Puketutu Island / Te Motu a Hiaroa sits in the Manukau Harbour, connected to the suburb of Māngere and the Auckland mainland by a causeway. The island is a dormant volcano, formed by eruptions around 18,000 years ago. The island was originally land-bound, but rising sea levels 7,000 years ago, following the last ice age, transformed it into an island.
The island has long been important to Māori, with two names: Puketutu refers to its hills and the poisonous native shrub (tutu). Te Motu a Hiaroa means the island of Hiaroa and refers to a Māori ancestor who arrived in the harbour on the Tainui waka around 800 years ago.
At the time of first arrival, there were several small volcanic cones and hills, which were used for the construction of pā and the establishment of tuahu (altars). The lava flows and soil were similar to those at the nearby Ōtuataua Stonefields in Ihumātao and were gardened for kūmura and other cultivars. From its earliest settlement, the island was closely associated with traditional Māori mātauranga and tikanga, and was known as a place of learning. Today, it is considered sacred to Tainui and Te Waiohua iwi and related hapū.
In 1846, Dr Henry Weekes settled on Puketutu Island, inspired by Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Local Māori supported Weekes, building a whare and then a European-style house. Weekes attempted to farm the island, but this endeavour was a flop due to multiple mishaps, and eventually, he moved back to the mainland and sold the island. Sir Henry Kelliher, a founder of Dominion Breweries, owned the island from the 1950s. He used it as a private residence and as a stud, raising champion bulls and racing horses, including Cardigan Bay and Easton Light. In the 1950s, several of the island’s peaks were quarried for fill to extend Auckland Airport and to develop the adjacent Māngere wastewater oxidation ponds. The highest peak survived and is the one you can see from a distance today.
Since then, it has been a lengthy and gradual process to restore the island. After Kelliher died in the 1990s, the Kelliher Charitable Trust proposed using biosolids from the Māngere wastewater treatment plant to restore the island to its pre-quarry state. Watercare subsequently acquired the island and transferred ownership to Te Motu a Hiaroa (Puketutu Island) Charitable Trust, representing 13 iwi and hapū with ancestral ties to the island. The trust now oversees its future development, with a focus on public access, ecological restoration, and cultural renewal.
Visitors can explore the island’s northeast and southeast coasts, following roads that run from the end of the causeway alongside the harbour and shallow lagoons teeming with birdlife. The centre of the island remains closed to the public, as restoration continues, but the open margins offer enough for a rewarding stop on a walking or cycling trip. The causeway also passes by shallow lagoons that were built and used for sewage treatment. Today, these are a favourite feeding ground for waterbirds, including numerous exotic black swans and geese.
To visit Puketutu Island on foot or by cycle, follow the Watercare Coastal Walkway south from Māngere Lagoon until you reach the causeway. From there, head west along the shared track on the south side of the causeway to the island. Return the same way to reconnect with the coastal path toward the Ōtuataua Stonefields. You can also access Island Road, which is on the north side of the causeway, by car from Mark Ford Drive. Park at the west end of the causeway and explore from there on foot.
