Great South Road, New Zealand

The Great South Road was the northern section of the earliest highway between Auckland and Wellington, in the North Island of New Zealand.

Great South Road

These days, long parts of Great South Road's length are urban or suburban
Length	42.9 km (26.7 mi)
Location	Auckland, New Zealand
North end	Broadway/Manukau Road
South end	Mill Road

History

Construction of the Great South Road began in 1861 during the New Zealand Wars under the orders of Governor Grey to improve supply lines through swampy and thickly forested country.[1] The road was constructed by British Army troops, including Dominic Jacotin Gamble, and provided a flow of supplies for the Waikato campaign.[2] Approximately 12,000 soldiers were involved in the construction over two years. After the wars, more peaceful uses predominated, and the road became the main social and commercial link to the growing agricultural areas south of Auckland.[3]

Much of the road between Newmarket and Drury is laid in concrete, up to 1 foot thick but is now covered with asphalt. Originally, the road was marked by milestones, but these are now all believed lost.[3] The Auckland Southern Motorway has largely superseded Great South Road as a through route, but many parts of the road are still in use, particularly the urban sections.

Route

The road begins[4] in the central Auckland suburb of Epsom, then passes through the suburbs of Greenlane, Penrose, Otahuhu, Papatoetoe, Manukau, Manurewa and Papakura. Leaving the urban sprawl, it heads south through Drury before terminating at Mill Road in Bombay and merging with the Waikato Expressway.[5]

Historically it continued, over the Bombay Hills, and followed the east bank of the Waikato River until crossing it at Ngāruawāhia. A section of State Highway 3 through Ohaupo retains the road's southernmost extension.[6]

Major intersections

Local Board	Suburb	km	jct	Destinations	Notes
Albert-Eden	Epsom	0.0		Manukau Road – Royal Oak, Onehunga Alpers Avenue – City Centre Broadway – Newmarket St Marks Road
		1.1		Market Road (east) – Remuera Market Road (west) – Mount Eden
	Greenlane	2.3		Green Lane East – Remuera Green Lane West – Western Springs
		2.7		Woodbine Avenue
		2.8		Campbell Road – Royal Oak
Maungakiekie-Tamaki	Ellerslie
		2.9		Main Highway – Ellerslie
		3.6		Rockfield Road
		3.9		Central Park business park
	Penrose	4.1		Ellerslie Panmure Highway – Ellerslie
		4.8		Station Road East – Penrose
		5.5		Penrose Road – Mount Wellington
		6.4		South Eastern Highway – Mount Wellington, Pakuranga Church Street – Onehunga, Royal Oak
		6.6		Church Street East
		7.1		Southdown Lane
	Mount Wellington	7.5		Sylvia Park Road – Mount Wellington
		7.9		Vestey Drive
		8.8		Portage Road (east) – Mount Wellington Portage Road (west) – Mangere, Manukau City
Mangere-Otahuhu	Otahuhu
		9.4		Albion Road Huia Road
		9.5		Princes Street
		9.8		Avenue Road Mason Avenue
		10.1		Atkinson Avenue High Street
		10.8		Mangere Road – Mangere, Middlemore Hospital, Airport
Otara-Papatoetoe	Papatoetoe	11.8		Bairds Road – Otara, MIT
		13.0		Shirley Road
		13.2		East Tamaki Road – Otara, East Tamaki
		13.3		Kolmar Road
		13.5		Sutton Crescent
		13.9		Tui Road St George Street
	Manukau	15.4		Reagan Road Puhinui Road – Airport
		15.9		Ryan Place
		16.1		Te Irirangi Drive – Howick Cavendish Drive – Airport
		16.2		Southpoint retail park
		16.4		Ronwood Avenue
		16.8		Redoubt Road Manukau Station Road – Manukau City Centre	Former SH 20
		17.0		Lakewood Court
Manurewa	Wiri	17.2		from SH 1 (Southern Motorway)
		18.0		Kerrs Road
	Manurewa	18.8		Orams Road – Totara Heights Browns Road – Homai
		20.2		Hill Road
		20.3		Station Road
		20.6		Alfriston Road – Alfriston, Clevedon Weymouth Road – Clendon, Homai
		21.8		Mahia Road – Wattle Downs, Clendon
Papakura	Takanini	22.3		SH 1 north (Southern Motorway) – Auckland
		22.6		SH 1 south (Southern Motorway) – Hamilton
		23.0		Manuroa Road Beaumaris Way
		23.5		Taka Street Walter Strevens Drive
		24.2		Glenora Road
		24.3		The Furlong
		24.7		Walters Road Inlet Road Longford Park Drive
		25.1		Waka Street
	Papakura	26.1		Subway Road
		26.3		O'Shannessey Street
		26.4		Queen Street
		26.5		Broadway Elliot Street
		26.9		Wood Street
		27.1		Wellington Street
	Opaheke	27.7		Settlement Road Beach Road
	Drury	31.4		Waihoehoe Road Norrie Road
		32.0		SH 1 south (Southern Motorway) – Hamilton	SH 22 begins
		32.2		SH 1 north (Southern Motorway) – Auckland
Franklin	Bombay	42.5		Mill Road
		42.9		SH 1 south (Southern Motorway) – Hamilton

See also

• New Zealand state highway network

References

1. O'Malley, Vincent. "'The great war for NZ broke out less than 50 km from Queen St': Vincent O'Malley on the Waikato War and the making of Auckland". Spinoff.
2. Roads – Development (from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1966 Edition. Accessed 19 July 2008.)
3. "Newmarket Viaduct – Landscape & Urban Design Framework". Transit New Zealand. 7 November 2008. p. Section 5.3.
4. North End: Great South Road, Epsom, Auckland (Google Maps, accessed 7 December 2010.)
5. Bombay: (Google Maps, accessed 12 September 2018.)
6. South End: Great South Road, Ohaupo, Waikato (Google Maps, accessed 7 December 2010.)

External links

• NZ Geographic article
• Dominic Gamble Soldier involved in road construction
• Manukau timeline