Woodhill is a locality 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
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 in the ''Western Ward'' of the
Rodney District
Rodney District was a local government area in the northernmost part of New Zealand's Auckland Region from 1989 to 2010. It included Kawau Island. It was created from the amalgamation of Helensville, Helensville Borough and Rodney County, New Ze ...
. Woodhill is approximately 6 kilometres northwest of
Waimauku
Waimauku is a small locality in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It comes under the jurisdiction of Auckland Council, and is in the council's Rodney ward. Waimauku is approximately 4 kilometres west of Huapai on State Highway 16 at the ju ...
and 10 km south of
Helensville
Helensville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. New Zealand State Highway 16, State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauk ...
on
State Highway 16. The
North Auckland Line
The North Auckland Line (designation NAL) is a major section of New Zealand's national rail network, and is made up of the following parts: the portion of track that runs northward from Westfield Junction to Newmarket Station; from there, wes ...
passes through the area. The
Woodhill Forest lies to the west.
History
The railway line reached Woodhill in the 1880s, and allowed expansion of the existing farming settlement. Ambury's Creamery shipped the cream by rail to be made into butter in Auckland. A post office was established, and a store opened up opposite the creamery, becoming a social centre until it was destroyed by fire about 1970. The Woodhill Hall was another centre for social gatherings. It contained a library in the late 1920s, and was also used for church services.
In the 1920s, planting of trees to reclaim the sand dunes to the west brought forestry workers to the settlement, and a pine tree nursery was created in Woodhill in 1934. A settlement was created on the hill for the workers and their families. After the forest was privatised in 1987, this settlement disappeared.
Education
Woodhill School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a
decile rating of 6 and a roll of
(). The school celebrated its 126-year reunion in 2003. The school was one of the earliest established in
West Auckland. Many children from as far away as
Swanson
Swanson is a brand of TV dinners, broths, and canned poultry made for the North American and Hong Kong markets. The former "Swanson Company" was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, where it developed improvements of the frozen dinner. The TV dinner bu ...
would commute to Woodhill, until the Swanson School was established in 1888.
Notes
External links
{{Commons category, Woodhill, Auckland
Woodhill School website
Rodney Local Board Area
Populated places in the Auckland Region
Populated places on the Kaipara River