Westfield | |
|---|---|
 A look over the still mostly industrialised Westfield area, with the Railway yards in the front. | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 36°57′S 174°51′E / 36.950°S 174.850°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| City | Auckland Council |
| Mount Wellington, Southdown | ||
| Mangere Inlet |
  Westfield  |
Tamaki River, Pakuranga |
| Ōtāhuhu |
Westfield is an industrial suburb of Auckland, New Zealand
For many years the abattoirs located here were discharging large amounts of untreated waste into Manukau Harbour. This had a detrimental effect on the ecology of the harbor, which at the turn of the 20th century had been a popular and attractive place to swim, sail, fish and gather shell fish. For most of the middle of the 20th century it was a health hazard and its shell-fish a probable source of food poisoning. Since the freezing works disappeared the water quality has improved greatly.
There is a large railway marshalling yard located beside the Manukau Harbour.
Portage Road is the location of Te Tō Waka, one of the overland routes between the two harbours (and thus the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea), where the Māori would beach their waka (canoes) and drag them overland to the other coast, thus avoiding having to paddle around North Cape. This made the area of immense strategic importance in both pre-European times and during the early years of European occupation.