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Hillpark, also known as Hill Park, is a
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. It is bordered by suburbs of The Gardens on the east and
Manurewa Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located south of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa h ...
on the south. It was formerly part of
Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is also referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does not ...
until the 2010 amalgamation of all of Auckland's councils, and is now under the governance of
Auckland Council Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...
.


Geography

Hillpark is a suburb in
South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...
, bordered by Puhinui Creek to the north and the
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 High ...
to the east. Hill Road is a major arterial route which bisects the suburb. During the 19th century, much of the area was an block of native forest known as Ligar's Bush, named after Charles Whybrow Ligar. Areas of this forest block have been retained in some of the parks and reserves in the suburb.


History

In 1910, David Laurence Nathan, son of prominent merchant David Nathan, and his wife Simone built their summer residence in Manurewa and named the property 'The Hill'. The estate was rebuilt in 1925, after a fire destroyed the original building. In 1958, it was proposed that a portion of the Nathan family's estate would become a subdivision known as Hillpark Estate, referencing the Nathan family home. The suburb developed due to the construction of the
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 High ...
. Construction on the suburb began in 1960, with the first sections of the Hillpark subdivision going on the market on 2 December 1961. The advertisement from South Auckland Courier in 1961 advertised Hillpark as a modern subdivision "developed in accordance with overseas practice in having all underground services, selected street lanterns, spacious proposed neighbourhood shopping area and extensive public reserves". Some houses in Hillpark were designed in the 1960s by renowned architect Ron Sang. The remaining of the former Nathan estate became David Nathan Park. The southern motorway extension between Redoubt Road and Takanini was formally opened on 30 May 1963. It included northern on and off ramps at Hill Road. In 1966, the Hillpark Shopping Centre was constructed. Construction of suburban housing in the suburb continues until 1973. In 2016 Auckland Council recognised Hillpark as a Special Character Area. The key characteristics of the area include International Style modernist houses, mid-20th century brick and tile bungalows,
Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
influenced houses, and English Cottage style houses. The area features large open front yards and setbacks, large lots, wide roads, low densities of buildings, and an abundance of trees. Houses were generally constructed from the late 1950s to 1970s following the creation of a garden subdivision around significant stands of native forest. Hillpark suburb is a native sanctuary, which is home to large areas of native forest and parkland including Orford Park, David Park and Hillcrest Grove Reserve. In August 2021 The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) officially assigned Hillpark with an official suburb status. The NZGB followed a Hillpark Residents' Association proposal to make official the suburb name at its meeting in July, 2020. The Association described its unique natural and heritage characteristics which have helped build a suburban identity and which should be recognised.


Area landmarks


The Nathan Homestead

The Nathan Homestead is a historic mansion built in 1925 and is situated on nine acres of lawn and gardens. This landmark is situated in Hill Rd, Hillpark. The original summer residence of Nathan family was built in 1910 but was destroyed by fire in 1923 and a new permanent residence was rebuilt on the same site in 1925. The former Manukau Borough Council acquired the homestead and surrounding gardens in 1961. It later served as Manukau City Council offices before being restored and reopened as a community and cultural centre in 1978.


Orford Lodge

The Orford Lodge is situated on 8-10 Earls Court, Hillpark. The house was built in 1910 by a lawyer, Mr Edward Russell. It is listed as Grade II historical and architectural merit. The lodge itself shows the hallmarks of the architecture of its time, strongly influenced by
Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
architect
James Chapman-Taylor James Walter Chapman-Taylor (24 June 1878 – 25 October 1958) was a New Zealand architect. One of the country's most important domestic architects of his time, he is noted mainly for his Arts and Crafts-influenced houses. Chapman-Taylor ...
. The house and 9ha of land were bought for £12,000 in 1928 by
Robert Walpole, 5th Earl of Orford Robert Horace Walpole, 5th Earl of Orford (10 July 1854 – 27 September 1931), was a British peer, Foreign Office diplomat, soldier, and Royal Navy officer. Background The son of Commander Hon. Frederick Walpole (1822–1876), R.N., M.P. for N ...
. During the Second World War, the lodge and grounds were used by the US Army. The lodge and land were bought by the Manurewa Borough Council in 1961. The lodge and some of the land was sold but the native bush surrounding the property was designated as a council Orford Park. The house is currently a privately owned residence.


Hillpark Native Forest Remnants

Mature native forest is now very rare in urban Auckland. Some examples of mature totara, puriri, kahikatea, pukatea, and kanuka forest are found in a cluster of council reserves in Hillpark. These include the Hillcrest Grove Reserve (73 Hill Road, Hillpark), Orford Park (40 Hill Road, Hillpark), and David Nathan Park (68 Hill Road, Hillpark). Thenative forest parks of Hillpark along with the nearby
Auckland Botanic Gardens Auckland Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden in the New Zealand city of Auckland. It is located in the suburb of Manurewa, in the Manurewa (local board area), Manurewa Local Board Area. The garden covers , and holds more than 10,000 plants.Auc ...
are the home of native and introduced birds
tūī The tūī (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is a medium-sized bird native to New Zealand. It is blue, green, and bronze coloured with a distinctive white throat tuft (poi). It is an endemism, endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, and the on ...
,
rosella Rosellas are in a genus that consists of six species and nineteen subspecies. These colourful parrots from Australia are in the genus ''Platycercus''. ''Platycercus'' means "broad-tailed" or "flat-tailed", reflecting a feature common to the ...
,
kererū The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae''), also known as kūkupa (Māori language#Northern dialects, northern Māori dialects), New Zealand pigeon or wood pigeon, is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin describ ...
, and ruru.


Demographics

Hillpark covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Hillpark had a population of 5,595 in the
2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, a decrease of 78 people (−1.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 579 people (11.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 2,769 males, 2,817 females and 9 people of other genders in 1,650 dwellings. 2.2% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...
. The median age was 34.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,173 people (21.0%) aged under 15 years, 1,170 (20.9%) aged 15 to 29, 2,607 (46.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 645 (11.5%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 38.8%
European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
(
Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
); 18.3%
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 Co ...
; 26.2% Pasifika; 33.5% Asian; 1.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 89.7%, Māori language by 3.6%, Samoan by 7.3%, and other languages by 29.3%. No language could be spoken by 3.4% (e.g. too young to talk).
New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
was known by 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 39.7, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 39.2%
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 7.2%
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 2.3%
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 1.4%
Māori religious beliefs 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 ...
, 1.4%
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.3%
New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, 0.1%
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 10.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 30.7%, and 6.7% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 996 (22.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,046 (46.3%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,377 (31.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $44,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 465 people (10.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,469 (55.8%) people were employed full-time, 498 (11.3%) were part-time, and 144 (3.3%) were unemployed.


Education

Hillpark School is a coeducational contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of as of The school was established in February 1967.


Local government

Hillpark is a part of the
Manurewa Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located south of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa h ...
local board area. The residents of Manurewa elect a local board, and two councillors from the
Manurewa-Papakura ward Manurewa-Papakura Ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects two councillors and covers the Manurewa and Papakura Local Boards. The two councillors are currently Angela Dalton and Daniel Newman. Demographics Manurewa-Papakura ward covers an ...
to sit on the
Auckland Council Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...
.


References

{{Manurewa Local Board Area Suburbs of Auckland Manurewa Local Board Area