Howick Village (www.howickvillage.co.nz) is regarded by some as Auckland’s “most historically conscious place” due to the relatively numerous remaining heritage buildings and other historical remnants from its early European settlement past.

All Saints Church

All Saints Church stands proudly on the corner of Selwyn Rd and Picton Street.   The oldest building in East Auckland, it was built in 1847 in time for the arrival of the first European settlers to the area, the Fencibles.

The adjacent graveyard is the resting place of many well-known Auckland personalities and is a Howick village icon.

For a comprehensive experience enjoy a walk and discover wider Howick Village’s history following our brochure Historic Walk Brochure. 

For some interesting local anecdotes download Howick’s Heritage Mobile App and take the Main Street Stroll:  https://stqry.app/projects/970 and listen as you walk and discover the history of Picton Street and some of the nearby landmarks through a range of historic images, interactive maps and audio commentary.

Howick is a thriving hub with numerous eateries, galleries, and high-end retail shops perfect for some retail therapy.  A few blocks away you can visit a great factory shop for your possum and Merino knitwear,

Close to three beaches, Mellons Bay, Howick and Cocklebay, and with views and scenery to rival the best, Howick is a great place to visit.

Uxbridge Arts & Culture

In the centre of Howick is the Uxbridge Arts & Culture, founded in 1981, when the former Howick Borough Council purchased the Uxbridge Presbyterian Church and associated buildings. The Council facilitated the establishment of the Uxbridge Community Projects, an incorporated society, to operate the facilities for the community, providing arts and cultural activities. Uxbridge now attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually to its exhibitions, classes, programmes and events and more.

Nearby is the Emilia Maud Nixon Garden of Memories, a unique reserve situated in a garden setting. The garden was established by Emilia Maud Nixon (1870-1962) to promote goodwill between all peoples by fostering understanding of the early settlers, pioneer women and the traditions of Maori, particularly Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

Howick Village Market

Howick Village Markets in Picton Street are on every Saturday from 8am-12.30 pm for fresh food, plants and original gifts. And while you are there, discover the history of Picton Street and nearby historical landmarks with the Howick Local Board’s free interactive walking app, Howick’s Heritage. Search “Howick’s Heritage” in your app store.

 Stockade Hill

At the top of Howick Village is the Stockade Hill reserve, the site of a stockade probably built in 1862, for the defence of homesteaders against the perceived Maori threat during the New Zealand Wars.

Howick is just minutes from a number of picturesque swimming beaches including Mellons Bay, Howick Beach and Cockle Bay.  Separating Howick from rural Whitford is the Mangemangeroa Reserve with its many walking tracks, boardwalk, and fantastic views of the Whitford Estuary.

Mangemangeroa Walkway

Mangemangeroa Walkway’s main entrance is at 108 Somerville Road, Howick. It is not a circular route as you can go north to Cockle Bay or south towards Hayley Lane from this starting point.

The Mangemangeroa Valley has beautiful lookouts and is steeped in Maori and early European history. The walkway runs through native bush, past mudflats, and some boardwalk tracks, some parts can be muddy with some hilly farmland often dotted with cows. There is also some coastal hill climbing, and a steep staircase if you wish to leave at the Shelly Park Cruising Club. Ferries used to manoeuvre through the creek but now it’s home to mangroves, crabs and hosts of birds.

The full walk can take in excess of 3 hours and is suitable for people with good walking fitness. The views from the top of the ridge down the valley to the estuary are stunning. https://mangemangeroa.org.nz/

Polish Heritage Trust Museum

Situated a 15-minute walk out of Howick Village this Museum offers exhibitions, films, and workshops celebrating Polish traditions, customs, heroes and war history.  Their Facebook page gives information on upcoming displays and events. The Polish Heritage Trust Museum was established by one of the original Polish refugees who arrived in New Zealand and is open Tuesday-Friday 10 am-4 pm, and Sunday 12 pm-5pm.

Howick developed slowly on land formerly occupied by the Ngai Tai tribe. They had lived there for around 300 years with pa (fortified villages) at Ohuia Rangi (Pigeon Mountain), Te Waiarohia (Musick Point) and Tuwakamana (Cockle Bay).)

The Howick, Pakuranga, and Whitford areas were part of the Fairburn claim. William Thomas Fairburn, with his wife and family, established a Church Missionary Society Mission Station at Maraetai in 1836. The local Maori insisted the Fairburns buy the 40,000 acres (162 km²) between the Tamaki and Wairoa Rivers to prevent attack by the Ngapuhi and Waikato tribes. As an act of Christian peacemaking, Fairburn reluctantly bought the land with his life savings.

European settlement began in 1847 when three companies of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles were assigned to a defence post in Howick. They were retired soldiers enlisted to serve for seven years in exchange for a cottage and an acre of land. Howick was the largest of the Fencible settlements, with 804 people in three companies in 1848. All Saints (Anglican) Church was built in 1847 and is East Auckland’s oldest building.- details about the history about the organ in All Saints Church below.  Other old buildings are now in Howick Historical Village.

Howick Village has retained much of its original charm, still easily identified with an “English Village”.  Many original buildings are still in use along Picton Street and surrounding roads.  Plaques at these locations indicate their historical significance.

Stockade Hill is of historic significance, with a stockade built for the protection of the settlers.  The stockade was built of corrugated iron and has been removed.  The remnants of this fortification are the ditches still visible that surrounded the stockade.  Stockade Hill is more recently a War Memorial, and this location is used for many community events like Christmas Carols by Candleligh and Anzac Day services.

After the 1860s New Zealand wars, cropping became the main activity, with wheat and oats the major exports. In 1952 Howick became a borough, after which it and Bucklands Beach experienced rapid growth, becoming affluent commuter suburbs of Auckland. From the 1980s new migrants started arriving and today the suburb very much reflects the multi-cultural face of Auckland.

For those keen on some historical detail :

Tracker Organ at All Saints Selwyn Church 

Wikipedia tells us that ” “Selwyn” refers to the Selwyn churches, a group of 19th-century Anglican churches and chapels in the Auckland region, named after Bishop Selwyn who inspired their construction. The majority were built in wood in the neo-gothic style and many were designed by the architect Frederick Thatcher“.  There are a number of this style of church within the East Auckland region.

The Tracker Organ currently in the All Saints Church has its own history, with details supplied below by Neil Guyan who was the organist at All Saints Howick for 40yrs and Helen Lukman-Fox, the current organist.

It was built sometime in 1800 (no record of the exact date nor the name of the company that originally built it) and came from Scotland or England. After it reached NZ it was bought and used by Knoxx Church Parnell.

Some time later it was bought by the Congregational Church in Mt Eden. When they decided to get a bigger instrument, the organ was bought by John Hootton, for his house that’s also at Mount Eden.

After John died, Arthur Hooton (his son) donated it to All Saints church in 1936. Arthur wasn’t a religious man, but he fell in love with a woman who went to that church and possibly tried to impress her by donating that instrument to the vicar, to use by the church. We have no idea whether he managed to win her affection after his generous offer.

The organ was rebuilt in 1979 by Crofts (a local NZ organ-building company). The 8′ stop on Swell was changed into Fugara 4′ to make it more usable.

Ken Aplin, now in his 90s, is the man who tunes and maintains the organ –  he built and maintains the big organ at the modern All Saints Church.

Technical info :

2 manuals tracker with 6 speaking stops, 2 couplers, tremulant

Great: Open Diapason 8′, Lieblich Gedackt 8′, Walt Flute 4′

Swell: Dulciana 8′,  Fugara 4′

Pedal: Subbass 16′

Unfortunately, there’s not much written record about it.

Shamrock Cottage – the second oldest building in East Auckland

Historic detail as displayed in Shamrock Cottage.

The land on which the cottage was built was acquired from the local Ngaitai Iwi and built from local timber.  The roof was a wooden shingle and the bricks were made in Auckland.  The house frames were kauri and manufactured overseas.

The Inn was decorated with expensive wallpaper.  The kitchen and bar were bright salmon pink, with a passageway a deep blue and the front room dark tan.  The building exterior was white with black trim.

The garden held an abundance of fruit trees and stables for 14 horses.  Bricks for the patsh were made in Bucklands Beach by Hattaways Brickworks.  The first well in Howick is found here.  No longer operational it is over 40 ft deep with the last 6 ft cut through sandstone.

The newspaper was used to provide insulation and during the restoration of the cottage copies of an 1866 New Zealand Herald were found lining the walls under 12 layers of wallpaper.

Wet Canteen

The Shamrock Cottage was first patronized in 1847 as a wet canteen for the newly arrived Fencible Corps.  It is speculated that the building was also intended to be used as a refuge in case of a Maori attack.

The Royal Hotel

The following year Benjamin Lewis was given the site on a Crown Land grant and opened the Royal Hotel on 28^th July 1848.  The bar was situated in the front room on the seaward side.  The Royal Hotel became one of three public houses available to the fencible community – Howick Arms on Howe St and the Prince of Wales, cnr of Wellington and Gibraltar Sts being the other two.

The Inn developed a reputation as “The Honeymoon Hotel” and became a fashionable place for large numbers of couples to visit from Auckland.  During the restoration pencilled loved notes were found on the walls.

A visiting clergyman Rev. W. Cotton remarked that the best wines in or around Auckland could be found at the Royal Hotel.  The first vicar of Howick, Ref Vicesimus Lush, wrote “The inn provided the only light seen from Howick Beach at night”.

In 1860 Mr Lewis died bequeathing the Inn to his wife and family.

1867 to 1894

Mr Thomas McInnes purchased the cottage from the Lewis family and opened a new pub named The Thistle and Shamrock in 1867.  His name appears on the July 1869 Provincial Publicans License List as licensed to remain open until 10 pm.

In 1876 Mc McInnes sold to a Mr Harp before the cottage again changed hands in 1884 to Mr Hugh K Gilmour.  Mr Gilmour arrived in Tauranga from Glasgow in 1881 and owned a “Corn-brush and Steam Broom” factory in Auckland.  Gilmour, whose family ran the Smith and Caughey’s department store in Newmarket, became a prominent Howick businessman and later chaired the Howick Motor Bus Company.

On 25^th April 1894 Captain William Daldy purchased the building from Gilmour.  He gave the building its current name in honour of his first command, a schooner named the Shamrock.  Daldy was a highly influential man.  He was the first chairman of the Auckland Harbour Board, a Trustee for the Bank of New Zealand, Chairman of the South British Insurance Company and founder of the Auckland Fire Brigade, and parliamentary representative for Auckland.  He was the supervisor for all waterways between Western Springs and Auckland.  Daldy St in central Auckland is named in his honour.

The cottage became the holiday home of Daldy, his second wife Amy Daldy and his eight orphaned grandchildren who were in the couple’s care.  Mrs Daldy was also a prominent public figure and became a member of the New Zealand Women’s National Council petitioning for women’s rights and suffrage.  She was often seen driving around Auckland in a buggy with his grandchildren collecting signatures for petitions.

As well as campaigning for universal suffrage Mrs Daldy also worked to prevent discriminatory immigration laws and sought equal pay and education opportunities for women.  The legacies she left enabled the present-day Auckland YWCA hostel to be built.

Mr Hugh Gilmore purchased the cottage back in 1916.  The cottage changed hands a number of times before coming into ownership of Mr R A Edwards and Mr Chas Edwards in 1920 as a beach cottage.  The cottage remained in the family until it was gifted to the community in 1968.

The Restoration Project

In 1967 the building was offered for sale by the Edwards Estate. The Howick Historical Society and Historic Places Trust immediately began pursuing a means to purchase and restore the cottage.  The following year the Edwards family, Sir William and Lady Stevenson and the Litten Brothers generously gifted the building and land to the people of Howick.  Funds for restoration came from the Howick Borough Council and the local community.  At the time the building was severely lacking in modern amenities, with only a single tap on the back veranda, an outdoor toilet and one electricity socket.  The restoration was a collaborative effort by the Howick Returned Servicemen’s Association and the Howick Historical Society.  The RSA built the existing kitchen and toilet block to enable the cottage to operate as a restaurant, while the Historical Society restored the building to its original footprint.

The well was reopened on 30^th September during an RSA working bee.  It was found to contain broken buckets, lanterns, a man’s watch and a child’s bangle.  Metal rods were placed over the well at ground level and the upper section was constructed.

In late 1969 sisters Merle Jenkins, Enid Badeley, Gwen Linden and Val Skeet opened a tearoom and craft centre in the cottage.

The building is a Category II building protected under the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.