Papatoetoe is a suburb in

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 ...

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 ...

. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe has the unofficial title of Auckland's

Little India Little India or India Town (less commonly known as Indian Street or India Bazaar) is an Indian or Desi (South Asian) sociocultural environment outside India or the subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with Indian residences and a dive ...

, with 40 percent of the suburb's population being of

Indian ethnicity Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

according to the 2018 census. Papatoetoe is a

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 ...

name, which can be loosely translated as 'undulating area where the

toetoe ''Austroderia'' is a genus of five species of tall grasses native to New Zealand, commonly known as toetoe.

is the predominant feature',Papatoetoe Community Board Meeting, 28 June 2010
(from the 2006 Census Profile,

Manukau City Council Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

. Accessed 2011-02-02.) making it named after the 'Prince of Wales' feather' (or toetoe / toi toi), which grew abundantly in the swampy parts of the region. Owing to some confusion over the spelling, the area was known as Papatoitoi for many years. Papatoetoe is the only suburb in South Auckland where Maori/Pacific Islanders do not form the majority of the suburb's population. Papatoetoe is one of the most rapidly gentrifying suburbs in Auckland.

History

Early history

People have lived in the Papatoetoe area for almost the entire time of human settlement in New Zealand. For both the original

and the first

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

settlers, the Papatoetoe area was handily near the narrowest points between Auckland's two great

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

s, where waka could be ported over land. It was also rich in fertile soil.

Inlet An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In marine geogra ...

s run from Papatoetoe eastward to the Waitematā Harbour and westward to the Manukau Harbour. Thus for travellers past and present the routes south to the Waikato River and the north to the Auckland isthmus – Tamaki-makau-rau (Tamaki coveted by many) – have always been through Papatoetoe.

History since World War II

The area's main population growth occurred after World War II, when many returning service men received housing in the area. By 1980, population growth had mostly ceased and remained stagnant throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, however a significant increase in population occurred after 2006 due to high rates of immigration and changes to the Auckland Unitary Plan allowing more intensive infill housing on large sections.

Papatoetoe Historical Society

Papatoetoe Historical Society was established in 1988 with the aim to gather the historical artifacts and information from the Papatoetoe district. The collection held includes a collation of information on Local Body members, schools as they developed, the origin and meaning of street names, women of the district (book available), people of the surrounding farming district, newspaper cuttings and information on local organisations. The society has also developed an archive collection which includes photographs, books, booklets, plans and posters. These collections can be viewed at the Papatoetoe Historical Society museum, currently being set up at the Papatoetoe Chambers, 35 St George St, Papatoetoe following its relocation from The Depot . In 2012, Papatoetoe celebrated 150 years of civic life. The Papatoetoe 150 was initiated by the Papatoetoe Historical society to increase awareness of history and promote community organisations.

Local government

Papatoetoe Borough Council was established in 1946, and was succeeded by the Papatoetoe City Council in 1965. In 1989, it amalgamated with other local councils to form

, which eventually was subsumed by

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 ...

in November 2010. The old Papatoetoe City Council building is at 91 Cambridge Terrace, Papatoetoe.

List of mayors

Demographics

Papatoetoe covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Papatoetoe had a population of 43,599 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 5,361 people (14.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 9,411 people (27.5%) 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 11,469 households, comprising 22,248 males and 21,354 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female, with 9,288 people (21.3%) aged under 15 years, 12,051 (27.6%) aged 15 to 29, 18,405 (42.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 3,852 (8.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 19.8% 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 ...

, 12.7%

, 29.1% Pacific peoples, 50.1%

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 2.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 51.6, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 17.9% had no religion, 36.4% 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 ...

, 1.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 18.2% 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 ...

, 6.4% 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 ...

, 2.3% 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 12.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 6,060 (17.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 6,120 (17.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 2,910 people (8.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 17,913 (52.2%) people were employed full-time, 4,278 (12.5%) were part-time, and 1,593 (4.6%) were unemployed.

Economy

Papatoetoe Town Centre

In early 2009 planning began to revitalise the town centre in the St. George Street area. The plan envisaged new apartment buildings and nearby sports facilities bringing more business to the area, which had struggled due to competition from shopping malls.

Hunter's Corner

Hunter's Corner has become a popular shopping area for shoppers of Indian origin. Hunter's Corner accounts for 60 retail outlets of which about 40 have some form of Indian flavour. Hunter's Corner used to be a notorious area for

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

in the early 2000s due to it being relatively safer compared to similar town centres in South Auckland, however prostitution has largely disappeared in recent times after strong opposition from local residents.

Hunters Plaza

The Hunters Plaza shopping mall opened in 1991 and was upgraded in 2015. It features 47 stores, including Kmart and

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 ...

Transport

Papatoetoe contains two train stations within the suburban limits. These include the Papatoetoe railway station situated in Old Papatoetoe and nearby Puhinui railway station situated in Puhinui Road. Both the Eastern Line and the Southern Line services both train stations. During peak times there is a train approximately every 5 minutes heading towards Britomart. It takes approximately 30 minutes from Papatoetoe railway station into Britomart. The Puhinui Station Interchange was upgraded in July 2021 to provide a rapid transit network to Auckland Airport, as well as forming a connection with

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

. It takes approximately 10–12 minutes from Puhinui Station to Auckland Airport.

Auckland Southern Motorway The Auckland Southern Motorway (also known as the Southern Motorway, and historically as the Auckland–Hamilton Motorway) is the major route south out of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highw ...

and

Southwestern Motorway State Highway 20 (SH 20), also known as the Southwestern Motorway, is a New Zealand state highway linking at Manukau with in Point Chevalier, via Māngere and Onehunga. Along with its spurs, State Highway 20A and 20B, the state high ...

connect Papatoetoe with Auckland City and Manukau. Southwestern Motorway interchanges are on Puhinui Road to the south and Massey Road in

Māngere East Māngere East or Mangere East is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, under the governance of Auckland Council. It is located to the south of Favona, north of Papatoetoe, west of Middlemore, east of Māngere and Māngere Bridge, and southwest of ...

to the north. The Southern Motorway interchange is on East Tamaki Road.

Sports

Association football

Papatoetoe is home to

Papatoetoe AFC Papatoetoe AFC is an amateur football club based in Papatoetoe, New Zealand. They currently compete in the NRF Championship, however, have enjoyed successful spells at the top of the New Zealand game, namely in the former National League, and ha ...

who compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1A. Papatoetoe is home to Papatoetoe United who play from the sports complex on Great South Road and are affiliated with Auckland Football Federation.

Cricket

Papatoetoe is home to the Papatoetoe Cricket Club who play in the Auckland Cricket Championship.

Golf

Rugby league

Papatoetoe is home to the Papatoetoe Panthers who are affiliated with the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

Rugby union

Papatoetoe Rugby Football Club was established in 1946 and plays home matches at the Papatoetoe Sport Complex on Great South Road.

Tennis

Papatoetoe is home to two tennis clubs, Papatoetoe Tennis Club located at Papatoetoe Sports Complex and Sunnyside Tennis Club located in the Sunnyside Domain. Both clubs are affiliated to Auckland Tennis. Sunnyside Tennis Club was formed originally as Puhunui Tennis Club in 1955.

Education

Primary education

Papatoetoe has five primary schools in its zone: *Holy Cross School is a Catholic full primary school (years 1–8) integrated with the state system. Founded in 1953, it has a roll of . *Papatoetoe Central School is a state contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of . Founded in 1857, the school moved to its current site in 1872. *Papatoetoe East School is a state contributing primary school (years 1–6). It was established in 1958 and currently has a roll of . *Papatoetoe South School is a state contributing primary school (years 1–6). It has a roll of . *Papatoetoe West School is a state contributing primary school (years 1–6) which opened in 1949. It has a roll of . In addition,

Papatoetoe North School Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe has the unofficial title of Auckland ...

Puhinui School Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

and South Auckland Seventh-day Adventist School could be considered to be in Papatoetoe. Papatoetoe has one intermediate school: *

Papatoetoe Intermediate School Papatoetoe Intermediate School is an intermediate school (years 7–8) in Papatoetoe, a suburb of Manukau Ward, Auckland Region, New Zealand. The school opened in 1953 on a site adjacent to Dominion Breweries DB Breweries is a New Zealand-b ...

is a state school for years 7–8 with a roll of . Kedgley Intermediate is on the boundary of the Papatoetoe area.

Secondary education

Papatoetoe has two secondary schools: *

Papatoetoe High School Papatoetoe High School (PHS) is a secondary school (years 9–13) in Papatoetoe suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. History Papatoetoe High School was established in 1956. February 2021 COVID-19 outbreak On 14 February, a Year 9 student at Papat ...

.is a state secondary school (years 9–13) with a roll of . * Aorere College.is a state secondary school (years 9–13) with a roll of . All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of

Notable people

Douglas Al-Bazi Douglas Joseph Shimshon Al-Bazi (or Doglas Yousef Al Bazi, born 1972 in Baghdad) is a Chaldean Catholic Church parish priest in Auckland, New Zealand, as the leader of the Chaldean Catholic congregation there. He formerly served in Baghdad, Iraq. ...

, refugee from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

* Len Brown - Former Mayor of Auckland *

Barry Crump John Barrie Crump (15 May 1935 – 3 July 1996) was a New Zealand author of semi-autobiographical comic novels based on his image as a rugged outdoors man. Taken together his novels have sold more than a million copies domestically. Crump's 19 ...

– Author, poet *

David Dallas David Keith Dallas (born 28 August 1982) is a hip hop artist from New Zealand of Samoan and European descent. Early career Dallas began his rapping career under the name Con Psy as a part of the duo Frontline, a producer and MC group along wi ...

– Hip Hop Artist *

Dillon Boucher Dillon Matthew Boucher (born 27 December 1975) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. His 13 combined career championships is the most in ANBL/NZNBL history. Early life Growing up in Bell Block, a small township just outside ...

- NZ Basketball Player, lived in Papatoetoe and went to Papatoetoe High School *

Ricki Herbert Ricki Lloyd Herbert (born 10 April 1961) is a New Zealand former footballer and manager. He is the current technical director at Cambridge FC. Herbert was formerly head coach of the New Zealand national team, stepping down after the side faile ...

– Soccer player – Played National Level for the All Whites and is their current coach. Also played for New Zealand in Soccer World Cup Finals 1982 *

Phil Goff Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...

– Mayor of Auckland, Former Labour Party Leader, Foreign and Defence Minister, lived in Papatoetoe and attended Papatoetoe High School * Mike King - Mental Health Advocate * Kyle Jamieson - NZ Cricketer, lived in Papatoetoe *

Keven Mealamu Keven Filipo Mealamu (born 20 March 1979) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played at hooker for the Blues in Super Rugby, Auckland in the National Provincial Championship, and the New Zealand national team. He was a key membe ...

- Former All Black. Lived in Papatoetoe and attended Aorere College *

Trevor Meale Trevor Meale (11 November 1928 – 21 May 2010) was a New Zealand cricketer who played in two Test matches in 1958. Meale was born in Papatoetoe, Auckland and died in Orewa, Auckland. Cricket career A left-handed opening batsman, Meale played ...

– Cricketer *

David Shearer David James Shearer (born 28 July 1957) is a New Zealand United Nations worker and politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party from 2009 to 2016, serving as Leader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2013. Shear ...

- Former Labour Party Leader, lived in Papatoetoe and attended Papatoetoe High School *

Ish Sodhi Inderbir Singh "Ish" Sodhi (born 31 October 1992) is a New Zealand cricketer born in Punjab, India who represents the New Zealand national cricket team in all formats, and Canterbury in domestic cricket. He bowls right-arm leg spin, and bats righ ...

- NZ Cricketer, lived in Papatoetoe and attended Papatoetoe High School *Tyree Tautogia – Part of highly successful rap group ''

Smashproof Smashproof is a New Zealand hip hop group, consisting of Sid Diamond, Tyree, and Deach. The name "Smashproof" is a play on the word "Bulletproof". They are best known for the song "Brother", in which they show their version of what is going on i ...

'' *

Gary Troup Gary Bertram Troup (born 3 October 1952) is a New Zealand former cricketer and local politician who played 15 Tests and 22 One Day Internationals for New Zealand. International career Troup made his Test debut for the New Zealand on 18 Novem ...

– Played club cricket in Papatoetoe going on to represent New Zealand 1976 – 1986 *Heather Matthews (née Thompson) – Silver Medalist

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

(3000 m).

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

– Services To Sport, Papatoetoe Sports Person of the Year. *

Dei Hamo Sanerivi "Sani" Sagala (born 24 August 1974), better known by his stage name Dei Hamo, is a New Zealand hip hop artist, producer and director. Dei Hamo, which can be translated as "The Samoan", has won various awards for his chart-topping music a ...

- Musician, attended Aorere College, referenced Papatoe in his top charting track We Gon' Ride.

Attractions

*Murals in Old Papatoetoe :*"Picnic Scene" by Ron van Dam (near Wallace Road corner) :*"Papatoetoe General Store" by Christine Trout (Papatoetoe Mall) :*"Bottle O" by Christine Trout (Papatoetoe Mall) :*"Cameos" by Claudia Pond-Eyley (near Town Hall) :*"Old Papatoetoe Logo" by Ron van Dam (near Shirley Road) :*"St George St – 1930" by Merv Appleton (Rangitoto Road) *Historical cemeteries at Manukau Memorial Gardens and St John's Presbyterian Church. *Historic landmarks including :* Old Railway Station :*Cambria House and associated historic gardens (Puhinui Road) :*Old Children's home (now in Wyllie Road)

References

Papatoetoe municipalities' publications *''Papatoetoe City Council Statement of Objectives for Second District Scheme Review'', 1981 *Smytheman, Ivy F. and Tonson, Albert E. (1962). ''Our first hundred years: an historical record of Papatoetoe'' Books *''Auckland Provincial Handbook'' 1925–1926 *Davidson, Janet (1984). ''The PreHistory of New Zealand'', Auckland: Longman Paul. *Gadd, Bernard (1987). ''The City of Toetoe – A History of Papatoetoe'', Auckland
The Dunmore Press
(pbk.). *''New Zealand Yearbooks'' (1906 ff.). Wellington: Government Printer. * Kalous, Milan (1984) A small town in New Zealand: a short history of Papatoetoe. Commissioned by the Papatoetoe City Council. Available at Research South (Manukau Library). *Oliver, William Hosking and Williams Bridget R. (eds) (1981). ''The Oxford History of New Zealand''. Wellington

*Scholefield, G.H. (1940). ''A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'', Wellington: Government Printer. *Sedal, Venia Iris (1982). ''A Brief History of Otahuhu'', Otahuhu Borough Council. *Searle, Ernest Johns (1981). ''City of Volcanoes, a Geology of Auckland'', Auckland: Longman Paul. *Tonson, Albert E. (1966). ''Old Manukau'', Auckland: Tonson. *Williams, Herbert William (1971). ''A Dictionary of the Maori Language'', Wellington: Government Printer. Booklets, pamphlets and reports *A Century of Witness, St John's Church Papatoetoe, 1854–1954 *

Kiwanis Club Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

of Papatoetoe, New Zealand District, 1971–81 *Lawlor, I. (1981). Puhinui Excavation Report
University of Auckland
*Papatoetoe and District R.S.A. Annual Reports. *Papatoetoe Association Football Club Inc, Silver Jubilee 1959–1984 * Papatoetoe Central School, Jubilee Commemorative Magazine 1857–1952 (1982), Auckland: Woodward Publications. *Papatoetoe District School Reunion, 106th Anniversary, 1962. *Papatoetoe District Cricket Club 1906–2006 *Papatoetoe Fire Brigade 1928–1979 *Papatoetoe Methodist Church, Jubilee Souvenir, 1912–1962 *Simmons, D., (1980). The Creation Myth and the Origin of Auckland's Volcanoes,

Auckland Institute and Museum Auckland Institute and Museum, known as Auckland Museum Institute since 1996 and the Royal Society of New Zealand Auckland Branch, is a learned society in New Zealand. History Formed as the Auckland Philosophical Society on 6 November 1867, for ...

. *Sims, A. (1983). History of the Papatoetoe Light Opera Club. *Sullivan, A. (1973). A site survey of lower Pukaki Creek
University of Auckland
*Sullivan, A. (1975). Checklist of archaeological sites at Crater Hill, Papatoetoe, Paper no 37, Anthropology Department
University of Auckland
Newspapers *''The Courier'' newspapers *''Papatoetoe Gazette'' *''Papatoetoe Independent'' *'' Papatoetoe News''

External links

Auckland Council
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Area Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Area Suburbs of Auckland Red-light districts in New Zealand Populated places on the Tāmaki River