Clevedon, New Zealand


Clevedon, previously known as Wairoa South, is a rural town in Auckland, New Zealand, located in the Franklin ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland city. The town is governed by the Auckland Council. The town and surrounding rural area had a population of 2,583 in the 2013 New Zealand census, an increase of 135 from 2006, and is the centre of an administrative ward of Franklin which takes in much of the largely rural area to the east of the urban heart of the city.
Clevedon is located on the Wairoa River five kilometres from its estuary and outflow into the Tamaki Strait, an arm of the Hauraki Gulf. It is 14 kilometres from the centre of the suburb of Manukau, which lies to the northwest. To the south of Clevedon rise the rugged hills of the Hunua Ranges. Several popular beaches are located on the coast close to Clevedon, including Duder's Beach and Kawakawa Bay. Between these two beaches lies the Duder Regional Park.

History and culture

Pre-European history

Clevedon and surrounding area is traditionally the territory of the Ngāi Tai or Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki people, who are descendants of the Tainui waka. They call the area Te Wairoa. Ngāi Tai traversed their tribal domain, including the inner islands of the Hauraki Gulf, in a seasonal cycle of harvesting, gathering and fishing.
Ngā Tai maintained settlements in several places, including:
The European settlement of Clevedon was established in 1866. It was named after the English town of Clevedon.
All Souls Church, located in Clevedon, is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category II structure, with registration number 682.

Marae

The local Umupuia Marae and Ngeungeu meeting house is a traditional meeting place for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Koheriki and Ngāi Tai.

Education

There were formerly many schools located in the Clevedon-Wairoa district.
The only remaining school is Clevedon School.

Notable people