West Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical areas of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Much of the area is dominated by the Waitākere Ranges, the eastern slopes of the Miocene era Waitākere volcano which was upraised from the ocean floor, and now one of the largest regional parks in New Zealand. The metropolitan area of West Auckland developed between the Waitākere Ranges to the west and the upper reaches of the Waitematā Harbour to the east. It covers areas such as Glen Eden, Henderson, Massey and New Lynn.
West Auckland is within the rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, whose traditional names for the area were Hikurangi, Waitākere, and Te Wao Nui a Tiriwa, the latter of which refers to the forest of the greater Waitākere Ranges area. Most settlements and pā were centred around the west coast beaches and the Waitākere River valley. Two of the major waka portages are found in the area: the Te Tōanga Waka (the Whau River portage), and Te Tōangaroa (the Kumeū portage), connecting the Waitematā, Manukau and Kaipara harbours.
European settlement of the region began in the 1840s, centred around the kauri logging trade. Later industries developed around kauri gum digging, orchards, vineyards and the clay brickworks of the estuaries of the Waitematā Harbour, most notably at New Lynn on the Whau River. Originally isolated from the developing city of Auckland on the Auckland isthmus, West Auckland began to expand after being connected to the North Auckland railway line in 1880 and the Northwestern Motorway in the 1950s.
Definition and etymologies
West Auckland is not a strictly defined area. It includes the former Waitakere City, which existed between 1989 and 2010 between the Whau River and Hobsonville, an area which includes major suburbs such as Henderson, Te Atatū, Glen Eden, Titirangi and New Lynn. West Auckland typically also includes Avondale and Blockhouse Bay. The Whau River and Te Tōanga Waka (the Whau portage) marked the border between the former Waitakere and Auckland cities, a border which was first established between Eden County on the Auckland isthmus and Waitemata County in 1876. This border originally existed much earlier than, as the rohe marker between Te Kawerau ā Maki and Tāmaki isthmus iwi. Avondale and Blockhouse Bay are east of the Whau River on the Auckland isthmus, but are included in the definition due to their strong historical ties. Towns in southwestern Rodney, such as Helensville, Riverhead, Waimauku, Kumeū and Huapai are also often described as West Auckland. Occasionally a stricter definition of West Auckland is used in reports and scientific literature, which includes just the Henderson-Massey, Waitākere Ranges and Whau local board areas.
The traditional Tāmaki Māori names for the area include Hikurangi, Waitākere, Whakatū and Te Wao Nui a Tiriwa. Hikurangi referred to the central and western Waitākere Ranges south of the Waitākere River, and was originally a name given by Rakatāura, the tohunga of the Tainui migratory canoe to a location south of Piha. Hikurangi is a common placename across Polynesia, and likely marked the point on the coast where the last light of the day reached. The name Wai-tākere ("cascading water") originated as a name for a rock at Te Henga / Bethells Beach found at the former mouth of the Waitākere River, which was later applied to the river, Ranges, and West Auckland in general. The name refers to the action of the water striking the rock as the waves came into shore, and became popularised in the early 18th century during Te Raupatu Tihore ("The Stripping Conquest"), when a Te Kawerau ā Maki chief's body was laid on this rock.
Whakatū is the traditional name for the Tasman Sea and the beaches south of Te Henga / Bethells Beach. It is a shortening of the name Nga Tai Whakatū a Kupe ("The Upraised Seas of Kupe"), referring to Kupe's visit to the west coast and his attempts to evade people pursuing him, by chanting a karakia to make the west coast seas rough. Te Wao Nui a Tiriwa, the Great Forest of Tiriwa, references the name of Tiriwa, a chief of the supernatural Tūrehu people. The name refers to all of the forested areas of the Waitākere Ranges south from Muriwai and the Kaipara Harbour portage to the Manukau Harbour.
The modern use of West Auckland to refer to areas such as New Lynn and Henderson was popularised in the 1960s and 1970s. Prior to this, West Auckland or Western Auckland mostly referred to the western portions of the old Auckland City, such as Ponsonby and Kingsland. The name Auckland was given to the future capital of New Zealand in 1840 by William Hobson, after patron George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland.
Westies
Westie is a term used to describe a sub-culture from West Auckland, acting also as a societal identifier.. Similar to the word bogan, the stereotype usually involves a macho, working class Pākehā with poor taste, and the mullet haircut. The Westie sub-culture was depicted in the New Zealand television series Outrageous Fortune (2005–2010), with particular attention to the distinctive fashion, musical preferences and interest in cars typical of this social group. These days the stereotype of Auckland's 'Westies' is evolving as the area's development brings in a more sophisticated and diverse population.
Geography Twenty-two million years ago, due to subduction of the Pacific Plate, most of the Auckland region was lowered below sea level, forming a sedimentary basin. Approximately 20million years ago, this subduction led to the formation of the Waitākere volcano, a partially submerged volcano located to the west of the modern Auckland region. The volcano is the largest stratovolcano in the geologic history of New Zealand, over in diameter and reaching an estimated height of above the sea floor. Between 3 and 5 million years ago, tectonic forces uplifted the Waitākere Ranges and central Auckland, while subsiding the Manukau and inner Waitematā harbours. The Waitākere Ranges are the remnants of the eastern slopes of the Waitākere volcano, while the lowlands of suburban West Auckland are formed of Waitemata Group sandstone from the ancient sedimentary basin. Many of the areas directly adjacent to the Waitematā Harbour, such as New Lynn, Te Atatū and Hobsonville, are formed from rhyolitic clays and peat, formed from eroding soil and interactions with the harbour.
The modern topography of West Auckland began to form approximately 8,000 years ago when the sea level rose at the end of the Last Glacial maximum. Prior to this, the Manukau and Waitematā harbours were forested river valleys, and the Tasman Sea shoreline was over west of its current location. The mouths of the rivers of West Auckland flooded, forming into large estuaries. Tidal mudflats formed at the Manukau Harbour river mouths, such as Huia, Big Muddy Creek and Little Muddy Creek. Sand dunes formed along the estuaries of the west coast, creating beaches such as Piha and Te Henga / Bethells Beach. The black ironsand of these beaches is volcanic material from Mount Taranaki (including the Pouakai Range and Sugar Loaf Islands volcanoes) which has drifted northwards, and potentially material from the Taupō Volcano and other central North Island volcanoes which travelled down the Waikato River as sediment.
Ecology
While much of West Auckland, especially the Waitākere Ranges, was historically dominated by kauri, northern rātā, rimu most of the kauri trees were felled as a part of the kauri logging industry. One plant species is native to West Auckland, Veronica bishopiana, the Waitākere rock koromiko. A number of other plant species are primarily found in coastal West Auckland, including Sophora fulvida, the west coast kōwhai and Veronica obtusata, the coastal hebe. Sophora fulvida is a common sight in West Auckland; other species of kōwhai are not allowed to be planted west of Scenic Drive. The Waitākere Ranges are known for the wide variety of fern species (over 110), as well as native orchids, many of which self-established from seeds carried by winds from the east coast of Australia.
The areas of West Auckland close to the Waitematā Harbour, such as Henderson, Te Atatū Peninsula and Whenuapai, were formerly covered in broadleaf forest, predominantly kahikatea, pukatea trees, and a thick growth of nīkau palms. As the soils around Titirangi and Laingholm are more sedimentary than the Waitākere Ranges volcanic soil, tōtara was widespread, alongside kohekohe, pūriri, karaka and nīkau palm trees.
The Waitākere Ranges are home to many native species of bird, the New Zealand long-tailed bat and Hochstetter's frog, which have been impacted by introduced predatory species including rodents, stoats, weasels, possums and cats. In 2002, Ark in the Park was established as an open sanctuary to reintroduce native species to the Waitākere Ranges. Whiteheads (), North Island robin () and North Island kōkako have all been successfully re-established in the area, and between 2014 and 2016 brown teals () were reintroduced to the nearby Matuku Reserve. The west coast beaches are nesting locations for many seabird species, including the banded dotterel and the grey-faced petrel, and the korowai gecko is endemic to the west coast near Muriwai.
The catchments of the Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek and the Whau River are home to marine species including the New Zealand longfin eel, banded kōkopu, common galaxias () and the freshwater crab Amarinus lacustris....
Human context 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. The Tainui tohunga Rakataura (also known as Hape) was known to have visited the region after arriving in New Zealand, naming many locations along the west coast. He is the namesake of the Karangahape Peninsula at Cornwallis, as well as the ancient walking track linking the peninsula to the central Tāmaki isthmus (part of which became Karangahape Road).
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.