Waiuku

Waiuku
town
Waiuku from the air
Coordinates: 37°14′56″S 174°43′48″E / 37.249°S 174.730°E / -37.249; 174.730
Country	New Zealand
Region	Auckland Region
Ward	Franklin ward
Board	Franklin Local Board
Electorates	Port Waikato Hauraki-Waikato
Government
• Territorial authority	Auckland Council
Area [1]
• Total	7.87 km2 (3.04 sq mi)
Population  (June 2023)[2]
• Total	9,800
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,200/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	2123

Waiuku is a rural town in the Auckland Region 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 extends to the northeast. It is 40 kilometres southwest of Auckland city centre, and 12 kilometres north of the mouth of the Waikato River.

Settled in the 13th or 14th centuries, the Waiuku area was an important transportation hub, as the Te Pai o Kaiwaka portage was the preferred route for people travelling between the Waikato River and Manukau Harbour. The area became a centre for Ngāti Kahukōkā, a Waiohua hapū, by the 15th century. Ngāti Te Ata developed as a union between Waiohua and Waikato Tainui peoples, around the 17th century at Waiuku.

Waiuku became a trading port in 1851, facilitating trade between the Waikato River and the port of Onehunga, and Purapura, a Ngāti Te Ata village was established at the navigable head of the Awaroa Creek to the south. After the Invasion of the Waikato in 1863, the port of Waiuku suffered due to the lack of Māori produce being transported. By the end of the 19th century, Waiuku had begun developing into a centre for the dairy industry. In 1922, a railway line branch was constructed to Waiuku, and by 1955 Waiuku had grown enough to become an independent borough. In 1968, the Glenbrook steel mill opened in neighbouring Glenbrook, becoming a major employer in Waiuku.