Wiri is a mostly industrial-commercial focused suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It was formerly part of Manukau City until the merger of all of Auckland's councils into the 'super city' in 2010.
The suburb is named after Te Wirihana Takaanini, 19th-century MÃÂori chief of Te ÃÂkitai Waiohua.
The area has been inhabited since at least the 13th century. the volcanic cones of Matukutà «reia and Matukutà «ruru were home to two hilltop pÃÂ, collectively known as Matukurua.
The area has significance for Waiohua iwi, especially NgÃÂti Te Ata Waiohua and Te ÃÂkitai Waiohua.
In January 1836 missionary William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between TÃÂmaki MÃÂori chiefs, Pà Âtatau Te Wherowhero and Turia of NgÃÂti Te Rau, covering the majority of modern-day South Auckland between à ÂtÃÂhuhu and Papakura. The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to. MÃÂori continued to live in South Auckland, unchanged by this sale.
Fairburn was criticised for the sheer size of the purchase, and in 1842 the Crown significantly reduced the size of his land holdings, and the Crown partitioned much of the land for European settlers.
10,000 acres of the Fairburn purchase was granted to James Reddy Clendon in return for land at Russell where the new capital of New Zealand was established. Clendon never lived in or visited the area.
The Woodside School began operating from the mid-1850s in Wiri, then known by the name Woodside. It operated from the Methodist church, until school buildings were built on the corner of Kerrs Road and Great South Road in 1873. In 1875, the Manurewa railway station opened, causing the township of Woodside to slowly decline while Manurewa grew. After years of debate, the school moved to its current site, which opened on 8 September 1906.
The North Island Main Trunk line through Wiri was opened on 20 May 1875, as part of the Auckland and Mercer Railway, built by Brogden & Co, who extended it from Penrose.
The Wiri railway station originally opened on 7 August 1913 as a tablet station, and fully on 9 December 1913 as a siding and for staff and work trains (not a public station). The station closed in 2005. The small station building, completed in 1914, was donated to MOTAT in 2022.
Wiri developed as a large industrial area during the 1960s and 1970s due to the suburban expansion of Manukau City.
St Davis Church was built in 1880. In 1883 a chancel was added on. The Church walls contain records of people that lived in Wiri.
In 1845 Thomas McLaughlin, a wealthy merchant from Peru, bought a tract of land in the northern part of the Clendon Grant, including the volcano now known as Matukutà «reia / McLaughlins Mountain. In the 1850s a small quarry was established there to supply metal for the construction of Great South Road. Thomas's son, William McLaughlin, later built a house on the north-eastern flank of the mountain. The homestead was known as 'Puhi Nui'. From 1965 the family rented the homestead out. On 12 February 1982 the building was removed to Howick Historical Village, where it has since been restored.
Around 1928 Jacaranda House (later known as Rumney Cottage) was built on the lower northern slope of Matukutà «ruru. The house was built using basalt and scoria quarried from the volcano and took its name from the large tree beside it. Mr Shepherd continued to live in the house until his death in 1972. Bought by the government for railway purposes, the house is now part of the Matukutà «ruru reserve.
Auckland Region Women's Corrections Facility (ARWCF) is located in Wiri. ARWCF is the first purpose-built women's prison in New Zealand to accommodate a growing number of female prisoners and services in the upper North Island. The facility can accommodate 286 prisoners and employs 167 staff.
The adjacent Auckland South Corrections Facility is a high security men's prison which opened in 2015. It is operated by Serco New Zealand under a Public Private Partnership with the Department of Corrections. at 20 Hautu Drive, Wiri.
As part of the Auckland railway electrification project, the $100 million EMU maintenance and stabling depot was built on 4.4 hectares of the old Winstone Quarry in Wiri, located next to the South-Western Motorway and bordered by Roscommon and Wiri Station Roads. It was officially opened by the Mayor of Auckland on 5 July 2013.
The Wiri inland port connects road freight to the Ports of Auckland on the Waitemata Harbour further north. The inland port allows the Ports of Auckland to reduce the number of trucks that have to travel through the Auckland Central area by up to 100,000 trips per year.
The Matukutà «ruru (Wiri Mountain) and Matukutà «reia (McLaughlin's Mountain) volcanoes are in Wiri. Much of the land within the suburb of Wiri was formed through lava flows originating from the eruption of Matukutà «ruru 30,000 years ago.
Several recently discovered volcanic craters are in Wiri. The three Puhinui Craters were first recognised as volcanic craters in 2011. Ash Hill is near Ash Road. A low tuff cone with an explosion crater about 150m wide, it peaked at roughly 8 metres higher than the surrounding land, but has recently been flattened and completely covered by industrial development.
Wiri Central School is a full primary school (years 1âÂÂ8) with a roll of as of
Destiny School is a private Christian composite school (years 1âÂÂ13) with a roll of as of
Both schools are coeducational.
Wiri covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km<sup>2</sup>.
Wiri had a population of 6,504 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,149 people (21.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 2,580 people (65.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,414 males, 3,075 females and 12 people of other genders in 1,533 dwellings. 2.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 31.3 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,449 people (22.3%) aged under 15 years, 1,602 (24.6%) aged 15 to 29, 2,901 (44.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 555 (8.5%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 21.3% European (PÃÂkehÃÂ); 31.1% MÃÂori; 43.8% Pasifika; 22.4% Asian; 1.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 0.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 90.0%, MÃÂori language by 9.7%, Samoan by 16.3%, and other languages by 19.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.8% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 1.1%. The percentage of people born overseas was 35.0, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 47.4% Christian, 4.8% Hindu, 3.0% Islam, 4.2% MÃÂori religious beliefs, 1.5% Buddhist, 0.2% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 3.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 28.6%, and 7.6% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 702 (13.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,478 (49.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,875 (37.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $24,400, compared with $41,500 nationally. 177 people (3.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,040 (40.4%) people were employed full-time, 408 (8.1%) were part-time, and 366 (7.2%) were unemployed.