Heritage et AL

Auckland International Airport is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s best assets. In the 2024 financial year, it carried 18.5 million passengers to and from 42 destinations by 26 airlines and made $900 million.  The airport is undoubtedly one of the bastions of the modern economy, the gateway connecting Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. Its sleek terminals and massive concrete runway create a sense of modernity, and a space disconnected from history. Yet, under closer examination, Auckland Airport is full of history. Similarly, the road network around the airport reveals stories of innovative aviators, with even the main terminal itself named after Jean Batten. In this series of articles, I hope to advance the idea that Auckland Airport is an essential space for understanding Auckland’s history and as representative of its history as any other city landmark. Previous texts, most notably the 2003 book Where New Zealand Touches the World, From Farm Paddock to South Pacific Hub: A History...

Auckland Airport recently received a Property Council of New Zealand Merit award (see Hawkins Construction) for adapting the Abbeville estate historic precinct into a boutique tourism venue offering hosting for events and functions . The precinct site includes 11 hectares of land at the end of Nixon Road. The airport created the precinct by moving Mangere settlers’ houses and buildings there after it acquired those properties for future airport expansion. It took 2 years to restore the buildings moved onto the historic precinct and was under taken in conjunction with New Zealand Historic Places Trust . One of the houses was built by William Westney, who arrived in Mangere in 1853 and established a farm on Ihumatao Road. Ref: Footprints 05024, the former Westney homestead in Westney Road, Mangere, ca 1979 South Auckland Research Centre