The first and forgotten county of Manukau

The first Manukau County, 1876-1912

Bruce Ringer

Manukau once upon a time stretched from Otahuhu as far south as the Waikato River. On 1 November 1876, the day that provincial government was abolished, the Counties Act 1876 constituted 63 counties throughout New Zealand. One of these was the County of Manukau, stretching from the Otahuhu portage to the Waikato River, and from the Tasman Sea to the Firth of Thames. For electoral purposes, it was divided into seven ridings: Otahuhu, Howick, Papakura, Mangatawhiri, Pukekohe, Waiuku and Awhitu. The total population was 9,152.

Elections were held on 22 December 1876. The newly elected representatives met in the Drury courthouse on 9 January 1877. After selecting a chairman, their first and only act was to vote against assuming the powers and responsibilities of a County Council.

For the next 35 years local government administration remained in the hands of the myriad, tiny highway boards (later road boards and town boards) of the area.

In 1912, old Manukau County was divided into new Manukau and Franklin Counties. The new Manukau County Council which first met on 21 June 1912, was responsible for an area roughly the same size as Manukau City at its formation in 1965.

For more information: see Manukau’s Journey, The Manukau Tradition.

Publication record: first published in Connexions, no. 78, February 2005, p. 4. Revised for publication on the Manukau Libraries website in September 2009.

Copyright © Manukau Libraries. This text may be freely used for the purposes of private study or research and for non-commercial publication provided that the author and Manukau Libraries are duly acknowledged.