Highland Park, New Zealand
Highland Park is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located between Howick and Pakuranga. It belongs to the Pakuranga electorate which is currently represented by Simeon Brown. Geography
Highland Park is located in the central peninsula of East Auckland, west of Howick, New Zealand. The Pakuranga Stream, a tributary of the Pakuranga Creek, flows through the western portion of the suburb. Aviemore Drive is a major north-south arterial route in the suburb, connecting Pakuranga Road and Bucklands Beach Road to Cascades Road. History

Early history

The Highland Park area is part of the rohe of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, who descend from the crew of the Tainui migratory waka, who visited the area around the year 1300. The mouth of the Tāmaki River was traditionally known as Te Wai ō Tāiki ("The Waters of Tāiki"), named after the Ngāi Tai ancestor Tāiki. Tāiki settled with his followers along the eastern shores of the Tāmaki River, alongside the descendants of Huiārangi of the early iwi Te Tini ō Maruiwi. During the Musket Wars in the 1820s, Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki sought temporary refuge in the Waikato. When English missionary William Thomas Fairburn visited the area in 1833, it was mostly unoccupied. In 1836, William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between Tāmaki Māori chiefs covering the majority of modern-day South Auckland, East Auckland and the Pōhutukawa Coast. The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to. Māori continued to live in the area, unchanged by this sale. In 1854 when Fairburn's purchase was investigated by the New Zealand Land Commission, a Ngāi Tai reserve was created around the Wairoa River and Umupuia areas, and as a part of the agreement, members of Ngāi Tai agreed to leave their traditional settlements to the west. In 1847, Howick was established as a defensive outpost for Auckland, by fencibles (retired British Army soldiers) and their families. In 1851, the Cascade Homestead was constructed for Reverend Wilson, near the Botany Creek waterfall. Development of the suburb

In May 1972, the Manukau City Council sold the land at Highland Park Estate to Neil Construction Ltd, who developed housing on 650 subdivisions south of Pakuranga Road. The first houses were sold in February 1974. Highland Park Shopping Centre was developed on a nine-acre site in the north of the suburb by Progressive Enterprises, which opened in 1978. In the same year, the second Georgie Pie restaurant in New Zealand was opened at Highland Park, and was billed as the first drive-through restaurant in New Zealand. Both the suburb and the Highland Park Centre were themed around the Scottish Highlands, with a fort being constructed at the centre, and many of the street names of the suburb being Scottish in origin. Demographics
Highland Park covers  and had an estimated population of  as of  with a population density of  people per km2. Highland Park had a population of 4,512 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 234 people (5.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 321 people (7.7%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,575 households, comprising 2,163 males and 2,352 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female. The median age was 40.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 699 people (15.5%) aged under 15 years, 936 (20.7%) aged 15 to 29, 2,001 (44.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 873 (19.3%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 47.9% European/Pākehā, 4.5% Māori, 4.1% Pacific peoples, 45.1% Asian, and 4.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 56.3, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 44.7% had no religion, 38.4% were Christian, 0.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 2.9% were Hindu, 1.5% were Muslim, 3.5% were Buddhist and 3.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,083 (28.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 498 (13.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 576 people (15.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,857 (48.7%) people were employed full-time, 486 (12.7%) were part-time, and 114 (3.0%) were unemployed. Amenities

The Highland Park Shopping Centre to the north of the suburb. The Cascade Walkway, a public walkway along the Pakuranga Creek that connects Highland Park to Lloyd Elsmore Park in the west. William Green Domain, a public park and home for the Fencibles United association football club. References

Bibliography

External links
Photographs of Highland Park held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. Suburbs of Auckland
Howick Local Board Area
East Auckland