Auckland, New Zealand

Feb. 2, 2023

Leaving French Polynesia (during which I did not blog) we arrived in a rather soggy Auckland. Historic rainfall hit New Zealand last week with the worst flooding in at least 200 years in Auckland. Auckland airport reported a month’s worth of rainfall in less than an hour. Here are a couple of examples of the aftermath:

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand (population greater than 1.6 million) on the North Island, New Zealand. Located on Waitemata and Manukau harbors, it is the country’s principal port and largest city. Founded in 1840 as New Zealand’s capital and named for George Eden, earl of Auckland, it remained the capital until superseded by Wellington in 1865. It is a major manufacturing and shipping center. A bridge links it with the growing northern shore suburbs and with Devonport, New Zealand’s chief naval base, which we visited. Auckland also has the country’s greatest concentration of indigenous Māori and has large numbers of Polynesians from other islands in the South Pacific.

When Europeans arrived in the early 19th century, the region was densely populated by Māori. European settlements were located predominantly around the shores of Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana. Incorporated as a borough in 1851, Auckland remained the capital until superseded by the city of Wellington in 1865. Auckland was made a city in 1871.

Auckland’s most important feature is Waitematā Harbour, a 70-square-mile body of water that has maximum channel depths of 33 feet and serves overseas and intercoastal shipping. The Auckland Harbour Bridge crosses Waitematā Harbour and links Auckland’s central business district with North Shore.

Devonport, in North Shore ward, is the chief naval base and dockyard for New Zealand. New Zealand has a very small gray-water navy, the operation of which is entirely contracted out. Here is one of their ships:

Devonport is an attractive old suburb on Auckland’s North Shore, a short ferry ride from downtown. Devonport is the most important base of the Royal New Zealand Navy.

These days, the suburb’s something of a hedonistic getaway. The old official and semi-official buildings have been repurposed into bars and cafes and offices, though the base is still there.

Devonport’s actually one of the oldest suburbs in Auckland. And so, it’s famous not only for its downtown but also for its antique wooden houses in the back streets, which have a ton of character everywhere you turn.