Milford
Suburb
Milford Marina
Milford Marina
Map
Coordinates: 36°46′23″S 174°45′36″E / 36.773°S 174.76°E / -36.773; 174.76
CountryNew Zealand
CityAuckland
Local authorityAuckland Council
Electoral wardNorth Shore ward
Local boardDevonport-Takapuna Local Board
Area
[1]
 • Land153 ha (378 acres)
Population
 (June 2023)[2]
 • Total5,020
Postcode(s)
0620
Forrest Hill Castor Bay (Hauraki Gulf)
Wairau Valley
Milford
 (Hauraki Gulf)
Hillcrest Takapuna Takapuna

Milford is a suburb located on the North Shore, Auckland. It is located on northern side of Lake Pupuke. It also has a popular swimming beach, which runs some two kilometres from Black Rock in the south to Castor Bay in the north. The Wairau Creek reaches the sea at the Hauraki Gulf at the northern end of Milford Beach, and its lower tidal reaches host the Milford Marina.

Etymology

The first references to Milford Road date from 1892,[3] and the first references to Milford Beach from 1894.[4] The Milford housing estate is first mentioned from 1910,[5] and some of the earliest references to Milford as a suburb date from 1912.[6] The name's origin is associated with early resident Edwin Harrow who settled in the area in 1881. The name is either a reference to Milford House, one Harrow's residences on the shores of Lake Pupuke where his wife lived after they separated,[7][8] or to his hometown, Milford Haven in Wales.[9]

Geology

Lake Pupuke is a volcanic maar located between Milford and Takapuna, and one of the oldest known features of the Auckland volcanic field
The most recent eruption of Lake Pupuke led to the creation of Takapuna Reef and the Takapuna Fossil Forest

Main articles: Lake Pupuke and Takapuna Fossil Forest

The North Shore is primarily uplifted Waitemata Group sandstone, that was deposited on the sea floor during the Early Miocene, between 22 and 16 million years ago.[10] Milford is home to Lake Pupuke, a volcanic maar which is one of the oldest known features of the Auckland volcanic field, erupting an estimated 193,200 years ago.[11][12][13] During the eruption of Lake Pupuke, two lava flows travelled eastwards through the area, burning vegetation and encasing the lower 1-2 metres of the tree trunks in lava. The lava solidified into basalt rock, creating the Takapuna Fossil Forest, which was exposed an estimated 7,000 years ago due to coastal erosion.[14]

Prior to human settlement, pōhutukawa trees dominated the coastal margins of the North Shore.[10] The inland North Shore was a mixed podocarp-broadleaf forest dominated by kauri. To the southwest of Milford is Smiths Bush in the Onewa Domain, a remnant native forest, dominated by kahikatea and taraire trees.[15]

Geography

Milford is located on the northern shores of Lake Pupuke, to the west of Milford Beach.[16][17] A rock formation called Black Rock is found at the eastern end of Milford Beach.[18] Milford is surrounded by the suburbs of Takapuna, Wairau Valley, Forrest Hill and Castor Bay. The Wairau Creek flows through the North Shore, and enters the Rangitoto Channel of the Hauraki Gulf at Milford.[19] The highest point in the suburb is 49 metres (161 ft) above sea-level, at the northwestern end of Belmont Terrace.[16]

History

Māori history

Main articles: Takapuna § History, and Castor Bay § History

Māori settlement of the Auckland Region began around the 13th or 14th centuries.[20][21] The Devonport-Takapuna area was one of the earliest settled in the region, known to be settled by the Tāmaki Māori ancestor Peretū. Toi-te-huatahi and his followers settled and interwed with these early peoples.[22] The pā to the north of Milford at Castor Bay, Te Rahopara o Peretū, takes its name from Peretū.[15]

Milford Beach was traditionally known by the name Onemaewao ("The Beach of Maewao"), referring to supernatural beings who in traditional stories lived on the North Shore, Motutapu and Motuihe.[23][24][25] Traditional stories tell of a party of Maewao, foraging for shellfish at the beach, perishing when the sun rose.[24]

The warrior Maki migrated from the Kāwhia Harbour to his ancestral home in the Auckland Region, likely sometime in the 17th century. Maki conquered and unified many the Tāmaki Māori tribes as Te Kawerau ā Maki, including those of the North Shore.[26][27] After Maki's death, his sons settled different areas of his lands, creating new hapū. His younger son Maraeariki settled the North Shore and Hibiscus Coast, who based himself at the head of the Ōrewa River. Maraeariki's daughter Kahu succeeded him, and she is the namesake of the North Shore, Te Whenua Roa o Kahu ("The Greater Lands of Kahu").[28][29] Many of the iwi of the North Shore, including Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Maraeariki, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Poataniwha, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and Ngāti Whātua, can trace their lineage to Kahu.[29][22]

The headland above Milford beach north of the Wairau Creek mouth was the location of a defensive pā known as Wairoa Pā.[30]

In the 17th century, Ngāti Pāoa attacked the settlements around the Waitematā Harbour, later intermarrying with the Te Kawerau ā Maki and Ngāi Tai people of the southern North Shore. During intertribal war with Ngāpuhi, the pā at Maungauika / North Head was sieged in 1793, leading Ngāti Pāoa to refocus their settlements on Waiheke Island until the 1830s.[31] During the early 1820s, most Māori of the North Shore fled for the Waikato or Northland due to the threat of war parties during the Musket Wars.[32][33]

Early colonial period

The historic Milford footbridge in the 1920s

The Milford area was purchased by the Crown on 13 April 1841 as a part of the Mahurangi Block.[34][35][36] The first European farmers arrived in the area in 1847.[37] Early European settlers were predominantly from England, Scotland and Ireland, and they established farms around the lake.[38] Crops such as wheat, maize, barley, potatoes and kūmara were grown at these farms, and homesteads planted single acre orchards dominated by plums, apples and peaches.[39] The Milford area was original known as Campbell's Bush, after John Logan Campbell, who had purchased vast tracts of the North Shore, including the location of modern Kitchener Road in Milford.[40]

By the late 1880s, Takapuna and Lake Pupuke had developed into a destination for tourists, with Lake Pupuke being the main attraction. The increase in tourists encouraged farmers to subdivide their lands. The Lake Hotel was constructed, and large summer residences were constructed on the shores of the lake.[10] The Takapuna and Milford Beach areas, as well as the land surrounding Lake Pupuke soon became popular spots for wealthy businessmen building summer homes to entertain in a rural surrounding, and eventually, many moved here permanently, commuting to work in Auckland via ferry.[41][10]

James Sheriff operated a kauri gum store at Milford, near the Wairau Creek. Due to Sheriff's home and store, Milford became a point where goods were traded between Auckland and the farms surrounding Milford.[40] By 1900, the Wairau Estuary was increasingly polluted, as the stream's catchment had been converted to pasture.[42]

Suburban development

Aerial view of Milford Beach and Ye Olde Pirate Shippe, between 1929 and 1937
Aerial view of the Milford Marina and Wairau Creek in 1992

In 1910, a private tramway was established, which conveyed passengers from Milford to the ferry at Bayswater.[10] A group of local businessmen proposed the tramway to Auckland Electric Tramways as a way to improve property prices in Takapuna. After the company declined their request due to the low population of the area, the businessmen established the Takapuna Tramways and Ferry Company Limited, operating both the tram and ferry.[43] The plan was a success, leading to rapid suburban development in Takapuna.[10] The tramway soon became unpopular due to competition,[10][40] and closed 17 years later on 26 April 1927.[43] The trams led to suburban development at Milford, transforming the area from a rural area into a holidaying community.[40] As a part of the suburban development, a tall footbridge over the Wairau Creek was constructed between Milford and the cliffs of southern Castor Bay.[40][44]

By the 1920s, Milford became a centre for entertainment.[40] In 1922, two competing cinemas were established in Milford, the Milford Picture Drome and the Bridgeway Theatre. [45][40] In January 1929, Ye Olde Pirate Shippe was opened. An elaborate dance hall and restaurant designed by James Fletcher to look like a pirate ship, the venue was a popular destination for Aucklanders.[46] This was joined by the Milford swimming pool, opened in 1936.[40] In 1927, the Inga Road bridge was constructed.[40] During World War II, American troops often frequented the priate ship.[10] Milford lost its prominence as a tourist destination after the war. The pirate ship was demolished in the 1950s,[10] and the pools were removed in 1957.[40]

During the 1920s, Mr. Sands operated a scoria and basalt quarry at Milford, quarrying the small volcanic cone adacent to Lake Pupuke.[10] The first concrete road was constructed between Milford and Bayswater, and in the mid-1920s a sewage outlet was constructed at Black Rock in Milford.[9]

The Auckland Harbour Bridge opened in 1959, connecting the North Shore to Auckland City in the south. The bridge caused suburbanisation across the North Shore, and led to Milford transitioning from a holiday community to a residential suburb in the 1960s and 1970s.[47][10] In 1968, an apartment building called the Circle was constructed at the former Goldie family estate, purported to be the first apartment building with 360 views in New Zealand.[41] In the same year, the Milford marina was constructed at the mouth of the Wairau Creek. Two years later, the historic footbridge was demolished. Intended to be reconstructed soon afterwards, the Milford Cruising Club and members of the Takapuna Community Board blocked reconstruction.[40] In 1975, the marina was expanded,[40] wich led to a boating industry developing at Milford.[9]

In December 1994, the Milford Shopping Centre opened.[47] It was sold to new proprietors in 2006,[48] and covers 14,000 square metres (150,000 sq ft).[49] It consists of 757 carparks and 65 retailers, including The Warehouse and a Countdown supermarket.[50]

In December 2015, the Wairau Stream Pedestrian Bridge was opened.[51]

Demographics

Milford covers 1.53 km2 (0.59 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 5,020 as of June 2023,[2] with a population density of 3,281 people per km2.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
20064,773—    
20134,767−0.02%
20185,019+1.04%
Source: [52]

Milford had a population of 5,019 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 252 people (5.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 246 people (5.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,025 households, comprising 2,358 males and 2,664 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.89 males per female, with 720 people (14.3%) aged under 15 years, 822 (16.4%) aged 15 to 29, 2,262 (45.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,215 (24.2%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 72.4% European/Pākehā, 4.1% Māori, 1.2% Pacific peoples, 24.3% Asian, and 3.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 40.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 50.5% had no religion, 37.8% were Christian, 0.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.0% were Hindu, 1.3% were Muslim, 1.5% were Buddhist and 2.1% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,602 (37.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 408 (9.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,182 people (27.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,980 (46.1%) people were employed full-time, 585 (13.6%) were part-time, and 126 (2.9%) were unemployed.[52]

Individual statistical areas
Name Area (km2) Population Density (per km2) Households Median age Median income
Milford West 0.83 3,072 3,701 1,203 41.6 years $38,000[53]
Milford Central 0.74 1,947 2,631 822 53.3 years $45,800[54]
New Zealand 37.4 years $31,800

Local government

The first local government in the area was the Lake Highway District, also known as the Takapuna Highway District, which began operating 1867. In June 1889 the road board was dissolved, in favour of Takapuna being under the direct control of the Waitemata County Council.[10] The Borough of Takapuna was established on 1 July 1913, after 73% of electors in Takapuna voted for independence from the Waitemata County, which included Milford.[55]

After significant growth in population, Takapuna Borough became Takapuna City in 1961.[10] In 1989, Takapuna City was merged into the North Shore City.[56] North Shore City was amalgamated into Auckland Council in November 2010.[57]

Within the Auckland Council, Milford is a part of the Devonport-Takapuna local government area governed by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. It is a part of the North Shore ward, which elects two councillors to the Auckland Council. For national politics, Milford is part of the North Shore electorate, which is currently represented by National member of parliament Simon Watts.

Notable people

Amenities

Milford Beach

Education

Carmel College is a girls' secondary (years 7-13) school with a roll of 1028.[65] It is a state integrated Catholic school, which was founded in 1957.[66]

Milford School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a roll of 511.[67] It opened in 1926 as a spillover from Takapuna School, and became an independent school in 1946.[68]

Rolls are as of April 2023.[69]

References

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  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Heritage Consultancy Services (1 July 2011). North Shore Heritage - Thematic Review Report Volume 1 (PDF) (Report). Auckland Council. ISBN 978-1-927169-21-6. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
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  51. ^ a b "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Milford West (125400) and Milford Central (125900).
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  53. ^ 2018 Census place summary: Milford Central
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  62. ^ "History". Milford Bowling Club. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
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  64. ^ Education Counts: Carmel College
  65. ^ "About Carmel College". Carmel College. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
  66. ^ Education Counts: Milford School
  67. ^ "Back to the future for Milford Primary". Shore News. 17 October 2001. p. 13.
  68. ^ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 December 2022.

Bibliography

External links

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Area, Auckland, New Zealand
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