Tragedy clings to Stokes Point as much as the sea mist. This isn’t just a place where the Auckland Harbour Bridge kisses the land. Stokes Point is a place of stories. Some are triumphant but some are heartbreaking.
Welcome to Stokes Point. We will delve into its past and its present. This place was once the hub of a busy ferry terminal. It was the gateway to the North Shore. It was the gateway to the rest of New Zealand.
Back in the day, Aucklanders came here. They sought fresh produce, especially strawberries. They wanted an escape from the city’s dusty roads. In 1908, Stokes Point hosted one of the first Scouting events.
The Auckland Harbour Bridge changed Stokes Point forever. The bridge was traded for much of what was here. The abandoned Onewa Pa is now remembered by a motorway exit. Sulphur Beach is now only remembered by Sulphur Beach Road. It was once a principle attraction.
Memorials stand at the end of Stokes Point. Three mark the official deaths of bridge construction workers. I was told a worker fell into the wet concrete during the pouring. The pouring could not be halted. He remains there like the Waylon Jennings bit in the Highwayman song.
The fourth memorial is to Shanley Haggerty. She was a 26-year-old wife from West Auckland. This is yet another Kiwi suicide. Her body was never found. Someone planted her plaque around 1993. It’s still here.
Stokes Point got its name from Captain J. L. Stokes. He was of H. M. Acheron. He named it during a survey of Waitematā Harbour in 1848. Before that, it was called Rough Point. That name came from Captain David Rough. He was Auckland’s first harbourmaster.
In pre-European times, Stokes Point was the site of Te Onewa Pā. It was a stronghold of great strategic importance. Onewa means divided earth. This refers to a trench fortification. It ran across the headland.
In 1908, a scout den was built on the reserve. It was for the Northcote scout patrol. It was reputedly New Zealand’s first. In that year, a 22-metre-high flagstaff was erected. This celebrated Northcote becoming a borough. It celebrated the visit of the American fleet. Local Māori presented the New Zealand flag at the ceremony. They also planted a tōtara named Tainui. Bad weather has since destroyed it.
The oldest known inhabitants of the district were Ngāti Tai. They suffered severely from raids. Ngāti Whātua raided them. In about 1650, Ngāti Pāoa raided them. Ngāti Whātua then conquered the whole of the Auckland isthmus.
Onewa was attacked again and again. In about 1740, the remnants of the Ngāti Tai tribe were driven out. Ngāti Pāoa took over Onewa’s Ngāti Tai villages. However, they were driven back by Ngāti Whātua.
Gradually, the remnants of Ngāti Tai returned in the early 19th century. They came back to their old villages at Onewa. After the musket wars of the 1820s and early 1830s, peace returned to the Auckland area. A few Ngāti Tai continued to live at Onewa for some years.
In 1841, the North Shore was included in the vast Mahurangi block. Māori sold it to the Crown. Onewa Pā passed from Māori ownership.
In the 1840s, the land on Stokes Point was subdivided. It was divided into eight large lots. They were sold in the early 1850s. Buyers included Phillip Callan, John McGechie, Isaac Rhodes Cooper, and Robert Wynyard. In 1867, the Crown subdivided the end of the point. It became the Town of Woodside.
Callan had a brickworks at the southern end of Sulphur Beach. Another early colonial industry on Stokes Point was R. Clark’s soap and candle works. It was present in 1848. It was reputedly near Sulphur Beach.
James Reed was given a license to run the Stokes Point Ferry in 1854. In 1859, Callan built his North Auckland Hotel. He wanted to take advantage of the ferry service. He also wanted to take advantage of the main route north. Sulphur works were built by James Tunny and James Pond next to Sulphur Beach in 1878. They did not last long.
The Stokes Point district was renamed Northcote in the early 1880s.
The construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge and motorway in 1958-9 drastically changed the Northcote Point environment. The eastern coastline was almost obliterated. The ferries ceased. Shops closed. The point became something of a backwater.
So, as you stand here at Stokes Point, remember its layers. Remember its stories of trade. Remember its stories of conflict. Remember its stories of tragedy. They are woven into the very fabric of this land. They echo in the sea breeze.