The Great South Road is a major arterial road on the Auckland isthmus and South Auckland. Originally the northern section of the earliest highway between Auckland and Wellington, in the North Island of New Zealand, the road was the main route connecting Auckland to Hamilton. Many former sections of the road have been integrated into the Waikato Expressway. Currently four sections of the road remain: Epsom to Bombay in Auckland, the main street in Pōkeno, the former route of State Highway 1 that links the towns of Huntly, Taupiri, Ngāruawāhia and Horotiu, and the main road in Ōhaupō.
History
Many sections of Great South Road were constructed on ara hīkoi; traditional walking paths used by Tāmaki Māori. The first sections of Great South Road were constructed in 1843. In 1861, Governor George Grey ordered the construction of the Great South Road further into the Waikato, to improve supply lines through swampy and thickly forested country, prior to the Invasion of the Waikato. The road was constructed by British Army troops, including Dominic Jacotin Gamble, and provided a flow of supplies for the Waikato campaign. Queen's Redoubt at Pōkeno was a major base of operations for soldiers working on constructing the road. Approximately 12,000 soldiers were involved in the construction over two years.
Toll booths were set up along the road in 1866 at Newmarket, Ōtāhuhu and Drury in order to pay for upkeep costs of the Great South Road. Travellers along the Great South Road complained about the excessive cost of these tolls, which were abolished in 1875.
Much of the road between Newmarket and Drury was laid in concrete in the 1920s, up to one foot thick. The road was later covered with asphalt. Originally, the road was marked by milestones, but these are now all believed lost, although there is a ‘22 mile’ milestone marker outside Drury School, in Drury.
Major intersections
{| class="wikitable"
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! Local Board !! Suburb !! km !! jct !! Destinations !! Notes
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| rowspan=5| Albert-Eden || rowspan=2| Epsom || 0.0 || 25px || Manukau Road – Royal Oak, Onehunga <br /> Alpers Avenue – City Centre<br /> Broadway – Newmarket<br /> St Marks Road ||
|-
| 1.1 || 25px || Market Road (east) – Remuera <br /> Market Road (west) – Mount Eden ||
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| rowspan=3| Greenlane || 2.3 || 25px || Green Lane East – Remuera<br />Green Lane West – Western Springs ||
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| 2.7 || 25px || Woodbine Avenue ||
|-
| rowspan=2| 2.8 || rowspan=2| 25px || rowspan=2| Campbell Road – Royal Oak || rowspan=2|
|-
| rowspan=13| Maungakiekie-Tāmaki || rowspan=4| Ellerslie
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| 2.9 || 25px || Main Highway – Ellerslie ||
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| 3.6 || 25px || Rockfield Road ||
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| 3.9 || 25px || Central Park business park ||
|-
| rowspan=6| Penrose || 4.1 || 25px || Ellerslie Panmure Highway – Ellerslie ||
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| 4.8 || 25px || Station Road East – Penrose ||
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| 5.5 || 25px || Penrose Road – Mount Wellington ||
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| 6.4 || 25px || South Eastern Highway – Mount Wellington, Pakuranga <br /> Church Street – Onehunga, Royal Oak ||
|-
| 6.6 || 25px || Church Street East ||
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| 7.1 || 25px || Southdown Lane ||
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| rowspan=3| Mount Wellington || 7.5 || 25px || Sylvia Park Road – Mount Wellington ||
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| 7.9 || 25px || Vestey Drive ||
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| rowspan=2| 8.8 || rowspan=2| 25px || rowspan=2| Portage Road (east) – Mount Wellington <br /> Portage Road (west) – Māngere, Manukau City || rowspan=2|
|-
| rowspan=6| Māngere-Ōtāhuhu || rowspan=6| Ōtāhuhu
|-
| 9.4 || 25px || Albion Road <br /> Huia Road ||
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| 9.5 || 25px || Princes Street ||
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| 9.8 || 25px || Avenue Road <br /> Mason Avenue ||
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| 10.1 || 25px || Atkinson Avenue <br /> High Street ||
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| 10.8 || 25px || Mangere Road – Māngere, Middlemore Hospital, Airport ||
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| rowspan=13| Ōtara-Papatoetoe || rowspan=6| Papatoetoe || 11.8 || 25px || Bairds Road – Ōtara, MIT ||
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| 13.0 || 25px || Shirley Road ||
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| 13.2 || 25px || East Tamaki Road – Ōtara, East Tāmaki ||
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| 13.3 || 25px || Kolmar Road ||
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| 13.5 || 25px || Sutton Crescent ||
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| 13.9 || 25px || Tui Road <br /> St George Street ||
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| rowspan=7| Manukau || 15.4 || 25px || Reagan Road <br /> Puhinui Road – Airport ||
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| 15.9 || 25px || Ryan Place ||
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| 16.1 || 25px || Te Irirangi Drive – Howick <br /> Cavendish Drive – Airport ||
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| 16.2 || 25px || Southpoint retail park ||
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| 16.4 || 25px || Ronwood Avenue ||
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| 16.8 || 25px || Redoubt Road <br /> Manukau Station Road – Manukau City Centre || Former SH 20
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| 17.0 || 25px || Lakewood Court ||
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| rowspan=7| Manurewa || rowspan=2| Wiri || 17.2 || 25px || 20px from ||
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| 18.0 || 25px || Kerrs Road ||
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| rowspan=5| Manurewa || 18.8 || 25px || Orams Road – Totara Heights <br /> Browns Road – Homai ||
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| 20.2 || 25px || Hill Road ||
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| 20.3 || 25px || Station Road ||
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| 20.6 || 25px || Alfriston Road – Alfriston, Clevedon <br /> Weymouth Road – Clendon, Homai ||
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| 21.8 || 25px || Mahia Road – Wattle Downs, Clendon ||
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| rowspan=18| Papakura || rowspan=8| Takanini || 22.3 || 25px || – Auckland ||
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| 22.6 || 25px || – Hamilton ||
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| 23.0 || 25px || Manuroa Road <br /> Beaumaris Way ||
|-
| 23.5 || 25px || Taka Street <br /> Walter Strevens Drive ||
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| 24.2 || 25px || Glenora Road ||
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| 24.3 || 25px || The Furlong ||
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| 24.7 || 25px || Walters Road <br /> Inlet Road <br /> Longford Park Drive ||
|-
| 25.1 || 25px || Waka Street ||
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| rowspan=6| Papakura || 26.1 || 25px || Subway Road ||
|-
| 26.3 || 25px || O'Shannessey Street ||
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| 26.4 || 25px || Queen Street ||
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| 26.5 || 25px || Broadway <br /> Elliot Street ||
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| 26.9 || 25px || Wood Street ||
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| 27.1 || 25px || Wellington Street ||
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| Ōpaheke || 27.7 || 25px || Settlement Road <br /> Beach Road ||
|-
| rowspan=3| Drury || 31.4 || 25px || Waihoehoe Road <br /> Norrie Road ||
|-
| 32.0 || 25px || – Hamilton || begins
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| 32.2 || 25px || – Auckland ||
|-
| rowspan=2 | Franklin || rowspan=2 | Bombay || 42.5 || 25px || Mill Road ||
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| 42.9 || 25px || – Hamilton ||
|}
See also
- New Zealand state highway network
References
External links
- NZ Geographic article
- Dominic Gamble Soldier involved in road construction
- Manukau timeline