Howick, New Zealand

Howick is a suburb of East Auckland, New Zealand. The area was traditionally settled by Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, and in 1847 Howick was established as a defensive settlement for Auckland, by veteran fencible soldiers of the British Army. Howick was a small agricultural centre until the 1950s, when it developed into a suburban area of Auckland.

Howick is located in the central peninsula of East Auckland, between the Tāmaki River and Tāmaki Strait of the Hauraki Gulf. Waipaparoa / Howick Beach is located to the north-east of the suburb, adjacent to Mellons Bay in the west and Cockle Bay in the east. Waipaparoa / Howick Beach looks out towards the Tāmaki Strait, Waiheke Island, Motukaraka Island and Beachlands. The soil around Howick is primarily clay and sandstone.

Howick was named after Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey, a name chosen by Governor George Grey in 1847. The Earl was formerly known as Viscount Howick, and his family home in Alnwick, Northumberland. Earl Grey was the Secretary of State for the Colonies who decided to settle British Army veterans in settlements around Auckland. The traditional Tāmaki Māori names for the coastal area were Paparoa and Waipaparoa, and Ōwairoa was used to describe the swampy inland area where the Howick village was established. The names Howick, Owairoa and Paparoa were used interchangeably by European settlers until 1923, when the Howick Town Board was established.

The Tāmaki Strait was visited by the Tainui migratory waka around the year 1300, and members of the crew settled around East Auckland and the Pōhutukawa Coast. These were the ancestors of the modern mana whenua of the area, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The traditional names for the beach and surrounding bay are Paparoa and Waipaparoa, with Waipaparoa referring to the wider bay between modern-day Howick and Beachlands, including the Turanga Creek. The Howick area was extensively cultivated, but as the area was relatively exposed, two fortified pā were constructed: Paparoa Pā at the south-eastern end of Waipaparoa / Howick Beach, and Tūwakamana Pā above Cockle Bay. In addition to agriculture, the Waipaparoa / Howick Beach area was known for pioke (shortspine spurdog sharks), which were caught in the near-by estuaries and dried at the beach. In the 1600s, the warrior Kāwharu attacked and razed Paparoa Pā, without taking occupation of the lands. While the wider area was still cultivated, the site of Paparoa Pā became a wāhi tapu (sacred and restricted) site to Ngāi Tai.

In 1836, English Missionary William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between Tāmaki Māori chiefs, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero and Turia of Ngāti Te Rau, covering the majority of modern-day South Auckland, East Auckland and the Pōhutukawa Coast. The sale was envisioned by the church and the chiefs 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. Fairburn's Purchase was investigated by the New Zealand Land Commission found to be excessive and reduced in size. The disallowed parts of his purchase were not returned to Ngāi Tai, however in 1854 a reserve was created for Ngāi Tai around the Wairoa River and Umupuia. As a part of this arrangement, Ngāi Tai agreed not to settle elsewhere in the region, which included Howick.

Howick was established in 1847 as a defensive outpost for Auckland, by fencibles (retired British Army soldiers) and their families. Governor George Grey, Bishop George Selwyn, Major Mathew Richmond and Felton Mathew chose the site in October 1847, at a location known to early colonists as Owairoa. The decision to establish on site was controversial. It was allegedly chosen to protect Auckland against potential invasion from Marutūāhu tribes to the east, but the site was too far inland to serve this purpose. As the Crown owned the entirety of the land at Howick, the Government could directly profit from the land sales to fencible settlers.

The fencibles arrived between 1847 and 1852, with the first ships arriving at Waiapaparoa / Howick Beach. Early settlers struggled to establish themselves on the land. Almost no trees were found in the district that could be used for construction, and the soil was primarily clay, compared to other fencible settlements such as Ōtāhuhu and Panmure that were established on volcanic soils more suitable for farming. In 1849 when William Fox of the New Zealand Company visited Howick, he described the settlement as a costly failure. The settlers were promised that houses would be constructed for their families, however this had not occurred by their arrival. The first cottages were constructed from raupō with help from Ngāi Tai, and by December 1849 most of these had been replaced with wooden cottages.

The fencible settlers were primarily poor, and were evenly split between Catholic and Protestant families. All Saints Church was constructed in Howick in 1847, as the first Anglican parish church in Auckland. The Government was widely criticised for not providing many employment opportunities for the fencible settlers. Early settlers often found work on Government projects such as road construction, drainage or clearing allotments, while others worked for farmers. Many fencibles lived in Auckland for work, but were obliged to return to Howick on Sundays, otherwise they could be charged with mutiny under the Fencibles Act.