Picture a place steeped in history a peninsula jutting into the Waitemata Harbour. This is Northcote Point. Its story begins long before European settlement.
For centuries Northcote Point was Onewa Pa a fortified Maori village. Imagine Ngati Tai people fishing in the bays. They gathered food from the surrounding forests. Life was tough. Raids from Ngati Whatua and Ngati Paoa caused much suffering. Around 1740 Ngati Tai were driven out. Other tribes fought over the land. Yet Ngati Tai returned in the 19th century.
Then came the Europeans. In 1841 the North Shore was sold to the Crown. The Point’s name changed several times. Initially it was Rough Point after Captain David Rough Auckland’s first harbourmaster. Later it was Stokes Point after Captain J L Stokes. Finally in the 1880s it became Northcote. Major Benton is credited with suggesting the name after the British aristocrat Sir Stafford Northcote.
The 1840s saw land subdivision. Phillip Callan a brickmaker bought land. So did John McGechie Major Isaac Rhodes Cooper and Colonel Robert Wynyard. Callan established a brickworks near Sulphur Beach. R Clark’s soap and candle works also thrived. By the 1880s Northcote was famous for its strawberry gardens.
The arrival of the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1959 was a turning point. The eastern coastline was altered. Ferries stopped. Shops closed. The Point became a quieter place. Northcote Central boomed. The shopping centre opened in 1958.
Today Northcote Point is a mix of old and new. Its history is etched into its landscape. The old villas stand as silent witnesses to the past. Their stories whisper of Maori battles colonial industry and modern development. Northcote Point is a place where past and present intertwine. It’s a place to explore and ponder its rich heritage. It offers spectacular views of the harbour. A walk here is a journey through time.