The Great South Road is a major arterial road on the Auckland isthmus and South Auckland. Originally the northern section of the earliest highway between Auckland and Wellington, in the North Island of New Zealand, the road was the main route connecting Auckland to Hamilton. Many former sections of the road have been integrated into the Waikato Expressway. Currently four sections of the road remain: Epsom to Bombay in Auckland, the main street in Pōkeno, the former route of State Highway 1 that links the towns of Huntly, Taupiri, Ngāruawāhia and Horotiu, and the main road in Ōhaupō.
 These days, long parts of Great South Road's length are urban or suburban | |
 | |
| Length | 42.9 km (26.7 mi) |
|---|---|
| Location | Auckland, New Zealand |
| North end | Broadway/Manukau Road |
| South end | Mill Road |
History
editMany sections of Great South Road were constructed on ara hīkoi; traditional walking paths used by Tāmaki Māori.[1] The first sections of Great South Road were constructed in 1843.[2] In 1851, the Tāmaki Bridge was constructed between Ōtāhuhu and Papatoetoe, opening up the south for greater development.[2] By 1855, the road had reached as far south as Drury, from which a track led towards the Waikato River.[2] In 1861, Governor George Grey ordered the construction of the Great South Road further into the Waikato, to improve supply lines through swampy and thickly forested country, prior to the Invasion of the Waikato.[3] The road was constructed by British Army troops, including Dominic Jacotin Gamble, and provided a flow of supplies for the Waikato campaign.[4] Queen's Redoubt at Pōkeno was a major base of operations for soldiers working on constructing the road.[5] Approximately 12,000 soldiers were involved in the construction over two years.[6]
Redoubts were constructed along the road for protection. St John's Redoubt was constructed in 1863 but never saw any engagement and the redoubt was abandoned shortly after in 1864.[7]
Toll booths were set up along the road in 1866 at Newmarket, Ōtāhuhu and Drury in order to pay for upkeep costs of the Great South Road.[8] Travellers along the Great South Road complained about the excessive cost of these tolls, which were abolished in 1875.[2] After the wars, more peaceful uses predominated, and the road became the main social and commercial link to the growing agricultural areas south of Auckland.[6]
Much of the road between Newmarket and Drury was laid in concrete in the 1920s, up to one foot thick. The road was later covered with asphalt.[6][9] Originally, the road was marked by milestones, but these are now all believed lost, although there is a ‘22 mile’ milestone marker outside Drury School, in Drury.[6] The Auckland Southern Motorway has largely superseded Great South Road as a through route, but many parts of the road are still in use, particularly the urban sections.
Route
editThe road begins in the central Auckland suburb of Epsom, then passes through the suburbs of Greenlane, Penrose, Ōtāhuhu, Papatoetoe, Manukau, Manurewa and Papakura. Leaving the urban sprawl, it heads south through Drury before terminating at Mill Road in Bombay and merging with the Waikato Expressway. Historically it continued, over the Bombay Hills, and followed the east bank of the Waikato River until crossing it at Ngāruawāhia. A section of State Highway 3 through Ōhaupō retains the road's southernmost extension.
Duplicate addresses
editAlong the 42 km of road, there are many instances of duplicate addresses. The address numbering restarts six times, being differentiated in Google Maps by suburb. For example there are five "1 Great South Road" addresses.[10]
Major intersections
edit| Local Board | Suburb | km | jct | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert-Eden | Epsom | 0.0 |  |
Manukau Road – Royal Oak, Onehunga Alpers Avenue – City Centre Broadway – Newmarket St Marks Road |
|
| 1.1 | |
Market Road (east) – Remuera Market Road (west) – Mount Eden |
|||
| Greenlane | 2.3 | |
Green Lane East – Remuera Green Lane West – Western Springs |
||
| 2.7 | |
Woodbine Avenue | |||
| 2.8 | |
Campbell Road – Royal Oak | |||
| Maungakiekie-Tāmaki | Ellerslie | ||||
| 2.9 | |
Main Highway – Ellerslie | |||
| 3.6 | |
Rockfield Road | |||
| 3.9 | |
Central Park business park | |||
| Penrose | 4.1 |  |
Ellerslie Panmure Highway – Ellerslie | ||
| 4.8 | |
Station Road East – Penrose | |||
| 5.5 | |
Penrose Road – Mount Wellington | |||
| 6.4 | |
South Eastern Highway – Mount Wellington, Pakuranga Church Street – Onehunga, Royal Oak |
|||
| 6.6 | |
Church Street East | |||
| 7.1 | |
Southdown Lane | |||
| Mount Wellington | 7.5 | |
Sylvia Park Road – Mount Wellington | ||
| 7.9 | |
Vestey Drive | |||
| 8.8 | |
Portage Road (east) – Mount Wellington Portage Road (west) – Māngere, Manukau City |
|||
| Māngere-Ōtāhuhu | Ōtāhuhu | ||||
| 9.4 | |
Albion Road Huia Road |
|||
| 9.5 | |
Princes Street | |||
| 9.8 | |
Avenue Road Mason Avenue |
|||
| 10.1 | |
Atkinson Avenue High Street |
|||
| 10.8 | |
Mangere Road – Māngere, Middlemore Hospital, Airport | |||
| Ōtara-Papatoetoe | Papatoetoe | 11.8 | |
Bairds Road – Ōtara, MIT | |
| 13.0 | |
Shirley Road | |||
| 13.2 | |
East Tamaki Road – Ōtara, East Tāmaki | |||
| 13.3 | |
Kolmar Road | |||
| 13.5 | |
Sutton Crescent | |||
| 13.9 | |
Tui Road St George Street |
|||
| Manukau | 15.4 | |
Reagan Road Puhinui Road – Airport |
||
| 15.9 | |
Ryan Place | |||
| 16.1 | |
Te Irirangi Drive – Howick Cavendish Drive – Airport |
|||
| 16.2 | |
Southpoint retail park | |||
| 16.4 | |
Ronwood Avenue | |||
| 16.8 | |
Redoubt Road Manukau Station Road – Manukau City Centre |
Former SH 20 | ||
| 17.0 | |
Lakewood Court | |||
| Manurewa | Wiri | 17.2 | |
 from  SH 1 (Southern Motorway) |
|
| 18.0 | |
Kerrs Road | |||
| Manurewa | 18.8 | |
Orams Road – Totara Heights Browns Road – Homai |
||
| 20.2 | |
Hill Road | |||
| 20.3 | |
Station Road | |||
| 20.6 | |
Alfriston Road – Alfriston, Clevedon Weymouth Road – Clendon, Homai |
|||
| 21.8 | |
Mahia Road – Wattle Downs, Clendon | |||
| Papakura | Takanini | 22.3 | |
SH 1 north (Southern Motorway) – Auckland |
|
| 22.6 | |
SH 1 south (Southern Motorway) – Hamilton |
|||
| 23.0 | |
Manuroa Road Beaumaris Way |
|||
| 23.5 | |
Taka Street Walter Strevens Drive |
|||
| 24.2 | |
Glenora Road | |||
| 24.3 | |
The Furlong | |||
| 24.7 | |
Walters Road Inlet Road Longford Park Drive |
|||
| 25.1 | |
Waka Street | |||
| Papakura | 26.1 | |
Subway Road | ||
| 26.3 | |
O'Shannessey Street | |||
| 26.4 | |
Queen Street | |||
| 26.5 | |
Broadway Elliot Street |
|||
| 26.9 | |
Wood Street | |||
| 27.1 | |
Wellington Street | |||
| Ōpaheke | 27.7 | |
Settlement Road Beach Road |
||
| Drury | 31.4 | |
Waihoehoe Road Norrie Road |
||
| 32.0 | |
SH 1 south (Southern Motorway) – Hamilton |
 SH 22 begins
| ||
| 32.2 | |
SH 1 north (Southern Motorway) – Auckland |
|||
| Franklin | Bombay | 42.5 | |
Mill Road | |
| 42.9 | |
SH 1 south (Waikato Expressway) – Hamilton |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Area Plan Update (PDF) (Report). Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board, Auckland Council. September 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Papatoetoe Heritage Trail" (PDF). Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board. 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ O'Malley, Vincent (6 December 2016). "'The great war for NZ broke out less than 50 km from Queen St': Vincent O'Malley on the Waikato War and the making of Auckland". The Spinoff. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ Roads – Development (from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1966 Edition. Accessed 19 July 2008.)
- ^ Prickett, Nigel (2003). "The History and Archaeology of Queen's Redoubt, South Auckland". Records of the Auckland Museum. 40: 5–37. ISSN 1174-9202. JSTOR 42905861. Wikidata Q58623334.
- ^ a b c d "Newmarket Viaduct – Landscape & Urban Design Framework". Transit New Zealand. 7 November 2008. p. Section 5.3.
- ^ Dodd, Andy (25 May 2006). St Johns Redoubt 1863 Heritage Assessment (PDF) (Report). Department of Conservation. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Wichman, Gwen (2001). Soaring Bird: a History of Manurewa to 1965. Manurewa: Manurewa Historical Society. p. 25. ISBN 0-473-07114-2. Wikidata Q117421984.
- ^ Wichman, Gwen (1990), A brief history of Manurewa, Manurewa: Manurewa Historical Society, p. 6, Wikidata Q117327773
- ^ Sommerville, Troels. "The Auckland road that's longer than a marathon and has five number ones". Stuff. Stuff. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
External links
edit- NZ Geographic article
- Dominic Gamble Soldier involved in road construction
- Manukau timeline Archived 22 September 2004 at the Wayback Machine