The
Auckland metropolitan area (commonly ), in the
North
Island
of New
Zealand
, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with a
population approaching 1.4 million residents, percent of the
country's population. Demographic trends indicate that it
will continue to grow faster than the rest of the country.
Increasingly cosmopolitan, Auckland also has the largest
Polynesian population of any city in the world,
and has seen many people of Asian ethnicity move there in the last
two decades. In
Māori Auckland's
name is
Tāmaki-makau-rau, or the transliterated
version of Auckland,
Ākarana.
The 2009
Mercer Quality
of Living Survey ranked Auckland 4th place in the world on its
list.
In
2008, Auckland was classified as an Alpha-City in the World Cities Study Group’s
inventory by Loughborough University
.
Auckland
lies between the Hauraki
Gulf
of the Pacific Ocean
to the east, the low Hunua
Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour
to the south-west, and the Waitakere
Ranges
and smaller ranges to the west and
north-west. The central part of the urban area occupies a
narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour
on the Tasman
Sea
and the Waitemata Harbour
on the Pacific Ocean
. It is one of the few cities in the world to
have harbours on two separate major bodies of water.
History
- Main article History of
Auckland
Early Māori and Europeans
The isthmus was first settled around 1350 and was valued for its
rich and fertile land. Many
pā (fortified villages) were
created, mainly on the volcanic peaks. Māori population in the area
is estimated at about 20,000 people before the arrival of
Europeans. The subsequent introduction of firearms, which began in
Northland, upset the balance of power and led to devastating
inter-tribal warfare, causing
iwi who lacked the
new weapons to seek refuge in areas less exposed to coastal raids.
As a result, the region had relatively low numbers of Māori when
European settlement of New Zealand began. There is, however,
nothing to suggest that this was the result of a deliberate
European policy.
On 27 January 1832, Joseph Brooks Weller,
eldest of the Weller brothers of
Otago and Sydney
bought land
including the sites of the modern cities of Auckland and North
Shore and part of Rodney District, for "one large cask of powder"
from "Cohi Rangatira".
After the signing of the
Treaty of
Waitangi in February 1840, the new Governor of New Zealand,
William Hobson, chose the area as his
new capital, and named it after
George Eden, Earl of
Auckland, then
Viceroy of
India.
Auckland was officially declared New
Zealand's capital in 1841, and the transfer of the administration
from Russell
in the Bay of Islands was completed in 1842.
However,
even in 1840 Port
Nicholson
(later
Wellington
) was seen as a better choice for an administrative
capital because of its proximity to the South Island
, which was being settled much more rapidly, and
Wellington became the capital in 1865. Auckland was the
principal city of the Auckland Province
until the provincial system was abolished in
1876.
Growth up to today
In the early 1860s, Auckland became a base against the
Māori King Movement.
This, and continued
road building towards the south into the Waikato
, enabled
Pākehā (European New Zealanders)
influence to spread from Auckland. Its population grew
fairly rapidly, from 1,500 in 1841 to 12,423 by 1864. The growth
occurred similarly to other
mercantile-dominated cities, mainly around the
port and with problems of overcrowding and pollution.
Trams and railway lines shaped Auckland's rapid expansion in the
early first half of the 20th century, but soon afterward the
dominance of the motor vehicle emerged and has not abated since;
arterial roads and motorways have become both defining and
geographically dividing features of the urban landscape.
They also
allowed further massive expansion that resulted in the growth of
associated urban areas like the North Shore
(especially after the construction of the Auckland
Harbour Bridge
), and Manukau City
in the south.
A large percentage of Auckland is dominated by a very
suburban style of building, giving the city a very
low
population density. Some
services like public transport are costlier than in other
higher-density cities, but Aucklanders are still able to live in
single-family dwellings similar to the rest of the New Zealand
population, although lot sizes tend to be smaller than many other
centres.
Geography and climate
Volcanoes
Auckland straddles the
Auckland
Volcanic Field, which has produced approximately 50 volcanoes.
These take the form of cones, lakes, lagoons, islands and
depressions, and several have produced extensive lava flows. Most
of the cones have been partly or completely
quarried away. The individual volcanoes are all
considered extinct, although the volcanic field itself is merely
dormant.
Unlike
the explosive subduction-driven volcanism in the central North Island, such as at
Mount
Ruapehu
and Lake
Taupo
, Auckland's volcanoes are fueled entirely by
basaltic magma.
The most
recent and by far the largest volcano, Rangitoto Island
, was formed within the last 1000 years, and its
eruptions destroyed the Māori settlements on neighbouring Motutapu
Island
some 700 years ago. Rangitoto's size, its
symmetry, its position guarding the entrance to Waitemata
Harbour
and its visibility from many parts of the Auckland
region make it Auckland's most iconic natural feature. Few
birds and insects inhabit the island because of the rich acidic
soil and the type of flora growing out of the rocky soil.
Harbours and Gulf
Auckland
lies on and around an isthmus, less than two
kilometres wide at its narrowest point, between Mangere Inlet and the Tamaki River
. There are two harbours in the Auckland urban
area surrounding this isthmus: Waitemata Harbour
to the north, which opens east to the Hauraki Gulf
, and Manukau Harbour
to the south, which opens west to the Tasman Sea
.
Bridges
span parts of both harbours, notably the Auckland
Harbour Bridge
crossing the Waitemata Harbour west of the Auckland Central Business
District
(CBD). The Mangere
Bridge and the Upper Harbour Bridge
span the upper reaches of the Manukau and Waitemata
Harbours, respectively. In earlier times,
portage paths crossed the narrowest sections of the
isthmus.
Several
islands of the Hauraki
Gulf
are administered as part of Auckland City, though
they are not officially part of the Auckland metropolitan
area. Parts of Waiheke Island
effectively function as Auckland suburbs, while
various smaller islands near Auckland are mostly zoned
'recreational open space' or are nature sanctuaries.
Climate
Auckland has a warm-
temperate
climate, with warm, humid summers and mild, damp winters. It is
the warmest main centre of New Zealand and is also one of the
sunniest, with an average of 2060 sunshine hours per annum The
average daily maximum temperature is 23.7
°C
in February, and 14.5
°C in July, the
absolute maximum recorded temperature is 32.4 °C, while the
absolute minimum is -2.5. High levels of rainfall occur almost
year-round with an average of 1240 mm per year spread over 137
'rain days'. Climatic conditions vary in different parts of the
city owing to geography such as hills, land cover and distance from
the sea, hence unofficial temperature records exist, such as a
maximum of 34°C in west Auckland. On
27 July
1939 Auckland received its only recorded
snowfall.
The early morning calm on the isthmus during settled weather,
before the sea breeze rises, was described as early as 1853:
"In all seasons, the beauty of the day is in the early
morning. At that time, generally, a solemn stillness
holds, and a perfect calm prevails..." Many Aucklanders used
this time of day to walk and run in parks.
Auckland, the Capital
of New Zealand -
Swainson, William, Smith Elder,
1853
As car ownership rates are very high and emissions controls
relatively weak, Auckland suffers from some
air pollution, especially in regards to
fine particles emissions. There are
also occasional breaches of guideline levels of
carbon monoxide. While maritime winds
normally disperse the pollution relatively quickly it can sometimes
become visible as
smog, especially on calm
winter days.
People
Cultures
Auckland is home to many cultures. The majority of inhabitants
claim
European - predominantly
British - descent, but substantial
Māori,
Pacific Islander and
Asian communities exist as well. Auckland has
the largest
Polynesian population of any
city in the world and a higher proportion of people of Asian origin
than the rest of New Zealand. Ethnic groups from all corners of the
world have a presence in Auckland, making it by far the country's
most
cosmopolitan city.
Demographics
The proportion of Asians and other Non-European immigrants has
increased during the last decades due to immigration, and the
removal of restrictions
directly or indirectly based on race. Immigration to New
Zealand is heavily concentrated towards Auckland (partly for job
market reasons). This strong focus on Auckland has led the
immigration services to award extra points towards immigration visa
requirements for people intending to move to other parts of New
Zealand.
The following table shows the ethnic profile of Auckland's
population, as recorded in the 2001 and 2006
New Zealand
Census. The percentages add up to more than 100%, as some
people counted themselves as belonging to more than one ethnic
group. Figures for 2006 refer to the whole Auckland Region, not
just the urban area. The substantial percentage drop of 'Europeans'
was mainly caused by the increasing numbers of people from this
group choosing to define themselves as 'New Zealanders' - even
though this was not one of the groups listed on the census
form.
Ethnic Group |
2001 (%) |
2001 (people) |
2006 (%) |
2006 (people) |
New Zealand European |
66.9 |
684,237 |
56.5 |
698,622 |
Pacific Island |
14.9 |
152,508 |
14.4 |
177,936 |
Asian |
14.6 |
149,121 |
18.9 |
234,222 |
Māori |
11.5 |
117,513 |
11.1 |
137,133 |
Middle Easterners/Latin Americans/Africans |
n/a |
n/a |
1.5 |
18,555 |
Others |
1.3 |
13,455 |
0.1 |
648 |
'New Zealanders' |
n/a |
n/a |
8.0 |
99,258 |
Total giving their ethnicity |
|
1,022,616 (individuals) |
|
1,237,239 (individuals) |
The 2006 Census also provides information about the
multilinguality of the region. 867,825 people
in the Auckland Region spoke one language only, 274,863 spoke two,
and 57,051 three or more.
Religion
Similar to the rest of the country, over half of Aucklanders
profess
Christianity, but fewer than
10% regularly attend church and almost 40% profess no religious
affiliation (2001 census figures). The main denominations are
Roman Catholic,
Anglican and
Presbyterian.
Pentecostal and
charismatic churches are the fastest
growing. A small community of
Coptic Orthodox
Christians is also present.
Recent immigration from Asia has added to the religious diversity
of the city, and about 10% of the population follow such beliefs as
Buddhism,
Hinduism,
Islam and
Sikhism,
although there are no figures on religious attendance. There is
also a small, long-established
Jewish
community.
Lifestyle
Positive aspects of Auckland life are its mild climate, plentiful
employment and educational opportunities, as well as numerous
leisure facilities. Meanwhile, traffic problems, the lack of good
public transport, and increasing housing costs have been cited by
many Aucklanders as among the strongest negative factors of living
there, together with crime. Nonetheless, Auckland currently ranks
4th equal in a survey of the
quality of life of 215
major cities of the world (2009 data).
Quality of Living global city rankings 2009
(
Mercer Management
Consulting, Accessed 2 May 2009).In 2006, Auckland placed 23rd
on the
UBS list of the world's richest
cities.
Auckland - Skyline from Westhaven Marina.
Auckland - Skyline from Symonds street.
Leisure
Auckland is popularly known as the "City of Sails" because the
harbour is often dotted with hundreds of yachts and has more per
capita than any other city in the world, with around 135,000
yachts and
launches. Around 60,500 of the country's
149,900 registered yachtsmen come from the Auckland Region.
Viaduct Basin
also hosted two America's
Cup challenges (2000
Cup and 2003 Cup),
and its cafes, restaurants, and clubs add to Auckland's vibrant
nightlife. With the sheltered Waitemata Harbour at its
doorstep, Auckland sees many nautical events, and there are also a
large number of sailing clubs in Auckland, as well as Westhaven
Marina
, the largest of the Southern Hemisphere
. [Sailing Club] directory (from the
yachtingnz.org website)
High
Street, Queen
Street
, Ponsonby Road
, and Karangahape Road
are very popular with urban socialites.
Newmarket and Parnell
are up-market shopping areas, while Otara
's and
Avondale
's fleamarkets offer a colourful alternative
shopping experience. Newer shopping malls tend to be outside city
centres, with Sylvia
Park
(Sylvia Park, Auckland City), Botany Town Centre (Howick,
Manukau City) and Westfield Albany
(Albany, North Shore City) being the three
largest.
The
Auckland
Town Hall
and Aotea
Centre
host conferences and cultural events such as
theatre, kapa haka, and opera. Auckland also boasts a full-time
professional
symphonic ensemble
in the
Auckland
Philharmonia Orchestra.
Many
national treasures are displayed at the Auckland Art
Gallery
, such as the work of Colin
McCahon, while many other significant cultural artefacts reside
at the Auckland War Memorial Museum
, the National Maritime
Museum, or the Museum of Transport and
Technology
(MOTAT). Exotic creatures can be observed at the
Auckland
Zoo
and Kelly Tarlton's Underwater
World
. Movies and rock concerts (notably, the
"
Big Day Out") are also well
patronised.
The
Waitemata Harbour has popular swimming beaches at Mission
Bay
, Devonport
, Takapuna
, and the west coast has popular surf spots such as
Piha
and Muriwai
. Many Auckland beaches are patrolled by
surf lifesaving clubs, which are
part of
Surf Life
Saving Northern Region.
Parks and nature
Auckland
Domain
is one of the largest parks in the city, close to
the Auckland
CBD
and having a good view of the Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto
Island
. Smaller parks close to the city centre are
Albert
Park
, Myers Park
, Western Park
and Victoria Park
.
While most volcanic cones in the
Auckland Volcanic Field have been
affected by quarrying, many of the remaining cones are now within
parks, and retain a more natural character than the surrounding
city.
Prehistoric earthworks and historic
fortifications are in several of these parks, including Mount Eden
, North Head
and One Tree Hill
(Maungakiekie).
Other
parks around the city are in Western Springs
, which has a large park bordering the MOTAT
museum and
the Auckland
Zoo
. The Auckland Botanic Gardens
are further south, in Manurewa.
Ferries
provide transport to parks and nature reserves at Devonport
, Waiheke
Island
, Rangitoto
Island
and Tiritiri Matangi
. The Waitakere Ranges
Regional Park to the west of Auckland offers
beautiful and relatively unspoiled bush territory, as do the Hunua Ranges to the south.
Sport
- Locations
The most popular sports in Auckland are
rugby union and
cricket.
Auckland has a considerable number of rugby union and cricket
grounds, and venues for motorsports, tennis, badminton, netball,
swimming, soccer, rugby league, and many other sports.
- Main teams
- Major events
Popular annual sporting events include:
- The
Auckland Harbour Crossing
Swim swim from North Shore City
to the Viaduct Basin
, Auckland CBD, is a yearly summer event, covering
2.8 km (often with some considerable counter-currents) and
attended by over a thousand mostly amateur competitors. It
is New Zealand's largest ocean swim.
- The
'Round the Bays' fun-run, starting in
the city and going 8.4 kilometres (5.2 miles) along the waterfront
to the suburb of St Heliers
. It attracts many tens of thousands of
people and has been an annual March event since 1972.
- The Auckland Marathon (and
half-marathon), an annual marathon which draws thousands of
competitors.
Auckland hosted the
1950
British Empire Games and the 14th
Commonwealth Games in 1990, and will
host a number of matches (including the semi-final and the final)
of the
2011 Rugby World
Cup.
Economy
Most major international corporations have an Auckland office, as
the city is the economic capital of the nation.
The most expensive
office space is around lower Queen Street
and the Viaduct Basin
in the Auckland CBD
, where many financial and business services are
located, which make up a large percentage of the CBD
economy. A large proportion of the technical and trades
workforce is based in the industrial zones of
South Auckland.
The
largest commercial and industrial areas of Greater Auckland are in
the southeast of Auckland City and the western parts of Manukau
City, mostly bordering the Manukau Harbour
and the Tamaki River
estuary.
Auckland's status as the largest commercial centre of the country
reflects in the high median personal income (per working person,
per year) which was
NZ$44,304 (approx.
US$33,000) for the region in 2005, with jobs in the
Auckland CBD often earning more.
The median personal income (for all
persons older than 15 years of age, per year) was NZ$22,300 (2001),
behind only North Shore
City
(also part of the Greater Auckland area) and
Wellington
. While office workers still account for a
large part of Auckland's commuters, large office developments in
other parts of the city, for example in Takapuna
or Albany
, both North Shore City
, are slowly becoming more common, reducing
concentration on the Auckland CBD somewhat.
Education
Auckland has a number of important educational institutions,
including some of the largest universities in the country. Auckland
is a major centre of overseas language education, with large
numbers of foreign students (particularly East Asians) coming to
the city for several months or years to learn English or study at
universities - although numbers New Zealand-wide have dropped
substantially since peaking in 2003. As of 2007, there are around
50
NZQA certified schools and institutes
teaching English in the Auckland area.
Auckland has a multitude of
primary and secondary schools.
The city also has several private schools.
Auckland contains New
Zealand's three largest (by full-time student numbers) high
schools: Rangitoto
College
, Avondale College
and Massey High School
respectively. It also contains New
Zealand's largest Catholic school, St Peter's
College
.
Amongst
the most important tertiary educational institutes are the University
of Auckland
(city and Tamaki Campus), Auckland
University of Technology
(city campus), Massey University
(Albany campus) and the Manukau
Institute of Technology
(Otara campus), with Unitec New Zealand (Mt Albert campus)
being the largest technical institute in Auckland.
Housing
Housing varies considerably between some suburbs having
state owned housing in the lower income
neighbourhoods, to palatial waterfront estates, especially on the
Waitemata. Traditionally, the most common residence of Aucklanders
was a bungalow on a '
quarter acre'
(1,000 m²), however subdividing such properties with 'infill
housing', has long been the norm. Aucklanders' housing preferences
resulting from a lack of apartments and poor public transport has
resulted in a large
urban sprawl and
reliance on motor vehicles. This will probably continue, as the
vast majority of Aucklanders live in low-density housing, which is
expected to remain at up to 70% of the total share even in
2050.
In some areas, the Victorian
villas are being
increasingly torn down to make way for large plaster mansions with
tennis courts and swimming pools. The demolition of the older
properties is being combated by the Auckland City Council passing
laws that cover heritage suburbs or streets. Auckland has been
described as having 'the most extensive range of timbered housing
with its classical details and mouldings in the world', many of
them Victorian-Edwardian style houses.
Government
Local
The
metropolitan area is made up of Auckland City
(excluding the Hauraki Gulf islands), North Shore
City
, the urban parts of Waitakere
and Manukau
cities, and Papakura District
and some urban parts of Rodney and Franklin Districts. The
Auckland Regional Council is the
regional council with
jurisdiction for the area.
Central government have recommended the amalgamation of local
government into an Auckland Council. Some Aucklanders blame limited
progress on Auckland's issues on poor governance and the
fragmentation of the city into various councils (currently seven
"City/District" authorities, plus one "Regional" authority). Others
point to the fact that a previous integration of the many much
smaller Borough Councils did not bring the promised advantages
either, and reduced local participation in politics. In 2007, the
government set up a
Royal Commission on
Auckland Governance to report on what restructuring should be
done. The report was released on
March 27
2009 and the government subsequently announced
that a "super city" would be set up to include the full
metropolitan area under an Auckland Council with a single mayor and
20-30 local boards, by the time of the local body elections in
2010.
Many
aspects of the proposed reorganisation were or are still
controversial, such whether all of the Auckland Region
should be integrated into the super city, or
whether the new structure allows sufficient local
democracy.
National
Between 1842 and 1865, Auckland was the capital city of New
Zealand.
The capital was moved to Wellington
in 1865.
Auckland, because of its large population, is currently covered by
21 general electorates and three Maori electorates. Prior to 2008,
there were only 20 general electorates, with the new seat of Botany
being created in 2008 due to the increase in population around
Auckland.As of the 2008 election, thirteen of the seats are held by
the governing
National
Party, eight seats (seven general, one Maori) being held by the
opposing
Labour Party, one
seat by the
ACT Party, and two seats (both
Maori) by the Maori Party.
Transport
Travel modes
- Road and rail
Auckland is highly dependent on private vehicles as the main form
of transportation, with only around 5% of all journeys in the
Auckland region being undertaken by bus (1998 data), though these
numbers have since improved somewhat. In 2009 Auckland still ranks
quite low in this regard, having only 41 public transport trips per
capita per year, while Wellington has more than twice this number
at 91, and Sydney has 114 trips. This strong roading focus results
in substantial
traffic congestion
during peak times.
Bus services in Auckland are mostly radial rather than
ring-routes, due to Auckland being on an
isthmus. Late-night services (i.e. past midnight)
are limited, even on weekends. Trains service the west and
southeast of Auckland, with longer-distance options scarce. In 2007
approximately NZ$5.3 billion worth of large-scale projects was
underway or planned (and budgeted for) in the Auckland area to
improve rail and public transport patronage over the next decade,
31% of the transport budget. However, policy changes in early 2009
by the incoming National government have meant a shift in emphasis
to more highway construction, and have removed the provision of a
regional fuel tax that was to pay for
ARTA's public
transport upgrades. While the government has promised to fund the
rail
electrification, the process and associated tenders have been
postponed, and many rail station upgrades and the funding of the
integrated ticketing upgrade
are in doubt. The lack of future funding also forced ARTA to hand
over the Auckland region's rail stations to government
control.
- Other modes
Auckland's
ports
are the largest of the country, and a large part of
both inbound and outbound New Zealand commerce travels through
them, mostly via the facilities northeast of Auckland CBD.
Freight usually arrives at or is distributed from the port via
road, though the port facilities also have rail access.
Auckland
is a major cruise ship stopover point, with the ships usually tying
up at Princes
Wharf
. Auckland CBD is connected to coastal
suburbs, to North Shore
City
and to outlying islands by ferry.
Auckland
has various small regional airports and Auckland Airport
, the busiest of the country.
- Policies
Research
at Griffith
University
has indicated that in the last 50 years, Auckland
has engaged in some of the most pro-automobile transport policies
anywhere in the world. With public transport declining
heavily during the second half of the 20th century (a trend
mirrored in most Western countries such as the US), and increased
spending on roads and cars, New Zealand (and specifically Auckland)
now has the second-highest vehicle ownership rate in the world,
with around 578 vehicles per 1000 people.
Sustainable
Transport North Shore City Council website Auckland has also
been called a very pedestrian- and cyclist-unfriendly city, though
some efforts are being made to change this. At the same,
high-profile gaps in the network, such as the inability for
pedestrians and cyclists to cross the Waitemata Harbour, will
probably remain for the foreseeable future, with councils generally
not considering the costs involved as sensible expense.
Infrastructure
The
State Highway
network connects the cities in the Auckland urban area through
the Northern, Southern, Northwestern and Southwestern
Motorways.
The
Auckland
Harbour Bridge
(Northern Motorway) is the main connection to
North Shore
City
, and also a major traffic bottleneck. The
Harbour Bridge does not provide access for rail, pedestrians or
cyclists, which has repeatedly (most recently in 2008) led to
campaigns for and investigations into retrofitting the
structure.
The
Central
Motorway Junction
, also called 'Spaghetti Junction' for its
complexity, is the intersection between the two major motorways of
Auckland (State Highway 1 and State Highway 16).
Two of the longest arterial roads within Greater Auckland are
Great North Road and
Great South Road - the
main connections in those directions before the construction of the
State Highway network.
Auckland
has three main railway lines, serving the general western,
southern, and central eastern directions from the Britomart
Transport Centre
in downtown Auckland. It is the terminal
station for all lines, and connects them to ferry and bus
services.
Future growth

The urbanised extents of Auckland
shown in grey, as of approximately 2007.
Auckland is expecting substantial population growth via immigration
and natural population increases (which contribute to growth at
about one-third and two-thirds, respectively), and is set to grow
to an estimated 2 million inhabitants by 2050. This substantial
increase in population will have a major impact on transport,
housing and other infrastructure that is in many cases already
considered under pressure. It is also feared by some organisations,
such as the
Auckland Regional
Council, that
urban sprawl will
result from the growth and, as a result, that it is necessary to
address this proactively in planning
policy.
A 'Regional Growth Strategy' has been adopted that sees limits on
further subdivision and intensification of existing use as its main
sustainability measures. This policy
is contentious, as it naturally limits the uses of private land,
especially the subdivision of urban fringe properties, by setting
'Metropolitan Urban Limits' in planning documents like the
District Plan.According to the 2006 Census
projections, the medium-variant scenario shows that the population
is projected to continue growing, to reach 1.93 million by 2031.
The high-variant scenario shows the region's population growing to
over two million by 2031.
Famous sites
Tourist attractions and landmarks in the Auckland metropolitan area
include:
- Attractions and buildings
- Auckland Civic Theatre
- a famous heritage atmospheric theatre in downtown
Auckland. It was renovated in 2000 to its original
condition.
- Harbour Bridge
- connecting Auckland and the North
Shore
, an iconic symbol of Auckland.
- Auckland Town Hall
- with its concert hall considered to have some of
the finest acoustics in the world, this 1911 building serves both
council and entertainment functions.
- Auckland War Memorial Museum
- a large multi-exhibition museum in the Auckland
Domain
, known for its impressive neo-classicist style.
- Aotea Square
- the hub of downtown Auckland beside Queen Street,
it is the site of crafts markets, rallies and arts
festivals.
- Britomart Transport Centre
- the main downtown public transport centre in
a historic Edwardian building.
- Eden
Park
- the city's primary stadium
and a frequent home for All Blacks
rugby union and Black Caps cricket matches. It will be the location of
the 2011 Rugby World Cup final.
- Karangahape Road
- known as "K' Road", a street in upper central
Auckland famous for its bars, clubs and smaller shops.
- Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter &
Underwater World
- a well-known aquarium and
Antarctic environment in the eastern suburb of Mission
Bay
, built in a set of former sewage storage tanks,
showcasing penguins, turtles, sharks, tropical fish, sting rays and
other marine creatures.
- MOTAT
- Auckland's Museum for Transport and Technology,
at Western
Springs
.
- Mt Smart Stadium
- a stadium used mainly for rugby league and soccer matches. Also the site of
many concerts.
- New Zealand National
Maritime Museum - features exhibitions and collections relating
to New Zealand maritime history at Hobson Wharf, adjacent to the
Viaduct
Basin
.
- Ponsonby
- a suburb and main street west of central Auckland
known for arts, cafes and culture.
- Queen Street
- the main street of the city, from Karangahape
Road down to the harbour.
- Sky
Tower
- the tallest free-standing structure in the
Southern
Hemisphere
, it is tall and has excellent panoramic
views.
- Vector Arena
- events centre in downtown Auckland completed in
2007. Holding 12,000 people, it is used for sports and
concert events.
- Viaduct Basin
- a marina and residential development in downtown
Auckland, the venue for the America's Cup regattas in 2000 and
2003.
- Western Springs Stadium
- a natural amphitheatre used mainly for speedway races, rock
and pop concerts.
- Landmarks
- Auckland Domain
- one of the largest parks of the city, close to
the CBD
and having a
good view of the harbour and of Rangitoto
Island.
- Mount
Eden
- a volcanic cone with
a grassy crater. As the
highest natural point in Auckland City, it offers 360-degree views
of Auckland and is thus a favorite tourist outlook.
- Mount Victoria
- a volcanic cone in North Shore
City
offering a spectacular view of Auckland.
A brisk
walk from the Devonport ferry terminal, the cone is steeped in
history, as is nearby North Head
.
- One Tree Hill
(Maungakiekie) - a volcanic cone that dominates
the skyline in the southern, inner suburbs. It no longer has
a tree on the summit (after a politically motivated attack on the
old tree) but is still crowned by an obelisk.
- Rangitoto Island
- guards the entrance to Waitemata
Harbour
, and forms a prominent feature on the eastern
horizon.
- Waiheke Island
- the second largest island in the Hauraki Gulf
and is well known for its beaches, forests,
vineyards and olive groves.

See also
References
- Auckland and around (from the Rough Guide website)
- http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2008t.html | "The World
According to GaWC 2008"
- George Weller’s Claim to lands in the Hauraki Gulf - transcript
of original in National Archives, ms-0439/03 (A-H) HC.
- What's Doing In; Auckland -
The New York Times, 25 November
1990
- Ian E.M. Smith and Sharon R. Allen, Volcanic Hazards: Auckland Volcanic Field,
Volcanic Hazards Working Group, Civil Defence Scientific Advisory
Committee. Accessed 13 April 2009.
- Residence in New Zealand (PDF) (Page 8, from the Immigration New Zealand website.
Accessed 2008-01-18.)
- 2001 Regional Summary (from the Statistics
New Zealand website)
- Pope Shenouda III visits New Zealand (from
Te Ara Encyclopedia of New
Zealand. Accessed 2008-05-25.)
- Central Transit Corridor Project (Auckland City website,
includes mention of effects of transport on public
satisfaction)
- City Mayors: Best cities in the world (Mercer)
- City Mayors: World's richest cities (UBS via www.citymajors.com website,
August 2006)
- Punters love City of Sails -
The New Zealand Herald, Saturday
14 October 2006
- Passion for boating runs deep in Auckland
- The New Zealand Herald, Thursday
January 26,
2006
- Harbour Crossing (from the Auckland City
Council website. Retrieved 2007-10-24.)
- Auckland's CBD at a glance (CBD website of the
Auckland City Council)
- Auckland Regional Profile (from
labourmarket.co.nz, composed from various sources)
- Comparison of New Zealand's cities (from ENZ
emigration consulting)
- Survey of English Language Providers - Year ended
March 2006 (from Statistics New Zealand. Auckland is
assumed to follow national pattern)
- English Language Schools in New Zealand -
Auckland (list linked from the Immigration New Zealand
website)
- Section 7.6.1.2 - Strategy (PDF) (from the Auckland City Council District
Plan - Isthmus Section)
- Lessons from the history of local body
amalgamation - The New Zealand Herald,
Wednesday 6
September 2006
- Auckland governance inquiry welcomed -
NZPA, via 'stuff.co.nz',
Tuesday 31 July
2007. Retrieved
2007-10-29.
- Royal Commission of inquiry for Auckland
welcomed - NZPA, via
'infonews.co.nz', Tuesday 31 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-29
- Minister Releases Report Of Royal
Commission - Scoop.co.nz, Friday 27 March 2009
- Govt papers reveal another Rodney plan -
The New Zealand Herald, Monday
28 September 2009
- Draft raises fears for democracy -
The New Zealand Herald,
Wednesday 04 November 2009
- Mode of Transport, Figure for New Zealand
Regions (from the Travel Survey Highlights 1997-98, New Zealand
Ministry of Transport)
- Auckland's Transport Challenges (from the Draft
2009/10-2011/12 Auckland Regional Land Transport Programme, Page 8,
ARTA, March 2009.
Accessed 2009-04-10.
- Welcome to our traffic nightmare -
The New Zealand Herald, Sunday
29 July 2007
- References provided in Transport in Auckland and
Public transport in
Auckland
- Auckland Transport Plan landmark for transport
sector (from the Auckland Regional
Transport Authority website, 11 August 2007)
- Hopes of electric trains for cup fade -
The New Zealand Herald,
Wednesday 18 March
2009
- Council to give up its rail stations -
The New Zealand Herald, Saturday
21 March 2009
- The $2b road ahead - The Dominion
Post, unknown date. Accessed 2009-04-06.
- Rail 'trench' worries New Lynn -
The New Zealand Herald, Friday
20 March 2009
- 2006.pdf Backtracking Auckland: Bureaucratic
rationality and public preferences in transport planning -
Mees, Paul; Dodson, Jago; Urban Research Program Issues Paper 5,
Griffith University, April 2006
- US Urban Personal Vehicle & Public Transport
Market Share from 1900 (from publicpurpose.com, a website of
the Wendell Cox
Consultancy)
- Big steps to change City of Cars -
The New Zealand Herald, Friday
October 24,
2008
- Cycleway for bridge could prove too pricey
- The New Zealand Herald,
Wednesday 3
September 2008
- Can We Stop growth? (from the ARC website)
- Executive Summary (PDF) (from the Auckland Regional Growth Strategy
document, ARC, November 1999. Retrieved
2007-10-14.)
- From Urban Sprawl to Compact City: an analysis of
Auckland's Urban Growth Management Strategies - Arbury,
Joshua - MA Thesis, University of Auckland
- Green belt under siege - The New
Zealand Herald, Saturday 28 April 2007
- Growth Strategy: Glossary and References
(PDF) (from the Auckland City
Council)
-
http://www.stats.govt.nz/Publications/PopulationStatistics/mapping-trends-in-the-auckland-region/population-change.aspx
-
http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/destinationnewzealand/news/newsid=2026277.html
Further reading
External links
- Auckland - Visitor-oriented official website
- Auckland in Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New
Zealand