The Howick, Pakuranga, and Whitford areas were part of the Fairburn claim.
William Thomas Fairburn, with his wife and family, established a Church Missionary Society Mission Station at Maraetai in 1836.
The local Māori insisted they buy the 40,000 acres (162 km²) between the Tamaki and Wairoa Rivers to prevent attack by the Ngapuhi and Waikato tribes.
Fairburn bought the land with his life savings.

In 1840, following the Treaty of Waitangi, the Government took 36,000 acres (146 km²) which it used for the Fencible settlements of Otahuhu and Howick and sold most of the remaining land to settlers.

Howick itself is named after Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey as Viscount Howick, who was Secretary for the Colonies in the British Parliament and was responsible for the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps immigration scheme.
The suburb was therefore established in 1847 as a fencible settlement, where soldiers were given land with the implied understanding that in wartime, they would be raised as units to defend it (however, the eventual fighting a decade later used professional soldiers instead).
A relatively large amount of the early features from this time have been retained.

The Māori welcomed the Fencibles to Howick and recognised the advantages of co-operation and trade.
Māori labourers built the Fencibles cottages under Royal Engineers supervision, although it was noted that initially, the Europeans had to live in raupo huts, having been falsely promised that houses would already be available for them and their families.
There were about 250 Fencibles in Howick.
Local Māori had been taught to read and write by the Fairburn LMS missionaries at Maraetai.
The Fencibles and their families were poor with no capital apart from a small number of officers.
About half were Catholic and half Protestant.
Quite a few of the adults were illiterate.
101 Howick fencibles served with their sons in the 1860s New Zealand Wars.

Howick's links to Auckland's pioneering and Fencible past has influenced its development and is also evident in the names of many streets.
Others are significantly named for British military heroes or battles.
Bleakhouse (as in Bleakhouse Rd) was the name given to a Fencible officer's house built in Bleakhouse Rd for Surgeon-Captain John Bacot who became a magistrate in Howick.

Other roads such as Bacot, Bell, Fencible Drive, Montressor Place and Sale Street, plus many others, also have Fencible connexions, e.g. Sir Robert Sale was one of the ships which brought the Fencibles to Auckland in the 19th century.
Montressor Place was named for Captain Charles Henry Montressor-Smith who arrived in Howick with the First Battalion of Fencibles in 1847.
He later moved to a property in neighbouring Pakuranga, where his house, known as Bell House, still stands at the end of Bell Rd next to the Howick Historical Village.

Moore St was named after General Sir John Moore, a British military hero, who lived from 1761–1809.
General Moore fought against Napoleon alongside Sir David Baird for whom Baird St was named and he (Moore) died at Corunna during the Peninsular War whilst serving under the Duke of Wellington.
At Corunna he was attended by Dr J. Bacot, father of the Howick Fencible doctor, who lived in Bleakhouse.
Moore St was part of the original Fencible village and was sub-divided into one acre (4,000 m²) allotments down to Rodney St. People will, no doubt, recognise that Wellington and Nelson Sts spring from the most famous of British war heroes, Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington and that Selwyn Rd takes its name from the first Bishop of New Zealand, George Augustus Selwyn.

Then there are streets such as Granger Road named for John Granger, manager of the brickworks, which once stood at Little Bucklands Beach near the rock outcrop where the Bucklands Beach Centre board clubrooms now stand, before moving to Whitford.
Litten Rd and John Gill Rd are named after the former farmer and landowner families.
An Irishman, John Gill, settled in Howick in the 1850s, and his family farmed the land that is now Cockle Bay and Shelly Park.
The Howick, Pakuranga, and Whitford areas were part of the Fairburn claim. William Thomas Fairburn, with his wife and family, established a Church Missionary Society Mission Station at Maraetai in 1836. The local Māori insisted they buy the 40,000 acres (162 km²) between the Tamaki and Wairoa Rivers to prevent attack by the Ngapuhi and Waikato tribes. Fairburn bought the land with his life savings.
In 1840, following the Treaty of Waitangi, the Government took 36,000 acres (146 km²) which it used for the Fencible settlements of Otahuhu and Howick and sold most of the remaining land to settlers.
Howick itself is named after Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey as Viscount Howick, who was Secretary for the Colonies in the British Parliament and was responsible for the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps immigration scheme. The suburb was therefore established in 1847 as a fencible settlement, where soldiers were given land with the implied understanding that in wartime, they would be raised as units to defend it (however, the eventual fighting a decade later used professional soldiers instead). A relatively large amount of the early features from this time have been retained.
The Māori welcomed the Fencibles to Howick and recognised the advantages of co-operation and trade. Māori labourers built the Fencibles cottages under Royal Engineers supervision, although it was noted that initially, the Europeans had to live in raupo huts, having been falsely promised that houses would already be available for them and their families. There were about 250 Fencibles in Howick. Local Māori had been taught to read and write by the Fairburn LMS missionaries at Maraetai. The Fencibles and their families were poor with no capital apart from a small number of officers. About half were Catholic and half Protestant. Quite a few of the adults were illiterate. 101 Howick fencibles served with their sons in the 1860s New Zealand Wars.
Howick's links to Auckland's pioneering and Fencible past has influenced its development and is also evident in the names of many streets. Others are significantly named for British military heroes or battles. Bleakhouse (as in Bleakhouse Rd) was the name given to a Fencible officer's house built in Bleakhouse Rd for Surgeon-Captain John Bacot who became a magistrate in Howick.
Other roads such as Bacot, Bell, Fencible Drive, Montressor Place and Sale Street, plus many others, also have Fencible connexions, e.g. Sir Robert Sale was one of the ships which brought the Fencibles to Auckland in the 19th century. Montressor Place was named for Captain Charles Henry Montressor-Smith who arrived in Howick with the First Battalion of Fencibles in 1847. He later moved to a property in neighbouring Pakuranga, where his house, known as Bell House, still stands at the end of Bell Rd next to the Howick Historical Village.
Moore St was named after General Sir John Moore, a British military hero, who lived from 1761–1809. General Moore fought against Napoleon alongside Sir David Baird for whom Baird St was named and he (Moore) died at Corunna during the Peninsular War whilst serving under the Duke of Wellington. At Corunna he was attended by Dr J. Bacot, father of the Howick Fencible doctor, who lived in Bleakhouse. Moore St was part of the original Fencible village and was sub-divided into one acre (4,000 m²) allotments down to Rodney St. People will, no doubt, recognise that Wellington and Nelson Sts spring from the most famous of British war heroes, Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington and that Selwyn Rd takes its name from the first Bishop of New Zealand, George Augustus Selwyn.
Then there are streets such as Granger Road named for John Granger, manager of the brickworks, which once stood at Little Bucklands Beach near the rock outcrop where the Bucklands Beach Centre board clubrooms now stand, before moving to Whitford. Litten Rd and John Gill Rd are named after the former farmer and landowner families. An Irishman, John Gill, settled in Howick in the 1850s, and his family farmed the land that is now Cockle Bay and Shelly Park. 
Howick, New Zealand