Wellsford

Wellsford (Whakapirau) is a town on the Northland Peninsula in the northern North Island of New Zealand. It is the northernmost major settlement in the Auckland Region, and is 77 km northwest of the Auckland CBD. It is a major regional centre, being located at the junction of State Highways 1 and 16, almost halfway between Auckland and the Northland city of Whangārei.

The eastern Kaipara Harbour has been settled by Māori since the 13th or 14th centuries, who utilised the inland forests and marine resources of the Kaipara Harbour. The area became home to the Ngāti Whātua collective Te Uri-o-Hau by the mid-17th century, with hapū including Ngāti Mauku, Ngāti Tahuhu and Ngāti Rongo being established from the descendants of Haumoewhārangi, and by strategic marriages with Te Kawerau hapū.

Wellsford was established by the Albertlanders in 1862, a group of Baptist tradespeople and farmers from the Birmingham area who settled the southern Oruawharo River, developing into a timber and kauri gum. By the early 20th century, the area developed into a regional centre for dairy farming, in part due to the opening of Wellsford railway station in 1909, linking the town to Auckland.

Etymology
The settlement was originally known by its Māori name Whakapirau, which is the name of the local creek flowing into the Kaipara Harbour. The settlers disliked the name, which they interpreted to mean "stinking canoe", and began searching for a new name. The name was changed to Wellsford at a public meeting sometime between the late 1860s and early 1870s. The name was suggested by resident D.R. Lester, allegedly by creating an acronym from the surnames of settler families in the area. The earliest known references in print to Wellsford date to 1874. The modern site of Wellsford township was often referred to as the Gum Ridge in the 1870s.

Geography


Wellsford is close to a narrowing of the Northland Peninsula caused by an arm of the Kaipara Harbour on the west coast extending inland for 20 km from the body of the harbour, stretching to within 15 km of the east (Pacific Ocean) coast.

The town is located on hilltops at the junction between State Highway 1 and State Highway 16. The upper reaches of the Whakapirau Creek are located to the north of the town, while southern Wellsford is in the catchment of the Hōteo River. The Whakapirau Creek is a tributary of the Oruawharo River, an arm of the Kaipara Harbour.

The highest point in the town is a 135 m hill located east of the junction of Matheson Road and Worthington Road.

Māori history


The Kaipara Harbour has been settled by Māori since around the 13th or 14th centuries. Ngāti Whātua traditions tell of the Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi migratory waka arriving at the Kaipara Harbour. Some of the crew members, including Rongomai, Mawete and Po, settled at Tāporapora on the western Okahukura Peninsula, with the descendants of Toi, who were already living in the area. Other early known settlers in the eastern Kaipara area include descendants of Te Tahinga, Te Tahuhu and Kura, sons of Hotunui of the Tainui migratory waka. Ngāti Tahinga, who descend from Te Tahinga, settled the Oruawharo River area.

People of the eastern Kaipara Harbour moved between different kāinga, based on what resources were seasonally available, including the marine resources of the Kaipara Harbour and inland forest resources. The upper Oruawharo River was linked by an overland path (ara) to the Mangawhai Harbour to the northeast.

In the mid-17th century, the warrior Maki migrated from the Kāwhia Harbour to his ancestral home in the Auckland Region. Maki conquered and unified many of the Tāmaki Māori tribes, including those of the West Auckland, the North Shore, and unified these peoples under the name Te Kawerau. Ngāti Manuhiri formed as a tribal identity along the Hōteo River, when Maki's son Manuhiri migrated northeast along the river to the Whangateau Harbour area.

Ngāti Whātua migration, Musket Wars
By the mid-18th century, Ngāti Whātua peoples of Northland migrated south to the Kaipara Harbour. The northern and eastern Kaipara, including Wellsford, were controlled by Te Uri-o-Hau, a Ngāti Whātua tribal grouping led by Haumoewhārangi. Ngāti Rongo developed as a hapū in the area through the union between Haumoewhārangi's granddaughter Moerangaranga and Maki's son Ngāwhetu, and Ngāti Manuhiri developed ties with Te Uri-o-Hau. Te Uri-o-Hau, including the hapū Ngāti Mauku and Ngāti Tahuhu, lived seasonally along the Oruawharo River.

In the 1820s during the Musket Wars, the eastern Kaipara was depopulated, as people sought refuge in other parts of the country. Te Uri-o-Hau and Ngāti Rango gradually returned to the area by the late 1830s.

Early colonial era


The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, among whom the rangatira Te Rōha of Te Uri-o-Hau was a signatory. The banks of the Oruawharo River were purchased by the Crown in 1860, followed by the Hoteo Block to the south in 1868. A native land reserve was established at Paraheke (near modern-day Wharehine) on the southern shores of the Oruawharo River for Uri-o-Hau, which was alienated through land sales between 1869 and 1892. Wesleyan missionary William Gittos was assigned to the Oruawharo River in 1856, moving after a short period, later being assigned to the Otamatea River as the Māori population increased to the north.

Under a Special Settlement Scheme by the Government, the Oruawharo Block became a planned settlement, predominantly settled by Baptist tradespeople and farmers from the Birmingham area, who settled between 1862 and 1865 at Tāpora, Port Albert and Wellsford. These settlers called themselves the Albertlanders, after Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort. They were a "breakaway group from the Anglican Church looking for a new world". Wellsford was originally known by the name Whakapirau, and settlers established a settlement between the Whakapirau Stream and the eastern borders of the Oruawharo Block.

Initial industry at Whakapirau was dominated by the timber trade, and in 1864 Nicholson's timber mill was established on the southern banks of the Oruawharo River. Kauri gum diggers' camps were established across the area in the 1870s, including a 500 acre area called the Wayby Kauri Gum Reserve that was set aside for the practice. The modern Wellsford township site was also dug for kauri gum, and was often referred to as The Gum Ridge. Members of Te Uri-o-Hau traded and intermingled with the Alberton settlers. The settlement's modern name, Wellsford, was likely adopted in the early 1870s.

In 1885, the Crown purchased the Pakiri Block from Ngāti Manuhiri, an area that included the areas immediately adjacent to Wellsford. This led to the expansion of Wellsford to the south, away from the Whakapirau Stream.

Establishment of the railway, modern development


By 1900, the timber and kauri gum trades had begun to recede, and settlers turned to dairy farming as a primarily source of income. The Wayby Co-operative Dairy Company established in 1902. In 1909, the North Auckland Line was extended north to Wellsford. This led to economic development in Wellsford, especially dairy farming and sheep farming operations. During this period, the town gradually moved away from the shores of the Whakapirau Stream, with the new centre of Wellsford developing near the train station.

Dairy farming in the region intensified further with the establishment of better roads in the 1930s. As roads improved, the town developed as a service stop for people travelling between Auckland and Whangārei along State Highway 1. Passenger train services to Wellsford ceased in 1975. In 1979, Irwin Industrial Tools was established in Wellsford, constructing circular saw-blades and growing to be a major local employer, before closing in 2009.

The local Ōruawharo Marae is a traditional meeting ground for Te Uri-o-Hau and the Ngāti Whātua hapū of Ngāti Mauku and Ngāti Tahuhu. It includes the Rangimārie meeting house. In 1990, the Albertland Heritage Museum opened in Wellsford.

By the 21st century, tourism and lifestyle blocks has increasingly drawn people to Wellsford. The Auckland Northern Motorway is planned to be extended from Warkworth to Wellsford in the future, and housing developments in the 2020s have been predicted to increase the size of the town by more than 800 houses.

Demographics
Wellsford is described by Statistics New Zealand as a small urban area. It covers 4.72 km2 and had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2.

Before the 2023 census, the town had a smaller boundary, covering 4.55 km2. Using that boundary, Wellsford had a population of 1,929 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 216 people (12.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 258 people (15.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 654 households, comprising 984 males and 948 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female. The median age was 34.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 447 people (23.2%) aged under 15 years, 384 (19.9%) aged 15 to 29, 777 (40.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 327 (17.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 79.5% European/Pākehā, 24.4% Māori, 5.3% Pacific peoples, 6.1% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 17.3, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 50.4% had no religion, 36.5% were Christian, 3.0% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.1% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.8% were Buddhist and 1.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 135 (9.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 381 (25.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $25,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 138 people (9.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 681 (46.0%) people were employed full-time, 213 (14.4%) were part-time, and 66 (4.5%) were unemployed.

Education
Rodney College is a secondary (years 9–13) school with a roll of students. Wellsford School is a full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of students. Rodney College's Board of Trustees was dismissed in August 2008 and a Ministry of Education commissioner appointed. By 2016, the college was performing well.

Living Way Christian School closed at the end of 2018 due to falling rolls.

Wellsford, Tauhoa, Pākiri, Tāpora, Tomarata and Mangawhai Primary Schools all cater for students from year 1–8, and collectively contribute to the annual in take of roughly 80 year 9 students at Rodney College.

All the schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of

Sport
Being a rural town, sport plays a big part in Wellsford's day-to-day life with rugby, soccer, netball, cricket, tennis and athletics being amongst the more popular sports played. The Wellsford Golf Club is popular among the locals and also houses squash courts. Rollerskating, archery and bowling, (indoors and outdoors) are also available, while equestrian is also popular in the area.

Local government
With the abolition of the provinces of New Zealand in 1876, Wellsford became part of the newly formed Rodney County. From 1989 to 2010, Wellsford was part of Rodney District.

In November 2010, all city and district councils in the Auckland Region were merged into a single unitary authority, Auckland Council, with Warkworth in the Rodney Local Board area. Electors in Wellsford vote for the seven-member Rodney Local Board, and also a Rodney ward councillor, who represents the area on the Auckland Council.