Pukekohe
Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is approximately 50 kilometres south of Auckland City, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Pukekohe and nearby Bombay Hills form the natural southern limit of the Auckland region. Pukekohe is located within the political boundaries of the Auckland Council, following the abolition of the Franklin District Council on 1 November 2010.
The Māori word puke-kohe means “hill of the kohekohe”, New Zealand’s native mahogany. During the New Zealand Wars, a battle was fought in Pukekohe known as the Defence of Pukekohe East 1863.
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[edit] Function
Pukekohe is a rural service town for the area formerly known as the Franklin District. It has a population of 26,300 (June 2011 estimate),[1] mainly of European descent, with significant indigenous Māori and ethnic Indian and East Asian communities. There are also a notable amount of people of South African and Dutch descent. The population growth from 2007 to 2008 was 2.2 percent.
The fertile volcanic soil and warm moist climate supports a large horticultural and dairy farming industry. The Pukekohe long keeper onion is well known internationally.
Pukekohe has a high school, a rugby union stadium (Bayer Growers Stadium, home of the Counties-Manukau Steelers), horse-racing, and Pukekohe Park Raceway, a motorsports facility. Opened in 1963, this circuit is famous for having hosted the New Zealand Grand Prix 29 times between 1963 and 2000, as well as the V8 International (a round of the V8 Supercars championship) between 2001 and 2007, before the event was moved to Hamilton.
[edit] Association football
Pukekohe is home to Pukekohe AFC who compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 2, and Pukekohe High School football teams.
[edit] Transport
Pukekohe is on the North Island Main Trunk Railway and is the southernmost station of the Auckland suburban rail network, at the end of the Eastern and Southern Lines. Monday to Friday services are provided by Veolia Transport with off peak services being introduced in 2009. There is also a bus service provided by Waka Pacific.
[edit] Famous people
- Blair Hopping, Field hockey player
- Peter (Possum) Bourne, Rallycar driver
- Simon Doull, cricket representative and radio personality
- Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan Head of State—educated at Wesley College
- Jonah Lomu, All Black -- educated at Wesley College
- Bill Birch, MP—was a long-time resident
- Leslie Comrie, astronomer and pioneer in mechanical computation
- Allan Wilson, molecular biologist—grew up in the area
- DJ Ali, hip hop music producer
- Andy Dalton, resident and All Blacks captain
- Rex Mason, mayor and MP
- Ron Wai Shing, the first Chinese New Zealander to stand for Parliament.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Subnational population estimates at 30 June 2011 (boundaries at 1 July 2011)". Statistics New Zealand. 19 December 2011. http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/subnational-pop-estimates-tables.aspx. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ "Ron Wai Shing". The New Zealand Herald. 20 February 1993. http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&QF0=Record_ID&TN=LocHAM&RF=Displayweb&NP=2&QI0=50491. Retrieved 22 February 2012. "Profile of Ron Wai Shing, the first Chinese New Zealander to stand for Parliament. He was prompted by racism he experienced in Pukekohe in the 1960's"
[edit] External links
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Coordinates: 37°12′S 174°54′E / 37.2°S 174.9°E
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