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Traditional Maori use
The Māori use Victoria Park bay, formally known as Waiatarau ( reflecting water), for harvest shellfish, catching flounder and gathering volcanic soil for fertilization. The bay was used for launching and storing Wakas ready for fishing trips. Many of the bays original names translated to there uses; Wai Kokota (Cockle bay), and Mangonui (big shark). -
Waitemata Harbour and Freemans Bay
Before being reclaimed, Wynyard Quarter was known as the Waitemata harbour shoreline and looked very different to what it does today. It was a mahinga kai ( a food gathering place) and many villages were built here for easy access to the water. The Freemans Bay was also known as Wai Kōtota ('The place where the cockles are harvested') and Te Koranga ('The scaffolds', referring to the racks upon which fish would be hung to dry in the sun). -
Timber Trade
Timber trade is a merchant that deals in wood for use as a building material. In the 1840s timber was a high demand wood that everyone used, especially Maori, to build wharfs and homes. Wynyard Court was used to store kauri timber, such as in Freemans bay. -
Plan of Auckland Waterfront
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Petroleum use
Petroleum is oil and gas (fossil fuel). In the 1800s people drilled into certain places in Taranaki seepages and the Moturoa fields in NZ because there were places where oil seeped out of the ground. Petroleum comes from within the ground and can be shaped in many different forms including colorful liquids or bubbling gas. When the oil is burnt it becomes the power source to fuel any moving vehicle, as well as provide heating. -
The reclamation
The western Reclamation was the development and construction of Wynyard court. The Auckland harbor board planned to expand the berthing capacity for the port. The final part of the reclamation was completed in the 1930’s. In 2005 a plan was made to turn the ports of Auckland into a harborside, this plan would carry across 25 years.