Remuera


Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" suburb, Remuera is noted for its quiet tree lined streets. The suburb has numerous green spaces, most obvious of which is Ōhinerau / Mount Hobson – a volcanic cone with views from the top overlooking Waitematā Harbour and Rangitoto.
According to the 2013 census, Remuera has a population of 7,254 people. The suburb extends from Hobson Bay and the Orakei Basin on the Waitematā Harbour to the north and east, to the main thoroughfare of State Highway 1 in the southwest. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Orakei, Meadowbank, Saint Johns, Mount Wellington, Ellerslie, Greenlane, Epsom, Newmarket and Parnell. Remuera is home to many well-known New Zealanders, including the late Sir Edmund Hillary and the race car driver Bruce McLaren.

History

Remuera has had a long history of human occupation, starting back in the early 13th century when Māori came to the area.
The area was very attractive to Maori as much of the Auckland isthmus was devoid of trees and covered only in native flax, bracken and scrub. Remuera was different, having patches of woodland which were the habitat of many birds suitable for trapping while the adjacent harbour and basins were good fishing areas.
John Logan Campbell describes early 19th century Remuera in his book Poenamo:
The suburb is named after a pā named Remuwera, on Ōhinerau / Mount Hobson. Remu-wera literally translates to "burnt edge of kilt", commemorating the occasion where a chieftainess of Hauraki was allegedly captured and consumed. Although the most common definition in reference literature, the accuracy of this definition has been described as "highly doubtful".
Around 1741, Te Wai-o-Hua iwi was driven away by the Ngāti Whātua and Te Taoū iwi. Later, these iwi merged with Te Roroa and Te Uri-o-Hau into Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei, which is the main iwi on the Tāmaki isthmus. In May 1844 one of the largest Māori feasts ever held in New Zealand took place in Remuera. It was organised by the Waikato iwi and about 4000 Māori and many Pākehā were present. The festivities lasted for a week and large amounts of food and drinks were served: 11,000 baskets of potatoes, 9,000 sharks, 100 pigs, and large amounts of tea, tobacco and sugar. Governor Robert FitzRoy visited the festivities on 11 May 1844 when a haka was performed by 1,600 Māori, armed with guns and tomahawks.
When the European settlers wanted to buy the land on the Tāmaki isthmus from the Māori, they first declined. But in 1851, Henry Tacy Kemp, an interpreter to the Land Claims Commissioners, bought 700 acres for £5000. Subsequently, more plots of land were sold and put up for public auction. The land was suitable for pasture land and as the town of Auckland was some distance away people did not really start to build houses until the 1860s. The ideal location included a view of the harbour. Many of the large villas stood on quite big properties, as their owners needed pasturing for carriage and riding horses and enjoyed creating landscape gardens. Some even had secondary houses for gardeners or estate managers. Many of these early houses still stand, surrounded now by later suburban developments or converted into institutions such as schools.
Smaller suburban houses began appearing in the area nearest Newmarket and began to spread along Remuera Road. The first shops opened in 1890 at the intersection with Victoria Avenue. Railway stations at Newmarket and Market Road encouraged residents to commute to town. Likewise one of the most important routes for the electric tram system created in 1902 was to the Remuera shops, with an extension to the bottom of Victoria Avenue. One of the first businesses was L.J. Keys’ grocery store on the Clonbern Rd corner, which currently houses a café. Nowadays, Remuera's main business and shopping area stretches along Remuera Road from Armadale Road to St Vincent's Avenue. Smaller shopping areas are situated at Upland Road and Benson Road.
In 1915 Remuera was amalgamated into Auckland City. Up until that point it had been governed by the Remuera Road Board which had opposed joining Auckland in the face of campaigning by the Remuera Ratepayers Association. This included a petition in 1912 in which 791 of the ratepayers signed to join with the adjacent Auckland City. A commission of inquiry was appointed, which recommended amalgamation. Again the Road Board declined and it was only after the Department of Internal Affairs intervened that the Road Board gave in. The union was ratified in February 1915 and the 2,520 acres of Remuera became part of Auckland. J.Dempsey said that Auckland had received "the brightest jewel in her crown today", although a subsequent report by the city engineer pointed out that Remuera had not been surveyed, it had 60 miles of primitive roading, and lacked proper stormwater drainage, sewerage and other services.
Auckland City Council embarked on a series of improvements for the new area. One of its first acts was to provide a free public library for the area in 1915, later replaced by the current building in 1926. In 1919 however local residents were incensed by the council's building of public toilets at the Remuera shops that they demanded be torn down. The first mile of Remuera Road was concreted in 1921, and the existing tram line was doubled in 1924, followed by an extension of the service to Meadowbank.
In more recent history, the infamous Bassett Road machine gun murders took place in Remuera on 7 December 1963. Two men were shot with a.45 calibre Reising submachine gun at 115 Bassett Road and word quickly spread about a "Chicago-style" gang murder. Two suspects were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Landmarks and features

Notable buildings and sites

Remuera has several places of historic interest, some of which have been incorporated into the Remuera Heritage Walk.
Other special buildings in Remuera are the Remuera Railway Station and Signal Box. These were built in 1907–1908 and the station is the best preserved in Auckland. Whilst the other stations were regularly modernised, Remuera's has been kept almost in its original state and is still used for suburban passenger trains.

Nature areas

Remuera includes some interesting nature areas and parks. Unlike the rest of the isthmus of Auckland, which was largely void of large trees and covered with native grass, flax and manuka, Remuera retained patches of native bush and woodland.
The Orakei Basin, a tidal lagoon popular for water sport activities, is the submerged crater of a volcano. There is a 3 km public walkway around the basin whereby the flora and fauna of the area can be observed at close hand.
Mount Hobson Domain includes the volcanic cone, previously used as a pā by the Māori and in later times as a quarry and pasture land. Ōhinerau / Mount Hobson is one of Auckland's better preserved and least modified volcanic cones. Formed some 25,000 years ago, the volcanic hill has a horse-shoe shaped crater opening to the southwest. Terraces and pits are still evident from the Maori occupation. Like the other volcanic hills of the Auckland isthmus, in the 20th century, water reservoirs were built on the summit and the lower southwest side a water reservoir was incorporated into Ōhinerau / Mount Hobson to supply water to the surrounding area. Still evident on the south-east side of the mountain is the concrete base remnant of a WWII medical store for the US Navy Mobile Hospital in nearby Market Rd – a site now occupied by the Dilworth Junior School. As you walk up the path from the entrance, you will soon come to a stone seat – a memorial to Remuera boys who died in WWII. This overlooks a field of jonquils and daffodils which bloom in winter or early spring.
Waiatarua Reserve / Saint Johns. To the south of Remuera Road lies Waiatarua Reserve. This is a natural basin, prone to seasonal flooding. On several 19th century maps this was shown as a lake and referred to as 'Lake Remuera', 'Lake St John' or 'Lake Waiatarua' although in reality it was largely an area of swampy ground in which a sheet of shallow water would appear sporadically in the wet season. In 1918, of this land was given to the City Council to create Waiatarua Reserve. As the surrounding farm land was transformed into suburban housing this area became problematic – although in theory the "lake" afforded a picturesque view for the new houses, it was also a breeding ground for mosquitos. Moreover, the basin was composed of a peat-like substance subject to smouldering fires which were difficult to put out. In 1929 a drain was bored through the hill to the south west enabling the water to be drained into the adjacent natural stream which feeds into the nearby Oraki Basin; this drainage system is still in place. In 1934, of the park were leased to the Remuera Golf Club and a course was laid out. The clubhouse was completed in 1935. In 1938 a new course was built around the original layout in response to members’ complaints about the course conditions. In 1968 the Course was redesigned by golf course specialist Harold Babbage and a new Club House built.

Education

There are several schools in Remuera, many highly regarded for their education standards. Remuera Primary, Victoria Avenue Primary School, Dilworth Primary School, King's School for boys, Saint Kentigern's Boys' School, Remuera Intermediate School, St Michael's Primary and Saint Kentigern Girls' School to name a few. The area is also well served by good State secondary schools including: Auckland Grammar School and St Peter's College, both for boys, while for girls there are Epsom Girls' Grammar School and Baradene College of the Sacred Heart.

Politics

Remuera is a part of the Epsom electorate for the Parliamentary representation. Local government of Remuera is the responsibility of the Orakei Local Board, which also includes the suburbs of Orakei, Mission Bay, Kohimarama, St Heliers, Glendowie, St Johns, Meadowbank, and Ellerslie.

Remuera Golf Club

The Remuera Golf Club started to develop in 1934 and the club house was finished in 1935. It was not an ideal location for a golf club, as it was established in a natural basin prone to seasonal flooding. In fact on several 19th century maps this was actually shown as a lake and referred to as 'Lake Remuera' or 'Lake St John' although in reality it was largely an area of swampy ground in which a sheet of shallow water would appear sporadically in the wet season. of land in the gully was given to the City Council in 1918 as Waiatarua Reserve. As the surrounding farm land was transformed into suburban housing this area became problematic – although the "lake" afforded a picturesque view for the new houses it was also a breeding ground for mosquitos. Moreover, the basin was composed of a peat-like substance subject to smouldering fires which were difficult to put out. In 1929 a drain was bored through the hill to the south west enabling the water to be drained into the adjacent natural stream which feeds into the nearby Oraki Basin; this drainage system is still in place.
Fifty acres of the park were leased to the Golf Club in 1934 and a course was laid out. In 1938 a new course was built around the original layout in response to members’ complaints about the course conditions. In 1968 the Course was redesigned by golf course specialist Harold Babbage and a new Club House has been built.

Connections

Remuera's reputation as a desirable residential area around the turn of the 20th century was reflected in the use of its name for a luxury liner. SS Remuera was a steamship launched in 1911. She was the last delivered of three 11000 tonners built by the William Denny Organization between 1909 and 1911 for the New Zealand Shipping Company. Her inaugural voyage in 1911 was from London to Wellington. In September 1914 she was the first British ship to pass through the newly complete Panama Canal.
During the First War she was commandeered by the British Government. After the war she returned to the UK to New Zealand route, as a sign of the changing times she was now refitted to accommodate two classes of passengers as opposed to her initial layout of First, Second and Steerage. Again commandeered at the outbreak of war in 1939 she was torpedoed in the North Sea in September 1940.

Notable residents