South of Campbells Bay beach a cliff rises. It’s called Red Bluff. Red Bluff isnt just a pretty name. It holds a story. A story of layers. Layers of time. Layers of earth. Layers of history.
Red Bluff is part of Campbells Bay a suburb of Auckland. The land here is special. It’s made of clay and Waitemata sandstone. You can see the sandstone in the cliff face. Imagine the Maori who first saw these cliffs. They called this area Waipapa.
Long before Europeans arrived Maori lived here. They fished the waters. They gathered shellfish. They hunted birds. The forest inland was thick with kauri trees. Totara matai miro kahikatea trees grew too. Pohutukawa trees lined the coast. This was a rich and varied ecosystem. Maki a powerful warrior unified many tribes in the area. His descendants still have ties to this land.
European settlers came later. John Logan Campbell bought the land in 1845. Donald Mackay a Scottish immigrant farmed here. His farm grew. It became an orchard. A large gum digging camp was nearby. The Johnston family ran a dairy farm. They sold milk to people in Takapuna and the gum diggers. The bay was called Donalds Bay then Johnstons Bay. Finally it became Campbells Bay.
The land was subdivided. Holiday homes were built. A health camp for Auckland’s youth was established. Centennial Park a large area of native bush was created. Pillboxes were built during World War II. This place has seen many changes.
Stand here at Red Bluff. Feel the wind. Look at the waves crashing against the rocks. Picture the people who lived here. Their lives intertwined with the land and the sea. The Red Bluff stands as a silent witness to their stories. A testament to the passage of time. A connection to the past.