Pakuranga

The suburb's name is Māori for battle of the sunlight. This peculiar name is the result of a legend about a battle between mythical nocturnal creatures. The battle raged fiercely until a Māori priest caused the sun to rise earlier than expected. Caught by surprise in the rays of the sun, the monsters perished. Pakuranga itself had a low Māori population in the early days due to the swampy nature of much of the land. Two prominent pa were at Pidgeon Mountain and Panmure. During the attacks by Ngapuhi in the Musket wars (1805-1830s) most of the population were killed or fled south.

Today,  Pakuranga is a mostly residential suburb, with low levels of industry. It centres around the main shopping centre where the library is situated, as well as the cultural centre, Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts.  The offices of the Howick Board of the new Auckland council are situated in Pakuranga