Imagine standing where mighty kauri trees once stood here at Te Onekiritea Point. This land has a story etched in its very soil. Before European settlers arrived this point was known as Onekiritea. The name comes from the clay soil found here. The local iwi Ngati Whatua and Te Kawerau a Maki valued this clay. They used it for its pigment and as a natural soap.
Let’s step back in time. Picture the tidal flats teeming with birds and shellfish. They provided a delicious source of food or kai for the local iwi. Life here was sustained by the rich resources of the land and sea.
In 1853 a significant change occurred. The Crown purchased 600 acres on the peninsula from Ngati Whatua. The area was renamed Port Hobsonville after Captain William Hobson. He was New Zealand’s first Governor. Farming became the primary use of the land.
However Rice Owen Clark saw another potential. Frustrated with his farmland’s poor drainage he started pottery works. This was at nearby Limeburners Bay. His aim was to produce clay drainage pipes commercially. Eventually seven companies operated. The clay ran out in the 1930s. Rice Owen Clark’s descendants later formed Crown Lynn Pottery in New Lynn.
Now let’s fast forward to 1924. The government chose Hobsonville as a site for both land and sea-based aviation. In 1929 the air force established their home on Te Onekiritea Point. Catalina Bay was constructed by hand and with horse-drawn scoops. It served as a wet apron where flying boats could roll onto the land. The base soon became dotted with barracks hangars and houses. Roads and landing strips crisscrossed the area.
The largest hangar was built in 1939. It was designed to house the massive Short Sunderland flying boats. These giants had a wingspan of 34 metres. From then on Hobsonville was New Zealand’s premier flying-boat base until 1967. That was when the amphibious craft were phased out.
Te Onekiritea Point also has a military history. The thirteen brick buildings you see were once part of New Zealand’s largest Air Force explosives depot. That is why the area was once nicknamed Bomb Point.
Today Te Onekiritea Point is a public open space. It even includes a fenced dog park. The area’s history is now officially recognized as Te Onekiritea Point. This follows a Treaty of Waitangi settlement with Te Kawerau a Maki. In 2015 land for a secondary marae at Te Onekiritea was returned. It is a place where the stories of the past meet the present. It reminds us of the rich heritage woven into this landscape.