Lighthouse, Shipwreck History and Clifftop Views
Manukau South Head is the northern tip of the Āwhitu Peninsula in Auckland, rising sharply to a 285-metre prominence above the entrance to the Manukau Harbour. It is the southern counterpart to Burnett Head on the north side of the harbour mouth. Together, these two headlands define one of the most dramatic and historically dangerous harbour entrances in New Zealand. The Manukau Heads Lighthouse stands near the summit, a restored landmark that is one of the very few lighthouses in the country open to visitors.
The Manukau Heads Lighthouse
The original lighthouse was constructed in 1874. Its wooden design, by John Blackett, was highly influential and replicated at other New Zealand locations. It was also the first lighthouse in the country to burn kerosene. The lighthouse deteriorated over time, and in the early 2000s, the Manukau Heads Lighthouse Trust undertook a full reconstruction of the original design, reopening the site to visitors in 2006.
The climb up the lighthouse involves 125 exterior steps and a further 23 interior steps to the lantern room. At the top, the third-order dioptric drum lens, installed in 1929 and the only one of its kind viewable by the public in New Zealand, can be viewed up close. The 360-degree view from the summit takes in the harbour entrance and Manukau Bar, the Tasman Sea coast stretching south toward the Waikato River mouth, and on clear days the Waitākere Ranges and Auckland's Sky Tower and city skyline across the harbour to the north-east. Around 60,000 visitors come to the site each year, and entry is free, though donations to the Trust help cover the annual maintenance costs.
The Pouwhenua Walk
North of the car park, a gentle walk across open farmland leads to a clifftop lookout that many visitors overlook. The path climbs gradually for around 450 metres to the cliff edge at approximately 220 metres, where the views open across the harbour entrance and the Waitākere coast on the northern head. Along the route, a series of Māori pouwhenua, carved wooden posts and an arch, stand in the paddock, depicting the ancestral whakapapa of the local Ngāti Te Ata and Waiohua tribes. Interpretive information accompanies the carvings. The walk takes around 15 to 20 minutes each way and is well worth the additional effort.
HMS Orpheus and the Manukau Bar
The hazard that made a lighthouse at this location essential was the Manukau Bar, the shifting sandbar across the harbour entrance, which is easily identified by the surf lines well beyond the entrance. No event illustrates its danger more starkly than the wreck of HMS Orpheus in 1863. The Orpheus, a 1,706-ton Royal Navy steam corvette, was bringing stores from Sydney for naval operations in the New Zealand Wars. Commodore William Burnett chose the Manukau route to Auckland to save time rather than sailing around the top of the North Island to the Waitematā Harbour, but his charts were outdated, and the channel through the bar had moved.
As the Orpheus crossed the bar in fine weather, shore lookouts signalled a warning, but it was not received in time. The vessel struck the sandbar and was quickly overwhelmed by breaking seas. Of the 259 officers and men aboard, 189 died, the greatest loss of life from a single shipwreck in New Zealand.
How to Get There
From Downtown Auckland, take the southern motorway to the Drury Offramp, then follow State Highway 22 to Waiuku. north on Awhitu Road. Near the top of the peninsula, turn left onto Kemp Road and then onto Manukau Heads Road, following the brown lighthouse signs. The road is sealed to the car park. Note the steep gullies near the road, one of which had a major slip and closed the road for about 2 years! The drive is around 110 minutes and 100 km. From Waiuku, it is 44 minutes.
Nearby places to visit include Āwhitu Regional Park to the south, and the harbour-side beaches of Wattle Bay, Ōrua Bay, Big Bay and Grahams Beach. On the west coast of the peninsula, visit Hamiltons Gap and Karioitahi Beach for rugged black sand surf experiences.
