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Great South Road, New Zealand

Coordinates: 36°52′49″S 174°46′58″E / 36.88016°S 174.78288°E / -36.88016; 174.78288
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Great South Road
These days, long parts of Great South Road's length are urban or suburban
Map
Length42.9 km (26.7 mi)
LocationAuckland, New Zealand
North endBroadway/Manukau Road
South endMill Road

The Great South Road is a major arterial road on the Auckland isthmus and South Auckland. Originally the northern section of the earliest highway between Auckland and Wellington, in the North Island of New Zealand, the road was the main route connecting Auckland to Hamilton. Many former sections of the road have been integrated into the Waikato Expressway. Currently four sections of the road remain: Epsom to Bombay in Auckland, the main street in Pōkeno, the former route of State Highway 1 that links the towns of Huntly, Taupiri, Ngāruawāhia and Horotiu, and the main road in Ōhaupō.

History

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Many sections of Great South Road were constructed on ara hīkoi; traditional walking paths used by Tāmaki Māori.[1] The first sections of Great South Road were constructed in 1843.[2] In 1851, the Tāmaki Bridge was constructed between Ōtāhuhu and Papatoetoe, opening up the south for greater development.[2] By 1855, the road had reached as far south as Drury, from which a track led towards the Waikato River.[2] In 1861, Governor George Grey ordered the construction of the Great South Road further into the Waikato, to improve supply lines through swampy and thickly forested country, prior to the Invasion of the Waikato.[3] The road was constructed by British Army troops, including Dominic Jacotin Gamble, and provided a flow of supplies for the Waikato campaign.[4] Queen's Redoubt at Pōkeno was a major base of operations for soldiers working on constructing the road.[5] Approximately 12,000 soldiers were involved in the construction over two years.[6]

Redoubts were constructed along the road for protection. St John's Redoubt was constructed in 1863 but never saw any engagement and the redoubt was abandoned shortly after in 1864.[7]

Toll booths were set up along the road in 1866 at Newmarket, Ōtāhuhu and Drury in order to pay for upkeep costs of the Great South Road.[8] Travellers along the Great South Road complained about the excessive cost of these tolls, which were abolished in 1875.[2] After the wars, more peaceful uses predominated, and the road became the main social and commercial link to the growing agricultural areas south of Auckland.[6]

Much of the road between Newmarket and Drury was laid in concrete in the 1920s, up to one foot thick. The road was later covered with asphalt.[6][9] Originally, the road was marked by milestones, but these are now all believed lost, although there is a ‘22 mile’ milestone marker outside Drury School, in Drury.[6] The Auckland Southern Motorway has largely superseded Great South Road as a through route, but many parts of the road are still in use, particularly the urban sections.

Route

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The road begins in the central Auckland suburb of Epsom, then passes through the suburbs of Greenlane, Penrose, Ōtāhuhu, Papatoetoe, Manukau, Manurewa and Papakura. Leaving the urban sprawl, it heads south through Drury before terminating at Mill Road in Bombay and merging with the Waikato Expressway. Historically it continued, over the Bombay Hills, and followed the east bank of the Waikato River until crossing it at Ngāruawāhia. A section of State Highway 3 through Ōhaupō retains the road's southernmost extension.

Duplicate addresses

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Along the 42 km of road, there are many instances of duplicate addresses. The address numbering restarts six times, being differentiated in Google Maps by suburb. For example there are five "1 Great South Road" addresses.[10]

Major intersections

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Local Board Suburb km jct Destinations Notes
Albert-Eden Epsom 0.0 Manukau Road – Royal Oak, Onehunga
Alpers Avenue – City Centre
Broadway – Newmarket
St Marks Road
1.1 Market Road (east) – Remuera
Market Road (west) – Mount Eden
Greenlane 2.3 Green Lane East – Remuera
Green Lane West – Western Springs
2.7 Woodbine Avenue
2.8 Campbell Road – Royal Oak
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ellerslie
2.9 Main Highway – Ellerslie
3.6 Rockfield Road
3.9 Central Park business park
Penrose 4.1 Ellerslie Panmure Highway – Ellerslie
4.8 Station Road East – Penrose
5.5 Penrose Road – Mount Wellington
6.4 South Eastern Highway – Mount Wellington, Pakuranga
Church Street – Onehunga, Royal Oak
6.6 Church Street East
7.1 Southdown Lane
Mount Wellington 7.5 Sylvia Park Road – Mount Wellington
7.9 Vestey Drive
8.8 Portage Road (east) – Mount Wellington
Portage Road (west) – Māngere, Manukau City
Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Ōtāhuhu
9.4 Albion Road
Huia Road
9.5 Princes Street
9.8 Avenue Road
Mason Avenue
10.1 Atkinson Avenue
High Street
10.8 Mangere Road – Māngere, Middlemore Hospital, Airport
Ōtara-Papatoetoe Papatoetoe 11.8 Bairds Road – Ōtara, MIT
13.0 Shirley Road
13.2 East Tamaki Road – Ōtara, East Tāmaki
13.3 Kolmar Road
13.5 Sutton Crescent
13.9 Tui Road
St George Street
Manukau 15.4 Reagan Road
Puhinui Road – Airport
15.9 Ryan Place
16.1 Te Irirangi Drive – Howick
Cavendish Drive – Airport
16.2 Southpoint retail park
16.4 Ronwood Avenue
16.8 Redoubt Road
Manukau Station Road – Manukau City Centre
Former SH 20
17.0 Lakewood Court
Manurewa Wiri 17.2 from SH 1 (Southern Motorway)
18.0 Kerrs Road
Manurewa 18.8 Orams Road – Totara Heights
Browns Road – Homai
20.2 Hill Road
20.3 Station Road
20.6 Alfriston Road – Alfriston, Clevedon
Weymouth Road – Clendon, Homai
21.8 Mahia Road – Wattle Downs, Clendon
Papakura Takanini 22.3 SH 1 north (Southern Motorway) – Auckland
22.6 SH 1 south (Southern Motorway) – Hamilton
23.0 Manuroa Road
Beaumaris Way
23.5 Taka Street
Walter Strevens Drive
24.2 Glenora Road
24.3 The Furlong
24.7 Walters Road
Inlet Road
Longford Park Drive
25.1 Waka Street
Papakura 26.1 Subway Road
26.3 O'Shannessey Street
26.4 Queen Street
26.5 Broadway
Elliot Street
26.9 Wood Street
27.1 Wellington Street
Ōpaheke 27.7 Settlement Road
Beach Road
Drury 31.4 Waihoehoe Road
Norrie Road
32.0 SH 1 south (Southern Motorway) – Hamilton SH 22 begins
32.2 SH 1 north (Southern Motorway) – Auckland
Franklin Bombay 42.5 Mill Road
42.9 SH 1 south (Waikato Expressway) – Hamilton

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Area Plan Update (PDF) (Report). Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board, Auckland Council. September 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Papatoetoe Heritage Trail" (PDF). Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board. 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  3. ^ O'Malley, Vincent (6 December 2016). "'The great war for NZ broke out less than 50 km from Queen St': Vincent O'Malley on the Waikato War and the making of Auckland". The Spinoff. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  4. ^ Roads – Development (from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1966 Edition. Accessed 19 July 2008.)
  5. ^ Prickett, Nigel (2003). "The History and Archaeology of Queen's Redoubt, South Auckland". Records of the Auckland Museum. 40: 5–37. ISSN 1174-9202. JSTOR 42905861. Wikidata Q58623334.
  6. ^ a b c d "Newmarket Viaduct – Landscape & Urban Design Framework". Transit New Zealand. 7 November 2008. p. Section 5.3.
  7. ^ Dodd, Andy (25 May 2006). St Johns Redoubt 1863 Heritage Assessment (PDF) (Report). Department of Conservation. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  8. ^ Wichman, Gwen (2001). Soaring Bird: a History of Manurewa to 1965. Manurewa: Manurewa Historical Society. p. 25. ISBN 0-473-07114-2. Wikidata Q117421984.
  9. ^ Wichman, Gwen (1990), A brief history of Manurewa, Manurewa: Manurewa Historical Society, p. 6, Wikidata Q117327773
  10. ^ Sommerville, Troels. "The Auckland road that's longer than a marathon and has five number ones". Stuff. Stuff. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
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36°52′49″S 174°46′58″E / 36.88016°S 174.78288°E / -36.88016; 174.78288