Warkworth, New Zealand

Warkworth
Puhinui (Māori)
Town
Warkworth in 2007
Warkworth in 2007
Warkworth is located in New Zealand Auckland
Warkworth
Warkworth
Location of Warkworth, New Zealand
Coordinates: 36°24′S 174°40′E / 36.400°S 174.667°E / -36.400; 174.667
CountryNew Zealand
RegionAuckland
WardRodney ward
Local boardRodney Local Board
SubdivisionWarkworth subdivision
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial AuthorityAuckland Council
Area
[1]
 • Region
15.58 km2 (6.02 sq mi)
Population
 (June 2024)[2]
 • Region
6,730
 • Density430/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+12 (NZST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode(s)
0910

Warkworth (Māori: Puhinui)[3][4] is a town on the Northland Peninsula in the upper North Island of New Zealand. It is in the northern part of the Auckland Region. It is located on State Highway 1, 64 km (40 mi) north of Auckland and 98 km (61 mi) south of Whangārei, and is at the head of Mahurangi Harbour.[5][6]

The Mahurangi Harbour and surrounding area has been settled by Māori since at least the 13th century. As Warkworth is the upper most navigable point on the Mahurangi River, it was a crossroads between overland traffic and waka, and gained the name Puhinui, referring to the waterfalls found at the river. The people of the Mahurangi Harbour area would move seasonally between different kāinga based on available resources, and came to the dense kauri forests at Puhinui to utilise resources such as berries, eels and felling trees to construct waka.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Ngāti Rongo, Ngāti Raupō and Ngāti Manuhiri were active in the Warkworth area. The area was depopulated during the Musket Wars of the 1820s, with Te Kawerau hapū taking shelter with differing tribes in the north. Ngāti Rongo returned to the area in 1836, followed by Ngāti Manuhiri in the early 1840s.

European settler John Anderson Brown first settled at Warkworth in 1843, establishing a timber mill on the banks of the Mahurangi River. The town was officially established in 1853, and became a hub for the timber and ship building industries. The town became a hub for the Wilsons Cement Works in 1884, and by the 1930s as roads improved transitioned into becoming a commercial and service hub for the wider rural area.

Warkworth and the surrounding areas was home to over 40 United States Army camps during World War II, and in 1971 the Warkworth Radio Astronomical Observatory was established near the town. Since the mid-2000s, the town has seen significant population growth.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Next steps for Puhinui / Warkworth Centre Plan". Auckland Council. 9 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Puhinui Warkworth". Discover Auckland. Tātaki Auckland Unlimited. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  5. ^ Peter Dowling, ed. (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. map 11. ISBN 0-7900-0952-8.
  6. ^ Roger Smith, GeographX (2005). The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand. Robbie Burton. map 31. ISBN 1-877333-20-4.