Conifer Grove is an upper-middle class suburb of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, in northern

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Located on the eastern shores of the

Pahurehure Pahurehure is a suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the south-eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour, under the authority of the Auckland Council. The suburb makes up the southernmost part of the Auckland urban area. ...

Inlet, on the

Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burne ...

, under authority of the

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

. The suburb makes up the western side of the

Takanini Takanini is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, 28 kilometres southeast of the Auckland CBD. The suburb is home to a Fonterra Brands milk plant (part of the dairy company ...

urban area and is in the Manurewa-Papakura ward of Auckland City. The suburb is known for its tree-lined streets, bay views, and until 2018 its border with the Manukau Golf Course. It includes the recent Waiata Shores subdivision developed by Fletcher Living.

History

Conifer Grove was constructed around 1965-1970. Conifer Grove's modern area (including Keywella Drive, Aristoy Close and Chippewa Place) was previously a dairy farm owned by the Strevens family, which connected onto Great South Road and is now the Waiata Shores subdivision (previously Manukau Golf Course). The names Walter Strevens Drive and Walter Strevens reserve come from the name of the patriarch of that family at the time it was sold - Walter John Strevens. In 2017 the previous Manukau Golf Course was bought by Fletcher Living to allow construction of a new housing development named Waiata Shores. Fraser Thomas were commissioned to design the subdivision and to manage its construction. Fraser Thomas were awarded Certificates of Merit by both the Association of Consulting Engineers NZ and the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors. During the major reformation of local government in 1989, Conifer Grove was re-zoned and the area was included into the

Papakura District Papakura District was a local council territory in New Zealand's Auckland Region that was governed by the Papakura District Council from 1989 until 2010. The area makes up the southernmost part of the Auckland metropolitan area. The area was ...

boundaries. From October 2010, after a review of the

Royal Commission on Auckland Governance The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance was established by the New Zealand Government to investigate the local government arrangements of Auckland. The Labour Government of the time announced a Royal Commission into the governance of Auck ...

, the entire

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...

was amalgamated into a single city authority. As well as the current

, other territorial authorities have been abolished and the entire area has been dissolved into a single

city council. The suburb of Conifer Grove is now in the ''Manurewa-Papakura Ward'' of the

Demographics

Conifer Grove West covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Conifer Grove mangrove boardwalk

Conifer Grove West had a population of 4,710 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 93 people (2.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 138 people (3.0%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 1,551 households, comprising 2,310 males and 2,400 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female, with 960 people (20.4%) aged under 15 years, 942 (20.0%) aged 15 to 29, 2,160 (45.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 651 (13.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 63.4% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, 20.3%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

, 13.3% Pacific peoples, 17.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 2.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 26.0, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 42.3% had no religion, 38.2% were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 1.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 3.2% were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 1.4% were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 1.2% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 6.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 678 (18.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 675 (18.0%) people had no formal qualifications. 744 people (19.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,019 (53.8%) people were employed full-time, 456 (12.2%) were part-time, and 162 (4.3%) were unemployed.

Facilities

The older Conifer Grove precinct has a small

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

, however in the newly established Waiata Shores centre, it includes a

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

and in the future will include more

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

and office space. There are various parks/reserves such as Brylee Drive Reserve with two tennis courts and playground. This links to a

board walk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...

which goes around the waters/

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s edge, which is enjoyed by many of the residents. This walk has been extended to connect the boardwalk through to Walter Strevens Drive reserve. Most of the streets are

cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet. The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...

s. Due to the suburbs design pattern, there was only one way in and out of the more recent area of Conifer Grove until 2021 when Brylee Drive was linked to Gosper Road of the adjacent Waiata Shores development. The Walter Strevens Drive roundabout also has a security camera which records vehicle movement in and out of the area.

Education

Conifer Grove School is a coeducational full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of as of It is zoned primarily for

Rosehill College Rosehill College is a New Zealand co-educational state secondary school located in the Rosehill area of Papakura in the Auckland region. The college opened on 3 February 1970, and is now the largest secondary school in the area. Located appro ...

External links

Auckland Council(Conifer Grove School Website)Photographs of Conifer Grove
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.

References

{{Papakura Local Board Area Suburbs of Auckland Populated places around the Manukau Harbour