Māngere East

Māngere East is located in South Auckland, east of central Māngere between the Southwestern Motorway and the Southern Line.

The first evidence of Tāmaki Māori in the coastal Māngere area comes from the 14th century, with evidence of the first settlements later in the 15th century.^[4] The Māngere East area formed an important part of the Waokauri / Pūkaki portage, connecting the Manukau Harbour and Tāmaki River via Papatoetoe, and was often used by Tāmaki Māori to avoid the Te Tō Waka and Karetu portages, controlled by the people who lived at Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond.^[5] The area is within the rohe of the Waiohua tribes, including Te Ākitai Waiohua.^[6][7]

In January 1836 missionary William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between Tāmaki Māori chiefs, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero and Turia of Ngāti Te Rau, covering the majority of modern-day South Auckland between Ōtāhuhu and Papakura. The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to. Māori continued to live in South Auckland, unchanged by this sale.^[8] Fairburn was criticised for the sheer size of the purchase, and in 1842 the Crown significantly reduced the size of his land holdings,^[9] and the Crown partitioned much of the land for European settlers.^[8] Until the 1860s, the Māori population of the Manukau Harbour and Waikato areas produced goods to sell or barter at the port of Onehunga.^[10]: 3 On 9 July 1863, due to fears of the Māori King Movement, Governor Grey proclaimed that all Māori living in the South Auckland area needed to swear loyalty to the Queen and give up their weapons. Most people refused due to strong links to Tainui, leaving for the south before the Government's Invasion of the Waikato.^{[11]: 68 [10]: 4} In 1862, the first local government was established in the area, with the formation of the Mangerei Highway Board.^[12]

The Māngere East area was predominantly rural, featuring a number of country villas (such as the Massey Homestead, former home of Prime Minister William Massey). Māngere East and Ōtāhuhu began slowly developing after the North Island Main Trunk linked Auckland to Wellington in 1908,^[13] and the Māngere railway station opened around the same time.^[14]

Māngere East began to develop as a suburban area after the opening of the Otahuhu Railway Workshops in the late 1920s. One of the first suburban developments was the Massey Park subdivision, which was built at the corner of Henwood Road and Massey Road.^[12] The Mangere East Hall opened in 1924, serving as a community area and cinema. Mangere East School opened in 1927, and in 1927 a Selwyn church was relocated to Māngere East from Ōtāhuhu.^[12][13]

During World War II, Māngere East became home to Camp Euart, an 84-acre military camp for the United States Military which housed 5,000 troops.^[13]

By 1955, the area had grown enough that Māngere East was established as a town district.^[12] Ten years later, the Māngere East town district was absorbed into the newly established Manukau City.^[12] The greater area saw increased suburban growth in the 1960s and 1970s, when central Māngere was developed as a large-scale housing development, and Māngere East became a suburb of the Manukau City.^[12][13]

Māngere East covers 5.90 km² (2.28 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 29,050 as of June 2023,^[2] with a population density of 4,924 people per km².

Before the 2023 census, the suburb had a larger boundary, covering 6.14 km² (2.37 sq mi).^[1] Using that boundary, Māngere East had a population of 27,372 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 2,298 people (9.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 3,051 people (12.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 5,721 households, comprising 13,641 males and 13,740 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female, with 7,383 people (27.0%) aged under 15 years, 7,224 (26.4%) aged 15 to 29, 10,632 (38.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 2,145 (7.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 12.7% European/Pākehā, 15.9% Māori, 65.2% Pacific peoples, 20.1% Asian, and 1.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 41.7, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 15.1% had no religion, 63.1% were Christian, 1.8% had Māori religious beliefs, 6.6% were Hindu, 5.3% were Muslim, 1.2% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,974 (9.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 4,461 (22.3%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,224 people (6.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 9,780 (48.9%) people were employed full-time, 2,100 (10.5%) were part-time, and 1,269 (6.3%) were unemployed.^[15]

Kedgley Intermediate School is an intermediate school (years 7–8) with a roll of 466.^[25]

Robertson Road School, Mangere East and Sutton Park School are full primary schools (years 1–8) with rolls of 459, 487 and 479 students, respectively.^[26][27][28]

Kingsford and Papatoetoe North schools are contributing primary schools (years 1–6) with rolls of 291 and 713 students, respectively.^[29][30]

St Mary MacKillop Catholic School is a state-integrated full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of 298.^[31]

De La Salle College is a state-integrated boys' Catholic secondary school (years 7–13) with a roll of 965.^[32]

All these schools except De La Salle are coeducational. Rolls are as of February 2024.^[33]

The first local government in the area was the Mangerei Highway Board, which formed in 1862.^[12] Māngere for the 19th and early 20th Centuries, Māngere was a rural area within the Manukau County. Māngere East was established as a town districts in 1955.^[12] In 1965, the area became a part of the Manukau City,^[12] In November 2010, all cities and districts of the Auckland Region were amalgamated into a single body, governed by the Auckland Council.^[34]

Māngere East is primarily part of the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board area, who elects members of the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board. Some areas of Māngere East south-east of Walter Massey Park and Aorere Park are a part of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe, who elect members to the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board. Residents of Māngere East, regardless of local board, also elect two Manukau ward councillors to sit on the Auckland Council.

• Tri Duc Temple, a Vietnamese Buddhist temple is located in the suburb.^[35]
• Walter Massey Park, a public park in Māngere East. The park is home to the association football club Manukau United FC, the rugby league club Mangere East Hawks, Māngere East Library, the historic Māngere East Hall and the Māngere East Community Centre.

• William Massey – Prime Minister of New Zealand (1912–1925)
• Tupou Neiufi – Commonwealth Games and Paralympics athlete^[36]

• Mackintosh, Lucy (2021). Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Bridget Williams Books. doi:10.7810/9781988587332. ISBN 978-1-988587-33-2.
• Wichman, Gwen (1990), A brief history of Manurewa, Manurewa: Manurewa Historical Society, Wikidata Q117327773