Huapai | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The main road in Huapai | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 36°46′17″S 174°32′19″E / 36.77139°S 174.53861°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Auckland Region |
| Ward | Rodney ward |
| Local board | Rodney Local Board |
| Subdivision | Kumeū subdivision |
| Electorates | |
| Government | |
| • Territorial Authority | Auckland Council |
Huapai is a locality north-west of Auckland, New Zealand. State Highway 16 and the North Auckland Railway Line pass through it. Kumeū is adjacent to the east, Riverhead is to the north-east, and Waimauku to the west.[1][2]
The wider area has been settled by Tāmaki Māori since the 13th or 14th centuries, and the area is of significant importance to Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara and Te Kawerau ā Maki. The Kumeū River valley was an important transport node between the Kaipara and Waitematā harbours, due to a portage called Te Tōangaroa, where waka could be hauled overland.
Settlement at Huapai developed in the 1870s after the construction of the Kumeu–Riverhead Section, a railway on Te Tōangaroa that linked Kumeū to Riverhead. In 1914, Huapai was established as a rural housing estate, and promoted as a fruit growing area. By the 1940s, Croatian New Zealanders developed a winemaking industry at Kumeū and Huapai. Since the 1970s, Kumeū and Huapai have grown to become a single urban area, often referred to as Kumeū-Huapai.
- ^ Peter Dowling, ed. (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. map 11. ISBN 0-7900-0952-8.
- ^ Roger Smith, GeographX (2005). The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand. Robbie Burton. maps 34–35. ISBN 1-877333-20-4.