū. This dissent eventually led to a division in the family, with the children of Takawai settling at Matukutūruru, and Huarangi moving with Kohe to Matukutūreia.[5]

Around the year 1740, a conflict between Ngāti Whātua and Waiohua led to the death of paramount chief Kiwi Tāmaki, who became the major occupants of the Tāmaki isthmus and Māngere to the north.[14][16] Ngāti Whātua was significantly smaller than the Waiohua confederation and chose to focus life at Onehunga, Māngere and Ōrākei, meaning that Waiohua were able to re-establish a presence in South Auckland.[17][16]

The Manurewa area has significance for Waiohua iwi, especially Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua, who descent from Te Ata i Rehia, the daughter of Huatau who was born on Matukutūreia,[18] and Te Ākitai Waiohua.[19]

Opening of the Manurewa Creamery in 1905

A day-trip excursion leaving from the Manurewa Post Office in the 1920s

In January 1836 missionary William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between Tāmaki Māori chiefs, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero and Turia of Ngāti Te Rau, covering the majority of modern-day South Auckland between Ōtāhuhu and Papakura. The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to. Māori continued to live in South Auckland, unchanged by this sale.[20] Fairburn was criticised for the sheer size of the purchase, and in 1842 the Crown significantly reduced the size of his land holdings,[13] and the Crown partitioned much of the land for European settlers.[20] 10,000 acres of the Fairburn purchase was given to James Reddy Clendon in return for land at Kororāreka / Russell where the new capital of New Zealand was established.[21] Clendon never lived or visited the area,[22] but sold 2,000 acres to the Martin brothers, who subdivided the land in the mid-1900s.[23] Much of the Martin brothers' land became modern-day Manurewa.[24]

Work on the Great South Road began in 1843, reaching as far south as Drury in 1855.[25] In the early 1860s, Great South Road was used as a military supply route between Auckland and the frontier of the Invasion of the Waikato.[26][27] Manurewa was only sparsely populated in the 1860s and 1870s. The major stop on the Great South Road for coach services was the Raglan Hotel at Woodside (modern-day Wiri). The Manurewa Highway District was formed in 1867,[28] and in 1875 the first Manurewa railway station opened.[23] The station led to growth in the area; 81 people lived in Manurewa by 1879, and a post office opened in 1884.[23] By the 1900s, much of Woodside village had moved to Manurewa, including the school that moved by 1906,[23] and joined by the Methodist Church in 1909. [23] Manurewa became a centre for the dairy industry in the early 20th century,[24] with the first creamery opening in 1905.[23]

Veterans at the Manurewa ANZAC Day parade in 2015

By 1915, Manurewa had grown large enough to become a town district, created from parts of the former Manurewa and Papakura road districts.[29] The area was promoted as a commuter suburb for Auckland in the early 1920s.[29] Local farmer Charles Henry Lupton was instrumental in developing the Manurewa community, serving on the town board, school and church committees, and became known as "The Father of Manurewa".[29][30] By 1937, the population of Manurewa had increased to over 1,500 people, allowing Manurewa to become a borough.[29] In 1939, a fire destroyed the Manurewa Picture Theatre, and the adjoining shops and boarding house.[30] During World War II, parts of Manurewa were used as military camps for United States Army soldiers bound for the Pacific.[31]

Manurewa experienced rapid growth in the 1950s and early 1960s after the development of the Auckland Southern Motorway,[32] developing from a semi-rural locality into a suburb of Auckland.[33] Southmall Manurewa, the third American-style mall in Auckland, was opened in 1967. The mall was initially very successful, but struggled from October 1976 onwards after the opening of the Manukau Shopping Centre.[34]

By the 1970s, Manurewa East and Weymouth had developed as suburban areas, and after the construction of Manukau Central in the 1980s, Manurewa was became connected to the urban sprawl of Auckland.[32] In 1982, the Auckland Botanic Gardens opened in Manurewa.[33]

By the 2010s, Manurewa had developed a significant Pasifika population, and had the highest proportion of Māori residents in the city.[35][36]

The Manurewa Rugby Football Club is based at Mountfort Park Manurewa. They were founded in 1921 and now play within the Counties Manukau Rugby Union Club competition and are one of the biggest and most successful Rugby clubs within the region. They have a large junior section plus and string Golden Oldies Section made up of many past players. They also have associated sports of AFL, Netball & Softball operating within the club. They were originally based at Jellicoe Park in Manurewa and had a club room affectionately known as the "Old Black Shed". They built the new clubrooms at Mountfort Park and moved to this site officially in 1978. Notable current Super 15 Chiefs players Tim Nanai-Williams, Viliami Taulani and Bundee Aki are former Manurewa Rugby Club players.

The football (soccer) club Manurewa AFC who play in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1A are based in Manurewa.

The Manurewa Marlins are based in Manurewa.

Below is a list of the six people who served as the chairman of the Manurewa Town Board.[44]

• 1916–1918 Thomas James Corin
• 1918–1920 Charles Henry Lupton
• 1920–1922 Thomas James Corin
• 1922–1928 Arthur Clifton Axford Sexton
• 1928–1930 George Gallaher
• 1930–1932 William Johnston Ferguson
• 1932–1937 William Thomas Cox

Below is a list of the six people who served as the mayor of the Manurewa Borough Council.[45]

• 1937–1944 William Johnston Ferguson
• 1944–1946 Frederick Herny Barnard
• 1946–1948 John Augusta Kelly
• 1948–1953 Reginald Frank Judson
• 1953–1956 Cecil Millington Crawford
• 1956–1965 Harry Beaumont