Pukekohe is a town in the

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 ...

of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the

, it is in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

, between the southern shore of 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 ...

and the mouth of the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

. The hills of Pukekohe and nearby

Bombay Hills The Bombay Hills are a range of hills to the south of Auckland, New Zealand. Though only a small and seemingly insignificant range of hills, they lie at the southern boundary of the Auckland region, and serve as a divide between Auckland and th ...

form the natural southern limit of the Auckland region. Pukekohe is located within the political boundaries 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 ...

, following the abolition of the

Franklin District Council Franklin District was a New Zealand territorial authority that lay between the Auckland metropolitan area and the Waikato Plains. As a formal territory it was abolished on 31 October 2010 and divided between Auckland Council in the Auckland Re ...

on 1 November 2010. With a population of Pukekohe is the 24th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest in the Auckland Region behind Auckland itself and

Hibiscus Coast The Hibiscus Coast is a populated area on a stretch of the Hauraki Gulf coast in New Zealand's Auckland Region. It has a population of making it the 11th most populous urban area in New Zealand, and the second most populous in the Auckland Re ...

. Pukekohe is a rural service town for the area formerly known as the Franklin District. Its population is mainly of European descent, with significant

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 ...

and ethnic

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n and

East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...

communities. There are also a notable number of people of South African and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

descent. The fertile volcanic soil and warm moist climate supports a large horticultural and dairy farming industry; the Pukekohe long keeper

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

is well known internationally.

Geology

Pukekohe and the surrounding areas are a section of the

South Auckland volcanic field The South Auckland volcanic field, also known as the Franklin Volcanic Field, is an area of extinct monogenetic volcanoes around Pukekohe, the Franklin area and north-western Waikato, south of the Auckland volcanic field. The field contains at l ...

, which erupted between 550,000 and 1,600,000 years ago.

History and culture

Māori history

The

word ''puke-kohe'' means "hill of the

kohekohe Kohekohe (''Dysoxylum spectabile'') is a medium-sized tree in the Meliaceae family, native to New Zealand. It is found in lowland and coastal forests throughout most of the North Island and also occurs in the Marlborough Sounds in the north ...

", New Zealand's native

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

. During the period of the

Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori between 1807 and 1837, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an intertribal arms ra ...

of 1807-1843, Northern ''

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

'' (tribes) attacked parts of the Auckland area, including Pukekohe. From the 1820s, as a result of these attacks, the resident Māori population who survived, mainly migrated south. The two main iwi of the area are Ngati Tamaoho and Ngati Te Ata. Waikato-Tainui has a strong presence.

European settlement

When European settlers arrived, the remnant Māori population initially provided them with food supplies. As the number of settlers grew, the Pukekohe area, which was largely bush covered, was opened up after 1843 and individual farmers purchased small blocks of land which they cleared by hand. By 1863, the land was still bush covered but with an increasing number of small isolated farms. When Kīngitanga Māori refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the Crown, many Māori moved out of the area, but some remained. A Māori from this area guided the first gunboats through the Waikato Heads and through the shoals of the Waikato River delta to help put down the rebel Kīngitanga uprising.

New Zealand Wars

A major battle of the 1863 New Zealand Wars was fought at Pukekohe East between 11 armed Pākehā settlers, who were converting the Pukekohe East church into a redoubt and approximately 200–300 Māori, mainly from the Waikato area. Although surprised and severely outnumbered, the settlers held off the Kīngitanga invaders until troops arrived. No settlers were killed or injured while 30 Māori were killed with an unknown number wounded. 6 bodies were found near the church and 24 were later found buried in the bush. The church still exists today and the bullet holes are still visible. Although there were many other attacks on settlers in Auckland the Māori preferred isolated targets. As most women and children had been evacuated to Auckland city most of those killed were men and teenage boys. Māori were able to hide in the pockets of bush and live off the settlers' goods and livestock. Nearly the entire Pukekohe area was abandoned apart from military outposts. Isolated attacks occurred as late as November 1863 after the

Battle of Rangiriri The Battle of Rangiriri was a major engagement in the invasion of Waikato, which took place on 20–21 November 1863 during the New Zealand Wars. More than 1400 British troops defeated about 500 warriors of the Kingitanga (Māori King Movement), ...

Marae

Ngā Hau e Whā Marae is located in the Pukekohe area. It is the tribal meeting grounds of

Ngāti Tamaoho Ngāti Tamaoho is a Māori iwi (tribe) of Auckland and the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is part of the Waiohua confederation of tribes. They have three marae, which are at Karaka, Mangatangi and Pukekohe. The tribe is a strong supporter o ...

and the

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zealand ...

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

Ngāi Tai Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

and

Demographics

Pukekohe covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Pukekohe had a population of 23,904 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 3,378 people (16.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 6,636 people (38.4%) 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 8,031 households, comprising 11,532 males and 12,366 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.93 males per female, with 5,391 people (22.6%) aged under 15 years, 4,605 (19.3%) aged 15 to 29, 9,951 (41.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 3,960 (16.6%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 70.9% 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 ...

, 19.8%

, 9.0% Pacific peoples, 12.2%

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 2.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 24.3, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 46.3% had no religion, 38.0% 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 ...

, 1.6% had Māori religious beliefs, 3.0% 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 ...

, 1.0% 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 ...

, 0.5% 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 3.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 2,973 (16.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 3,876 (20.9%) people had no formal qualifications. 3,411 people (18.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 9,291 (50.2%) people were employed full-time, 2,439 (13.2%) were part-time, and 792 (4.3%) were unemployed.

Local government

Pukekohe had a local government just like other suburbs 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 ...

at that time. The local government was called Pukekohe Borough Council, which started in 1912 and merged into

in 1989, eventually being amalgamated into

in November 2010. The mayors of Pukekohe Borough Council were: *1912–1912 William Dunn *1912–1915 C. K. Lawrie *1915–1919 Henry Greathead Rex Mason *1919–1921 C. K. Lawrie *1921–1935 John Routly *1935–1938 C. K. Lawrie *1938–1941 John Routly *1941–1950 Maxwell Rae Grierson *1950–1963 S. C. Childs *1963–1974 C. W. J. Lawrie *1974–1989 Max R. Short Since 2010, the Franklin Local Board represents local government in the area. The local board is one of 21 local boards across Auckland. The current Councillor is Bill Cashmore who is also the Deputy Mayor. Local MP is Andrew Bayley, National Party.

Education

Pukekohe High School Pukekohe High School is a high school in Pukekohe in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. House system There are five Houses at Pukekohe High School, which are: Day House named after Dr. Paul Day who became an Honorary Doctor at the University ...

is a secondary school (years 9–13) with a roll of . The school opened in 1921 as Pukekohe Technical High School, and was renamed to Pukekohe High School in 1948.

Pukekohe Intermediate School Pukekohe Intermediate School is a New Zealand intermediate school located in the rural community of Pukekohe, Auckland. It primarily receives students from Pukekohe Hill, Pukekohe Valley, Pukekohe East, Puni, Mauku and Patumahoe primary school ...

is an intermediate school (years 7–8) with a roll of . The school opened in 1966 Pukekohe East School, Pukekohe Hill School and Valley School are contributing primary schools (years 1–6) with rolls of , and students, respectively. Pukekohe East School opened in 1880. Pukekohe Maori School opened in 1952 and was renamed to Pukekohe Hill School in 1966. Valley School opened in 1966. Pukekohe North School is a full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of . 79 percent of the roll are of Māori heritage, and some classes are taught in the

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

. The school opened in 1957, although the official opening was in 1958. KingsGate School and St Joseph's School are state integrated full primary schools (years 1–8) with rolls of and students, respectively. KingsGate is an interdenominational Christian school. It opened in 1996. St Joseph's is a Catholic school which opened in 1923. Parkside School is a special school with a roll of . It provides education for students with special needs up to the age of 21. Tamaoho School is a contributing primary school which opened in 2021. All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of A significant number of kids leave the area by school bus to attend Kings College, Sacred Heart College, St Kentigern’s, Hamilton Boys HS, Baradene, Hauraki Plains College, St Peter’s Collegiate and Strathallan College.

Sports

Pukekohe Park Raceway is a motorsports and horse-racing facility. Opened in 1963, this circuit is famous for having hosted the

New Zealand Grand Prix The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand. First held in 1950, it is best known for hosting rounds of the Tasman Series in the 1960s and 1970s. It ...

29 times between 1963 and 2000, as well as the V8 International (a round of the

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

championship) between 2001 and 2007. The V8 Supercars event was moved to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

for five years, but returned to Pukekohe in 2013.

ECOLight Stadium Navigation Homes Stadium is a stadium in Pukekohe, New Zealand. Its usual tenants are the Counties Manukau Rugby Union, whose first-class team compete in the National Provincial Championship. In July 2009, Counties Manukau announced that Bayer ...

is home of the Counties-Manukau Steelers. Pukekohe is home to

Pukekohe AFC Pukekohe Association Football Club is an association football (soccer) club in Pukekohe, New Zealand. Pukekohe AFC currently play in 8 Senior leagues across both Men's and Women's competitions. All teams compete in Auckland Football Federation ...

who compete in the Auckland Football Federation/Northern Football Federation Conference League, and

football teams. Bledisloe Park Sports Centre (overlooking Bledisloe Park grounds) is home to both Pukekohe AFC and Pukekohe Metro Cricket Club. The sports centre is managed by the Bledisloe Park Society Committee. Auckland Metropolitan Clay Target Club, is a Clay target shooting club located just outside of Pukekohe, Offering casual target shooting to competitions. Puni Mountain Bike Track located at the Puni memorial park has roughly 6–7 km of sweet flowing singletrack, to some good dirt jump lines to a primo pump track, Sunset Coast BMX and the Puni rugby club are also located at Puni memorial park.

Media

Franklin County News is the local newspaper distributed twice weekly to homes in Pukekohe and surrounding towns, including

Waiuku Waiuku is a rural town in the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour, and lies on the isthmus of the Āwhitu Peninsula, which ...

and

Tuakau Tuakau ( mi, Tūākau) is a town in the Waikato region at the foot of Bombay hills, formerly part of the Franklin district until 2010, when it became part of Waikato District in the North Island of New Zealand. The town serves to support local ...

. ''The Post Newspaper'' issues almost 22,000 copies weekly on a Tuesday within Franklin and Tuakau and is based in Waiuku. In 2015, the online events calendar and photo news Franklin Life NZ was launched. In 2013, the film Mt. Zion was released in New Zealand, portraying Māori life in 1970s Pukekohe.

Transport

Pukekohe railway station Pukekohe railway station is a railway station in Pukekohe, New Zealand. It is the southern terminus (but not for electric services) of the Southern Line of the Auckland railway network. The station has an island platform between the main li ...

is on the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

Railway and is the southernmost station of the Auckland rail network, at the end of the Southern Line. The portion of the line between

Papakura Papakura is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately 32 kilometres south of the Auckland CBD. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. Papakura is a M� ...

and Pukekohe is currently closed for electrification until 2024 after which electric trains will run directly to Pukekohe from the Auckland CBD. A rail replacement bus is currently running between Papakura and Pukekohe while the line is closed. In July 2017, it was announced that the purchase of battery-powered electric trains had been "agreed in principle" by

and that an all-electric service would be operational in 2019 (provisionally, subject to conditions), four years after completion of the rest of the region's electrified rail network. However, the purchase of battery-powered trains did not proceed. In 2020, the government announced funding to extend electrification from Papakura to Pukekohe. There are several loop bus services serving central Pukekohe and also connecting to the western and southern townships of Patumahoe,

and

Port Waikato Port Waikato is on the south bank of the Waikato River at its outflow into the Tasman Sea, in northern New Zealand. Port Waikato is a well-known surfing and whitebaiting destination and a popular holiday spot. Fish can be caught off the rocks ...

. There are no bus services north of the town (beyond Paerata) and none at all serving travel to the east.

Notable people

Bill Birch Sir William Francis Birch (born 9 April 1934), usually known as Bill Birch, is a New Zealand retired politician. He served as Minister of Finance from 1993 to 1999 in the fourth National Government. Early life Birch was born in Hastings on 9 ...

, MP—was a long-time resident * Peter (Possum) Bourne, Rally driver * Leslie Comrie, astronomer and pioneer in mechanical computation *

Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...

, resident and

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

captain *

Simon Doull Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, cricket representative and radio personality * Peter Fa'afiu, diplomat, global director of Amnesty International *

A. J. Hackett Allan John "A. J." Hackett (born May 1958) is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the extreme sport of bungy jumping. He made a bungy jump from the Eiffel Tower in 1987 and founded the first commercial bungy site in 1988. He is also the ...

, entrepreneur who popularised bungee jumping *

Madonna Harris Madonna Mary Harris (née Gilchrist, born 15 August 1956) is a New Zealand multi-sportswoman who has competed for New Zealand at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The only other New Zealander to compete at both Olympics is Chris Nicholson. ...

, resident and sportswoman *

Liam Lawson Liam Lawson (born 11 February 2002) is a New Zealand motor racing driver set to compete in the 2023 Super Formula Championship with Team Mugen. Lawson, who is mentored by three-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner Ken Smith, previously competed f ...

, F2 Racing Driver raised in Pukekohe *

Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarde ...

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

, born in Pukekohe, educated at Wesley College *

Rex Mason Henry Greathead Rex Mason (3 June 1885 – 2 April 1975) was a New Zealand politician. He served as Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Education, and Minister of Native Affairs, and had a significant influence on the directio ...

, mayor and MP *

Mick Peck Mick Peck is a professional award-winning magic (illusion), magician based in Auckland, New Zealand. He is a member of The Magic Circle (organisation), The Magic Circle of London, the world's most prestigious magic organisation and the President ...

, award-winning magician and entertainer *

Malietoa Tanumafili II Malietoa Tanumafili II (4 January 1913 – 11 May 2007), addressed Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, was the Malietoa, the title of one of Samoa's four paramount chiefs, and the head of state, or '' O le Ao o le Malo'', a position that he held f ...

, Samoan Head of State—educated at Wesley College * Allan Wilson, molecular biologist—grew up in the area

References

External links

Pukekohe - the heart of Franklin
{{Franklin Local Board Area Populated places in the Auckland Region