View source for South Auckland

{{Short description|Region of Auckland, New Zealand}}
{{about|urban areas of the city of Auckland|the former South Auckland Land District|Auckland Province}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|image_skyline           = File:Auckland20061016222837 (South Auckland).jpg
|image_caption           = A satellite view of South Auckland in 2006
|name                    = South Auckland
|subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name        = New Zealand
|subdivision_type1       = [[List of islands of New Zealand|Island]]
|subdivision_type2       = [[Regions of New Zealand|Region]]
|subdivision_type3       = [[Territorial authorities of New Zealand|Territorial authority]]
|subdivision_name1       = [[North Island]]
|subdivision_name2       = [[Auckland Region]]
|area_total_km2          = 166.94
|population_as_of        = {{NZ population data 2018|||y}}
|population_total        = {{Decimals|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board area|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Ōtara-Papatoetoe local board area|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Manurewa local board area|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Papakura local board area|y}}|R}}|0}}
|population_footnotes    = {{NZ population data 2018||||y}}
|population_density_km2  = auto
|pushpin_map             = New Zealand
|pushpin_map_caption     = Location in the [[Auckland Region]]
|pushpin_label_position  = 
| leader_title2      = MPs
| leader_name2       = [[Judith Collins]] (National)<br />[[Rima Nakhle]] (National)<br />[[Jenny Salesa]] (Labour)<br />[[Lemauga Lydia Sosene]] (Labour)<br />[[Arena Williams]] (Labour)
| seat_type      = [[New Zealand Parliament|NZ Parliament]]
| seat           = [[Mangere (New Zealand electorate)|Mangere]]<br />[[Manurewa (New Zealand electorate)|Manurewa]]<br />[[Panmure-Ōtāhuhu]]<br />[[Papakura (New Zealand electorate)|Papakura]]<br />[[Takanini (New Zealand electorate)|Takanini]]
|coordinates             = {{coord|-36.99|174.87|type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
}}

'''South Auckland''' ({{langx|mi|Te Tonga o Tāmaki Makaurau}} or {{langx|mi|Tāmaki ki te Tonga}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://waateanews.com/2021/11/01/tania-pouwhare/ |title=Tania Pouwhare |date=1 November 2021 |website=Waatea News |access-date=30 April 2024}}</ref>) is one of the major geographical regions of [[Auckland]], the largest city in [[New Zealand]]. The area is south of the [[Auckland isthmus]], and on the eastern shores of the [[Manukau Harbour]]. The area has been populated by [[Tāmaki Māori]] since at least the 14th century, and has important archaeological sites, such as the Ōtuataua stonefield gardens at [[Ihumātao]], and [[Māngere Mountain]], a former [[pā]] site important to [[Waiohua]] tribes.

The area was primarily farmland until the mid-20th century, when the construction of the [[Auckland Southern Motorway]] led to major suburban development, and the establishing of [[Manukau City]], which was later amalgamated into Auckland. Large-scale [[State housing in New Zealand|state housing]] areas were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, which led to significant [[Urban Māori]] and [[Pasifika New Zealanders|Pasifika]] communities developing in the area. The presence of 165 different ethnicities makes South Auckland one of the most diverse places in New Zealand.<ref name="TeAra-16"/> It is Auckland's most socio-economically deprived area.<ref name="TeAra-16">{{Cite web | title=16. South Auckland – Auckland places – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand | url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/auckland-places/page-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628210118/http://www.teara.govt.nz:80/en/auckland-places/page-16 | access-date=2024-12-23 | archive-date=2013-06-28}}</ref>

==Definition==

South Auckland is not a strictly defined area. It primarily refers to the western and central parts of the former [[Manukau City]], which existed between 1989 and 2010, and surrounding areas of [[Franklin (local board area)|Franklin]].<ref name="McClure">{{cite web|title=South Auckland |first=Margaret |last=McClure |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/auckland-places/page-16 |website=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |date=1 August 2016 |access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/CityArchives/DistrictSchemes/ds_list.htm |title=Historic District Schemes and Plans of the Auckland Region |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=26 July 2022}}</ref> Major areas of South Auckland include [[Māngere]], [[Manukau]], [[Manurewa]], [[Ōtāhuhu]], [[Ōtara]], [[Papakura]] and [[Papatoetoe]]. A strict definition sometimes used for South Auckland includes just the [[Māngere-Ōtāhuhu]], [[Manurewa Local Board|Manurewa]], [[Ōtara-Papatoetoe]], [[Papakura Local Board|Papakura]] local board areas.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.waipareira.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/TPM6.-Locality-Population-Snapshot-SOUTH-Auckland.pdf |title=Locality Population Snapshot: South Auckland |first=John |last=Huakau |publisher=Te Pou Matakana |isbn=978-0-473-31577-1 |date=July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211001916/https://www.waipareira.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/TPM6.-Locality-Population-Snapshot-SOUTH-Auckland.pdf |archive-date=11 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | volume = 23| issue = 1| pages = 225–244| last1 = Allen| first1 = Jean M.| last2 = Bruce| first2 = Toni| title = Constructing the other: News media representations of a predominantly 'brown' community in New Zealand| journal = Pacific Journalism Review| accessdate = 2023-05-04| date = 2017| url = https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.960863505602793}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last1 = Ritchie| first1 = Jenny| last2 = Johnson| first2 = Alan| title = Left Further Behind : How New Zealand is failing its children |chapter=Early childhood care and education| accessdate = 2023-05-04| date = 2011| url = https://www.researchbank.ac.nz/handle/10652/2324}}</ref>

The term South Auckland was first used in the 1880s, to refer to areas of the southern [[Auckland Province]], such as [[Cambridge, New Zealand|Cambridge]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18800504.2.9 |via=Papers Past |title=South Auckland Cattle Board |newspaper=[[Waikato Times]] |volume=XIV |issue=1224 |date=4 May 1880 |page=2}}</ref> [[Ngāruawāhia]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19091213.2.98 |via=Papers Past |title=Country News |newspaper=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |volume=XLVI |issue=14242 |date=13 December 1909 |page=8}}</ref> [[Te Awamutu]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAIPO19191101.2.18 |via=Papers Past |title=Local and General |newspaper=Waipa Post |volume=XII |issue=862 |date=1 November 1919 |page=4}}</ref> or [[Hamilton, New Zealand|Hamilton]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19600622.2.58 |via=Papers Past |title=Plans Called For £300,000 Hamilton Teachers' College |newspaper=The Press |volume=XCIX |issue=29237 |date=22 June 1960 |page=9}}</ref> The first references to modern South Auckland come from 1962, in discussions for the creation of [[Manukau City]].<ref name="CityStatus">{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19620912.2.54 |via=Papers Past |title=Request For City Status |newspaper=The Press |volume=CI |issue=29925 |date=12 September 1962 |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19620914.2.87 |via=Papers Past |title=Firm's Interest In New City |newspaper=The Press |volume=CI |issue=29927 |date=14 September 1962 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19621207.2.89 |via=Papers Past |title=Thousands Were Late For Work |newspaper=The Press |volume=CI |issue=29999 |date=7 December 1962 |page=12}}</ref> The term began developing negative connotations in the 1970s, with non-residents associating the term with deprivation, crime and violence.<ref name="ringer">{{cite web |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10545407&pnum=0 |title=Give South Auckland a little respect |last=Ringer |first=Bruce |date=28 November 2008 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523080025/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10545407&pnum=0 |archive-date=23 May 2011 |page=A15 }}</ref> From 1989, many organisations began using the term [[Counties Manukau (disambiguation)|Counties Manukau]] as an alternative way to describe South Auckland.<ref name="ringer"/>

The name South Auckland is often used imprecisely by the press or politicians, to describe lower socio-economic areas south of the [[Auckland City Centre]].<ref name="ringer"/> Some areas of the [[Auckland isthmus]] occasionally referred to as South Auckland are [[Onehunga]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300584468/auckland-business-owners-off-to-war-daily-say-562m-government-crime-fund-isnt-enough |title=Auckland business owners 'off to war' daily say $562m Government crime fund isn't enough |date=11 May 2022 |first=Nathan |last=Morton |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300452167/walking-and-cycling-bridge-over-manukau-harbour-on-track-to-open-late-next-year |title=Walking and cycling bridge over Manukau Harbour on track to open late next year |date=11 November 2021 |first=Mina |last=Kerr-Lazenby |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/08/deceased-baby-located-at-recycling-facility-in-onehunga-auckland.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828040454/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/08/deceased-baby-located-at-recycling-facility-in-onehunga-auckland.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 August 2022 |title=Body of newborn baby found at Auckland recycling facility travelled on rubbish truck |date=17 August 2021 |first=Lana |last=Andelane|website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> [[Penrose, New Zealand|Penrose]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2021/02/chemical-incident-in-industrial-area-of-penrose-south-auckland/ |title=Chemical incident in industrial area of Penrose, South Auckland |date=12 February 2021 |website=Our Auckland |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/436306/eels-found-dead-after-chemical-spill-in-south-auckland |title=Eels found dead after chemical spill in South Auckland |date=12 February 2021 |website=[[Radio New Zealand]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> [[Mount Wellington, New Zealand|Mount Wellington]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/karting-kartsport-whangarei-turns-50/CFNKY644NV6BWFYKFUFXFFDCD4/ |title=Karting: KartSport Whangarei turns 50 |date=22 October 2016 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/10509250/Dairy-smashed-open-in-ram-raid |title=Dairy smashed open in ram raid |date=17 September 2016 |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> and [[Panmure, New Zealand|Panmure]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/south-auckland-bottle-shop-panmure-bottle-o-criticised-for-afterpay-option/ |title='Really concerning': South Auckland bottle shop criticised for allowing Afterpay |first=Vita |last=Molyneux |date=8 July 2022 |website=[[Newstalk ZB]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> Some [[Howick ward]] suburbs to the East often get confused by being called South Auckland, including [[Flat Bush]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/pandemic-vandals-blamed-as-ormiston-housing-project-debts-revealed-at-557m/JAGRZ5UW7QCNWCXGK27JAI5K6E/ |title=Pandemic, vandals blamed as Ormiston housing project debts revealed at $55.7m |first=Anne |last=Gibson |date=21 July 2022 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/470607/south-auckland-home-shot-at |title=South Auckland home shot at |date=9 July 2022 |website=[[Radio New Zealand]] |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> and [[East Tāmaki]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/03/police-appeal-for-information-after-incident-in-south-auckland.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320034822/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/03/police-appeal-for-information-after-incident-in-south-auckland.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 March 2022 |title=Police appeal for information after incident in south Auckland |date=20 March 2022 |first=William |last=Hewett |website=Newshub |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> Towns south of Auckland are also often referred to as South Auckland, including [[Pukekohe]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/300641696/motorsport-to-end-at-pukekohe-raceway-after-60-years-making-way-for-horse-racing |title=Motorsport to end at Pukekohe Raceway after 60 years, making way for horse racing |date=20 July 2022 |first=Karanama |last=Ruru |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/467381/drought-in-auckland-s-rural-south-pushing-up-food-prices-growers-say |title=Drought in Auckland's rural south pushing up food prices, growers say |date=18 May 2022  |first=Stephen  |last=Forbes|website=[[Radio New Zealand]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2020/02/27/no-maori-allowed-new-book-explores-pukekohes-history-of-racial-segregation/ |title='No Māori allowed' - New book explores Pukekohe's history of racial segregation |date=27 February 2020 |website=[[1News]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300460204/three-injured-one-critically-in-alleged-molotov-cocktail-attack-in-south-auckland |title=Three injured, one critically, in alleged Molotov cocktail attack in south Auckland |date=22 November 2021 |first1=Mina |last1=Kerr-Lazenby |first2=Catrin |last2=Owen |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref> and [[Waiuku]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300531479/watch-dangerous-driving-near-auckland-school-crossing-prompts-calls-for-change |title=Watch: Dangerous driving near Auckland school crossing prompts calls for change |date=7 March 2022 |first1=Nathan |last1=Morton |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300606970/people-think-im-mad-80yearold-firefighter-aims-to-climb-the-sky-tower |title='People think I'm mad': 80-year-old firefighter aims to climb the Sky Tower |date=6 June 2022 |first1=Nathan |last1=Morton |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-drink/300586936/love-your-local-what-we-learned-about-the-locals-you-love |title=Love Your Local: What we learned about the locals you love |date=25 May 2022 |first1=Emily |last1=Brookes |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref> and occasionally some towns in the northern [[Waikato]] Region, such as [[Pōkeno]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/top-auckland-dog-breeder-banned-from-owning-dogs-for-nine-years/ |title='SPCA involved in conspiracy against us', dog breeders claim |date=13 July 2022 |website=[[Newstalk ZB]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref> and [[Tuakau]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/two-hurt-in-two-vehicle-crash-in-tuakau-south-auckland/VA5MMCLHALYCZVWM4X5TPJ2FCE/ |title=Two hurt in two-vehicle crash in Tuakau, South Auckland |date=11 November 2017 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/child-one-of-four-killed-in-high-speed-crash/BHRKH3MBY5ZRD5HYRR7USLKWAQ/ |title=Child one of four killed in high-speed crash |date=11 March 2009 |first=Isaac |last=Davison |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref>

==Natural history==
[[File:Māngere Lagoon 20200406 181541.jpg|thumb|left|South Auckland is home to many volcanic [[maar]]s along the coast of the [[Manukau Harbour]], such as [[Māngere Lagoon]]]]

South Auckland is an area on the eastern shores of the [[Manukau Harbour]], and the upper headwaters of the [[Tāmaki River]]. Many features of the [[Auckland volcanic field]] are found in South Auckland, such as [[Māngere Mountain]], [[Matukutūreia]] and the [[Pukaki Lagoon]]. Many of the mountains of South Auckland have been quarried, such as [[Matukutūruru]], [[Maungataketake]] and [[Ōtara Hill]] (either entirely or partially). Some of the northern-most features of the older [[South Auckland volcanic field]] can be found in the area, such as [[Pukekiwiriki]] and the [[Hūnua Falls]].

Both the Manukau Harbour and the Tāmaki River are [[drowned river valley]] systems.{{sfn|Hayward|2009|pp=13-18}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/auckland-region/estuaries/t%C4%81maki-estuary/ |title=Tāmaki Estuary |author=Land Air Water Aotearoa |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref> The Manukau Harbour formed between 3 and 5 million years ago when tectonic forces between the [[Pacific Plate]] and [[Australian Plate]] uplifted the [[Waitākere Ranges]] and subsided the Manukau Harbour. It began as an open bay, eventually forming as a sheltered harbour as the [[Āwhitu Peninsula]] developed at the harbour's mouth.{{sfn|Hayward|2009|pp=13-18}}<ref name="Waikōwhai Coast">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/about-auckland-council/how-auckland-council-works/local-boards/all-local-boards/puketapapa-local-board/docsheritagestudies/waikowhai-coast-heritage-study.pdf |title=Waikōwhai Coast Heritage Study |first1=Elizabeth |last1=Pishief |first2=Brendan |last2=Shirley|date=August 2015|publisher=[[Auckland Council]]|access-date=21 October 2021}}</ref> Over the last two million years, the harbour has cycled between periods of being a forested river valley and a flooded harbour, depending on changes in the global [[sea level]]. The present harbour formed approximately 8,000 years ago, after the [[Last Glacial Maximum]].{{sfn|Hayward|2009|pp=13-18}}

Historically, much of inland South Auckland was composed of wetlands.{{sfn|Hayward|1989|pp=5, 44}} Many areas of remnant native bush are found in South Auckland, such as the [[taraire]] forest at [[Kirk's Bush]] in Papakura, and areas of the [[Auckland Botanic Gardens]] in Manurewa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2018/1/ancient-forests/ |title=6 ancient forests to explore in Auckland|date=30 January 2018 |work=OurAuckland|publisher=[[Auckland Council]]|access-date=10 May 2023}}</ref>

==History==
===Early Māori history===
{{OSM Location map 
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| mark-title1 = [[Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond]]
| mark-coord2 = {{coord|-36.9399|174.8982}}
| mark-title2 = [[Green Hill, New Zealand|Green Hill (Matanginui)]]
| mark-coord3 = {{coord|-36.9471|174.8983}}
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| mark-title5 = [[Puketutu Island]]
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| mark-title6 = [[Waitomokia]]
| mark-coord7 = {{coord|-36.9833|174.7649}}
| mark-title7 = [[Oruarangi Creek|Oruarangi]]
| mark-coord8 = {{coord|-36.9861|174.7541}}
| mark-title8 = [[Ihumātao]]
| mark-coord9 = {{coord|-36.9946|174.7475}}
| mark-title9 = [[Maungataketake]]
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| mark-title10 = [[Pūkaki Creek|Pūkaki]]
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| mark-title12 = [[Cemetery Crater|Te Pā-o-te-tū-tahi-atu]]
| mark-coord13 = {{coord|-37.0073|174.8584}}
| mark-title13 = [[Matukutūruru]]
| mark-coord14 = {{coord|-37.0135|174.8459}}
| mark-title14 = [[Matukutūreia]]
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| mark-title15 = [[Wattle Downs|Takirangaranga]]
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| mark-title16 = [[Pukekiwiriki|Te Aparangi]]
| mark-coord17 = {{coord|-37.0640|175.0003}}
| mark-title17 = [[Pukekiwiriki]]
| caption = Known [[pā]] and [[kāinga]] sites around South Auckland<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 29| pages = 3–14| last1 = Hayward| first1 = Bruce W |author-link1=Bruce Hayward| title = Prehistoric pa sites of metropolitan Auckland| journal = Tane| date = 1983}}</ref>
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}}

The Auckland area was an early location visited by many of the [[Māori migration canoes]], including the ''[[Matahourua]]'', ''[[Aotea (canoe)|Aotea]]'', ''[[Mātaatua]]'', ''[[Tainui (canoe)|Tainui]]'', ''[[Tākitimu]]'', ''[[Tokomaru (canoe)|Tokomaru]]'', ''[[Te Wakatūwhenua]]'' and ''[[Moekākara]]'' waka.<ref name="Furey">{{Cite Q|Q58677261}}</ref><ref name="Rawiri"/> Some of the earliest stories about the region involve [[Portages of New Zealand#Te Tō Waka|Te Tō Waka]], the portage at [[Ōtāhuhu]], that allowed [[waka (canoe)|waka]] to cross between the east coast and the [[Manukau Harbour]], where only 200 metres of land separated the two.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taonui |first1=Rāwiri|title=Canoe traditions |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/canoe-traditions/ |website=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]|publisher=[[Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] |date=8 February 2005 |access-date=3 November 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Jones|Biggs|2004|pp=42-43}}<ref name="Ngatiteata">{{cite report| url=https://www.epa.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Documents/Fast-track-consenting/Papakura-to-Pukekohe-Rail/LP04_Appendix_B_CVA_Compressed.pdf |title=Ngati Te Ata (Waiohua) Cultural Values Assessment Report: Auckland Metro Rail Programme – Papakura to Pukekohe Electrification (P2P) |publisher=[[Environmental Protection Authority (New Zealand)|Environmental Protection Authority]] |date=February 2021 |access-date=21 July 2022}}</ref> The crossing of the ''Tainui'' waka is memorialised in the name of [[Ngarango Otainui Island]] in the [[Māngere Inlet]], where the wooden skids used to haul the waka were left after the trip was made,<ref name="Folksong">{{cite journal|url=https://folksong.org.nz/he_tangi_te_kiwi/portages_of_early_auckland.html |title=Portages of early Auckland - to and from the Waitemata Harbour: The hub of an ancient communications network |first=Brian |last=Hooker|journal=Auckland-Waikato Historical Journal|number=70|date=September 1997|pages=39–40|access-date=21 July 2022}}</ref> and other waka including the ''Matahourua'', ''Aotea'', ''Mātaatua'' and ''Tokomaru'' all have traditional stories associated with the portage.<ref name="Rawiri"/>

Portages remained important features Tāmaki Māori. In South Auckland, the [[Portages of New Zealand#Waokauri / Pūkaki portage|Waokauri and Pūkaki portages]] at [[Papatoetoe]] was used to avoid Te Tō Waka, controlled by the people who lived at [[Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Pages/papatoetoe-street-names.aspx |title=Papatoetoe street names |publisher=Auckland Libraries |access-date=16 May 2022 |archive-date=25 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525032718/https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Pages/papatoetoe-street-names.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Portages of New Zealand#Papakura portage|Papakura portage]] connected the Manukau Harbour at Papakura in the west to the [[Wairoa River (Auckland)|Wairoa River]] in the east, likely along the path of the Old Wairoa Road,<ref name="Folksong"/> and [[Portages of New Zealand#Te Pai o Kaiwaka|Te Pai o Kaiwaka]] at [[Waiuku]] connected the Manukau Harbour to the [[Waikato River]] in the south.<ref name="Folksong"/>{{sfn|Stone|2001|pp=2-3, 20, 24, 67, 109}}

[[Tāmaki Māori]] peoples settled the eastern coastline of the [[Manukau Harbour]] as early as the 14th century.<ref name="Russell 30 Jul 2019">{{cite news |last1=Russell |first1=Alexia |title=The Detail: Why Ihumātao has opened up rifts among Māori |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114596689/the-detail-why-ihumatao-has-opened-up-rifts-among-maori |access-date=30 July 2019 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=30 July 2019 |archive-date=29 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729194432/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114596689/the-detail-why-ihumatao-has-opened-up-rifts-among-maori |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=28}}<ref name="KiwiEsplanade">{{Cite web|url=http://cfgheritage.com/17_0782_63kiwiesplanade.pdf |title=Archaeological investigations of site R11/2125, 63 Kiwi Esplanade, Mangere Bridge (HNZPTA authority 2018/046)|last1 = Trilford| first1 = Danielle| publisher=CFG Heritage |date=28 November 2017 |access-date=21 October 2021}}</ref> Settlements in the area were based on what resources were available seasonally,<ref name="Urban Form">{{cite report|url=https://knowledgeauckland.org.nz/media/1419/a-brief-history-of-aucklands-urban-form-2019-web.pdf |title=He hītori mō te hanga ā-tāone o Tāmaki Makaurau: A brief history of Auckland's urban form |date=December 2019 |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref> such as Manukau Harbour fish and shellfish.<ref name="OnehungaHeritageReport">{{Cite web| first=Malcolm |last=Patterson | title = Ngati Whatua o Orakei Heritage Report for State Highway 20; Transit Manukau Harbour Crossing  |url=https://www.epa.govt.nz/assets/FileAPI/proposal/NSP000038/Evidence/8168b606f5/EWL-Rebuttal-Ngati-Whatua-O-Orakei-Onehunga-Report-MPatterson.pdf |date=21 March 2008 | publisher = [[Environmental Protection Authority (New Zealand)|Environmental Protection Authority]] | access-date = 21 October 2021}}</ref>

In the 15th century, Tāmaki Māori people created extensive garden sites at [[Ihumātao]], [[Wiri]] and the slopes of [[Māngere Mountain]].<ref name="AreaPlan">{{cite report|url=https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2022/09/PLA_20220901_AGN_10161_AT_files/PLA_20220901_AGN_10161_AT_Attachment_89974_1.PDF |title=Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Area Plan Update |date=September 2022 |access-date=1 May 2023 |publisher=[[Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board]], [[Auckland Council]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.maunga.nz/maunga/matukutururu/ |title=Matukutūruru |publisher=[[Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau|Tūpuna Maunga Authority]] |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Wichman, Gwen|2001|pp=10}}{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=28}} These garden sites used Polynesian agricultural techniques and traditions, with the stone walls acting acted as boundaries, windbreaks and drainage systems for the crops grown in the area, which included [[Sweet potato cultivation in Polynesia|kūmara]] (sweet potato), hue ([[calabash|calabash gourds]]), [[taro]], [[Dioscorea alata|uwhi]] (ube yam), [[Cordyline fruticosa|tī pore]] (Pacific cabbage tree) and [[Paper mulberry|aute]] (the paper mulberry tree).{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=28-29}} The environment-modifying techniques used in the Ōtuataua Stonefields allowed early Tāmaki Māori to propagate crops which were not suited to a cooler climate.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=http://www.clough.co.nz/monographs/clough_monograph16.pdf|title=Archaeological investigations at Timberly Road, Mangere: final report|last=Farley|first=Glen|publisher=Clough and Associates|year=2014|location=Auckland|pages=8–9|oclc=993615594|access-date=4 August 2019|archive-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218214139/http://www.clough.co.nz/monographs/clough_monograph16.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=A review of archaeological stone structures of South Auckland|last1=Rickard|first1=Vivien|last2=Veart|first2=David|last3=Bulmer|first3=Susan|publisher=NZ Historic Places Trust|year=1984|location=Auckland|pages=27, 28, 46–49, 50, 56|oclc=948024954}}</ref>

A number of early [[Tāmaki Māori]] [[iwi]] and [[hapū]] are associated with South Auckland. [[Ngā Oho]] was used as a unifying name for Tāmaki Māori who descended from the ''[[Tainui (canoe)|Tainui]]'' and ''[[Arawa (canoe)|Te Arawa]]'' migratory waka.<ref name="AucklandCouncilDuder">{{Cite web| title = Duder Regional Park - Our History |url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/arts-culture-heritage/heritage-walks-places/Documents/duder-regional-park.pdf |author = Heritage Department of the Auckland Regional Council | publisher = [[Auckland Council]]| access-date = 30 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="AucklandCouncilTeTatua">{{Cite web| date=2015 | title = Te Tātua a Riukiuta Three Kings Heritage Study |url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/about-auckland-council/how-auckland-council-works/local-boards/all-local-boards/puketapapa-local-board/docsheritagestudies/three-kings-heritage-study.pdf |first1=Dr Elizabeth |last1=Pishief |first2=John |last2=Adam | publisher = [[Auckland Council]]| access-date = 28 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="Rawiri">{{cite web|title=The tribes of Tāmaki |first=Rāwiri |last=Taonui |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/tamaki-tribes/page-3|website=Te Ara |date=8 February 2005 |access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref> Descendants of Tāhuhunui-o-te-rangi, captain of the ''[[Moekākara]]'' waka, settled around [[Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond|Ōtāhuhu]] and adopted the name [[Ngāi Tāhuhu]],<ref name="Linknz">{{Cite journal| issn = 2324-3848| issue = 68 |year= 2017 | pages = 4–12| last = Taonui | first = Professor Rawiri | title = The Whangarei Coast Te Whanga-o-Reitū or Te Whanga-o-Reipae | journal =LINKNZ |publisher=[[Immigration New Zealand]], [[Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment]] |url=https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/files/documents/LINKZ%2068_WEB.pdf |access-date=2021-02-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224012433/https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/files/documents/LINKZ%2068_WEB.pdf |archive-date=24 February 2021}}</ref><ref name="Furey"/> while descendants of Tāiki, a Tainui ancestor of [[Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki]], named the [[Tāmaki River]] after himself (Te Wai ō Tāiki) and settled on the eastern shores of the river alongside the descendants of Huiārangi (of the early iwi Te Tini ō Maruiwi), including the shores of Te Waiōtara (the [[Ōtara Creek]]).<ref name="Otau">{{Cite report| url=http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/districtplanmanukau/changes/10Cultural.pdf | title = Ōtau: a Ngāi Tai Cultural Heritage Assessment of Clevedon Village, Wairoa Valley. |first1=Nat |last1=Green |year=2010  |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=21 October 2022}}</ref> Over time, Ngā Riki emerged as a group who settled between Ōtāhuhu and [[Papakura]], and Ngā Oho was used to describe the people who lived around Papakura.<ref name="Rawiri"/><ref name="AucklandCouncil">{{cite web |url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/UnitaryPlanDocuments/pc43-technical-report-cva-te-akitai-waiohua.pdf |title=Cultural Values Assessment by Te Ākitai Waiohua for Matukutūreia Quarry Private Plan Change |author=[[Te Ākitai Waiohua]] |publisher=Auckland Council |accessdate=4 February 2021 |date=24 August 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Many of the volcanic features of South Auckland became fortified [[pā]] sites for Tāmaki Māori, notably [[Māngere Mountain]], [[Matukutūruru]], [[Matukutūreia]] and [[Pukekiwiriki]].<ref name="KiwiEsplanade"/><ref name="ManurewaMarae">{{cite web|url=https://www.manurewamarae.co.nz/local-history--korero-o-nehera.html |title=Tales of Manurewa: Nga Matukurua - The Two Bitterns |website=Manurewa Marae |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Cameron|Hayward|Murdoch|2008|pp=266}} There are few pā sites inland from the coasts, due to the flat land being unsuitable for fortified sites.<ref name="HeritageTrail">{{cite web|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/arts-culture-heritage/heritage-walks-places/Documents/papatoetoe-heritage-trail.pdf |title=Papatoetoe Heritage Trail |date=2013 |publisher=[[Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board]] |access-date=31 March 2023}}</ref> The pā is known by the name Te Pā-o-te-tū-tahi-atu, a name that describes the pā as temporary, due to the surrounding flat landscape not being ideal for fortifications.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/Pages/park-details.aspx?Location=965#story |title=Pā o Tahi / Hillside South Park |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=28 April 2023}}</ref>

In the early 17th century, the area became a part of the [[rohe]] of [[Te Kawerau ā Maki]].{{sfn|Murdoch|1990|pp=13}}

===Waiohua===
[[File:Mangere Mt 2009.jpg|thumb|left|[[Māngere Mountain|Māngere Mountain / Te Pane-o-Mataaho / Te Ara Pueru]] was an important [[pā]] site for [[Te Waiohua|Waiohua]] and [[Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei|Ngāti Whātua]]]]
{{main|Te Waiohua}}

In the 17th century, three major tribes of Tāmaki Makaurau, Ngā Iwi, Ngā Oho and Ngā Riki, joined to form the [[Waiohua]] under the [[rangatira]] Huakaiwaka. The union lasted for three generations, and was centred around the [[pā]] of [[Maungawhau]] and later [[Maungakiekie]] on the [[Auckland isthmus]].<ref name="Rawiri"/><ref name="AucklandCouncilBalmoralSandringham">{{Cite web | title = Balmoral & Sandringham Heritage Walks |author1=[[Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei]] |first2=Lisa|last2=Truttman |url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/arts-culture-heritage/heritage-walks-places/Documents/balmoral-sandringham-heritage-walks.pdf | publisher = [[Auckland Council]] |date=2009 | access-date = 1 September 2021}}</ref> Other Tāmaki Māori groups such as Ngāi Tāhuhu were considered either allies of Waiohua, or hapū within the union.<ref name="MJ_0015">{{cite web |title=ca 1720 |at=MJ_0015 |work=Manukau's Journey - Ngā Tapuwae o Manukau | publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/986 |access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref>

[[Māngere Mountain|Māngere Mountain / Te Pane-o-Mataaho / Te Ara Pueru]] was a major [[pā]] for the [[Te Waiohua|Waiohua]], a confederacy of [[Tāmaki Māori]] [[iwi]].<ref name="MJ_0015"/> The mountain complex may have been home to thousands of people, with the mountain acting as a central place for rua (food storage pits).<ref name="AucklandCouncilAmbury">{{Cite web| date=1994 | title = History of the Ambury Area - Auckland Regional Council Ambury Regional Park Management Plan 1994 |url=http://arc.govt.nz/albany/fms/main/Documents/Parks/Parks%20history/Archaeology%20and%20brief%20history%20of%20the%20Ambury%20area.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730114220/http://arc.govt.nz/albany/fms/main/Documents/Parks/Parks%20history/Archaeology%20and%20brief%20history%20of%20the%20Ambury%20area.pdf |archive-date=30 July 2012 | publisher = [[Auckland Council]]| access-date = 6 July 2021}}</ref>{{rp|63}} Paramount chief [[Kiwi Tāmaki]] stayed at Māngere seasonally, when it was the time of year to hunt sharks in the Manukau Harbour.{{sfn|Ballara|2003|pp=206}} To the south, the twin peaks of [[Matukutūreia]] and [[Matukutūruru]] were home to the Ngāi Huatau hapū of Waiohua,<ref name="ManurewaMarae"/> settled by Huatau, daughter of Huakaiwaka.<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/districtplanmanukau/changes/pa76/pa76vol2appi.pdf |title=Redoubt Road – Mill Road Corridor Project Maori Values Assessment for Auckland Transport |date=December 2012 |author=[[Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua]] |publisher=[[Auckland Transport]] |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref><ref name="Marshall-Harding">{{cite book|title=Te Manurewa o Tamapahore |first1=Kerry |last1=Marshall-Harding |first2=Teariki |last2=Tuiono |isbn=9780473594176 |date=22 November 2021 |publisher=Ono Ariki Solutions |url=https://auckland.overdrive.com/media/7877851}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="Rawiri"/><ref name="OnehungaHeritageReport"/> Ngāti Whātua was significantly smaller than the Waiohua confederation and chose to focus life at [[Onehunga]], Māngere and [[Ōrākei]]. Gradually, the Waiohua people who had sought refuge with their [[Waikato Tainui]] relatives to the south, re-established in the South Auckland area,<ref name="MJ_0020">{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/4305/ |title=ca 1765 |work=Manukau's Journey |publisher=[[Auckland Libraries]] |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref><ref name="OnehungaHeritageReport"/> mainly in a disbursed circuit around the Manukau Harbour.{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=93}} During this time, the tribal identities of [[Te Ākitai Waiohua]], [[Ngāti Tamaoho]] and [[Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua]] developed.{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=86-87}} Ngāti Whātua people who remained in the area and interwed with Waiohua developed into the modern iwi [[Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei]].<ref name="OnehungaHeritageReport"/> By the 19th century, most Tāmaki Māori peoples moved away from fortified pā and favoured [[kāinga]] closer to resources and transport routes.<ref name="TeAkitai"/>

In the 1820s, the threat of [[Ngāpuhi]] war parties from the north during the [[Musket Wars]] caused most of the Tāmaki Makaurau area to become deserted.<ref name="OnehungaHeritageReport"/> Ngāti Whatua and Waiohua relocated to the [[Waikato]] under the protection of [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]].<ref name="AucklandCouncil"/> A peace accord between Ngāpuhi and [[Waikato Tainui]] was reached through the marriage of Matire Toha, daughter of Ngāpuhi chief Rewa was married to Kati Takiwaru, the younger brother of Tainui chief [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]], who settled together on the slopes of Māngere Mountain.<ref name="AucklandCouncilAmbury"/>{{rp|67}} Ngāti Whātua returned to the Māngere-Onehunga area by the mid-1830s,<ref name="OnehungaHeritageReport"/> re-establishing a pā on Māngere Mountain called Whakarongo.{{sfn|Stone|2001|pp=175}} During the 1840s, Waiohua descendant tribes returned to their [[papakāinga]] (settlements) at Ihumātao, [[Pūkaki Creek|Pūkaki]], Papahīnau, Waimāhia and [[Pukekiwiriki|Te Aparangi]].{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=98}}<ref name="TeAkitai">{{cite report|url=https://www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/OTS/Te-Akitai-Waiohua/Te-Akitai-Waiohua-deed-of-settlement-documents-12-Nov-2021.pdf |title=Deed of Settlement Schedule: Documents |author1=[[Te Ākitai Waiohua]] |author2=Te Ākitai Waiohua Settlement Trust |author3=[[New Zealand Government|The Crown]] |date=12 November 2019 |publisher=[[New Zealand Government]] |access-date=3 April 2023}}</ref> Māngere-Onehunga was the main residence of Auckland-based Ngāti Whātua until the 1840s.<ref name="OnehungaHeritageReport"/>{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=98}}

===Colonial era===
[[File:The first coal digging at Drury (AM PD-2019-5) (cropped).jpg|thumb|A depiction of the first coal mining at [[Drury, New Zealand|Drury]] (1850)]]
[[File:Ihumatao Mission Station opposite Manukau Heads (1855) (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan]] Mission Station at Ihumātao, near [[Maungataketake]] (1855)]]

In January 1836 missionary [[William Thomas Fairburn]] brokered a land sale between [[Tāmaki Māori]] chiefs, [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]] and Turia of [[Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki|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.<ref name="Old Land Claims">{{cite report|url=https://waitangitribunal.govt.nz/assets/wt-theme-a-old-land-claims.pdf |title=Rangahaua Whanui National Theme A: Old Land Claims |first1=D |last1=Moore |first2=B |last2=Rigby |first3=M |last3=Russell |date=July 1997 |publisher=[[Waitangi Tribunal]] |access-date=5 March 2023}}</ref> The Fairburn Purchase was criticised for the sheer size of the purchase, and in 1842 the [[New Zealand Government|Crown]] significantly reduced the size of his land holdings,{{sfn|Wichman, Gwen|1990|pp=3}} and the Crown partitioned much of the land for European settlers.<ref name="Old Land Claims"/>

On 20 March 1840, Ngāti Whātua chief [[Apihai Te Kawau]] signed the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] at Orua Bay on the Manukau Harbour,<ref>{{cite web |title=20 March 1840 |at=MJ_0075 |work=Manukau's Journey - Ngā Tapuwae o Manukau | publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/2086/ |access-date=21 October 2021}}</ref> inviting Lieutenant-Governor [[William Hobson]] to settle in Auckland, hoping this would protect the land and people living in Tāmaki Makaurau.<ref name="TreatyofW">{{cite web|title=Ngāti Whātua and the Treaty of Waitangi |first=Rāwiri |last=Taonui |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/ngati-whatua/page-4|website=Te Ara |date=8 February 2005 |access-date=24 October 2021}}</ref> In the winter of 1840, Ngāti Whātua moved the majority of the iwi to the [[Waitematā Harbour]], with most iwi members resettling to the [[Remuera]]-[[Ōrākei]] area, closer to the new European settlement at [[Waihorotiu Stream|Waihorotiu]] (modern-day [[Auckland City Centre]]). A smaller Ngāti Whātua presence remained at Māngere-Onehunga.{{sfn|Stone|2001|pp=248}}

In 1846, the [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan Methodist Church]] established a mission at the foot of [[Maungataketake]], near Ihumātao.{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=82-83}} The following year, Governor [[George Grey]] established the village of [[Ōtāhuhu]]. The village was created as a way to protect the township of Auckland, and was settled by retired British soldiers of the [[Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps]].<ref name="Urban Form"/> Grey also asked [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]] (then known as a powerful chief and negotiator, but later the first [[Māori King Movement|Māori King]]) to settle at [[Māngere Bridge (suburb)|Māngere Bridge]] as a second defensive site, which developed into a [[Ngāti Mahuta]] village.<ref name="Tawhiao">{{Cite web |url = http://cfgheritage.com/2012_6tawhiaocottage.pdf |title = The Tawhiao Cottage |first1 = Matthew |last1 = Campbell |first2 = Jaden |last2 = Harris |first3 = Wesley |last3 = Maguire |first4 = Stuart |last4 = Hawkins |publisher = CFG Heritage |date = 10 October 2013 |access-date = 21 October 2021 |archive-date = 10 November 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221110171512/http://cfgheritage.com/2012_6tawhiaocottage.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref>{{rp|3}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2017/06/MO_20170621_AGN_7114_AT.PDF |title=Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Open Agenda |author=[[Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board]]|date=21 June 2017|publisher=[[Auckland Council]]|access-date=7 October 2021}}</ref>{{rp|39}} Papakura was established in the late 1840s by a small group of settler families.<ref name="Historic_Heritage_Evaluation_2017">{{cite report |title=Historic Heritage Evaluation: Papakura-Karaka War Memorial|publisher=Auckland Council|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/UnitaryPlanDocuments/pc7-02801-papakura-karaka-war-memorial.pdf|date=2017}}</ref>

The South Auckland area flourished in the 1850s, when Manukau Harbour and Waikato tribes produced goods to sell or barter at the port of [[Onehunga]],<ref name="Tawhiao"/>{{rp|3}} primarily corn, potato, kūmara, pigs, peaches, melons, fish and potatoes.<ref name="Tawhiao"/>{{rp|3}}{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=95}}<ref name="Ngatiteata"/> Ōtāhuhu developed as an agricultural centre and trade hub, with the Tāmaki River becoming one of the busiest waterways in New Zealand by the late 1850s.<ref name="Otahuhu">{{Cite web| url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/arts-culture-heritage/heritage/heritagesurveys/otahuhu-heritage-survey-01.pdf|title=Otahuhu Historic Overview |author1=Matthews & Matthews Architects |first2=Lyn |last2=Williams |date=August 2014 |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="Heritage">{{Cite web| url=https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/9501|title=Panmure Bridge Swing Span and Abutment |publisher=[[Heritage New Zealand]] |access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref>

In April 1851, the [[Tāmaki Bridge]] was constructed along the [[Great South Road, New Zealand|Great South Road]], spurring growth in the [[Papatoetoe]] area.<ref name="HeritageTrail"/> By 1855, the Great South Road was extended as far south as [[Drury, New Zealand|Drury]].<ref name="HeritageTrail"/> Coal mining became a major industry in Drury during this time,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Page 3 Advertisements Column 3 |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZ18590727.2.17.6.3 |work=New Zealander |date=27 July 1859 |access-date=18 April 2018 }}</ref> and in 1862 one of the first tramways in New Zealand was constructed to transport coal from the mine to the Manukau Harbour.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Coal mines |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZ18620507.2.18 |work=New Zealander |date=7 May 1862 |access-date=18 April 2018 }}</ref>

====Invasion of the Waikato====
{{main|Invasion of the Waikato}}
[[File:St John's Redoubt, Papatoetoe 1863 (48752880037) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|St John's Redoubt in modern [[Goodwood Heights]] in 1863]]

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]].<ref name="Essay Vincent">{{cite web|last1=O'Malley|first1=Vincent|author-link1=Vincent O'Malley|title='The great war for NZ broke out less than 50 km from Queen St': Vincent O'Malley on the Waikato War and the making of Auckland|url=http://thespinoff.co.nz/society/06-12-2016/the-great-war-for-nz-broke-out-less-than-50-km-from-queen-st-vincent-omalley-on-the-waikato-war-and-the-making-of-auckland/|website=[[The Spinoff]] |date=6 December 2016 |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref> On 9 July 1863, due to fears of the Māori King Movement, Governor Grey proclaimed that all Māori living in the South Auckland area needed to swear loyalty to the Queen and give up their weapons. Most people refused due to strong links to Tainui, leaving for the south before the Government's [[Invasion of the Waikato]]. Small numbers of people remained, in order to tend to their farms and for [[ahi kā]] (land rights through continued occupation).<ref name="AucklandCouncilAmbury"/>{{rp|68}}<ref name="Tawhiao"/>{{rp|4}} Most Māori occupants of the area felt they had no choice due to their strong ties to Tainui and Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, and were forced to flee to the south.{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=106}} While fleeing, Te Ākitai Waiohua rangatira [[Ihaka Takanini]] and his family were captured by his former neighbour, Lieutenant-Colonel [[Marmaduke Nixon]], and taken prisoner on [[Rakino Island]], where Ihaka Takanini died.{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=100-101, 106-107}}

During the war, many stockades and redoubts were constructed by the Crown troops.{{sfn|Belich|1986|pp=133–134}} This included St John's Redoubt on [[Great South Road, New Zealand|Great South Road]], constructed in order to secure the supply line for troops and in operation until 1864.<ref name="Redoubt">{{cite report|url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/conservation/historic/by-region/auckland/st-johns-redoubt/st-johns-redoubt-heritage-assessment-high-resolution.pdf |title=St Johns Redoubt 1863 Heritage Assessment | last=Dodd |first=Andy |date=25 May 2006 |publisher=[[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]] |access-date=14 October 2024}}</ref> Early skirmishes between the Crown and Kīngitanga forces happened in the forested land around Drury and [[Pukekohe]] areas, including the [[Defence of Pukekohe East]] in September 1863.<ref name="cowan28">{{cite book| last = Cowan| first = James| author-link = James Cowan (New Zealand writer)| title = The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Vol. 1, 1845–1864 | volume= | publisher = RNZ Government Printer | year = 1922| location = Wellington| chapter = 28, The first engagements| url = http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cow01NewZ-c28.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Cowan| first = James| author-link = James Cowan (New Zealand writer)| title = The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Vol. 1, 1845–1864 |volume=| publisher = RNZ Government Printer | year = 1922| location = Wellington| chapter = 30, The defence of the Pukekohe East stockade, section| url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cow01NewZ-c30.html}}</ref>

After the war, the Crown confiscated 1.2 million acres of Māori land around the [[Waikato]], including Waiohua land in South Auckland.<ref name="Papatoetoe">{{cite web|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/arts-culture-heritage/heritage/heritagesurveys/papatoetoe-heritage-survey.pdf |title=Papatoetoe Historic Heritage Survey: Survey Report |date=2014 |author=Auckland Council Heritage Unit |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=28 April 2023}}</ref> The former residents of the Manukau Harbour began returning to the area in 1866,<ref name="Archaeological">{{Cite web |url=https://hearings.aupihp.govt.nz/online-services/new/files/9TgDbD8RVXxGlpsN0eDV7JQQNd1uSWSGC2x7rCid469T |title=Archaeological Assessment of Self Farm / Crater Hill, Papatoetoe, Auckland |first=Russell |last=Gibb |work=Geometria Limited |date=1 September 2015 |access-date=16 May 2022}}</ref> with the [[Māori Land Court|Native Compensation Court]] returning small portions of land in 1867.<ref name="Tawhiao"/>{{rp|4}} Most land was kept by the crown as reserves, or sold on to British immigrant farmers.<ref name="Tawhiao"/>{{rp|4}}{{sfn|Mackintosh|2021|pp=106}}

===Farming communities===
[[File:View of St George Street, Papatoetoe, ca 1925 (cropped).jpg|thumb|In the early 20th century, South Auckland was primarily made up of small rural communities, such as [[Papatoetoe]] (pictured circa 1925)]]

Small farming communities such as began developing in the area in the latter 19th century along the Great South Road corridor.<ref name="Urban Form"/> In 1875, the [[North Island Main Trunk]] began operating in South Auckland, linking the South Auckland area to [[Auckland]] and the [[Waikato]] by train,<ref name="Rail Heritage Trust">{{cite web|url=http://railheritage.org.nz/assets/Dates_and_names.pdf|title=Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations|last=Scoble|first=Juliet|date=2010|website=Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand|access-date=11 November 2018|archive-date=28 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128192739/http://railheritage.org.nz/assets/Dates_and_names.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> and leading to development along this corridor.<ref name="Papatoetoe"/> The first [[Māngere Bridge (bridges)|Māngere Bridge]] was opened in 1875, linking Māngere to Onehunga.<ref name="MangereHeritage">{{Cite web|url=https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2017/08/MO_20170816_AGN_7310_AT_files/MO_20170816_AGN_7310_AT_Attachment_54463_1.PDF |title=Māngere Bridge, Māngere East and Favona Built Heritage Survey |date=June 2016 |publisher=[[Auckland Council]]|access-date=24 October 2021}}</ref>{{rp|2}} The township of Woodside in modern-day [[Wiri]] dwindled in importance after the railway opened, slowly being overtaken by neighbouring [[Manurewa]].{{sfn|Wichman, Gwen|1990|pp=4}} Much of South Auckland was known for wheat production, until the 1880s when dairy farming became popular.<ref name="Papatoetoe"/>{{sfn|Payne|2005|pp=8-11}}<ref>{{cite web |title=22 June 1887 |at=MJ_1180 |work=Manukau's Journey - Ngā Tapuwae o Manukau | publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/7644/rec/109 |access-date=25 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="AucklandCouncilAmbury"/>{{rp|68}}

The first local governments in the area, were established in the 1860s in order to better fund roading projects.<ref name="PreviousLocal"/> During the 1890s, the wetlands of South Auckland were a major location for [[kauri gum]] digging. Papakura township was adjacent to the large Ardmore Gumfield (also known as the Papakura Gumfield), which stretched from [[Manurewa]] to [[Clevedon, New Zealand|Clevedon]]. By the 1900s, Auckland gumfields and swamps began being converted into farmland and orchards.{{sfn|Hayward|1989|pp=5, 44}} In 1890, the Māori King, [[Tāwhiao]], had a residence constructed for his family members at Māngere Bridge, where members of the family including [[Mahuta Tāwhiao]], [[Tumate Mahuta]] and [[Tonga Mahuta]] stayed while attending schools in Auckland.<ref name="Tawhiao"/>{{rp|6}}

The first [[Chinese New Zealanders]] arrived in South Auckland in the 1910s,<ref name="MangereHeritage"/>{{rp|11}}<ref name="December 1925">{{cite web |title=December 1925 |at=MJ_2231 |work=Manukau's Journey - Ngā Tapuwae o Manukau | publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/6705/rec/189 |access-date=25 October 2021}}</ref> Between the 1920s and 1940s, significant portions of South Auckland were used for Chinese-owned and operated market gardens.{{sfn|Payne|2005|pp=8–11}} In 1911, the first controlled powered flight in New Zealand took place in [[Takanini]]. 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 (aviator)|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/first-controlled-powered-flight-new-zealand |title= New Zealand's first controlled powered flight |author=<!--Not stated--> |website= nzhistory.govt.nz |publisher=New Zealand History |access-date=21 July 2020 }}</ref>

During the 1920s, Papatoetoe and Manurewa became some of the fastest growing areas of Auckland.<ref name="HeritageTrail"/>{{sfn|Wichman, Gwen|2001|pp=17}} These were joined by [[Māngere East]], which developed after the opening of the [[Otahuhu Workshops|Otahuhu Railway Workshops]] in the late 1920s.<ref name="Mangere Town Centre">{{cite report|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/arts-culture-heritage/heritage/heritagesurveys/mangere-town-centre-heritage-survey.pdf |title=Māngere Town Centre Historic Heritage Survey |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |author1=Matthews & Matthews Architects |author2=Clough & Associates |author3=JP Adam |author4=RA Skidmore Urban Design |date=November 2013 |access-date=27 April 2023}}</ref> During [[World War II]], the [[Papakura Military Camp]] was established as an important base for the [[New Zealand Army]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/auckland-places/page-17 |title=17. – Auckland places – Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |website=Teara.govt.nz |date=1 July 2015 |access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref> Areas of Papatoetoe and Manurewa were used as military camps for the [[United States Army]]. [[Middlemore Hospital]] opened in 1947, originally intended to be a temporary military hospital.<ref name="Papatoetoe"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/4336/rec/10|title=12 June 1942 |work=Manukau's Journey |publisher=[[Auckland Libraries]] |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref>

In the 1950s, Chinese New Zealand gardeners [[Fay Gock]] and [[Joe Gock]] began cultivating [[Sweet potato cultivation in Polynesia|kūmara]] (sweet potatoes) at their farm beside [[Pukaki Creek]], using plants donated to them by their neighbours at Pūkaki Marae. The Gocks developed a disease-resistant variety of kūmara that became the modern Owairaka Red variety.<ref name="decline">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.30843/nzpp.2011.64.5976| volume = 64| pages = 160–167| last1 = Lewthwaite| first1 = S. L.| last2 = Fletcher| first2 = P. J.| last3 = Fletcher| first3 = J. D.| last4 = Triggs| first4 = C. M.| title = Cultivar decline in sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'')| journal = New Zealand Plant Protection| date = 2011| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref name="Lee">{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Lily |title=The Joe Gock Story |url=https://zhongshan.nz/the-joe-gock-story/ |website=Auckland Zhong Shan Clan Association |date=18 April 2016 |access-date=24 December 2018}}</ref>

===Suburban development===
[[File:Mangere Town Centre, Bit Car-Depressed.jpg|thumb|Large-scale state housing projects were undertaken in South Auckland in the 1960s and 1970s, in areas such as [[Ōtara]] and [[Māngere]] (pictured)]]

The development of the [[Auckland Southern Motorway]] in the mid-1950s led to an explosion in the population of Papatoetoe and Manurewa.<ref name="Papatoetoe"/><ref name="UrbanForm">{{cite web|url=https://knowledgeauckland.org.nz/media/1393/brief-history-of-aucklands-urban-form-arc-apr-2010.pdf |title=A brief history of Auckland's urban form |date=April 2010 |publisher=[[Auckland Regional Council]] |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="McClure"/> In 1958, the first modern supermarket in New Zealand was opened in Papatoetoe, by [[Tom Ah Chee]], Norm Kent and John Brown,<ref name="HeritageTrail"/> and in 1967 the third American-style mall in Auckland was opened, [[Southmall Manurewa]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/streets/id/214/rec/6 |title=Southmall |publisher=[[Auckland Libraries]] |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref>

In 1960, the Manukau Sewage Purification Works (now Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant) was opened in the Manukau Harbour,<ref name="24 September 1960">{{cite web |title=24 September 1960 |at=MJ_3712 |work=Manukau's Journey - Ngā Tapuwae o Manukau | publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/7468/rec/3 |access-date=27 October 2021}}</ref> using algae-based oxidation ponds, around [[Puketutu Island]].<ref name="Wastewater">{{cite web |title=The history of wastewater treatment in Auckland, 1878 to 2005 | publisher=[[Watercare Services]] |url=https://www.watercare.co.nz/CMSPages/GetAzureFile.aspx?path=~%5Cwatercarepublicweb%5Cmedia%5Cwatercare-media-library%5Cwastewater-collection-treatment%5Cwastewater_history.pdf&hash=dc6dd629549612190f48477cb86ba8b25020f64eb606e2ad50c2f76367239589 |access-date=27 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="MangereHeritage"/>{{rp|15–16}}  A new purpose-built [[Auckland Airport]] was opened in Māngere 1966 to replace the [[RNZAF Base Auckland|dual commercial and military airport at Whenuapai]].{{sfn|Lancaster|2011|pp=206–210}} The construction of the airport led to significant reclamation of the [[Manukau Harbour]],<ref name=contractor>{{cite news|url=https://contractormag.co.nz/contractor/heritage-nz/auckland-international-airport/|title=Auckland International Airport: A work in progress|first=Charles|last=Fairbairn|date=4 April 2017|work=Contractor Magazine}}</ref> and the volcanic scoria of [[Maungataketake]] and Puketutu Island was quarried for construction material.<ref name="September1962">{{cite web |title=September 1962 |at=MJ_3870 |work=Manukau's Journey – Ngā Tapuwae o Manukau | publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/7858/rec/337 |access-date=24 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="Puketutu">{{cite news|url=https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2019/07/our-past-to-the-future-rehabilitating-puketutu-island/ |title=Our past to the future – rehabilitating Puketutu Island |date=10 July 2019 |author=Our Auckland |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref>

South Auckland's demographics rapidly changed from the 1950s to the 1970s. Between the 1940s and 1960s, Māori living in rural areas were encouraged to move to cities by the [[Māori Affairs Department]], in order to create a larger industrial labour force.{{sfn|Walker|2004|pp=197-201}}<ref name="TeAraUrban">{{cite web|last1=Meredith|first1=Paul|title=Urban Māori - Urbanisation|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/urban-maori/page-1 |website=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]|publisher=[[Ministry for Culture and Heritage]]|accessdate=1 March 2021 |date=17 February 2015}}</ref> [[Urban Māori]] populations first settled in the inner suburbs of Auckland and areas close to factories; often areas with poor housing.{{sfn|Walker|2004|pp=197-201}} To counter overcrowding in the central suburbs, the New Zealand Government undertook large scale state housing developments, creating planned suburbs in [[Ōtara]] and [[Māngere]] in the 1970s, and adding large areas of state housing around Manurewa and Papatoetoe.{{sfn|Walker|2004|pp=197-201}}<ref name="Urban Form"/> Large-scale immigration of [[Pasifika New Zealanders]] began in the 1950s and 1960s, typically from primarily from [[Western Samoa]] (modern-day Samoa), [[Tonga]], the [[Cook Islands]] and [[Niue]]. By the mid-1970s, [[gentrification]] caused many Pasifika communities to relocate away from the central suburbs, moving to areas such as South Auckland.<ref name="Friesen">{{Cite journal| volume = 35| pages = 55–74| last = Friesen| first = Wardlow| title = The Demographic Transformation of Inner City Auckland| journal = Population Association of New Zealand| date = 2009}}</ref>

In 1965, [[Manukau City]] was formed by the amalgamation of the [[Manurewa Borough]] and Manukau County.{{sfn|Bloomfield|1973|pp=108-116}} The new city decided to create a new commercial and administrative centre, leading to the development of [[Manukau]] in a previously rural area between Manurewa and Papatoetoe.<ref name=Ringer_2010>{{cite web |url=http://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/EN/heritage/localhistory/countiesmanukau/communities/Pages/historyofmaunkaucitycentre.aspx |title=A history of Manukau City Centre |first=Bruce |last=Ringer |date=2010 |publisher=Auckland Libraries |access-date=11 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807081040/http://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/EN/heritage/localhistory/countiesmanukau/communities/Pages/historyofmaunkaucitycentre.aspx |archive-date=7 August 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After the construction of Manukau, South Auckland from Ōtāhuhu to Papakura became a continuous part of the urban sprawl of Auckland.<ref name="Urban Form"/>

In the mid-1970s, construction on [[State Highway 20 (New Zealand)|State Highway 20]] (commonly known as the Southwestern Motorway) began in South Auckland, including [[Māngere Bridge (bridges)#Motorway Bridge|a new motorway bridge]] to be built alongside the existing Māngere Bridge.<ref name="19 February 1983">{{cite web |title=19 February 1983 |at=MJ_5453 |work=Manukau's Journey - Ngā Tapuwae o Manukau | publisher=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections |url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/manukau/id/4377/rec/39 |access-date=27 October 2021}}</ref> Construction was halted by May 1978, when workers organised a [[Strike action|labour strike]] over insufficient redundancy payments. The partially constructed bridge was picketed for a period of two and a half years, becoming the longest continuous labour strike in the history of New Zealand.<ref name="Labour">{{cite web|title=Strikes and labour disputes - The decline of the arbitration system |first=Mark |last=Derby |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/strikes-and-labour-disputes/page-8 |website=Te Ara |date=11 March 2010 |access-date=27 October 2021}}</ref> The [[Auckland Botanic Gardens]] opened in Manurewa in 1982,<ref name="McClure"/> the same year as, [[Rainbow's End (theme park)|Rainbow's End]] a theme park in Manukau. Over time, Rainbow's End expanded to become the largest theme park in New Zealand.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/experiences/adventure-holidays/87121274/fun-parks-they-can-still-make-childrens-dreams-come-true--and-make-a-buck |title=Fun parks say they can still make children's dreams come true – and make a buck |first=Michelle |last=Duff |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=4 December 2016 |access-date=10 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://nzbusiness.co.nz/news-items/rainbows-end-picks-prestigious-award |title=Rainbow's End picks up prestigious award |website=NZ Business Magazine |date=4 October 2017 |access-date=10 May 2023}}</ref>

In the 1989 local government reforms, Manukau, Papatoetoe and [[Howick, New Zealand|Howick]] in [[East Auckland]] amalgamated into the Manukau City,<ref name="AucklandRegion">{{cite web|title=Auckland region - Government, education and health |first=Margaret |last=McClure |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/auckland-region/page-15 |website=Te Ara |date=1 August 2016 |access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> and in 2010 all areas of the [[Auckland Region]] were merged into a single unitary body, administered by [[Auckland Council]].<ref name="Blakeley"/> By the 2010s, areas of South Auckland such as Papatoetoe had developed as major areas for [[South Asian]] communities.<ref name="indiannewslink.co.nz">{{Cite web|last=Bakshi|first=Kanwaljit Singh|author-link=Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi|date=2019-08-14|title=Papatoetoe in South Auckland emerges as Little India|url=https://www.indiannewslink.co.nz/papatoetoe-in-south-auckland-emerges-as-little-india/|access-date=2021-03-03|website=indiannewslink.co.nz|language=en-US}}</ref>

Between 2016 and 2020, [[Ihumātao]] was occupied by protesters, who were concerned at the construction of a housing development on the archaeological site, and called for the land to be returned to [[mana whenua]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/when-worlds-collide-2/|title=When worlds collide|first=Leonie|last=Hayden|magazine=New Zealand Geographic|issue=147|date=September 2017|access-date=15 August 2019|archive-date=1 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801003737/https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/when-worlds-collide-2/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Fletcher Building takes down fences at Ihumātao |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/407789/fletcher-building-takes-down-fences-at-ihumatao |access-date=21 January 2020 |work=[[Radio New Zealand]] |date=21 January 2020 |archive-date=21 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200121035931/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/407789/fletcher-building-takes-down-fences-at-ihumatao |url-status=live }}</ref> In late 2020, the [[New Zealand Government]] purchased the site, with no decision being made on the future of the land.<ref>{{cite news |title=Government to buy disputed land at Ihumātao for close to $30 million |url=https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/government-buy-disputed-land-ihum-tao-close-30-million |access-date=17 December 2020 |work=[[1News]] |date=17 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217102714/https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/government-buy-disputed-land-ihum-tao-close-30-million |archive-date=17 December 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Neilson |first1=Michael |title=Ihumātao group appointed soon, but decision on land's future could take five years |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ihumatao-group-appointed-soon-but-decision-on-lands-future-could-take-five-years/A4J4V336BZ7VCGZGRG6E7QY4WM/ |access-date=21 January 2023 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=1 July 2022}}</ref>

Areas south of Papakura began developing into new suburban housing in the late 2010s. The first of these was [[Paerata|Paerata Rise]] north of Pukekohe,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-vision-for-south-aucklands-newest-village/F5BAL2CDAKIWE2R65UP2WIFX4Y/ |title=The vision for South Auckland's newest village |first=Corazon |last=Miller |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=5 September 2017 |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref> joined by [[Auranga]], an area of coastal [[Karaka, New Zealand|Karaka]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/2b-plus-town-centre-2500-residences-planned-for-drury/EOJBXXMGAERBS4IVVPRTXCBG6Q/ |title=$2b-plus town centre, 2500 residences planned for Drury |first=Anne |last=Gibson |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=17 December 2017 |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref> A major development is planned for the Drury-[[Ōpaheke]] area, to be developed in stages from the 2020s through to the 2050s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/488797/auckland-council-green-lights-2-point-3b-drury-plan-despite-threat-of-legal-action |title=Auckland Council green lights $2.3b Drury plan, despite threat of legal action |first=Stephen |last=Forbes |website=[[Radio New Zealand]] |date=27 April 2023 |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref> Three new train stations will be constructed in the area between Papakura and Pukekohe.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/128704825/new-te-reo-mori-names-proposed-for-south-auckland-train-stations |title=New te reo Māori names proposed for south Auckland train stations |first=Sapeer|last= Mayron |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=20 May 2022 |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref> In the 2010s, a [[Light rail in Auckland|light rail]] line was proposed to link the [[Auckland City Centre]] to Māngere.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/103402210/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-28b-auckland-transport-alignment-project|title=What you need to know about the $28b Auckland Transport Alignment Project|date=26 April 2018|accessdate=27 October 2021|publisher=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lightrail.co.nz/media/gbap33bt/auckland-light-rail-brochure-july-2021.pdf|title=Auckland Light Rail |date=July 2021|accessdate=7 January 2022|publisher=Auckland Light Rail}}</ref>{{rp|2}} In the 2040s, the Auckland Council plans to create a new regional park on Puketutu Island. Much of the island was quarried in the 1950s, and is slowly being refilled with biosolids. At the end of this process, the quarried peaks will be reformed.<ref name="Puketutu"/>

==Demographics==
South Auckland covers {{Convert|166.94|km2||abbr=on}}<ref name="Area">{{Cite web|title=Stats NZ Geographic Data Service|url=https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz/data/|at=2023 Census population change by territorial authority local board|access-date=16 February 2025}}</ref>{{efn-ua|In this section, South Auckland is treated as comprising the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu, Ōtara-Papatoetoe, Manurewa and Papakura local board areas.}} and had an estimated population of {{Decimals|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board area|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Ōtara-Papatoetoe local board area|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Manurewa local board area|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Papakura local board area|y}}|R}}|0}} as of {{NZ population data 2018|||y|y||,}} with a population density of {{Decimals|({{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board area|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Ōtara-Papatoetoe local board area|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Manurewa local board area|y}}|R}}+{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Papakura local board area|y}}|R}})/166.94|0}} people per km<sup>2</sup>.

{{Historical populations|2006|259,227|2013|274,500|2018|316,878|2023|336,693|percentages=pagr|align=left|source=<ref name="Census 2018">{{NZ census 2018|Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Area (CMB07617), Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Area (CMB07618), Manurewa Local Board Area (CMB07619) and Papakura Local Board Area (CMB07620)}}</ref><ref name="Census 2023"/>}}
South Auckland had a population of 336,693 in the [[2023 New Zealand census]], an increase of 19,815 people (6.3%) since the [[2018 New Zealand census|2018 census]], and an increase of 62,193 people (22.7%) since the [[2013 New Zealand census|2013 census]]. There were 167,883 males, 168,006 females and 810 people of [[non-binary gender|other genders]] in 89,619 dwellings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_005&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=doTotal%2Bdo1.07617%2B07618%2B07619%2B07620.2023&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_DWD_003|publisher=Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses}}</ref> 2.2% of people identified as [[LGBTQ|LGBTIQ+]]. There were 80,334 people (23.9%) aged under 15 years, 79,758 (23.7%) aged 15 to 29, 145,350 (43.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 31,248 (9.3%) aged 65 or older.<ref name="Census 2023"/>

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 23.1% [[European New Zealanders|European]] ([[Pākehā]]); 20.7% [[Māori people|Māori]]; 42.8% [[Pasifika New Zealanders|Pasifika]]; 29.2% [[Asian New Zealanders|Asian]]; 1.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 90.1%, Māori language by 5.1%, Samoan by 13.5%, and other languages by 27.3%. No language could be spoken by 3.0% (e.g. too young to talk). [[New Zealand Sign Language]] was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 40.6, compared with 28.8% nationally.<ref name="Census 2023"/>

Religious affiliations were 45.7% [[Christianity in New Zealand|Christian]], 8.4% [[Hinduism in New Zealand|Hindu]], 4.1% [[Islam in New Zealand|Islam]], 2.0% [[Māori religious beliefs]], 1.5% [[Buddhism in New Zealand|Buddhist]], 0.2% [[New Age]], and 5.5% other religions. People who answered that they had [[Irreligion in New Zealand|no religion]] were 26.3%, and 6.6% of people did not answer the census question.<ref name="Census 2023"/>

Of those at least 15 years old, 42,492 (16.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 120,042 (46.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 93,837 (36.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 16,116 people (6.3%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 131,325 (51.2%) people were employed full-time, 23,265 (9.1%) were part-time, and 12,879 (5.0%) were unemployed.<ref name="Census 2023">{{Cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_008&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=hq011%2Bhq010%2Bhq009%2Bhq008%2Bhq007%2Bhq006%2Bhq005%2Bhq004%2Bhq003%2Bhq002%2Bhq001%2Bhq000%2Bws1%2Bsp99%2Bra80%2Bra08%2Bra07%2Bra06%2Bra05%2Bra01%2Bra04%2Bra03%2Bra02%2Bra00%2Brb1%2Bls66%2Bls03%2Bls02%2Bls05%2Bls04%2Bls01%2Beg6%2Beg5%2Beg4%2Beg3%2Beg2%2Beg1%2BbiTotal%2Bbi0%2Bbi1%2BasTotalLG%2Bas4%2Bas3%2Bas2%2Bas1%2Bws4%2Bws3%2Bws2%2Bge3%2Bge2%2Bge1%2Brc%2BasMed%2BegTotal%2BlsTotal%2BgeTotal%2BrbTotal%2BraTotal%2BhqTotal%2BibTotal%2Bib7%2Bibmed%2BwsTotal.07617%2B07618%2B07619%2B07620.2013%2B2018%2B2023&to[TIME]=false&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_003&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001|publisher=Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses|at=Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Area (07617), Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Area (07618), Manurewa Local Board Area (07619) and Papakura Local Board Area (07620)}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Individual statistical areas
|-
!Name !! Area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>) !! Population !! Density<br/>(per km<sup>2</sup>) || Dwellings !! Median age !! Median<br/>income
|-
| Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Area || style="text-align:right;"|52.47 || style="text-align:right;"|78,642 || style="text-align:right;"|1,499 || style="text-align:right;"|19,632 || 30.9 years || $34,700<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_008&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=hq011%2Bhq010%2Bhq009%2Bhq008%2Bhq007%2Bhq006%2Bhq005%2Bhq004%2Bhq003%2Bhq002%2Bhq001%2Bhq000%2Bws1%2Bsp99%2Bra80%2Bra08%2Bra07%2Bra06%2Bra05%2Bra01%2Bra04%2Bra03%2Bra02%2Bra00%2Brb1%2Bls66%2Bls03%2Bls02%2Bls05%2Bls04%2Bls01%2Beg6%2Beg5%2Beg4%2Beg3%2Beg2%2Beg1%2BbiTotal%2Bbi0%2Bbi1%2BasTotalLG%2Bas4%2Bas3%2Bas2%2Bas1%2Bws4%2Bws3%2Bws2%2Bge3%2Bge2%2Bge1%2Brc%2BasMed%2BegTotal%2BlsTotal%2BgeTotal%2BrbTotal%2BraTotal%2BhqTotal%2BibTotal%2Bib7%2Bibmed%2BwsTotal.07617.2013%2B2018%2B2023&to[TIME]=false&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_003&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001|publisher=Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses|at=Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Area}}</ref>
|-
| Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Area || style="text-align:right;"|37.12 || style="text-align:right;"|86,949 || style="text-align:right;"|2,342 || style="text-align:right;"|22,380 || 31.1 years || $36,800<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_008&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=hq011%2Bhq010%2Bhq009%2Bhq008%2Bhq007%2Bhq006%2Bhq005%2Bhq004%2Bhq003%2Bhq002%2Bhq001%2Bhq000%2Bws1%2Bsp99%2Bra80%2Bra08%2Bra07%2Bra06%2Bra05%2Bra01%2Bra04%2Bra03%2Bra02%2Bra00%2Brb1%2Bls66%2Bls03%2Bls02%2Bls05%2Bls04%2Bls01%2Beg6%2Beg5%2Beg4%2Beg3%2Beg2%2Beg1%2BbiTotal%2Bbi0%2Bbi1%2BasTotalLG%2Bas4%2Bas3%2Bas2%2Bas1%2Bws4%2Bws3%2Bws2%2Bge3%2Bge2%2Bge1%2Brc%2BasMed%2BegTotal%2BlsTotal%2BgeTotal%2BrbTotal%2BraTotal%2BhqTotal%2BibTotal%2Bib7%2Bibmed%2BwsTotal.07618.2013%2B2018%2B2023&to[TIME]=false&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_003&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001|publisher=Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses|at=Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Area}}</ref>
|-
| Manurewa Local Board Area || style="text-align:right;"|37.10 || style="text-align:right;"|98,784 || style="text-align:right;"|2,663 || style="text-align:right;"|25,938 || 31.0 years || $37,300<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_008&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=hq011%2Bhq010%2Bhq009%2Bhq008%2Bhq007%2Bhq006%2Bhq005%2Bhq004%2Bhq003%2Bhq002%2Bhq001%2Bhq000%2Bws1%2Bsp99%2Bra80%2Bra08%2Bra07%2Bra06%2Bra05%2Bra01%2Bra04%2Bra03%2Bra02%2Bra00%2Brb1%2Bls66%2Bls03%2Bls02%2Bls05%2Bls04%2Bls01%2Beg6%2Beg5%2Beg4%2Beg3%2Beg2%2Beg1%2BbiTotal%2Bbi0%2Bbi1%2BasTotalLG%2Bas4%2Bas3%2Bas2%2Bas1%2Bws4%2Bws3%2Bws2%2Bge3%2Bge2%2Bge1%2Brc%2BasMed%2BegTotal%2BlsTotal%2BgeTotal%2BrbTotal%2BraTotal%2BhqTotal%2BibTotal%2Bib7%2Bibmed%2BwsTotal.07619.2013%2B2018%2B2023&to[TIME]=false&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_003&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001|publisher=Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses|at=Manurewa Local Board Area}}</ref>
|-
| Papakura Local Board Area || style="text-align:right;"|40.25 || style="text-align:right;"|72,318 || style="text-align:right;"|1,797 || style="text-align:right;"|21,669 || 32.3 years || $44,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_008&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=hq011%2Bhq010%2Bhq009%2Bhq008%2Bhq007%2Bhq006%2Bhq005%2Bhq004%2Bhq003%2Bhq002%2Bhq001%2Bhq000%2Bws1%2Bsp99%2Bra80%2Bra08%2Bra07%2Bra06%2Bra05%2Bra01%2Bra04%2Bra03%2Bra02%2Bra00%2Brb1%2Bls66%2Bls03%2Bls02%2Bls05%2Bls04%2Bls01%2Beg6%2Beg5%2Beg4%2Beg3%2Beg2%2Beg1%2BbiTotal%2Bbi0%2Bbi1%2BasTotalLG%2Bas4%2Bas3%2Bas2%2Bas1%2Bws4%2Bws3%2Bws2%2Bge3%2Bge2%2Bge1%2Brc%2BasMed%2BegTotal%2BlsTotal%2BgeTotal%2BrbTotal%2BraTotal%2BhqTotal%2BibTotal%2Bib7%2Bibmed%2BwsTotal.07620.2013%2B2018%2B2023&to[TIME]=false&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_003&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001|publisher=Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses|at=Papakura Local Board Area}}</ref>
|-
! New Zealand !! !! !! !! !! 38.1 years !! style="text-align:left;"| $41,500
|}
{{notelist-ua}}<section end=Demographics />

==Politics and governance==
=== Local government ===
[[File:Manukau County (1918) (cropped).jpg|thumb|A cadastral map of the former Manukau County in 1918]]

Road boards were the first local government in South Auckland in the 1860s, which were established across the [[Auckland Province]] due to a lack of central government funding for road improvements.<ref name="PreviousLocal">{{Cite web| title = Previous Local Government Agencies| url = http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/CityArchives/DigitalExhibitions/Articles/road_boards/road_boards.htm| publisher = [[Auckland Council]]| access-date = 4 November 2021| archive-date = 26 January 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200126201700/http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/CityArchives/DigitalExhibitions/Articles/road_boards/road_boards.htm| url-status = dead}}</ref> In South Auckland, over 20 road boards were established to administer upkeep for major arterial connections, some of which included the Drury Road Board, Mangere Road Board, Awhitu Road Board and the Hunua Road Board.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Road Boards: Auckland Council's Ancestors |url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/arts-culture-heritage/heritage/archives/Documents/previous-local-government-agencies.pdf | publisher = [[Auckland Council]]| access-date = 19 July 2022}}</ref> In 1876, the [[Manukau County]] was established as the local government for South Auckland.{{sfn|Bloomfield|1973|pp=56-57}} In 1881, the Town District Act allowed communities of more than 50 households to amalgamate into a town district. Large town districts were able to form boroughs, which had their own councils and a greater lending power.{{sfn|Reidy|2009|pp=238}}  The county was split into two bodies in 1912: the Manukau County Council and a new body, the [[Franklin County, New Zealand|Franklin County Council]].{{sfn|Bloomfield|1973|pp=64-68}} Between 1912 and 1955, seven areas of South Auckland split from the Manukau, Franklin or [[Eden County|Eden]] Counties to form independent boroughs: [[Pukekohe]] and [[Ōtāhuhu]] in 1912, [[Manurewa]] in 1937, [[Papakura]] in 1938, [[Papatoetoe]] in 1946 and [[Waiuku]] and [[Tuakau]] in 1955.<ref name="PreviousLocal"/>

In the early 1960s, a movement began to amalgamate the various town and borough councils in South Auckland into a single city,<ref name="CityStatus"/> which became known as the [[Manukau City]]. Churchill was an early name proposed for the city, which was disparaged at the time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19630624.2.168 |via=Papers Past |title=Opposition To Churchill |newspaper=The Press |volume=CII |issue=30165 |date=24 June 1963 |page=15}}</ref> The city formed in 1965, and later that year was joined by [[Papatoetoe City]], after the Papatoetoe borough grew in population. [[Papakura]] became recognised as a city in 1975,{{sfn|Bloomfield|1973|pp=108-116}} and in 1986 Ōtāhuhu joined with [[Mount Wellington, New Zealand|Mount Wellington]] to form a unified city, known as [[Tamaki City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/36978/ |title=Tamaki City Council, 1986 - 1989. |work=Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections Footprints 05058 |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref> With the 1989 local government reforms, Manukau, Papatoetoe and [[Howick, New Zealand|Howick]] in [[East Auckland]] merged to form a larger [[Manukau City]], while Tamaki City was amalgamated into [[Auckland City]] along with the rest of the [[Auckland isthmus]].<ref name="AucklandRegion"/>

On 1 November 2010, Manukau City and Franklin District were merged with the surrounding areas of Auckland to form a single local government area, managed by the [[Auckland Council]] as a unitary authority.<ref name="Blakeley">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.26686/pq.v11i4.4572| issn = 2324-1101| volume = 11| issue = 4| last = Blakeley| first = Roger| title = The planning framework for Auckland 'super city': an insider's view| journal = Policy Quarterly| date = 2015| doi-access = free}}</ref> Within the new system, South Auckland was primarily split into five areas which elect a local board: [[Māngere-Ōtāhuhu]], [[Manurewa Local Board|Manurewa]], [[Ōtara-Papatoetoe]], [[Papakura Local Board|Papakura]] and [[Franklin Local Board|Franklin]]. Ōtāhuhu, previously administered by the Auckland City to the north, was again a part of a South Auckland local government body, and a number of southern and eastern townships within the former [[Franklin District]] became part of the [[Waikato District|Waikato]] and the [[Hauraki District|Hauraki]] districts in the [[Waikato Region]], including [[Tuakau]], [[Pōkeno]], [[Pukekawa]], [[Whakatīwai]] and [[Pūkorokoro / Miranda]].

In addition to local boards, a number of councillors represent South Auckland on the Auckland Council. Voters in the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu and Ōtara-Papatoetoe areas vote for two councillors as a part of the [[Manukau ward]], and people in the Manurewa and Papakura areas vote for two [[Manurewa-Papakura ward]] councillors. Franklin area residents vote for a single [[Franklin ward]] councillor.

===National government===
Traditionally, South Auckland has strongly supported the [[New Zealand Labour Party|Labour Party]] in general elections. Notably, the general electorates of [[Māngere (New Zealand electorate)|Māngere]], [[Panmure-Ōtāhuhu (New Zealand electorate)|Panmure-Ōtāhuhu]] and [[Manurewa (New Zealand electorate)|Manurewa]] are three of Labour's safest seats. However, after the [[2023 New Zealand general election|2023 election]], Labour lost the electorate of [[Takanini (New Zealand electorate)|Takanini]] which is considered to be a marginal seat.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 October 2023 |title=Auckland electorates final election results 2023 |language=en-NZ |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-electorates-final-election-results-2023/SRKAOBXTZBDBRENY3ZLJOO2VOI/}}</ref>

==Notable people==
People who hail from South Auckland include Olympic champion [[John Walker (athlete)|John Walker]], mountaineer [[Edmund Hillary]], and former Prime Minister [[David Lange]]. Many successful sportspeople are South Aucklanders, including rugby players [[Jonah Lomu]] and [[Eric Rush]], rugby league player [[Ruben Wiki]], heavyweight boxers [[David Tua]] and [[Joseph Parker (boxer)|Joseph Parker]], cricketer [[Daryl Tuffey]], kickboxer [[Mark Hunt]], indycar racer [[Scott Dixon]], and shot-putter [[Valerie Adams]]. Prominent entertainers from South Auckland include musicians [[Young Sid]], [[Savage (rapper)|Savage]], [[Pauly Fuemana]], and [[P-Money]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
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*{{cite book | last = Belich | first = James | author-link =James Belich (historian) | title =The New Zealand Wars | publisher =Penguin | year = 1986| location =Auckland | isbn =0-14-027504-5}}
*{{cite book |last1=Bloomfield |first1=G.T. |title=The Evolution of Local Government Areas in Metropolitan Auckland, 1840–1971 |publisher=Auckland University Press, Oxford University Press |date=1973 |isbn=0-19-647714-X}}
*{{cite book |last1=Cameron |first1=Ewen |last2=Hayward |first2= Bruce |author-link2=Bruce Hayward |last3=Murdoch |first3= Graeme |title=A Field Guide to Auckland: Exploring the Region's Natural and Historical Heritage |isbn=978-1-86962-1513 |publisher=Random House New Zealand |year=2008 |edition=Revised}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hayward |first1=Bruce W. |author-link1=Bruce Hayward |title=Kauri Gum and the Gumdiggers |publisher=The Bush Press |date=1989 |isbn=0-908608-39-X}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hayward |first1=Bruce |author-link1=Bruce Hayward |chapter=Land, Sea and Sky  |editor-last1=Macdonald |editor-first1=Finlay |editor-link1=Finlay Macdonald (editor) |editor-last2=Kerr |editor-first2=Ruth |title=West: The History of Waitakere |publisher=Random House |date=2009 |isbn=9781869790080}}
*{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Pei Te Hurinui |last2=Biggs |first2=Bruce |title=Ngā iwi o Tainui: Nga Koorero Tuku Iho a Nga Tuupuna = The traditional history of the Tainui people |date=2004 |publisher=Auckland University Press |location=Auckland [N.Z.] |isbn=1869403312}}
*{{Cite book| editor-first=John| editor-last=La Roche |editor-link=John La Roche |title=Evolving Auckland: The City's Engineering Heritage |year=2011 |publisher=Wily Publications |chapter=Auckland International Airport |first1=Mike |last1=Lancaster |isbn=9781927167038}}
*{{cite book |last1=Mackintosh |first1=Lucy |author-link1=Lucy Mackintosh (historian) |title=Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland |publisher=[[Bridget Williams Books]] |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-988587-33-2 |doi=10.7810/9781988587332}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Murdoch |first1=Graeme | editor-first=James| editor-last=Northcote-Bade |title=West Auckland Remembers| volume=1 |year=1990 |publisher=West Auckland Historical Society |isbn=0-473-00983-8 |chapter=Nga Tohu o Waitakere: the Maori Place Names of the Waitakere River Valley and its Environs; their Background History and an Explanation of their Meaning|pages=9–32}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Payne | first1=Val |title = Celebrating Mangere Bridge | publisher = Mangere Historical Society |isbn= 0-476-00941-3 |year=2005}}
*{{cite book |last1=Reidy |first1=Jade |chapter=How the West Was Run |pages=237–256 |editor-last1=Macdonald |editor-first1=Finlay |editor-link1=Finlay Macdonald (editor) |editor-last2=Kerr |editor-first2=Ruth |title=West: The History of Waitakere |publisher=Random House |date=2009 |isbn=9781869790080}}
*{{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=R. C. J. |author-link1=Russell Stone (historian) |title=From Tamaki-makau-rau to Auckland |publisher=Auckland University Press |date=2001 |isbn=1869402596}}
*{{Cite book| title=Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou - Struggle Without End |year=2004 |publisher=[[Penguin Books (NZ)|Penguin Books]] |first1=Ranginui |last1=Walker |author-link1=Ranginui Walker |isbn=9780143019459 |location=Auckland, New Zealand |edition=2nd}}
*{{cite Q|Q117327773 |author=Wichman, Gwen |year=1990}} <!-- author, year added to suppress false positive sfn error -->
*{{cite Q|Q117421984 |author=Wichman, Gwen |year=2001}}
{{Refend}}

{{Auckland}}
{{Subject bar|auto=y|d=y}}

[[Category:Auckland|South]]
[[Category:Geography of Auckland]]
[[Category:Māori culture in Auckland]]
[[Category:Polynesian-New Zealand culture in Auckland]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 19th century]]