Mãngere needs ‘face of the future’
Call to rebuild suburb’s town centre with young community in mind
Any weekend you go down to the Ma¯ngere Town Centre it is likely to be teeming with life, people singing and dancing and laughing, produce changing hands and friends and families relaxing.
For decades the town centre has been a meeting point, a hub for the majority Pasifika people of Ma¯ngere, but since its erection, the suburb and the people have changed immensely and the structure no longer represents Ma¯ ngere in the 21st century.
Located on the upper reaches of the Manukau Harbour, Ma¯ngere-Otahuhu is a young working population.
Its MP and the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, proudly touts the suburb as the gateway to the nation and home of the young, the beautiful, the gifted and world champions.
He knows of the centre’s importance, so much so he moved his electorate office to the centre to be more available to his constituents.
“[The centre] is where we launch a number of things, year in and year out. And so this is not fit for purpose now in the new millennium and ideally I’d like to see Auckland City Council consider buying the whole facility here.
“Rebuild it and get our young people to participate in the new design. Which should be fit for purpose in this day and age,” he said. “This is the face of the future.” The area is young, with a median age of 28 years and an average income of $59,900.
Ma¯ ngere-Otahuhu represents 5 per cent of the population for the Auckland region and 51 per cent of the population is employed.
The suburb’s biggest strength was also a weakness — the youth — said Ma¯ngere-Otahuhu community board deputy chairman Walter Togiamua.
“The strength of Ma¯ngere is the diversity and the talented and gifted young people. Ma¯ ngere has one of the highest under-25 populations in Auckland.
“Some of the challenges that we have had would have been our youth, we have had some issues with our young people, but we have gone out to our community and seen what we have done to get help [for] young people.
“We are fortunate to have the arts centre right next door. That has
The strength . . . is the diversity and the talented and gifted young people. Ma¯ ngere has one of the highest under-25 populations.
Walter Togiamua, community board
managed to alleviate some of the pressure we had.”
Togiamua was born in Niue but moved to Auckland when he was 8 or 9. The town centre when he was a boy, as it is now, was a focal point, a meeting area and a melting pot for the Pasifika community.
Ma¯ngere-Otahuhu local board offices were also located in the town centre.
The canopy protecting the centre from the weather had long been a subject of discussion, he said. When it rained heavily, or with wind, water would creep into the centre through openings, causing hazards and headaches for business owners and shoppers.
The board was looking at how it could raise funds to get a new canopy, he said.
Minister for Employment Willy Jackson also called the suburb home and agreed things had certainly changed since he first arrived from the capital.
He grew up in Porirua and Ma¯ngere, and attended Ma¯ngere College.
In the 60s, the majority population was Maori, it was not until the 70s that an influx of Pasifika people arrived seeking housing or employ- ment in the property boom, Jackson said.
“It was mainly Ma¯ori when I came here. From the churches to the marae, it was Ma¯ori coming into the area.”
Between the 70s and 80s, during which the town centre was built, more Pasifika came in and there was some tension between ethnicities for a time, Jackson said.
“We had the pubs around here right where the Pak’nSave is. It was a bit wild, there were gangs, there was too much fighting between Tongan, Samoan and Ma¯ori. I think things have settled now.”
He saw great camaraderie between the ethnicities, with intermarriages between people of different cultures more common.
Gaining the Samoan Consulate, a multimillion-dollar development, in 2016 was not just a win for the Samoan people of Ma¯ngere, but for all Pasifika people. It was a building that suited the suburb in 2018 and an example of an important resource that was utilised by all.
“It’s a big thing to have a Pasifika thing like that, even the fale itself, it ingrains more of that Pacific flavour in the community, not only for the Samoan community.
“We have had activities and conferences that all Pasifika people attend. It has given the Pasifika, as a whole, something, whether you are Samoan or not.”
Consul-general Faolotoi Reupena Pogi said during the opening it was a milestone that the Government decided to build in Ma¯ngere.
“Most of our people are now residing in the southern part of Auckland, mainly around this area and the nearby suburbs,” he said.