Manukau

Manukau, or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand. Centred on the Manukau City Centre business district, it is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District. Manukau is situated south of Papatoetoe, south-west of Flat Bush, and north of Manurewa and Wiri.
Manukau's name originates from the Manukau Harbour and means "only birds" in Māori. Prior to the suburb, the name Manukau was given to the much larger districts Manukau County and Manukau City.
The headquarters of Manukau City Council were in Manukau Central until the council was merged into Auckland Council in November 2010. Manukau Central should not be confused with Manukau City, which was the entire area administered by the city council.

Demographics

Manukau covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km².
Manukau had a population of 3,687 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 237 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 555 people since the 2013 census. There were 1,890 males, 1,791 females and 9 people of other genders in 1,248 dwellings. 2.8% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 34.6 years. There were 642 people aged under 15 years, 825 aged 15 to 29, 1,815 aged 30 to 64, and 402 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 17.8% European ; 12.9% Māori; 26.6% Pasifika; 51.9% Asian; 2.0% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 1.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 87.0%, Māori language by 2.5%, Samoan by 9.1%, and other languages by 40.9%. No language could be spoken by 2.8%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.2%. The percentage of people born overseas was 54.3, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 35.0% Christian, 16.7% Hindu, 6.8% Islam, 1.0% Māori religious beliefs, 2.1% Buddhist, 0.1% New Age, and 12.8% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 19.7%, and 5.9% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 621 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,287 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,146 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $41,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 162 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,650 people were employed full-time, 267 were part-time, and 132 were unemployed.

Name	Area	Population	Density	Dwellings	Median age	Median income
Manukau Central	11.41	963	84	483	34.6 years	$45,200
Puhinui East	0.60	2,727	4,545	762	34.6 years	$39,200
New Zealand					38.1 years	$41,500

The Manukau Central area is mostly commercial or rural. The Puhinui East area is mostly residential.

History

The Manukau Central area was part of the largely rural area of Wiri in the early 20th century. Its transition from farmland was driven by Manukau City Council, which formed in 1965 and purchased land there in 1966 for the development of an administrative and commercial centre. The Manukau City Centre mall, now Westfield Manukau City, opened in October 1976, and the Manukau City Council administration building in 1977. Several government departments established offices in the late 1970s.
In 1983 Manukau City Council decided to rename the area Manukau Central, with the name Wiri continuing for the industrial area to the west. The name Manukau City Centre has been used for the central business district around the mall and city council building.
The Rainbow's End theme park opened just south of the city centre in 1982. Due Drop Events Centre, a multi-purpose event centre, is also opened in 2005 located at Manukau. Another shopping centre, Manukau Supa Centa, opened to the west of the city centre in 1998. Manukau Institute of Technology, which has its main campus at Ōtara, built 2 campuses at Manukau Central, in 2014 which has the Manukau train station below and in 2020.

Local government

Since November 2010, the suburb is in the Manukau ward, one of the thirteen electoral divisions of Auckland Council.

Economy

Retail

was established in 1976. It has a lettable area of 45,236 m², and has 2,113 carparks and 187 shops, including Farmers, Woolworths, JB Hi-Fi and Event Cinemas.
Manukau Supa Centa covers 37,010 m². It has 40 stores including Kmart.

Education

Puhinui School is a state contributing primary school. It has a roll of .
South Auckland Seventh-day Adventist School is a state-integrated full primary school. It has a roll of .
Both schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of
Manukau also has the South Campus of Auckland University of Technology and the Manukau and Tech Park Campuses of Manukau Institute of Technology.
Redoubt North School is a full primary school with a roll of .

Transport

Manukau is well-connected for transport. The Southwestern Motorway joins the Southern Motorway at Manukau Central. Eastern Line train services carry passengers between Manukau railway station and central Auckland's Britomart Transport Centre. Adjacent to the train station is the Manukau bus station, connecting southern and eastern suburbs and a stop for inter-city services.