Mangere

Mangere is one of the larger of the suburbs of Manukau, one of the four cities that make up the metropolitan area of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. According to the 2006 census the city had 55,266 inhabitants. Mangere is located between Favona in the north, Mangere East in the east, Pukaki Creek in the south, southwest and Ihumatao in Mangere Bridge to the northwest.

The suburb is located on flat land on the northeast coast of the Manukau Harbour to the northwest from the center of Manukau, and 15 kilometers south from the center of Auckland.

In Mangere, there are four major parts of the city: Mangere Bridge, Mangere Central, Mangere East and Favona.

The place is after Mangere Mountain, one of the largest volcanic cone Auckland, named. The name is derived from Māori hau Mangere ( lazy winds ) because the mountain protects the town from the prevailing westerly winds.

It is an important transport hub of the city and is located on State Highway 20, one of the two running from Auckland to South State Highways. The Auckland International Airport is located on the shore of the harbor south of Mangere.

In Otahuhu near Mangere the isthmus of Auckland reaches its narrowest width. For this reason, the region is a bottleneck for traffic. To address this problem, a large bridge, the Mangere Bridge, built. This is to accommodate the traffic to the south and in particular to the airport. Work on the bridge was the reason for one of the longest strikes New Zealand. This lasted from 1978 until 1980. The bridge was completed in 1983, linking Mangere with the Auckland suburb of Onehunga. An expressway through Mangere, which connects the southern entrance to the bridge to the west of Papatoetoe was completed in 1997.

Mangeres most famous citizen is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand David Lange, who was from 1977 to 1996 Member of Parliament for Mangere. Since 1996 Mangere Taito Phillip Field is, a former member of the Labour Party and independent MPs today represented in Parliament ( 2007).

The former heavyweight boxer David Tua comes from Mangere.