Mechanics Bay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mechanics Bay |
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Painting of Mechanics Bay in 1899, by Charles Blomfield.
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| Local authority | Auckland Council |
  Mechanics Bay  |
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Mechanics Bay (Māori: Te Tōangaroa) is a special area in Auckland, New Zealand. It used to be a bay on the Waitematā Harbour. Over time, people filled in parts of the bay to create more land. This process is called land reclamation. Now, this area is mostly used for businesses and port activities. Sometimes, the water area near Tāmaki Drive and the large Fergusson Container Terminal is still called Mechanics Bay.
History of Mechanics Bay
The Māori people of Tāmaki called this bay Te Tōangaroa. This name means "the long dragging." It was called this because people had to drag their canoes a long way at low tide. In early Auckland, Mechanics Bay was a very important trading spot for Māori. It was a separate port from the main Auckland waterfront.
European Settlement and Changes
When Europeans settled in Auckland, there were four bays along the harbour shore. These were Official Bay, Mechanics Bay, St George's Bay, and Judges Bay. Some of these bays have now disappeared. This happened because land was filled in and hills were quarried.
Mechanics Bay was next to Official Bay. It got its name because many workers lived there. These workers were brought by the government to build the new capital city. A stream from the Auckland Domain flowed into Mechanics Bay. The bay had a wide, flat beach. Māori had used this beach for a long time to pull their canoes ashore.
By the 1860s, European settlers began to change the shoreline. They needed to build railway tracks to the bottom of Queen Street. To do this, they quarried away Point Britomart. Then, they filled in Official Bay and Mechanics Bay. Later, St George's Bay also disappeared. It became a shunting yard for the railway station. Judges Bay was separated from the harbour by a railway embankment.
The main road in Mechanics Bay is Beach Road. This road once ran along the beach of the former bay. The old Auckland Railway Station is located here. It is an impressive brick building from the 1930s. It was designed by Gummer and Ford. The station was moved here to be the center of a new business area. However, this plan was not successful. The station was later closed. The railway terminal moved back to its original spot, now called the Britomart Transport Centre.
Aviation History
New Zealand's first international airport was in Mechanics Bay. In the 1930s, flying boats connected New Zealand with the world. International flights from Britain connected with TEAL flights from Sydney. Flights from America also landed in Auckland.
Large flying boats like the Short Solent and Boeing 314 landed in Mechanics Bay. This area was the center of international aviation for New Zealand until the 1950s. Even after Auckland International Airport opened in the 1960s, flying boats still used Mechanics Bay. They flew to Pacific Islands, like Fiji, on routes known as the Coral Route.
From 1962 to 1989, Mechanics Bay was home to different airlines. These included Tourist Air Travel, Mount Cook Airline, and Sea Bee Air. They used Grumman Goose, Grumman Widgeon, and Grumman Turbo Goose amphibian aircraft. These planes could land on both water and land. They offered regular passenger and freight services. They flew to islands in the Hauraki Gulf, like Great Barrier and Waiheke Island. They also flew charter flights to other areas. These included the Bay of Islands, Manukau, and Kaipara Harbour.
Mechanics Bay also has a heliport. This is a place where helicopters take off and land. It has been a base for sightseeing and commercial flight companies. It is also home to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. The NZ Police Air Support Unit, called the Eagle Helicopter, also operates from here. The heliport is next to the Auckland Marine Rescue Centre. This center is at the eastern end of the Ports of Auckland container terminal.
Surrounding Area
At the eastern end of Mechanics Bay, Beach Road turns into Parnell Rise. Here, a major intersection is crossed by a metal railway viaduct. The road to the north is The Strand. It follows the shoreline of the reclaimed St George's Bay. The road to the south is Stanley Street. It turns into Grafton Road as it goes up the hill towards the hospital and Auckland Domain. Stanley Street is named after Mrs. Stanley. She lived in the area in the 1850s and ran a well-known girls' school.
On the corner of Stanley Street and Parnell Rise is the Strand Hotel. This building is almost hidden by the busy intersection. The railway viaduct also passes very close to it. When the Strand Hotel was built in the 1840s, it was called the Swan Hotel. It stood right on the quayside as a waterfront pub. Just opposite it, on the other corner of Stanley Street, was the Native Hostel.
Long before Europeans arrived, Māori beached their wakas on the wide, flat beach here. From Auckland's founding in 1840 until the late 20th century, this piece of land was kept for their use. The hostel buildings from the 1800s disappeared in the 1970s. They were replaced by a depot for the New Zealand Post Office.
