Auckland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand. The Auckland region has a population of about 1.4 million people. For a brief period in New Zealand's history it was the capital city; however that was moved to Wellington.

Auckland is situated on two magnificent harbours --- the Manukau and Waitemata harbours. It is known as the "City of Sails" because of the number of sailing boats which can be seen. The nearby Hauraki Gulf is dotted with a variety of islands and provides safe anchorage and interesting sailing.

Auckland is built on a series of dormant (asleep) volcanoes. The youngest and largest of these is called Rangitoto, an island just a few kilometres from the City centre. It is lush with pohutakawas, native trees also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree because of their brilliant red flowers which bloom in December.

Changes are being made to the way the city of Auckland is run. There are 7 local councils each with a mayor. The change will give Auckland one mayor and one council. The new mayor will have more power to make decisions than the current mayors have. There is ongoing debate about whether the new way will be better than the old way.