Hillsborough 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 ...
of
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. It is under the local governance of 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 ...
. Hillsborough is a leafy suburb of 20th-century houses. The area is serviced by two shopping areas;
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill.
Onehunga is ...
and
Three Kings
In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...
. The area is served by secondary schools
Mount Roskill Grammar School
Mount Roskill Grammar School is a secondary school in the suburb of Mount Roskill, Auckland; it officially opened in 1953, The school has been noted for its relative academic success given its low socio-economic decile.
History
The school ope ...
and
Marcellin College.
History
Since the mid-18th century, the
Auckland isthmus
The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland and the central business district. ...
has been within the
rohe
The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several .
Background
In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...
of
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei or Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei is an Auckland-based Māori hapū (sub-tribe) in New Zealand. Together with Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa and Te Taoū, it comprises the iwi (tribe) of Ngāti Whātua. These four hapū can act togeth ...
.
The south-eastern Hillsborough area near the Manukau Harbour was traditionally referred to as Rangiaowhia, the name of a settlement and waka landing site south of
Onehunga High School which was partially covered up by the construction of
State Highway 20 in 1975.
The name may reference the view of the cloudy sky above the high point of the Hillsborough ridge, Pukekāroro.
The northern area of modern-day Hillsborough was known as Koheraunui, referencing the
kohekohe
Kohekohe (''Didymocheton spectabilis'') 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 no ...
trees which were once common in the lava forest landscape of the area, and was known for its
kūmara (sweet potato) cultivations.
After 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 people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...
of the 1820s, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei gave lands near
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill.
Onehunga is ...
to the
Tainui
Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...
confederation of the
Waikato
The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
as a ''tuku rangatira'', a gift of reciprocity to thank the Waikato tribes for sheltering them during the war, and as a way to forge closer bonds.
In the 1830s,
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato iwi of the ...
, a powerful Tainui chief who later became the first
Māori King
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 ...
, would spend time in various places around 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 ("Burnett ...
and Auckland isthmus, including at Koheraunui in Hillsborough (modern-day Monte Cecilia). Pōtatau Te Wherowhero and his brother
Kati Takiwaru occupied Koheraunui until 1840, when they settled at coastal
Māngere
Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...
.
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero and
Tāmati Ngāpora sold the land with the consent of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei chief
Apihai Te Kawau
Apihai Te Kawau (died November 1869) was a paramount chief of the Ngāti Whātua Māori iwi (tribe) of Auckland (), New Zealand in the 19th century.
Te Kawau's father was Tarahawaiki and his grandfather was Tūperiri, the principal leader of T ...
to English land-dealer William Hart in December 1844.
The suburb was named for James Carlton Hill, who left land to the city for use as public domains in his 1858 will. The
Pah Homestead (or ''The Pah'') was constructed for
James Williamson by
Thomas Mahoney on the 313-acre estate Pah Farm in 1877–1879. Of plastered brick in the
Italianate style
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ita ...
it is based upon
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
and
Prince Albert
Prince Albert most commonly refers to:
*Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria
*Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco
Prince Albert may also refer to:
Royalty
* Alb ...
's house
Osbourne House in the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
. It was allegedly the largest house ever built in New Zealand and one of the most expensive.
Following the failure of Williamson's business concerns after the stockmarket crash of 1886, the estate was progressively broken up and sold off. Various organisations established facilities on the smaller but still spacious properties that resulted from the subdivision; a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
Friary,
Marcellin College for boys, Roskill Masonic Hospital, and Liston Village (a residential home which includes the historic Pah Stable Block). Other parts of the property were purchased by the Hillsborough Bowling Club,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
who built a church on Pah Road,
Sanitarium Wholefoods and
Holeproof Enterprises who built factories on Pah Road and Auckland City Council who created
Seymour Park. The rest of the extensive farmland was redeveloped as suburban housing although a portion to the south of Herd Road is still utilised for grazing land probably because it is very steep. The two storied Farm Managers House still stands at 1 Warren Avenue.
The Pah Mansion was eventually purchased by the Roman Catholic Church in 1913 and renamed ''Monte Cecilia.'' Part of the remaining land close to the house was developed as Monte Cecilia Primary School, and the house itself was used as emergency housing for many years. The
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...
purchased the property in 2002. Its magnificent grounds contain a number of interesting specimen trees and is now part of a public park named
Monte Cecilia Park which will eventually include the site of Monte Cecilia Primary School which will be relocated elsewhere in the area. The house has been renovated and is now being used to display Sir
James Wallace's extensive collection of New Zealand Modern art.
Landmarks and features

*
Hillsborough Cemetery, a major cemetery in Auckland primarily in use between 1916 and 1976, located on the Hillsborough ridge
*Monte Cecilia Park, a large public park in Hillsborough
*
Pah Homestead, a historic homestead and art gallery
*The northern coastline 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 ("Burnett ...
, which includes Grannys Bay, Taylors Bay and Hillsborough Bay
*St Francis Retreat Centre, a historic
friary
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...
that opened in 1940.
*The Waikōwhai Walkway, a path linking
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill.
Onehunga is ...
to
Lynfield
Lynfield is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of Auckland Council. The suburb is located on the southwestern Auckland isthmus bordering the Manukau Harbour, much of which is densely forested with native forest ...
Cove.
Demographics
Hillsborough covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
Hillsborough (Auckland) had a population of 6,891 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 ...
, an increase of 45 people (0.7%) since the
2018 census, and an increase of 972 people (16.4%) since the
2013 census. There were 3,420 males, 3,447 females and 24 people of
other genders in 2,268 dwellings. 3.4% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+. The median age was 38.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,113 people (16.2%) aged under 15 years, 1,500 (21.8%) aged 15 to 29, 3,141 (45.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,140 (16.5%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 43.8%
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 ...
); 6.8%
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 ...
; 9.6%
Pasifika; 46.5%
Asian; 3.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 93.3%, Māori language by 1.3%, Samoan by 1.8%, and other languages by 34.9%. No language could be spoken by 2.2% (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 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 46.7, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 35.3%
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 ...
, 12.5%
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 ...
, 5.1%
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 ...
, 0.3%
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 ...
, 2.7%
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 2.1% other religions. People who answered that they had
no religion were 37.0%, and 4.9% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,334 (40.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,244 (38.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,200 (20.8%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $47,000, compared with $41,500 nationally. 918 people (15.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,138 (54.3%) people were employed full-time, 711 (12.3%) were part-time, and 132 (2.3%) were unemployed.
Education
Hillsborough School is a coeducational contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of as of
The school opened in 1951.
References
* Colonial Architecture In New Zealand.
John Stacpoole.
A.H & A.W. Reed 1976, .
External links
Photographs of Hillsboroughheld in
Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.
{{Puketāpapa Local Board Area
Suburbs of Auckland
Populated places around the Manukau Harbour