Мангере: История земли и народа Тамаки Маори

Central Māngere was traditionally known by the name Taotaoroa, or "The Extensive Plains". The oldest known feature is the Boggust Park Crater, which erupted an estimated 130,000 years ago, while the most recent feature is Waitomokia, which erupted around 20,300 years before the present. The low lying volcanic features of the area, such as the Māngere Lagoon, Crater Hill, and Pukaki Lagoon were collectively known by the name Nga Tapuwae a Mataoho ("The Sacred Footprints of Mataoho") to Tāmaki Māori peoples, referring to the deity who was involved in their creation. A number of waterways are found in the area, including the Tararata Creek and Harania Creek which drain into the Māngere Inlet in the north, and the Pūkaki Creek and Waokauri Creek in the south.

The first evidence of Tāmaki Māori in the coastal Māngere area comes from the 14th century, with evidence of the first settlements later in the 15th century. The Pūkaki Creek formed an important part of the Waokauri / Pūkaki portage, connecting the Manukau Harbour and Tāmaki River via Papatoetoe, and was often used by Tāmaki Māori to avoid the Te Tō Waka and Karetu portages, controlled by the people who lived at Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond. Much of the coastal Manukau Harbour area was farmed using Polynesian stonefield agricultural techniques, such as the Ōtuataua Stonefields at Ihumātao. In the early 18th century, Te Pane o Mataaho / Māngere Mountain was a major pā for the Waiohua, a confederacy of Tāmaki Māori iwi. The mountain complex may have been home to thousands of people, with the mountain acting as a central place for rua (food storage pits). Paramount chief Kiwi Tāmaki stayed at Māngere seasonally, when it was the time of year to hunt sharks in the Manukau Harbour. The southern slopes of Te Pane o Mataaho / Māngere Mountain were known as Taotaoroa, an extensive garden that sat between wetlands, and fed by the waters of three streams: Te Ararata (Tararata Creek), the Harania Creek and the Ōtaki Creek, a tributary of the Tāmaki River. After the battle, most Waiohua fled the region, although many of the remaining Waiohua warriors regrouped at Te Pane o Mataaho. The warriors strew pipi shells around the base of the mountain to warn against attacks, but Te Taoū warriors covered the pipi shells with dogskin cloaks to muffle the sound, and raided the pā at dawn. An alternate name for the mountain, Te Ara Pueru ("the dogskin cloak path"), references this event. After the events of this war, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, a hapū created by the members of Te Taoū who remained near the Tāmaki isthmus, who intermarried with defeated members of Waiohua, settled the region. Originally the iwi were based on Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill, but after the death of paramount chief Tūperiri (circa 1795), the Māngere Bridge area and Onehunga became permanent kāinga (settlements) for Ngāti Whātua. The location was chosen because of the good quality soils for gardening, resources from the Manukau Harbour, and the area acting as a junction for surrounding trade routes. Māngere Onehunga remained the principal residence of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei until the 1840s, before the iwi moved to Ōrākei. By the 19th Century, most Tāmaki Māori peoples moved away from fortified pā and favoured kāinga closer to resources and transport routes. A kāinga called Te Ararata was found near modern central Māngere along the banks of the Tararata Creek, and the central Māngere area was used as an area for growing food, medicine and plants for weaving. Fairburn was criticised for the sheer size of the purchase, and in 1842 the Crown significantly reduced the size of his land holdings, and the Crown partitioned much of the land for European settlers. inviting Lieutenant Governor William Hobson to settle in Auckland, hoping this would protect the land and people living in Tāmaki Makaurau. In the winter of 1840, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei moved the majority of the iwi to the Waitematā Harbour, with most iwi members resettling to the Remuera Ōrākei area, closer to the new European settlement at Waihorotiu (modern day Auckland CBD). A smaller Ngāti Whātua presence remained at Māngere Onehunga, as well as members of Te Uringutu, and the western banks of the Waokauri Creek were reserved by the Crown as a native settlement in the 1850s, around the Te Ākitai Waiohua kāinga. Until the 1860s, the Māori population of the Manukau Harbour and Waikato areas produced goods to sell or barter at the port of Onehunga. During this period, the Māori population of Māngere was significantly larger than the European population.

In 1958, the Mangere Aerodrome was chosen by the New Zealand Government as the site of a new purpose built airport, to replace the RNZAF Base Auckland at Whenuapai served as the civilian airport for Auckland. The Auckland Airport opened in 1966. In 1962, central Māngere was chosen as a location for a large scale state housing development. This followed Glen Innes and Ōtara as the third large scale state housing development in Auckland aimed a low income families, centred around a retail and community centre. In 1997, State Highway 20 (commonly known as the Southwestern Motorway) extended south to Massey Road. The entire Western Ring Route project, connecting the Northwestern Motorway to the Southern Motorway was completed in 2017. In the 2010s, discussions began to create a light rail connection between the Auckland city centre to Māngere. After the 2023 New Zealand general election, plans for light rail to Māngere were placed on hold.

The first local government in the area was the Mangerei Highway Board, which formed in 1862. Māngere is a part of the Māngere Ōtāhuhu local board area. The residents of Māngere elect members of the Māngere Ōtāhuhu Local Board, as well as two councillors from the Manukau ward to sit on the Auckland Council.

The Māngere Arts Centre Ngā Tohu o Uenuku is an Auckland Council owned and operated performing arts venue and gallery space. The Mangere East Hawks rugby league club is based in Māngere at the Walter Massey Park. The Manukau Rovers RFC rugby union club is also based in Māngere and competes in the Auckland Premier Competition. The Mangere United football club is also based in Māngere and competes in the Auckland Football and NZ Football National League Competitions.

The original Māngere Bridge was built to link Mangere with Onehunga to its north while the isthmus of Auckland reaches its narrowest point, further to the east at Ōtāhuhu. Later, it provided a more direct route for traffic to and from Auckland Airport. Construction of a new bridge was the subject of one of New Zealand's longest running industrial disputes, from 1978 until 1980. The bridge was finally completed in 1983. The Southwestern Motorway (State Highway 20), one of the two motorways running south from the isthmus, runs across the bridge and through Māngere. Passenger train Southern and Eastern Line services run along the eastern edge of Māngere, stopping at Middlemore railway station. Further north at Massey Road is Māngere railway station, closed in 2011. Frequent bus services (15 mins schedules) connect Māngere Town Centre to Sylvia Park via Ōtāhuhu railway station (route 32) and to Botany Town Centre via Papatoetoe railway station and Ōtara (route 31). Connections can be made with Onehunga, Auckland Airport and Manukau Bus Station on (route 380) Note: The 313 runs on a more direct route between Onehunga, Māngere, Papatoetoe and Manukau but services are at 30 min frequencies.

Mangere College is a secondary school (years 9–13) with a roll of students. Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate School is an intermediate school (years 7–8) with a roll of students. Mangere Central School and Viscount School are full primary schools (years 1–8) with rolls of and students, respectively. Jean Batten School and Nga Iwi School are contributing primary schools (years 1–6) with rolls of and students, respectively. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Māngere is a Māori language area school (years 1–13) with a roll of students. Al Madinah School is an area school (years 1–13) and Zayed College for Girls is a secondary school (years 7–13) with rolls of and students, respectively. They are state integrated Islamic schools on adjacent sites. All these schools except for Zayed College are coeducational. Rolls are as of