A history of Manukau City Centre

Bruce Ringer

This is a brief history of the central Manukau area. During the 19th century, this area was known as Woodside. In the early 20th century the name Wiri came into use instead. When Manukau City was formed in 1965, the largely rural area of Wiri was chosen as the future site of its new city centre. From the 1970s onwards, this area had a dual identity, sometimes being referred to as Manukau and sometimes as Wiri.

In 1983 Manukau City Council decided to replace the name Wiri with ‘Manukau Central’. Wiri, however, continued to be used for the industrial area to the west of the city centre, while the term Manukau City Centre was more usually applied to the central commercial area.

Today the central Manukau area is mostly urbanised. This narrative combines a brief account of its development with mention of the few historical sites and buildings that survive from earlier years.

• Maori history
• The first land purchases
• Early European settlement
• The birth of Woodside
• St John's Redoubt
• A peaceful farming area
• The decline of Woodside
• Wiri between the wars
• Post-war growth
• A new centre for a new city
• The mall
• A growing city
• The heart of a city
• Manukau Court
• Greater Manukau
• Revitalization
• The future
• References

The illustrations below accompany the text. Click on any image to explore further.

 Next

back to top