Franklin District
Encyclopedia
Territorial authorities of New Zealand
Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils, and the Chatham Islands Council...
of Franklin District was abolished on 31 October 2010 and was divided between Auckland Council
Auckland Council
The Auckland Council is the council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the existing regional council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city" governed by a mayor, 20...
in the Auckland Region
Auckland Region
The Auckland Region was one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, named for the city of Auckland, the country's largest urban area. With one third of the nation's residents, it was by far the biggest population and economy of any region of New Zealand, but the second-smallest land area.On 1...
(39.82 percent by land area) to the north and Waikato
Waikato District
Waikato District is a territorial authority of New Zealand, in the northern part of Waikato Region, North Island. Waikato District is administered by the Waikato District Council, with headquarters in Ngaruawahia....
and Hauraki
Hauraki District
The Hauraki District Council is a municipality in the Waikato Region of New Zealand. The seat of the council is at Paeroa.The area covered by the district extends from the southwest corner of the Firth of Thames southeast towards Te Aroha, although that town lies beyond its boundaries...
districts in the Waikato Region (60.18 percent) to the south and east. It was administered from the town of Pukekohe
Pukekohe
Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is approximately 50 kilometres south of Auckland City, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Pukekohe...
. Before its abolition, out-going Franklin District Mayor Mark Ball proposed that Franklin district become an independent unitary authority, fulfilling both the functions of a local and regional council. However, this was rejected by Minister Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of...
.
Location and extent
The district is bounded in the north by the start of the Auckland metropolitan area and the waters of the Manukau HarbourManukau Harbour
Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and is an arm of the Tasman Sea.-Geography:...
. Awhitu Peninsula stretches up the Tasman coast to the mouth of this harbour. Here are located several holiday spots, such as Kariotahi Beach
Kariotahi Beach
Karioitahi Beach is a black sand beach located in Franklin District, near Auckland, on the west coast of New Zealand.It is a rugged and windswept environment, often used for beach activities such as surfing, fishing, horse riding, off-road motorcycling and, most notably, paragliding...
and Matakawau.
To the south, Franklin is bounded by the fertile lowlands of the Waikato Plains
Waikato Plains
The Waikato Plains are a large area of low-lying land in the northwest of the North Island of New Zealand. They are the floodplains of the Waikato River, the country's longest river....
. In the east, the land rises to the Hunua Ranges
Hunua Ranges
The Hunua Ranges form a block of hilly country to the southeast of Auckland in New Zealand's North Island. They cover some 250 square kilometres , containing 178 km² of parkland, and rise to 688 metres at Kohukohunui...
, to the east of which is the coast of the Firth of Thames
Firth of Thames
The Firth of Thames is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town of Thames lies on its southeastern coast....
. In the west is the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
. The Waikato River
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand. In the North Island, it runs for 425 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and emptying into Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake. It drains Taupo at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the...
mouth is at Port Waikato
Port Waikato
Port Waikato is on the south bank of the Waikato River at its outflow into the Tasman Sea, in northern New Zealand. Now a small town with a population of under 300, it was an important port during the New Zealand Land Wars of the 19th century...
in the south of the region. This is renowned as a good place for surfcasting
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
.
The district is mainly rural, with local settlements such as Waiuku
Waiuku
Waiuku is a country town in the Franklin District, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour...
and Tuakau
Tuakau
Tuakau is a town in the Franklin district, and is part of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand.The town serves to support local farming, and is the residence of many employees of New Zealand Steel at Glenbrook....
supporting the farming industry. One industry of note is the New Zealand Steel
New Zealand Steel
New Zealand Steel is a large steel mill located at Glenbrook, New Zealand. It uses a unique method of producing steel from ironsand, abundant on the west coast of the North Island...
steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
at Glenbrook
Glenbrook, New Zealand
Glenbrook is a rural and industrial area in the Franklin district of New Zealand.The industrial site, that of New Zealand's major steel mill, New Zealand Steel, is not located close to any towns - the surrounding countryside is occupied by huge farms...
, north of Waiuku
Waiuku
Waiuku is a country town in the Franklin District, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour...
.