Location of Birkenhead.

The sugar refinery, a local landmark.

Birkenhead is a suburb of North Shore, one of several cities in the Auckland metropolitan area in northern New Zealand. It is located on the north shore of the Waitemata Harbour, four kilometres northwest of the Auckland city centre. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 504 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (589 × 701 pixel, file size: 97 KB, MIME type: image/png)Location map of Birkenhead, New Zealand I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 504 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (589 × 701 pixel, file size: 97 KB, MIME type: image/png)Location map of Birkenhead, New Zealand I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 757 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 757 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... North Shore City (orange). ... Schematic map of Auckland. ... Auckland Harbour Bridge crossing the harbour. ...

Birkenhead was a city until amalgamated into North Shore City; prior to that it was a suburb. As a city and suburb it included areas known as: Birkenhead Point, Highbury, Chatswood, Verrans Corner, Birkdale and Beach Haven. Since amalgamation took place, it is less clear whether "Birkenhead" includes Verrans Corner, Birkdale and Beach Haven.

The southern part of the suburb is known as Birkenhead Point and lies on a promontory between Chelsea Bay and Little Shoal Bay, one kilometre to the west of the northern approaches to the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Northcote and Highbury to the north and Chelsea and Chatswood to the west. The bridge from Watchman Island, west of it. ... Northcote is a suburb of North Shore, one of several cities in the Auckland metropolitan area in northern New Zealand. ...

In 1883 a farm estate called "Mayfield" was auctioned and subsequently subdivided for housing sections. Birkenhead was probably named after the town of the same name across the river mersey from the city of Liverpool,developed during the middle of the 19th century by ship builder "John Laird".The English Birkenhead was noted for its elegant & expensive houses, its sea views and its charmingly laid out picturesque park copied by new york's central park.The developers of the Auckland Birkenhead obviously wanted to cash in on this image.

Birkenhead was one of several areas on the North Shore popular as a location for the homes of successful middle class people. These men, usually professionals or business owners, would use the Auckland Harbour Ferry Services to commute to Auckland. The wharves at Devonport, Northcote and Birkenhead were very busy until the construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1959 changed things forever. The ferry to Birkenhead was resumed in the 1980s and since the increase in congestion on the bridge, the usage of the Birkenhead Ferry has grown considerably.

Famous people

• Clement Lindley Wragge, the meteorologist who began the tradition of using people's names for cyclones lived his final years at 8 Awanui Street, Birkenhead and planted palms in his, and neighbours', gardens.
• Hayward family - Henry the father was an entrepreneur - his house stands on Hinemoa Street, Birkenhead Point;
• son Rudall was an early NZ film-maker (eg Rewi's Last Stand - see Cinema_of_New_Zealand)
• Hone Tuwhare, the poet, was briefly a Birkenhead Borough Councillor

Portrait of Clement Lindley Wragge. ... This article is about the meteorological phenomenon. ... New Zealand cinema refers to films made by New Zealand-based production companies in New Zealand. ... Hone Tuwhare (born in Kaikohe, Northland in 1922) is a noted New Zealand poet of Maori ancestry. ...

References

• The Heart of Colonial Auckland, 1865-1910. Terence Hodgson. Random Century NZ Ltd 1992.
• The Story of Birkenhead. Margaret McClure. Birkenhead City Council 1987. 223 pages.