Wesley, New Zealand
Wesley () is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located in the south-west of the Auckland isthmus. The area is a part of the Oakley Creek catchment, and in the 19th and early 20th centuries was primarily swampland owned by the Weslayan Mission. The New Zealand Government developed Wesley as a state housing area in the 1940s and 1950s. Geography Wesley is a suburb of Auckland on the Auckland isthmus, bound by New Windsor in the west, Mount Roskill to the south and Sandringham to the north. It is bisected by the Oakley Creek, which flows north-west towards the Waitematā Harbour at Waterview. The Southwestern Motorway also bisects the suburb. History The area has been settled by Tāmaki Māori iwi hapū and since at least the 13th century. The Oakley Creek, traditionally known as Te Auaunga, was a crayfish, eels and weka for Tāmaki Māori. Harakeke (New Zealand flax) and raupō, which grew along the banks of the creek, were harvested here to create Māori traditional textiles. By the early 18th century, the area was within the rohe of Waiohua. After the defeat of Kiwi Tāmaki, the paramount chief of the iwi, the area became part of the rohe of