Manurewa Business Association - Manurewa

Proximity to Manukau Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf for plentiful fishing, good waterways with rivers, streams and springs, fertile volcanic soils for cultivation, a mix of flat and scrubby land and forested highlands and a good climate, combined to make the area of South Auckland desirable for early settlement.

Many hectares of fertile land was gardened  around Manurewa’s nearest major cones, Matukutureia   (McLaughlin’s Mountain ) and Matukutururu ( Wiri Mountain )  both now almost quarried away. The gardens were mostly undefended settlements and food stores. In pre-European times, this prized area created warfare between tribes of Thames and Waikato, which concerned the early missionaries. On 22^nd March 1838 Messrs Fairburn, Maunsell and Hamlin met at Otahuhu for the two-fold purpose of examining the school children and establishing peace between the tribes.  Subsequently at their request Fairburn bought 40,000 acres of land from the Maori for 400 pounds. The land lay between Otahuhu and Papakura and was bounded on the east and west by the sea. The Maori remained in occupation as before and in time

Fairburn returned one third of his property free of charge. By 1842, in accordance with requirements of the Land Claims Commission, his holding reduced still further to 5,495 acres in Otahuhu, Pakuranga and Manurewa.

10,000 acres of Fairburn’s original holding was granted by the government to James Reddy Clendon on 18^th October 1842 in part exchange for land he owned in the Bay of Islands. Clendon’s Grant was bounded by Puhinui Road, Boundary Road, Brookby, back along Alfriston Road, Weymouth Road and Palmer’s Road to the coast. Unknown is how long Clendon kept the land but at least 2,000 acres were taken over by the Bank of New Zealand sometime prior to 1859.

In 1859 Robert and Margaret Martin and their 5 sons set sail from the Isle of Man to New Zealand and on arrival, Robert Martin purchased 2,000 acres of Clendon’s original grant from the Bank of New Zealand for one pound per acre. This tract is outlined by Orams Road, Browns Road, the Manukau Harbour, Weymouth Road, Alfriston Road and Claude Road.

Manurewa was constituted a Highway District in 1867 and by 1874 boasted eleven houses and four mud huts. It was on the major coach route south with the Raglan Hotel at Woodside ( Wiri ) being the half way stop between Otahuhu and Drury.

The coming of the railway in 1875, which bypassed central Woodside, caused the population of Manurewa to rise to 81 by 1879 and the Martins could see Manurewa’s potential for development.  After their father’s death in 1894, the Martin brothers decided to subdivide part of their land and by 1920 the family had left Manurewa.

Names of  landholders, farmers and entrepreneurs among the early settlers are recognised in street names and parks of the area, including; Martin, Brown, Clayton, Collie, Corin,Coxhead, Dreadon, Finlayson, Holmes, Lupton, Mc Dougall, Nathan, Nield, Holmes, and Russell among them with names other notable residents added to the list with development over the years.

Manurewa was consititued a Town District on 1 April 1916, uniting portions of the former Manurewa and Papakura Road Districts. It became an independent Town District in 1920, the new Town Board carried out a vigorous policy of improvements.