Māngere


Mangere, is one of the largest suburbs in Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau City Centre and 15 kilometres south of the Auckland city centre. It is the location of Auckland Airport, which lies close to the harbour's edge to the south of the suburb.
Mangere has two major sub-areas: Mangere Bridge and Māngere East, with Favona sometimes counted as part of Mangere as well.
The suburb is named after Māngere Mountain, one of Auckland's largest volcanic cones. The cone's name comes from the Māori phrase hau māngere, meaning "lazy winds", after the shelter the mountain provides from the prevailing westerly wind. In 2019, the name of the suburb was officially gazetted as Māngere.

Society

Mangere is often described as a very multicultural area, with Europeans, Māori, Pacific Islanders and Asians living in the area, often with large families. Houses are a mixture of villas and bungalows, often located on former farms or market gardens developed by the state in the 1940s to 1960s.
Mangere's most famous son is David Lange, who was the Member of Parliament for Mangere from 1977 until 1996 and Prime Minister of New Zealand. Another local personality is former heavyweight boxing champion David Tua.
William Sio of the New Zealand Labour Party has been the member of Parliament for the Māngere electorate since 2008.

Marae

Mangere has three marae:
The original Mangere Bridge was built to link Mangere with Onehunga to its north while the isthmus of Auckland reaches its narrowest point, further to the east at the former Auckland City suburb Otahuhu. Later, it provided a more direct route for traffic to and from Auckland Airport. Construction of a new bridge was the subject of one of New Zealand's longest-running industrial disputes, from 1978 until 1980. The bridge was finally completed in 1983. The Southwestern Motorway, one of the two motorways running south from the isthmus, runs across the bridge and through Mangere.
Passenger train Southern and Eastern Line services run along the eastern edge of Mangere, stopping at Middlemore Railway Station. Further north at Massey Road is Mangere railway station, closed in 2011.
Frequent bus services connect Māngere Town Centre to Sylvia Park via Otahuhu Railway Station and to Botany Town Centre via Papatoetoe railway station and Ōtara.

Sport and recreation

The Mangere East Hawks rugby league club is based in Mangere at the Walter Massey Park.
The Manukau Rovers RFC rugby union club is also based in Mangere and competes in the Auckland Premier Competition.
The Mangere United football club is also based in Mangere and competes in the Auckland Football and NZ Football National League Competitions.

Notable people