78-578: The Onehunga Ironworks was a colonial-era iron smelting and rolling operation at Onehunga , on the Manukau Harbour , (now a suburb of Auckland , New Zealand). It was at one time claimed to be the largest ironworks in the Southern Hemisphere. It is significant, both as the first large scale attempt to exploit New Zealand's iron-sand by direct reduction , and as a precursor of the modern steel industry of New Zealand . The ironworks
156-413: A 6.4-hectare (16-acre) reclamation area with sanded beaches, new green open space and several new headlands. The area is to receive a new boat ramp, and walk and cycleways including a new walking and cycling bridge over the motorway to Onehunga. Construction has started on 19 November 2012. The newly named Taumanu Reserve was officially opened to the public on 14 November 2015, in an event attended by over
234-472: A ball-shaped piece of puddled iron. The puddled-iron ball was then removed from the furnace, and its processing thereafter was by conventional 19th-century iron-making techniques— shingling to create wrought iron , and hot-rolling to manufacture wrought-iron bars. The works' reliance on the skill and knowledge of its American manager, William Henry Jones, became a serious problem, when in December 1883, he
312-413: A blast furnace, with a nominal capacity of 120 tons of iron per week, was under construction at Onehunga. The blast furnace was 45 feet tall, 16 feet external diameter and 11 feet at its largest internal diameter. The furnace was a hot-blast design. There was a steam winch to lift material to the top of the furnace, where there was a 26-foot diameter platform. The 40-horsepower blast engine and other parts of
390-485: A gate-valve in the base of any retort was opened, a sticky mass of hot, reduced iron-sand was transferred (by gravity) into the 'balling' section of the furnace; here it was heated for about half an hour—again by puddling furnace flue gases—until a ball of 'sponge iron', about 18-inches in diameter, was created. This ball was then rolled across into the 'puddling' section of the furnace. The conventional 19th-century iron-making process of puddling then took place, resulting in
468-496: A large sewerage treatment plant in the harbour in the 1960s only made things worse. Since the decommissioning of the freezing works at Westfield and Southdown and a redesign of the Manukau Sewerage Treatment Works, the quality of the water has increased significantly. In 1893, Elizabeth Yates became mayor of Onehunga. While she was defeated at the polls only one year later, she was the first woman in
546-703: A population of 870 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 30 people (3.6%) since the 2013 census , and an increase of 252 people (40.8%) since the 2006 census . There were 369 households, comprising 435 males and 432 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.01 males per female. The median age was 36.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 114 people (13.1%) aged under 15 years, 204 (23.4%) aged 15 to 29, 441 (50.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 108 (12.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 53.1% European/ Pākehā , 14.5% Māori , 13.8% Pacific peoples , 28.3% Asian , and 5.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas
624-446: A rolling mill was ordered. The smelting process was based on the method of direct reduction ; iron-sand mixed with fine coal was heated to red-heat inside retorts and thereby reduced to 'sponge iron', which was then ‘ puddled ’ and worked to produce wrought iron . Joel Wilson's furnace design was ingenious, with the three different processes—'deoxidising' (direct reduction), 'balling' and 'puddling'—taking place within different parts of
702-420: A short time Auckland's first zoo . However, the zoological garden that John James Boyd created near today's Royal Oak did not meet with local approval – mainly due to concerns about the smells and crowds. Eleven years after its November 1911 opening, the animals were bought and transferred to the new Auckland Zoo at Western Springs . Although the area was a predominantly working-class suburb for much of
780-680: A thousand people. Onehunga Line rail services carry passengers between Onehunga railway station and central Auckland's Britomart Transport Centre along the Onehunga Branch line to a junction with the main line at Penrose station . The Campaign for Better Transport campaigned to have the line extended south from Onehunga across the SH20 Manukau Harbour second crossing bridge to Auckland Airport . Former Auckland Mayor Len Brown also campaigned for this Auckland Airport Line , though it will likely only be developed after
858-547: A typical coastal freight connection was a steamer from Onehunga to locations such as Raglan , Kawhia and Waitara . Onehunga was the Northern Steamship 's base for serving the west coast, including also Āwhitu , Hokianga and Waiuku . By the First World War Onehunga was no longer an important commercial port, this was partly because of a general increase in the size of ships, which meant
SECTION 10
#1732787582958936-549: A water frontage onto the harbour—allowing raw material to be landed at the works—and a rail connection. Copious supplies of freshwater could be obtained from the Onehunga Springs. A lease—from where the iron-sand would be obtained—was taken over 6.5 miles of beach ( some at South Head and some at the North Head of Manukau Harbour ) and 1000 acres of land at the North Head. It was planned to erect ten new furnaces and
1014-458: Is named "Burnett Head" (the term North Head is used to indicate a promontory in the nearby Waitematā Harbour ). Both heads are hilly areas of land that rise steeply from the water to over 240m within less than 400m of the shoreline. In Pre-European times, the west coast of the Āwhitu Peninsula was the site of Paorae , a flat sand dune land which was a major kūmara (sweet potato) cultivation site for Tāmaki Māori iwi. The land eroded during
1092-530: Is now much smaller than Auckland's east coast port on the Waitematā Harbour , but in the 19th century it was the larger. The wharves are located on reclaimed land bordering a low volcanic crater called Te Hopua , once occupied by a tidal lagoon opening to the southwest, but which has also been reclaimed. Onehunga's southwestern side, near the Manukau Harbour, lost its direct waterfront access when
1170-404: Is primarily industrial. The residential/commercial area of Onehunga covers 2.60 km (1.00 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 11,600 as of June 2024, with a population density of 4,462 people per km . Before the 2023 census, the residential area had a larger boundary, covering 2.75 km (1.06 sq mi). Using that boundary, the area had a population of 10,902 at
1248-478: Is to fund a large-scale new shoreline west of the motorway, connected to downtown Onehunga with new pedestrian/cyclebridges, and creating 11ha of new beach and headland landscape. Three designs out of seven initial competitors have been shortlisted for further work as of late 2009, and it is hoped to complete the restoration of the foreshore by mid-2014. In mid-2011, the plans for the restoration works were clarified further, and provided for public comment, setting out
1326-500: Is used in the making of high-quality steel weapons. Although New Zealand's iron-sands are smelted today on a commercial scale, it took many years and many failed attempts before a successful process was developed that could smelt titanomagnetite iron-sand in commercially viable volumes. Before the establishment of the Onehunga Ironworks, other attempts had been made to smelt New Zealand iron-sands, but only "partial success
1404-628: The 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 693 people (6.8%) since the 2013 census , and an increase of 1,284 people (13.3%) since the 2006 census . There were 3,909 households, comprising 5,397 males and 5,505 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.98 males per female, with 2,007 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 2,283 (20.9%) aged 15 to 29, 5,469 (50.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,143 (10.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 57.0% European/ Pākehā , 10.4% Māori , 16.3% Pacific peoples , 26.9% Asian , and 3.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas
1482-466: The City Rail Link is completed. Electric services began running between Britomart and Onehunga on 28 April 2014. Queen St, named after Queen Victoria , led onto the 1920s Māngere Bridge and thence to the suburb of the same name . This was one of the main land routes south out of Auckland and the usual route to the airport until the motorway and regional road system in the 1970s diverted
1560-593: The Fitzroy Iron Works at Mittagong , which he had erected while the works manager there in 1863–1864. However, Hughes did have a proven record in erecting and setting up iron rolling mills—he had erected the first iron rolling mill in Australia which commenced operation in June 1860—and it was in that role that he was first engaged at Onehunga. Hughes was initially under contract to the proprietors, to erect
1638-593: The New Zealand Company to describe New Zealand's natural resources, noted the 'black titanic iron-sand' on beaches along the Taranaki coast. Smelting of iron-sand has been carried out successfully in Japan for centuries, The Japanese method is a type of direct-reduction smelting. Smelting occurred in a Tatara furnace . That process is slow and makes only small batches of metal (known as Tamahagane ) that
SECTION 20
#17327875829581716-638: The Southwest Motorway was built there in the 1970s. Only a tidal lagoon remains on the city side, though in 2008, there were proposals that the motorway (which was to be widened) could be sunk into a trench to provide direct access to the harbour again. In 2013, a project was underway to restore the Onehunga foreshore, to be connected to the city-side park by a pedestrian and cycle bridge over State Highway 20. A substantial aquifer flows underground beneath Onehunga, fed by rainwater soaking through
1794-666: The Waikato region . The venture was now known as the Onehunga Ironworks Company. When the works shut down, rolling machinery had been bought by the New Zealand Iron and Steel Company, but had not been erected and put to work. It seems that there was also a quantity of wrought iron that had yet to be rolled into bars. With the original manager, William Henry Jones—and his knowledge of iron-sand smelting—still in gaol, Enoch Hughes took over as manager of
1872-499: The Waitematā Harbour and docked at Auckland, much of it entered the Manukau Heads and docked at Onehunga, thus saving several days sailing around North Cape. The Manukau Harbour was treacherous however (as evidenced by the sinking of HMS Orpheus in 1863, killing 180 people) but the coastal Steamship lines carried virtually all passenger and freight trade between Auckland and Wellington via Wanganui and Onehunga. Onehunga
1950-680: The 18th century, however the sand from the dune feature continued to move northwards, creating vast sand banks in the Manukau Heads and at Whatipu . The foot of the South Head cliffs is the location of the Matatuahu archaeological site, one of the earliest archaeological sites in the Auckland Region . The pronounced sand bar across the harbour mouth has limited shipping into the harbour since large European vessels arrived in
2028-833: The 20th century, it has undergone some gentrification since the 1990s. In recent times, many of the bungalows of the 1920s (along with the earlier villas) have undergone restoration. Secondary schools located conveniently are Onehunga High School , One Tree Hill College and Marcellin College . Some boys also attend St Peter's College . Onehunga had its own local government authority, Onehunga Borough Council, which started in 1877. It merged into Auckland City Council in 1989. All of Auckland's councils amalgamated into Auckland Council in November 2010. Onehunga comprises four statistical areas. Onehunga West, North and Central are primarily residential/commercial. Onehunga-Te Papapa Industrial
2106-541: The British Empire to hold such a post. While in 1891 Onehunga was one of the "25 most populous urban areas/towns of New Zealand", with about 5,000 inhabitants, by the First World War it had ceased to be a port of importance. It gained a new role as a shopping and service centre as it was engulfed by the suburban development of Auckland, and was amalgamated with Auckland City in 1989. Onehunga had for
2184-499: The Manukau Bar and sank with the loss of 189 lives. The area remains dangerous for watercraft, with one death each in 2005 and 2010 when pleasure craft capsized or were swamped near the bar. The Manukau Harbour Bar was first crossed in a surf boat by a crew from Piha Surf Life Saving Club who rowed from Onehunga to Piha in over five hours in high swells and stiff winds in 1992. A crew from Piha had attempted this row in 1971 but
2262-512: The Manukau Harbour. To the east are the areas of Oranga and Te Papapa ; to the west, Hillsborough . On the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour, and linked to Onehunga by two bridges , is the suburb of Māngere Bridge . Onehunga lies on the Auckland isthmus , on the northern shore of Mangere Inlet, an arm of the Manukau Harbour , and just south of the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill . The Port of Onehunga, on Manukau Harbour,
2340-631: The New Zealand patent rights of the furnace design patented in 1873, by Joel Wilson of Dover, New Jersey . Wilson provided the services of William Henry Jones to come out to New Zealand to supervise the work. A full scale furnace using this design was erected at Onehunga during 1882. This first furnace was completed by early February 1883. A public demonstration of the furnace operation and smelting of iron-sand took place in early February 1883. The first billets of wrought iron smelted from iron-sand were made on 27 February 1883. The initial success led to
2418-475: The Onehunga Ironworks had shut down, it seems for the last time. The works were sold in 1899, the buyer's intention being to relocate the rolling mills to Wellington . In 1903 there was an auction of equipment, iron and building materials—only part was sold—and it seems that the works may have been partially demolished at this time. In the 1940s, the old ironworks site was occupied by Duroid Products (New Zealand) Limited. The brick chimney and some structures of
Onehunga Ironworks - Misplaced Pages Continue
2496-537: The Onehunga Ironworks on 22 August 1887, bringing with him some experienced workers from Australia. Hughes came to New Zealand with many years experience in the iron industry—in England and Australia—but he had a chequered career while in Australia. Hughes recently had left the Eskbank Ironworks at Lithgow , under acrimonious circumstances and he had been blamed for the shortcomings of the blast furnace at
2574-501: The Onehunga Ironworks were still standing in the late 1960s, but there is now no trace left of the old ironworks. Other attempts to exploit New Zealand's iron-sands as iron ore also failed, until a commercially viable process—now the basis of the modern steel industry of New Zealand —was developed by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research , during the 1950s. Like the original process used at Onehunga from 1883 to 1887,
2652-585: The Waitematā Harbour was favoured especially as it was wider and deeper. More significant however was the completion of the North Island Main Trunk railway in 1908 – this effectively made the coastal passenger and freight steamship trade on both coasts of the country largely unprofitable. The port does still serve coastal traders and some local fishing, there is also a cement and sand company which maintains facilities at Onehunga. In 1874,
2730-410: The area. This limitation (which ensured an effective maximum ship size of about 1,000 tons in pre-modern times), was no barrier to early success of shipping to local ports in the harbour – but eventually meant that the Waitematā Harbour overtook the Manukau Harbour in prominence as a port location. New Zealand's worst maritime disaster occurred just offshore in 1863 when HMS Orpheus ran aground on
2808-435: The bar rolling mill and produce 120 tons of iron bars within four months. By late March 1888, the re-opened Onehunga Ironworks had made at least 400 tons of bars, using scrap iron and wrought iron that was already on hand at the works. Hughes operated the Onehunga works as a 'cooperative' with his workers, something he had done previously during his time at Lithgow. By November 1888, the works had made 2000 tons of iron bar, but
2886-569: The blessing of their employer, William Sandford , because it was short of orders. It was Sandford who had first made enquiries to the owners of the Onehunga works, in an attempt to find work for his idle workforce. It seems that the Lithgow men made a living by rolling scrap iron into bars at Onehunga, but there was difficulty in obtaining sufficient scrap iron and work was carried on part-time only. At least some of these men drifted back to Lithgow, where prospects for work had improved. By August 1895,
2964-588: The centre of the Auckland isthmus became covered by suburban developments the Onehunga foreshore became an attraction for families from Mount Eden, Epsom and One Tree Hill. The beach at Onehunga became popular after the electric tram route was completed in 1906 and the Tea Rooms situated at the tram terminus, overlooking the harbour were an attraction in their own right. After the Municipal Abattoir
3042-476: The early history of the area: Across Grey Street from the park is Nearby in Selwyn Street is Manukau Heads The Manukau Heads is the name given to the two promontories that form the entrance to the Manukau Harbour – one of the two harbours of Auckland in New Zealand. The southern head, at the northern tip of Āwhitu Peninsula , is simply termed "The South Head", whereas the northern head
3120-416: The fine sand grains blocked the flow of hot air through the furnace—something that could be overcome, to an extent, by binding the sand into 'bricks' as mentioned above—and carbon from the coke combined with titanium in the iron-sand to produce a thick pasty layer of compounds that blocked up the tap holes used to draw off the molten iron and slag. It was the potential to exploit deposits of iron-sand near
3198-522: The first village for Fencibles in New Zealand. Grey chose the site in 1846 and the Fencibles arrived in 1847. European settlement of the Manukau Harbour area was begun from and long focused on Onehunga. When the New Zealand Wars later occurred, it was mostly fought with regular soldiers rather than Fencibles. Naval volunteers based at Onehunga raided Māori territories on the south side of
Onehunga Ironworks - Misplaced Pages Continue
3276-423: The formation of a company, New Zealand Iron and Steel Company (Limited), to expand the operation. The company had a capital of £200,000 made up of 40,000 shares of £5 each. Of these shares only 9,103 were sold to the public, resulting in a paid-up capital of £45,515. The site on which the experimental furnace had been erected, 5 acres on the south-eastern side of Onehunga railway station, was purchased. This land had
3354-404: The furnace was 'allowed to cool', reportedly as a result of insufficient coal, due to industrial trouble at the mines. But, in fact, Hughes had built a furnace that could not achieve its purpose—to smelt iron-sand. Hughes should have been aware of the previous failure of the lengthy, earlier attempt at New Plymouth, but may have drawn the wrong conclusions from its partial success in making pig-iron;
3432-581: The furnace were from another (failed) iron-sand smelting venture, the New Zealand Titanic Steel and Iron Company, which was led by Edward Smith and had erected a blast furnace at Te Henui near New Plymouth . There were also two boilers and water pumps to keep the tuyeres cool. The blast furnace made its first pig-iron, in July 1890. It seems that the iron was made with conventional iron ore, not iron-sand. However, in early September 1890,
3510-619: The harbour during the wars. During the Invasion of the Waikato in 1863 many women and children from small European settlements arrived in Onehunga as refugees. The Onehunga Ladies' Benevolent Society was formed to care for the refugees. It was the oldest surviving women's organisation in New Zealand at the time of its deregistration in 2017. During the 19th century most shipping between New Zealand and Great Britain came to Onehunga, via South Africa and Australia. While some shipping entered
3588-454: The heads of Manukau Harbour, which led to the establishment of the Onehunga Ironworks. John Chambers had visited England and America in 1876 trying to interest ironmakers in the iron-sand, without success, but while in America he became aware of a process by which it was claimed wrought iron could be made from iron-sand. Chambers and an American, Guy H. Gardner of New York, jointly purchased
3666-417: The iron hard or brittle. Two of the ten planned new furnaces were in service by May 1885. These new furnaces were gas-fired, with the gas being produced by Wilson gas-producers that proved to be a problem. Gas quality was initially good but, by the time the furnace was up to temperature, either the heat fell away or explosions occurred, bringing work to a stop. These difficulties were never overcome. Chambers
3744-606: The isthmus's other major aquifer, the Western Springs aquifer, is also fed by water seeping through lava fields, it is no longer used as a source of potable water. The name Onehunga is from the Māori language and means a "beach composed of mixed sand and mud" or "alluvial soil", according to Williams's Dictionary of the Maori Language . Claims have been made for other names and meanings. Ethnographer George Graham
3822-544: The lava flows around Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Up to 21 million litres of potable water a day is pumped from the Onehunga aquifer and treated in a local plant before being supplied to Onehunga as part of the Auckland water supply network. While most of Auckland's potable water comes from reservoirs in the Hunua and Waitākere Ranges, or from the Waikato River, the Onehunga aquifer provides around 5%. In contrast, while
3900-463: The location of the Port of Onehunga , the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour . It is eight kilometres (five miles) south of the city centre , close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill . Onehunga is a residential and light-industrial suburb. There are almost 1,000 commercial and industrial businesses in the area. Onehunga stretches south from Royal Oak to the northern shore of
3978-421: The marketable iron involved was smelted from local ores; one describing the efforts as "a tin-pot experiment" . In January 1894, the works closed and its workforce was dismissed, only to reopen with a new workforce from Lithgow —some of whom had worked at Onehunga previously—who intended to operate the works as a 'cooperative'. The workers, from the Eskbank Ironworks at Lithgow, had left that works in 1894 with
SECTION 50
#17327875829584056-596: The mineral titanomagnetite that originates as crystals within volcanic rock. As the rock is eroded, rivers carry the heavy grains of titanomagnetite to the coast. Currents, wind, and wave action then move the minerals along the coastline, concentrating them in dark-coloured sands on the sea floor, on beaches and in dunes. Captain James Cook was probably the first European to record the 'black sands' of New Zealand's North Island, during his first voyage around New Zealand in 1769–70. In 1839, Ernst Dieffenbach , employed by
4134-482: The modern process uses direct reduction of an iron-sand and coal mixture, but the resulting 'sponge iron' is now melted in an electric arc furnace to produce molten pig-iron that is then converted to steel by conventional means. 36°55′31″S 174°47′15″E / 36.9254°S 174.7874°E / -36.9254; 174.7874 Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and
4212-459: The northern shore of the Manukau Harbour after retreating to the Waikato during the Musket Wars . The European village of Onehunga was founded as a Fencible settlement by Governor Grey . The Fencibles were former soldiers, many of them Irish, who were granted land to settle on, with the implied understanding that if Māori threatened the Auckland isthmus, they would defend it. Onehunga was
4290-474: The now dormant Onehunga blast furnace. By December 1890, Hughes had been sacked by Onehunga and was suing the company, and, a little later, he was trying to dispose of his shares in it. He then returned to Australia. In 1891, the Onehunga Works was a much larger plant than it had been before Enoch Hughes's management—even before the blast furnace was erected, it was claimed to be the largest ironworks in
4368-423: The outcome was predictable. In late October 1890, Hughes was advocating the erection of another blast furnace at Kamo near Whangārei , where there was a hematite iron ore deposit with coal and limestone nearby. He was stating publicly that Onehunga would not be able to compete with a works at Kamo. No doubt his public stance would have annoyed the proprietors of the Onehunga Ironworks, who had just recently backed
4446-503: The resources used by the Onekaka Ironworks, established by Heskett's grandson, John Heskett, which operated between 1924 and 1935, using conventional blast furnace technology. By June 1892, the works had reopened and was once again aiming to smelt iron-sand and so win a government bonus payment. These efforts involved Edward Smith as a consultant. By August 1893, a bonus had been paid, but critics claimed that little if any of
4524-585: The same furnace structure and fired by the same fire grate. The iron-sand was first washed and then concentrated magnetically, to remove silica sand. A mixture of the concentrated iron-sand and the reducing agent (fine coal) was loaded into one of the multiple retorts of the smelting furnace, where this mixture resided for about 24-hours, during which it was heated by flue gases from the puddling furnace. —The multiple retorts in each furnace allowed an essentially ' batch' process to be operated more or less continuously, another ingenious feature of Wilson's design.—When
4602-467: The shore in the 1970s. This loss of amenity and space was one of the major complaints of local groups during negotiations over further motorway widening connected to the Māngere Bridge duplication. Proponents of a restored beach eventually won a $ 18 million commitment from Transit New Zealand (now NZ Transport Agency ), which was topped up by a further $ 10 million from Auckland City Council . The sum
4680-489: The southern hemisphere—but it was no longer smelting iron ore, let alone iron-sand. Other operations continued during 1891, but were subject to industrial trouble as the key 'puddling' workers went on strike for higher wages. Thomas J. Heskett became manager and conducted a trial smelting of 300 tons of limonite iron ore from Onekaka on Golden Bay , in the South Island . That ore and nearby coal deposits later became
4758-527: The through traffic away from the Onehunga and Mangere Bridge. In 1973, Queen St was closed to through traffic, and on 2 April 1973 was renamed Onehunga Mall and reopened as a pedestrian shopping precinct. In 1996, Onehunga Mall was reopened to traffic. Until 1956, a tram line ran all the way from the Auckland CBD to Onehunga. Also in Jellicoe Park is a collection of buildings illustrating
SECTION 60
#17327875829584836-477: The town of Onehunga had 2,044 inhabitants, compared with Wellington's 10,547, reflecting the importance of the smaller port towns during an age when New Zealand was booming, but internal transport links were still rudimentary. In 1876, Onehunga was declared a borough with a mayor and 16 councillors. From 1883, until around 1903 when it was partially demolished, the Onehunga Ironworks was situated in
4914-432: The town. It operated until around 1895. The ironworks was located opposite the original Onehunga railway station . Its chimney and some structures survived into the late 1960s. From 1885, the town became known for its wool industry (several firms maintained factories here including one which produced blankets). This weaving industry saved the area from more serious decline when the shipping trade reduced after 1908. As
4992-582: The works had made iron entirely from iron-sand and in March 1890, such iron won first-class awards at the Dunedin Exhibition. Hughes position on the technology of iron-sand smelting seems to have been that direct reduction would not work at a commercially viable scale, and only a blast furnace —making pig-iron— could be successful. Hughes saw the solution as being to mix the iron-sand with other material such as hematite or clay-band ore. In July 1889,
5070-400: Was "a very correct name". The New Zealand Geographic Board approved Onehunga as the official name in 2019. Onehunga was close to one of the richest areas of the Auckland isthmus, and saw many battles between Māori groups in pre-European times. In the late 1830s, before Europeans arrived in larger numbers in the area, it was the main settlement for Ngāti Whātua , who had moved back to
5148-603: Was $ 38,300, compared with $ 31,800 nationally. 141 people (18.7%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 441 (58.3%) people were employed full-time, 72 (9.5%) were part-time, and 42 (5.6%) were unemployed. Onehunga's shore is heavily modified by human use. The old volcanic basin that used to link to the Manukau Harbour was filled in, with shorelines reclaimed and straightened for human use ( Port of Onehunga , industrial uses and sports fields). The New Zealand State Highway 20 extension further disrupted Onehunga's connection to
5226-567: Was 37.7, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 43.9% had no religion, 39.1% were Christian , 0.5% had Māori religious beliefs , 5.2% were Hindu , 2.2% were Muslim , 1.8% were Buddhist and 2.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 3,324 (37.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,041 (11.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 2,166 people (24.4%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15
5304-466: Was 44.8, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 41.0% had no religion, 41.0% were Christian , 0.3% had Māori religious beliefs , 4.8% were Hindu , 3.4% were Muslim , 2.8% were Buddhist and 2.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 210 (27.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 96 (12.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income
5382-553: Was also the main route to and from the south, as most shipping routes were shorter via the western coast of the North Island than around the east coast to the Waitematā Harbour. Until 1908 a steamer from Onehunga was the fastest means of travel from Auckland to Wellington , the capital of the colony (initially the sea journey went all the way, then later it connected to the New Plymouth Express instead). In 1909
5460-431: Was attained by smelting, in furnaces, bricks formed of the ore with calcareous clay and carbonaceous matter" . The most notable of these earlier ventures was the New Zealand Titanic Steel and Iron Company, which was led by Edward Smith and had erected a blast furnace at Te Henui near New Plymouth . Attempts to smelt iron-sands in blast furnaces —the conventional means used for other iron ores—failed for two main reasons;
5538-516: Was charged with attempted murder. Jones was convicted and sentenced to 14 years gaol in April 1884. After Jones' imprisonment, the company employed three other ironmasters—two subsequently leaving due to ill health—but none of them could replicate the extent of successful operation that Jones had achieved. Incomplete reduction of the iron-sand caused the resulting iron to have included, within its structure, grains of partially-reduced iron-sand, which made
5616-508: Was finding the local demand for its bars inadequate. The proprietors then ordered a sheet mill and other equipment to make corrugated iron —the first such plant in New Zealand. At the end of June 1889, skilled workers from Pennsylvania were coming, to operate the sheet mill and commence production of corrugated iron. Hughes had great confidence in his own abilities, including overcoming the daunting problems of smelting iron-sands. His interest in this went back to at least 1868. The original plan
5694-421: Was located adjacent to the original Onehunga railway station . It operated—but not continuously—from 1883 to around 1895. It was partially demolished around 1903 but its brick chimney and some of its other structures were still standing in the late 1960s. Vast deposits of iron-sand exist over 480 kilometres of the North Island's coast from Kaipara Harbour down to Whanganui . These iron-sand deposits are rich in
5772-506: Was relocated from Freeman's Bay to Westfield and Southdown , Onehunga started to suffer from the toxic discharges the freezing works pumped into the harbour. This effectively put an end to Onehunga's emerging role as a seaside resort and also made it a less attractive place to live. By the late 1930s the water quality of the harbour was poor, with a discernible downturn in fish and wildlife numbers. It became unsafe to eat any shellfish for example and fish numbers dwindled. The installation of
5850-475: Was that 5,142 (57.8%) people were employed full-time, 1,143 (12.8%) were part-time, and 333 (3.7%) were unemployed. Onehunga-Te Papapa Industrial covers 3.03 km (1.17 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,310 as of June 2024, with a population density of 432 people per km . Before the 2023 census, the industrial area had a smaller boundary, covering 2.94 km (1.14 sq mi). Using that boundary, Onehunga-Te Papapa Industrial had
5928-472: Was to claim later that the cost of production was too high at £9 per ton. The plant managed to continue to operate but, by November 1886, the company had liabilities of £20,000 and all its paid-up capital had been expended. The shareholders were unwilling to contribute more capital. The assets were taken over by the mortgagee, and, by March 1887, the works had shut down. The proprietors of the works were now Thomas and Samuel Morrin, who had large landholdings in
6006-401: Was to mix the iron-sand with hematite ore (from Kamo near Whangārei ) and smelt this mixture. By later in 1887, this had changed to making iron bars, using iron made from scrap iron with a 20% iron-sands admixture. Hughes expressed complete confidence that he could smelt the ironsands profitably, but it seems that he only ever did so experimentally and on a small scale. In June 1889, he said that
6084-423: Was told by one Māori informant that the name was Ōnehunga , with the etymology of ō (the place of) nehunga (burial), but Graham said that was later contradicted. He said that the name was actually Oneunga ( Oneūnga in modern orthography), meaning one (beach or sand) ūnga (landing), in reference to canoes being drawn up there. He also said that Onehunga meant "friable" or "pulverous soil" and that this
#957042