Stop 1. Half Moon Bay Ferry Terminal
Always a busy spotThere’s a supermarket here, so you can stock up with food and drink for your trip. Walk along the edge of the marina, and continue veering to your left until you come to the marina administration building.Since the earliest times of people in the Auckland isthmus, the Tāmaki River has been a significant waterway route. The headwaters of the Tāmaki River, some 10km upstream from here, mark the narrowest point in the isthmus between the two great harbours of Auckland – the Waitemata and the Manukau. There is only about 1km between the two. Māori people used this as a portage, to carry waka across from one harbour to the other. This is remembered today in the naming of Portage Road in Otahuhu.Now the Tāmaki River is an important mooring site for recreational boats, and ferries to Auckland and Waiheke dock here.
Stop 2. Half Moon Bay Marina
Boat havenCross the busy vehicular ferry access route and head along the waterfront footpath along the marine past the Buckland’s Beach Yacht Club.The name Half Moon Bay came into being in 1967, created by Unit Subdivisions Ltd for the development of the marina and nearby housing. Previously the area was called Barn Bay, and the little sandy beach was a favourite picnic area for school and church groups and Boy Scout and Girl Guide camps. It was also sometimes called Hancock’s Bay, after a long-term tenant of the farm there.Construction started on Half Moon Bay Marina in 1969 and it was opened in late 1970. The marina holds 500 berths, and they were all snapped up at the earliest opportunity. The biggest boat that can be slipped at the marina is 35 tonnes, or a length of 25m and a maximum beam of 5.5m. The marina was being developed when the surrounding suburbs were still being filled up with houses.
Stop 3. Marine industry
Looking after boatsWalk along the edge of the marina and continue veering left until you come to the marina administration building.A number of contractors in the marine servicing industry are based at Half Moon Bay Marina. The hardstand here is where many boats are repaired or maintained while out of the water. The biggest boat that can be slipped at the marina is 35 tonnes, or a length of 25m and a maximum beam of 5.5m.
Stop 4. Boardwalk
Walk to the end of Argo Drive, and to the right, behind the marina administration building, you will see a walkway heading towards Buckland’s Beach, tucked away behind the boatyards. The walkway becomes a board walk over the harbour shallows.The boardwalk was built in 2010 as a walking and cycling connection for people accessing the Half Moon Bay ferries from Bucklands Beach. There’s a viewing spot halfway along the boardwalk, where you can take a look at the boats at their moorings in Little Buckland's Beach formerly called Shark Bay, or the car ferry taking off to Waiheke Island.It’s called the Warren Boardwalk, after Ross and Shirley Warren who did a lot of good work in the community. The Māori name for the boardwalk is Te Wai O Taiki.
Stop 5. The Parade
Alfred Buckland’s estateThe boardwalk takes you to the southern end of Bucklands Beach, and The Parade, the road along the beach. Walk northwards along the beach or the sidewalk.In the late 1800s, Buckland’s Beach peninsula was the site of an out-of-town estate belonging to Alfred Buckland. Buckland’s in-town residence, Highwic, is now preserved as a heritage house in Newmarket. The large Buckland family would come out here for holidays. A substantial farmhouse nicknamed ‘The Big House’ was built on the top of the hill where the street Gulf Crest is today. Buckland experimented with farming here, running ostriches at one time. The farm had many cows, and also produced oats, wheat and barley. Pine logs were harvested from the many plantations on the peninsula. Buckland established a private horse-racing track on the flat ground between where Wharf Road and Devon Road are today. He also started the Pakuranga Hunt in 1872. The Pakuranga Hunt is still going from a base near Mercer.
Stop 6. Windsurfing
Continue northwards along the Parade.Two of New Zealand’s most famous boardsailors, siblings Bruce and Barbara Kendall grew up here, and in their youth spent much time windsurfing off this beach, honing their skills. The area of water sheltered by the sandspit is perfect for windsurfing.
Stop 7. Bucklands Beach Brickworks
Follow the Parade northwards.Just south of the Granger’s Point, where the old Bucklands Beach Yacht Club building is now, was the site of a brickworks that existed here in the 1870s. The brickworks was managed by John Granger, on behalf of an Auckland lawyer Charles Spencer. When the clay ran out here, Granger moved to Whitford, where he set up another brickworks.There is a public toilet at the old yacht club.
Stop 8. Powder hulk explosion
Continue northwards along the Parade.The hulk of the Cloud, an old sailing ship, was used as storage for blasting powder and gelignite. It blew up on 10 November, 1909 in the Tāmaki River, within sight of Bucklands Beach. The massive explosion was heard all over Auckland. Fortunately, no one was killed.
Stop 9. Bucklands Beach Subdivision
Continue northwards along the Parade.In 1918 the 'Long-Awaited Eastern Subdivision - Auckland's Riviera' was announced. Bucklands Beach sections went on sale for between 110 pounds and 350 pounds, mostly for holiday beaches.It took a while for all the sections to be built on - there was a bit of a surge after the Second World War, but the suburb was really only filled in the 1970s.
Stop 10. The Sandspit
Continue northwards along the Parade.Opposite the old Buckland’s Beach Yacht Club building , a sandspit reaches out into the Tamaki estuary. This extends from Tahuna Torea Reserve on the far shore, and is an important feeding area for shorebirds. The best view of the sandspit is from Bucklands Beach, just north of Granger's Point.Walking along The Parade, you’ll see ferries plying the Tāmaki estuary. These come from the terminal at Half Moon Bay and will either be Fullers passenger ferries heading to the downtown Auckland wharf, or the red Sealink car ferries heading to Kennedy Point on Waiheke Island.Ferries coming up the channel must slow down here, to negotiate the narrow channel between the end of the sandspit and this shore.The Waiheke-bound ferries must navigate a second narrow channel to the right at the end of Musick Point.
Stop 11. Bucklands Beach Wharf
Continue northwards along the Parade.In 1916, a wharf was built by the Devonport Steamship Company, opposite where Wharf Road is now. The wharf was used by passenger ferries, and had the advantage over the Howick wharf in that it could be accessed at all tides. Photos from 1920 show the steamer Wakatere berthed here. The Wakatere’s usual run was from Auckland to Thames, calling in at Waiheke Island on the way.
Stop 12. Geology
The first road to the right after Grangers Point is Wharf Road. To take the shorter loop, go up Wharf Road by the War Memorial Hall, and diagonally right across Hattaway Avenue, into a walkway to Waller Ave. At Waller Ave, turn right and then left into Clovelly Road. Where Clovelly Road veers left, there is a walkway to your right which you follow to Eastern Beach. Pick up the tour at Stop 19 Eastern Beach Lime Kilns.To stay with the longer Bucklands Beach loop, continue along The Parade past the public boat ramp, until it veers right at the end of the beach. At this point, turn left into Musick Point Road. Follow Musick Point Road, along the golf course, to its end at the tip of the peninsula.From the book Te Waiarohia o Ngaitai by Geoff Fairfield: “The reefs and marine platforms around the Bucklands Beach peninsula are exposures of ancient Parnell grit dating from the Miocene Age (25 million years ago). When enormous volcanoes that shaped the Coromandel Range exploded, the grit was formed from coarse sand and conglomerate cemented with silica, and flowed as a wet sediment over the bottom of the Waitemata Basin which was dry land at the time. Later, about 20 million years ago, other mighty volcanoes erupting out of the Tasman Sea near Karekare and Muriwai, drove massive chunky flows of volcanic debris over many parts of the Auckland region.“The sandstone cliffs 80-100ft high (24-30 metres) were built up from material over millions of years. The wide bands of sandstone were laid down quickly, even in a matter of days, but the mudstones seen in darker narrow bands, formed slowly over thousands of years. When the volcanic grit sediments collided with the sandstone beds, they lifted and contorted them into strange shapes and angles.”Watch marine ecologist and geologist Bruce Hayward talk about the geological features that are visible at low tide in this location in the video.
Stop 13. Te Waiarohia o Ngaitai pā
To stay with the longer Bucklands Beach loop, continue along The Parade past the public boat ramp, until it veers right at the end of the beach. At this point, turn left into Musick Point Road. Follow Musick Point Road, along the golf course, to its end at the tip of the peninsula.The peninsula end, including much of the land now taken up by the golf course was once a significant Māori pā (fortified village). In about 900 AD, the chief Ngariki built this pā, and it survived for centuries, until the raids by musket-armed Ngāpuhi from the north in the 1820s. Overlooking the entrance to the Tāmaki River, the pā was of immense strategic importance. The Ngāpuhi raids displaced the Ngaitai people to a new base at Umupuia near Clevedon.Local historian Geoff Fairfield, who wrote a book about the peninsula, theorised that food for the pā was also grown on nearby Motukorea (Browns Island).Many of the historic traces of the pā site were obliterated by earthworks for the Musick Point Radio building, and for the golf course.An option to purchase open land on Musick Point was accorded to Ngai Tai ki Tāmaki iwi in 2015 as part of their treaty settlement. The agreement included the assurance that access rights would not be changed. The name of the headland would now become Musick Point/Te Naupata. The headland is a wahi tapu (sacred place) for the iwi.
Stop 14. State houses, Musick Point/Te Naupata
Continue along Musick Point Road.A short way up Musick Point Road on the right there are three modest state houses. These, and the houses across the road, were built to accommodate people who worked at the radio station building during and soon after the Second World War.
Stop 15. Howick Golf Club
Continue along Musick Point Road.The Howick Golf Club course was developed here in 1953-4. The club had two previous locations – initially a 9-hole course established in 1934, where Shelly Park Primary School is now. Then after being in recess during the Second World War, in 1946 they built an18-hole course where Howick College is now. But crippling lease costs forced the club to look for another location.The Musick Point Radio station had 98 acres of vacant scrubland here on the point, and the golf club signed a lease with the crown for a rental of 120 pounds per year. The first game on the course they developed here was in October 1954, over 15 holes. Since then the Howick Golf Club has developed this into one of the most picturesque courses in the Auckland region.
Stop 16. Musick Point/Te Naupata views
Continue along Musick Point Road.From Musick Point/Te Naupata, great views are to be had out towards the Hauraki Gulf. In front of you is Motukorea Browns Island, with Rangitoto directly behind it. To the right of Rangitoto are Motutapu and Motuihe Isands. Beyond Motuihe you will be able to see Waiheke Island. To the left of Rangitoto are the headlands of Auckland’s North Shore. The best views are to be had from the road just before the Memorial Building.
Stop 17. Musick Point Memorial building
Continue to the end of Musick Point Road.At the end of Musick Point Road is the Musick Point Radio Station building. This was where long range aviation and shipping radio communications from Auckland was based. The radio station went into operation in 1939. This was the home of Auckland ZLF (aviation radio) until 1966, and Auckland ZLD (marine radio) until 1993.Musick Point is named after Captain Edwin C Musick, who piloted the first Pan American Airways flights by flying boat, from the USA to New Zealand in April and December 1937. In 1938 he and his crew died when their flying boat Samoan Clipper exploded in mid-air soon after becoming airborne at Pago Pago, American Samoa. The radio station building was erected as a memorial to Captain Musick and his crew.The building was opened in 1942 by the Prime Minister Peter Fraser. The architect was John Robert Blake-Kelly. The art deco building is shaped as a stylised aircraft (an obvious link to its use for aviation communications), with the long straight approach avenue being read as a ‘runway.’ Lining the avenue are smaller, more bushy pohutukawa trees from the Kermadec Islands.The building is used by the Musick Point Radio Group, which is restoring the vintage radio equipment inside. To find out more please visit the Musick Point Radio Group website, http://musickpointradio.orgAn emergency radio transmitting station was housed in a concrete bunker some way from the main building, in case it was ever hit by enemy fire.Make your way to the far side of the Radio Museum building, where you can walk down steps to sea level. At low tide you can explore the rocks here. Keep an eye on the tides as there are strong currents here. When you are ready to continue, return to the road.
Stop 18. Anticline
When you are ready to continue, proceed back along Musick Point Road, until you reach Clovelly Road, where you turn left. Follow Clovelly Road parallel to the cliff edge, until it veers right away from the waterfront, just beyond Gulf Crest road. Here there is a walkway to your left, down to the top of Eastern Beach. This is where you converge again with the shorter loop.Once down at beach level, turn right to walk along Eastern Beach. You can either stroll on the sand, or make your way along the road verge of The Esplanade in a southerly direction.On the cliffs to your left, you can see an anticline, which is a convex shape to the layers of sediment in the rock. Anticlines usually develop above thrust faults, where compression and movement in the inner crust has a significant effect of the upper rock layers.
Stop 19. Eastern Beach Lime Kilns
Continue southwards along the Esplanade.About one third of the way along Eastern Beach is the place where there were shell-lime works which operated from around 1880 to 1922. This was where stacks of seashells were burned to create lime, which was used in mortar for building. A nine metre long wharf was here, for the loading of sacks of shell-lime onto scows for transport to Auckland.
Stop 20. Playground
Continue southwards along the Esplanade.About halfway down Eastern Beach, where Hostel Acess Road joins the Esplanade, and by the Barracuda Café, there’s a children’s playground and public toilets. This was a lively area in the 1950s era with a popular camping site here.
Stop 21. Macleans Park
Continue down Eastern Beach in a SE direction.At the southern end of Eastern Beach, turn right into Maclean Park.Make your way on the walkways within the park, to Macleans Road to the south of Macleans College.Macleans Park is the largest open space in Howick – it’s 36ha in size. Dogs are permitted off leash throughout the park.The flat area of the park down by the shore is a chenier plain. A chenier is a sandy or shelly beach ridge that forms the foreshore in an area characterised by low wave energy, low gradient, muddy shoreline and abundant sediment supply.Macleans Park remembers the Maclean family, who arrived in Auckland in 1850, bringing with them cattle from Queen Victoria’s estate at Sandringham. Originally two brothers, Robert and Every Maclean, together with Robert's wife, Mary, and daughter, Ellen, migrated to Auckland. They were followed later by a younger brother, Benjamin.The homestead the Macleans built was known as Bleak House. Robert and Every successfully developed the farm at Bleak House and were well known citizens of the district. Mrs Maclean was a woman of character and energy who skillfully ran the farmhouse and tended to the sick in the area with her own home made remedies.At the farm the Macleans ground their own wheat, cured hams, and made butter and cheese. Robert Maclean was the first master of the Pakuranga Hunt.A feature of Macleans park is the 80m long dual flying fox, located near the crest of the hill just near Macleans College.
Stop 22. Macleans College
Follow the gravel path up through Macleans Park to come out at Macleans Road at the top of the hill, and just to the SE of Macleans College.Macleans College is a public co-educational school that was opened in 1980. It is one of New Zealand’s biggest high schools, with a roll of more than 2,500 students. The school is named after the Maclean family who immigrated to New Zealand in 1850, and farmed on the southern side of Macleans Road.The school was built and developed along with the surrounding suburbs.
Stop 23. Suburban walk
When you reach Macleans Road turn right to go past the front entrance to the College. Then turn left into Richard Avenue.At the T junction of Richard Avenue, turn left into Bucklands Beach Road, then first right into Loloma Drive. First right again into Marina Heights, a short dead end road. Take the right fork in the walkway in the small park below Marina Heights. The walkway goes under Argo Drive all the way to the marina where the tour started.The suburban homes around here were built in the 1960s and 1970s, and so reflect the styles of the era. They are predominantly of ‘brick and tile’ construction – a method aimed at low maintenance of the building. The tiled roofs and brick outer walls need no painting. The homes also made use of the new aluminim window joinery, again for reasons of low maintenance.
The End
When you reach Macleans Road turn right to go past the front entrance to the College. Then turn left into Richard Avenue.At the T junction of Richard Avenue, turn left into Bucklands Beach Road, then first right into Loloma Drive. First right again into Marina Heights, a short dead end road. Take the right fork in the walkway in the small park below Marina Heights. The walkway goes under Argo Drive all the way to the marina where the tour started.Return to startThank you for coming on the Bucklands Beach tour!
