Takanini


Takanini is a suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, 28 kilometres southeast of the Auckland CBD.
The suburb is home to a Fonterra Brands milk plant, the new Addison housing development, as well as international horse breeding facilities throughout the area. The two major shopping centres in Takanini are Southgate Shopping Centre and Takanini Village.

History

The suburb is named after Ihaka Takaanini, a Māori chief of the area.
An old highway, the Great South Road, runs through Takanini, forming its main street. The road was constructed during the New Zealand Wars to transport supplies to the Waikato campaign. It was guarded by armed constabulary and was a designated military road.
During the major reformation of local government in 1989, Takanini was included into the Papakura District boundaries.
From October 2010, after a review of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance, the entire Auckland Region was amalgamated into a single city authority. As well as Papakura District, other territorial authorities such as North Shore City, Rodney District, Waitakere City, Auckland City, Manukau City, and the Franklin District were abolished and the entire area amalgamated into a single Auckland city council. The suburb of Takanini is now in the Manurewa-Papakura Ward of the Auckland Council.

Education

The only primary school is Takanini School, a coeducational full primary school with the state system. It has a decile rating of 1.
Takanini has several early childhood centres.
Four co-educational state schools costing more than $92 million will be built in Takanini over the next 15 years. More early childhood services and a Catholic school will also be developed. The plan includes a modern secondary school being built near Papakura Normal School and three primary schools built on sites yet to be secured. The fact that Takanini's population is forecast to grow to 22,000, including 4500 schoolchildren, by 2020 has boosted these major projects. The new secondary school will cater for students in Years 9 to 13; the primary schools from Years 1 to 8.

Facilities

Housing

Similar to Dannemora, and Howick, Takanini has several suburban styled housing complexes throughout the area. Addison, Longford Park, and McLennan are three of the major housing projects which have increased local property values. The Takanini area contains a highly ethnically diverse population. A major Kiwibuild building project is being realised on surplus Defence Force land, east of Great South Road.

Transport

The Auckland Southern Motorway and the North Island Main Trunk Railway run through Takanini. Train and bus services provide the bulk of public transport, with frequent trains on the Southern Line between Takanini and the CBD. Though the motorway and Great South Road flow relatively freely at peak times, road commuters are affected by the acute traffic congestion as they get closer to metropolitan Auckland.

Recreation

Bruce Pulman Park is the major sporting location in Takanini. Sports facilities include a scout hall, a gymnastics stadium (the home of Counties-Manukau Gymnastics, a number of outside netball courts now supported by the large-scale Counties-Manukau indoor stadium used for basketball, volleyball, and netball. Bruce Pulman Park also includes a number of rugby, rugby league, and touch fields as well as a full-size cricket oval.
New Zealand's First Sikh Games were held in Bruce Pulman Park. It was a big sports event of Indian community.
NZ Sikh Sports Complex Takanini is being inaugurated on 22 March 2020. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will be a part of the inauguration team with Sikh Community leaders. According to the Daljit Singh, Chief Spokesperson of Supreme Sikh Society of New Zealand, SSC comprises 7 grounds of different sports like Soccer, Volleyball, netball, Kabbadi and Athletics. Soccer ground is as per standard of FIFA.