26-542: Commercial Bay ( Māori : Onepanea ) was a historic bay on the southern side of the Waitematā Harbour that defined the original extent of the Auckland waterfront in Auckland , New Zealand. Today, the name Commercial Bay refers to the heavily developed area around lower Queen Street and Viaduct Harbour . The historic bay was framed by two substantial headlands, Smale's Point dividing it from Freemans Bay in
52-420: A fort at North Head and a military camp, Fort Cautley, at Narrow Neck . These were upgraded during World War II , and further gun emplacements were constructed at Castor Bay and other East Coast Bays areas to the north. The channel was last dredged from a depth of 11.2m to 12.5m in a two-stage process in 2004. The first stage involved the mechanical excavation of hard rock. Blasting was not required. This
78-674: A population of 84 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 60 people (250.0%) since the 2013 census , and an increase of 63 people (300.0%) since the 2006 census . There were no households. There were 60 males and 21 females, giving a sex ratio of 2.86 males per female. The median age was 25.5 years, with no people aged under 15 years, 54 (64.3%) aged 15 to 29, 21 (25.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 9 (10.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 50.0% European/Pākehā, 10.7% Māori, 3.6% Pacific peoples, 39.3% Asian, and no other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas
104-561: Is "The Obsidian Waters", referring to obsidian rock ( matā ). Another popular translation, derived from this, is "The Sparkling Waters", as the harbour waters were said to glint like the volcanic glass obsidian. However, this is incorrect, as grammatically Waitematā could not mean this. The harbour is an arm of the Hauraki Gulf, extending west for eighteen kilometres from the end of the Rangitoto Channel . Its entrance
130-709: Is an area of the Hauraki Gulf in the Auckland Region of New Zealand 's North Island . The channel is north-east of the Waitematā Harbour , and is located between the North Shore and Rangitoto Island . The channel's traditional Ngāi Tai name is Te Awanui o Peretū , and is an important deep water shipping channel to reach the Ports of Auckland . The Rangitoto Channel is located in Auckland, between
156-500: Is between North Head and Bastion Point in the south. The westernmost ends of the harbour extend past Whenuapai in the northwest, and to Te Atatū Peninsula in the west, as well as forming the estuarial arm known as the Whau River in the southwest. The northern shore of the harbour consists of North Shore . North Shore suburbs located closest to the shoreline include Birkenhead , Northcote and Devonport (west to east). On
182-608: The Auckland CBD . The harbour is a drowned valley system that was carved through Miocene marine sediments of the Waitemata Group . Recent volcanism in the Auckland volcanic field has also shaped the coast, most obviously at Devonport and the Meola Reef (a lava flow which almost spans the harbour), but also in the explosion craters of Orakei Basin and in western Shoal Bay . Over the last two million years,
208-469: The Auckland waterfront , within a few decades of the city's European founding. Taking the idea of the several Māori portage paths over the isthmus one step further, the creation of a canal that would link the Waitematā and Manukau harbours was considered in the early 1900s. Legislation (the Auckland and Manukau Canal Act 1908) was passed that would allow authorities to take privately owned land where it
234-604: The North Shore and Rangitoto Island . During the Last Glacial Maximum (known locally as the Ōtira Glaciation), the area was a valley for the Waitematā River, which when sea levels rose between 12,000 and 7,000 years ago became the Waitematā Harbour . The channel is an important stretch of water as it is the only deep water approach to Auckland Port for large ships such as container cargo ships and passenger cruise liners. The traditional Ngāi Tai name for
260-524: The Waiohua confederation. The Waitematā Harbour was traditionally used as a fishery used by Tāmaki Māori for sharks and snapper . In the late 18th century and early 19th century, the waters were fished together by Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei and Ngāti Pāoa . In traditional legend, the Waitematā Harbour is protected by a taniwha named Ureia, who takes the form of a whale. The harbour has long been
286-659: The Rangitoto Channel is Te Awanui o Peretū or "The Great Channel of Peretū", named after an early ancestor in Tāmaki Makaurau, who lived at Narrow Neck and kept a kākā parrot reserve on Rangitoto Island . The channel was visited by the Tainui migratory canoe after arriving in Tāmaki Makaurau. During the Russian scare of the 1880s, coastal fortifications were built along the Rangitoto Channel, including
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#1732781148977312-534: The Waihorotiu, and eventually the stream was covered over. The headlands on both sides of the bay were quarried away roughly within the 1860 to 1920 period, as Auckland used their stone as fill to reclaim seashore land for the growing city and built a new waterfront with various large quays. Nowadays, the former bay and its headlands are mostly covered with high-rise buildings. Commercial Bay was where Logan Campbell erected his tent 1840 after hearing that Auckland
338-603: The harbour has cycled between periods of being a forested river valley and a flooded harbour. In periods of low sea level, a tributary ran from Milford into the Shoal Bay stream. This valley provided the harbour with a second entrance when sea levels rose, until the Lake Pupuke volcano plugged this gap. Approximately 17,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were significantly lower,
364-589: The harbour has numerous beaches popular for swimming, the older-style "combined sewers" in several surrounding western suburbs dump contaminated wastewater overflows into the harbour on approximately 52 heavy-rain days a year, leading to regular health warnings at popular swimming beaches, until the outfalls have dispersed again. A major new project, the Central Interceptor , starting 2019, is to reduce these outfalls by about 80% once completed around 2024. The statistical area of Inlet Waitemata Harbour had
390-416: The harbour was Te Whanga-nui o Toi (The Big Bay of Toi), named after Toi , an early Māori explorer. The name Waitematā means "Te Mata Waters", which according to some traditions refers to a mauri stone (a stone of Māori religious significance) called Te Mata, which was placed on Boat Rock (in the harbour south-west of Chatswood ) by Te Arawa chief Kahumatamomoe. A popular translation of Waitematā
416-479: The harbour. Mudflats covered by mangroves flourish in these conditions, and salt marshes are also typical. Prior to European settlement, the harbour was the site of many Tāmaki Māori pā and kāinga , including Kauri Point in Chatswood , Okā at Point Erin, Te Tō at Freemans Bay , Te Ngahuwera, Te Rerenga-oraiti at Point Britomart , and Ōrākei . Herald Island and Watchman Island were both settled by
442-503: The main anchorage and port area for the Auckland region. Well-sheltered not only by the Hauraki Gulf itself but also by Rangitoto Island, the harbour offered good protection in almost all winds, and lacked dangerous shoals or major sand bars (like on the Manukau Harbour ) that would have made entry difficult. The harbour also proved a fertile area for encroaching development, with major land reclamation undertaken, especially along
468-639: The northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge . It is matched on the southern side of the city by the shallower waters of the Manukau Harbour . With an area of 70 square miles (180 km ), it connects the city's main port and the Auckland waterfront to the Hauraki Gulf and the Pacific Ocean . It is sheltered from Pacific storms by Auckland's North Shore , Rangitoto Island , and Waiheke Island . The oldest Māori name of
494-537: The river flowed north-east along the Rangitoto Channel , meeting the Mahurangi River to the east of Kawau Island . The resulting river flowed further north-east between modern day Little Barrier Island and Great Barrier Island , eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean north of Great Barrier Island. The current shore is strongly influenced by tidal rivers, particularly in the west and north of
520-426: The southern side of the harbour is Auckland CBD and the Auckland waterfront , and coastal suburbs such as Mission Bay , Parnell , Herne Bay and Point Chevalier (east to west), the latter of which lies on a short triangular peninsula jutting into the harbour. The harbour is crossed at its narrowest point by the Auckland Harbour Bridge . To the east of the bridge's southern end lie the marinas of Westhaven and
546-805: The suburbs of Freemans Bay and the Viaduct Basin . Further east from these, and close to the harbour's entrance, lies the Port of Auckland . There are other wharves and ports within the harbour, notable among them the Devonport Naval Base , and the accompanying Kauri Point Armament Depot at Birkenhead , and the Chelsea Sugar Refinery wharf, all capable of taking ships over 500 gross register tons (GRT). Smaller wharves at Birkenhead, Beach Haven, Northcote, Devonport and West Harbour offer commuter ferry services to
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#1732781148977572-415: The west and Point Britomart dividing it from Official Bay and Mechanics Bay in the east. The Waihorotiu Stream drained the valley running down to the bay. Commercial Bay was named so because from early on it had been intended as the site for the new city's business centre, in distinction from Official Bay, where government officers were first based. Queen Street was formed down the valley, alongside
598-543: Was 57.1%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 39.3% had no religion, 50.0% were Christian, and 3.6% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 9 (10.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 3 (3.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $ 40,200. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 54 (64.3%) people were employed full-time, 6 (7.1%) were part-time, and 0 (0.0%) were unemployed. Rangitoto Channel The Rangitoto Channel
624-467: Was already being quarried for fill and to allow easier passage to Freemans Bay. In the 1870s and 1880s, Point Britomart followed, to provide fill for Mechanics Bay. By 1955, around 1.6 square kilometres (0.62 square miles) of land had been filled in, and Commercial Bay had long since ceased to exist as a recognisable landscape feature. Waitemat%C4%81 Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland , New Zealand. The harbour forms
650-638: Was deemed required for a canal. However, no serious work (or land take) was undertaken. The act was repealed on 1 November 2010. In 1982, a group that included leaders of the Anglican and Catholic proposed the construction of the Christ of the Ships, a 12 m (39 ft) bronze statue of Jesus be constructed on a reef in the Waitematā Harbour. The project was cancelled after facing significant opposition by Christian leaders from other denominations. While
676-406: Was to become the capital of the colony. William Swainson described it thus in 1853: Already in 1859, a new seawall had been built running from Fort Street (previously Fore Street – along the foreshore) to the newly constructed Customs Street East , and this formed the boundary for the first 9 acres (36,000 m) of infill, straightening the previously curved coastline. By this time Smale's Point
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