Te Atatu Peninsula

Te Atatū Peninsula^[2][3] (formerly known as Te Atatū North) is a waterfront suburb of Auckland City surrounded by the Waitemata Harbour with extensive views of the city skyline, central city and north shore. There are also direct views of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. In the early 1980s, Emi Groot who moved there and decided that "Te Atatū Peninsula" was more fitting, so proceeded to use "Peninsula" instead of "North". The name "Te Atatū Peninsula" was formally adopted by the Waitakere Council in 1997. The Harbourside suburb is also known as "The Pen", "Tat Pen", “Tat”, “Tat Norf” or "Tat North". The name "Te Atatū" means "the dawn" in Māori.

Location

It is located at the western extremity of the Waitematā Harbour, and is flanked by the Henderson Creek to the west and by the Whau River to the east, both estuarial arms of the harbour, which extend southwest from the harbour itself. The relatively flat peninsula thus formed is four kilometres in length and two kilometres in width, and is joined to the main part of the North Island at its southern end. A motorway effectively cuts the peninsula off from the mainland and, with only one road in and out, the area has an almost island-like feel. Its population of about 12,474 (as of 2016)^[1] is closely matched by the population of Te Atatū South, the adjoining suburb.

History

The remains of a large Māori settlement were found in many places on the suburb, and the remains of flax baskets, fishing nets, and old clothes were found in the land of a local resident and heaps of pipi shells have been found in farms. Māori owned the land before c. 1880; after which the land was purchased by Thomas Henderson, who then sold farm plots to settlers in 1890. It is believed that the Māori who resided in Te Atatū well before European settlers had arrived.^[4]

Until the 1950s, Te Atatū Peninsula was mostly rural. The construction of the north-western motorway lead to development on the peninsula. During the 1960s and 1970s, Te Atatū Peninsula was covered in low- to medium-income houses.^[5]

Te Atatu Peninsula was the site of the Leisureland Fun Park in the 1980s,^[6] which was initially set up in collaboration with the Accident Compensation Corporation complete with a Drivertown and pleasure rides. It later became Footrot Flats Fun Park in 1985, which closed in 2000.^[7]

When vacated by leisure activities, this waterfront site has been developed into medium- to high-density high-end waterfront-facing properties. The houses are popular for high-end renovations and many properties have been subdivided, increasing the population density of the suburb, as prescribed under the current Auckland Unitary Plan.

Schools

The suburb contains multiple primary schools (Peninsula Primary School, Matipo Primary School and Rutherford Primary School), one intermediate school (Te Atatū Intermediate School), and one high school (Rutherford College, named after Ernest Rutherford).

References

External links

• Photographs of Te Atatu Peninsula held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.