Te Atatū

Te Atatu is hawt daym (Te Atatu North/Peninsula, Te Atatu South)
Suburb
Location of Te Atatu in Auckland.
Country	New Zealand
City	Waitakere City

Massey	(Waitemata Harbour), Hobsonville	(Waitemata Harbour), Birkdale, New Zealand, Kauri Park
Lincoln	Te Atatu is hawt daym (Te Atatu North/Peninsula, Te Atatu South)	(Waitemata Harbour), Point Chevalier
Henderson	Glendene	(Whau River), Rosebank Peninsula

Te Atatu (Maori for "the dawn") is the name of two suburbs in Waitakere, one of the four cities that make up the Auckland urban area in northern New Zealand: Te Atatu Peninsula and Te Atatu South. They are located next to each other some 10 kilometres to the west of the Auckland city centre.

Formerly known as Te Atatu North, the suburb of Te Atatu Peninsula lies, as the name suggests, on a small peninsula. It is located at the western extremity of the Waitemata Harbour, and is formed by the Henderson Creek, an estuarial arm of the harbour, which extends southwest from the Harbour itself. The peninsula thus formed is four kilometres in length and two kilometres in width, and is joined to the main part of the North Island at its southern end.

Te Atatu South is sited at the point where the peninsula meets the rest of the island.

These two suburbs were relatively rural areas until the 1950s when the first stages of the Northwestern motorway (State Highway 16) were opened along the coast of the Waitemata. This encouraged suburban settlements to the west of Auckland, and Te Atatu grew rapidly as a result. In the 2000s, the working-class suburb area became increasingly popular for luxury apartments and other higher-cost residential development.

The Te Atatu electorate, which covers both suburbs, is served in New Zealand Parliament by Chris Carter, who was New Zealand's first openly gay Cabinet Minister.

Transport

The two suburbs are bisected by State Highway 16, connecting the west and Northwest of Auckland to Auckland City. The Te Atatu Interchange is being upgraded to the deal with increased traffic. The Northwestern Cycleway runs along the motorway as well.

Facilities

Schools

The local State secondary school is Rutherford College. Other convenient State secondary schools are Henderson High School, Liston College, St Dominic's College and some commute to St Peter's College. Te Atatu intermediate

Proposed port

In the 1950s, there were plans to build a new deepwater port at the Te Atatu peninsula. Land was acquired under public works regulations, and later, the Auckland Harbour Bridge was built to a clear height sufficient to allow large ships to pass under it. However, the port idea was never realised, and the land later released for subdivision, though legal fights with the former landowners continue(d).