POAL - Our History

Our History

The city of Auckland and the Port of Auckland have grown together on the Waitematā and Manukau Harbours for over 175 years.

1,000 - 800 years ago – Polynesians discover Aotearoa (New Zealand). Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) is settled and becomes a large population and trade centre thanks to a wealth of local resources and fine harbours. Trade flourishes and the area becomes known as 'Tāmaki herenga waka' – the gathering place of many waka
1853 – Control of the Waitematā Harbour passes from the Governor to the Auckland Provincial Council, following the Constitution Act
1850s – The first Queen Street wharf is constructed. A quay along Customs Street is created and a breakwater is built out from Britomart Point
1871 – The Auckland Harbour Board is established to administer the port by an Act of Parliament
1875 – The Auckland Harbour Foreshore Act is introduced, giving the Auckland Harbour Board over 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of the Waitematā Harbour seabed
1880s – Point Britomart is quarried away and the area around Mechanics Bay, Customs Street, and Hobson Street is reclaimed to enable the construction of a railway wharf and better dockyards
1906 – 1913 – The present-day Queens Wharf is built
1909 – 1911 – Marsden Wharf is built
1913 – 1923 – The iconic Red Fence is erected for added security. The responsibility for the Manukau Harbour and the Onehunga Port was transferred from the Marine Department to the Auckland Harbour Board
1913 – 1923 – Princes Wharf is built and named after the Prince of Wales who visited Auckland in 1921
1916 – 1917 – Captain Cook Wharf, named after Captain James Cook, is built
1931 – The western reclamation and western wharf extension are completed
1937 – 1948 – Bledisloe Wharf is built for frozen export cargo
1952 – Jellicoe Wharf is built
1961 – Freyberg Wharf is built
1971 - The Fergusson Container Terminal is built and Bledisloe Wharf is developed to handle containers. The first container ship, ‘Columbus New Zealand’, calls on 23 June 1971
1982 – Onehunga port starts handling containers
1988 – Ports of Auckland is formed, purchasing the Auckland Harbour Board's land assets for about $250 million. Shares are listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, with 80% being held by the Auckland Regional Authority and 20% being held by Waikato Regional Council
2001 – 2006 – New container cranes and 1-over-2 straddles arrive at Auckland's port
2005 – Ports of Auckland delists from the New Zealand Stock Exchange. The company is now owned wholly by Auckland Council's investment arm (Auckland Council Investments). An inland port is opened in Wiri, South Auckland
2007 – Land at the western reclamation is transferred to the Waterfront Development Agency, now known as Eke Panuku Development Auckland
2018 – Three new Fergusson North cranes arrived
2021 – Completion of the Car Handling Building and The Lightship
2022 – Arrival of Sparky, the world's first full-size ship-handling electric tug
2023 – Ports of Auckland drops the 'S' and officially becomes Port of Auckland. Removing the ‘s’ on ‘ports’ reflects the 2018 sale of Onehunga seaport to Auckland Council and represents our one seaport operation on the Waitematā.