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. Containin ...

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-larges ...

of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the

, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. 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 a ...

, following the abolition of the Franklin District Council 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. 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 Co ...

and ethnic

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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 ...

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

is well known internationally.

Geology

Pukekohe and the surrounding areas are a section of the South Auckland volcanic field, 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", 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: U ...

. 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 rac ...

of 1807-1843, Northern '' iwi'' (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.

Marae

Ngā Hau e Whā Marae is located in the Pukekohe area. It is the tribal meeting grounds of Ngāti Tamaoho and the Waikato Tainui

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, ...

and Ngāti Tamaoho.

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 short ...

, 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. 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 Z ...

, 19.8%

, 9.0% Pacific peoples, 12.2% Asian, 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 most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

at that time. The local government was called Pukekohe Borough Council, which started in 1912 and merged into Franklin District Council 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 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 Pukekohe Park is a horse racing, motor racing, and community events facility located in Pukekohe, New Zealand, approximately south of the Auckland CBD, in the Auckland Region of the North Island. The venue, owned by Counties Racing Club Inc. i ...

is a

motorsports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

and horse-racing facility. Opened in 1963, this circuit is famous for having hosted the New Zealand Grand Prix 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 Hamilto ...

for five years, but returned to Pukekohe in 2013. ECOLight Stadium is home of the Counties-Manukau Steelers. Pukekohe is home to Pukekohe AFC who compete in the

Auckland Football Federation The Auckland Football Federation was an association football organization, responsible for the local growth and development of the game in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2020 it was merged with Auckland Football Federation into the Northern Region F ...

/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 and Tuakau. ''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 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 se ...

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, Waiuku, Tuakau 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, MP—was a long-time resident * Peter (Possum) Bourne, Rally driver *

Leslie Comrie Leslie John Comrie FRS (15 August 1893 – 11 December 1950) was an astronomer and a pioneer in mechanical computation. Life Leslie John Comrie was born in Pukekohe (south of Auckland), New Zealand, on 15 August 1893. He attended Auckland ...

, astronomer and pioneer in mechanical computation * Andy Dalton, 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, entrepreneur who popularised bungee jumping * Madonna Harris, resident and sportswoman * Liam Lawson, F2 Racing Driver raised in Pukekohe * Jonah Lomu,

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, award-winning magician and entertainer * Malietoa Tanumafili II, 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