To New Zealanders, Auckland is known as Queen City or City of Sails. It is rich in local history and home to a people known for their love of the outdoors. The city of Auckland is the largest and most modern in New Zealand. Located on the North Island, it is home to over one quarter of the country’s people. Its location on the isthmus of the North Island, between Waitemata Harbour to the northeast and Manukau Harbour to the southwest, makes it the perfect habitat for anyone with a love for water. Within an hour drive from the city, you will find 102 beaches for swimming, surfing, waterskiing or sail boarding. There are over 70,000 powerboats and sailing craft, or one per every four households. There is much to see and do in Auckland: the Civic Theater, an art nouveau theater that opened in 1929 and was used for cabaret shows for servicemen in transit to battlefields in the Pacific; the War Memorial Museum and the Museum of Transport and Technology; Albert Park, 15 acres of formal gardens, fountains and statues; the Auckland Domaine, a 340-acre park that is a favorite leisure space for Aucklanders. Shoppers will not be disappointed. Be sure to check out Lower Queen Street for the best range of shopping from fashion to souvenirs, bookstores and local art.
Maori Heritage
Maori oral history maintains that the Maoris came to the islands of New Zealand in waka (canoes) from other parts of Polynesia. Of all the waka that visited the region, the ones carrying the Tainui, whose descendants were known as Ngaoho, have had the most lasting impact. These waka called in at many places before being hauled across the isthmus where Auckland is now situated to Manukau Harbour. Archaeological evidence of human settlement dates back some 800 years, with the earliest sites mainly located along coastlines and harbor mouths. The picture that emerges is one of a distinctly Polynesian society that depended on fishing, the gathering of shellfish and edible plants, and (increasingly as the centuries passed) agriculture. Until the 17th century, when tribes from the north and south challenged the isthmus dwellers, things were relatively peaceful. However, by the time European settlers arrived in 1839, tribal warfare, disease and destruction of the area through hunting and forest clearance had depleted the Maori populations.
posted by Hills @ 3:35 PM
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