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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hi, I'm Elle. I'm based in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm the mother of two young adults, the wife of an entrepreneurial gamer and the Queen of Unfinished Projects. This blog will contain poems, short stories, possibly photos and book reviews if you're lucky, and my thoughts on a variety of topics. Hope you enjoy it. |
Prompt: Every place has a history. Some towns were founded to support gold rushes, others were close to oceans. What's the history of where you live? What was the early industry that made your town the place to be? Who founded your town and when? ~ "Invalid Item"  Auckland was originally settled by Maori, which makes sense since they were in New Zealand for several hundred years before Europeans arrived. The Maori people were spread over most of the North Island, but the tribe that lived in Auckland (which is known as Tāmaki Makaurau in Maori) chose the Auckland region because it was fertile farming soil. I would also guess that the harbour and the easy access by sea had something to do with it. The Maori people either walked or travelled by canoe, so if they found an area with a safe natural harbour, that would be a good place to settle, right? Easy fishing, etc. Good beaches for collecting shellfish... The Maori people chose the highest points on the land to set up pā or defence forts. While Auckland doesn't have any particularly tall mountains, a number of those high points are still considered sacred today. I have walked up Mt Eden (Maungawhau) and One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie) numerous times. There are no remnants left of the pā, but there is information and there are areas set aside where we're not allowed to walk. Europeans originally settled the far north of New Zealand first, and so the 'capital' of New Zealand was a place called Russel in the far north. After Auckland was settled by Europeans in the 1800s, it became a hub due to the harbour.  Auckland 1857 It was named the capital of New Zealand in 1841. However, while Russell was a ridiculously long way from most of the country, Auckland was also a long way from some parts of the country, especially the South Island. So in 1865 Wellington was named the capital, because it had a port AND it was relatively central with close proximity to the South Island. Auckland remained one of (if not the) largest settlements in New Zealand. The European settlers were mostly soldiers, and (I didn't know this before today) in the mid-1800s, a good 50% of the settlers in Auckland were Irish. That might explain why Auckland doesn't have the very strong English feel that Christchurch does. Of course, it doesn't explain Wellington.  |
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