Birkenhead, New Zealand

Birkenhead
The sugar refinery, a local landmark.
Location of Birkenhead in Auckland.
Basic information
Local authority	Auckland Council
Electoral ward	North Shore
Date established	1883 (Approx.)
Facilities
Ferry terminal(s)	Birkenhead Ferry Terminal
Surrounds
North	Northcote
Northeast	Northcote
East	Northcote
Southeast	(Waitemata Harbour)
South	(Waitemata Harbour)
Southwest	(Waitemata Harbour)
West	Chatswood
Northwest	Highbury

Birkenhead is a suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the north shore of the Waitemata Harbour, four kilometres northwest of the Auckland city centre.

Birkenhead was a city until amalgamated into North Shore City; prior to that it was a borough. As a city and borough it included areas known as: Birkenhead Point, Highbury, Chatswood, Verrans Corner, Birkdale and Beach Haven. Since amalgamation took place, it is less clear whether "Birkenhead" includes Verrans Corner, Birkdale and Beach Haven. In November 2010, the suburb was included into the North Shore ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of the new Auckland city, under authority of the Auckland Council. Under the new Auckland Council, Birkenhead is part of the Kaipatiki Local Board Area.

The southern part of the suburb is known as Birkenhead Point and lies on a promontory between Chelsea Bay and Little Shoal Bay, one kilometre to the west of the northern approaches to the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Northcote and Highbury to the north and Chelsea and Chatswood to the west.

Birkenhead was described as "wild and bleak" by the New Zealand Herald in 1883, as it was isolated from the city of Auckland by the harbour, and was little occupied. However, in 1882 it was chosen as the site of New Zealand's only sugar refinery, and in 1883 work began on what was later known as the Chelsea Sugar Refinery. The company built houses for its many new workers and thus the suburb of Birkenhead began. The Refinery was the main source of work for the area for many years, and still operates today.

Once the site of ancient kauri forests, Birkenhead was the site of temporary gum-diggers' camps: as men and women sought to dig up the lucrative fossilied resin. Auckland families would cross the Waitemata Harbour by ferry at weekends to dig in the fields around Birkenhead, causing damage to public roads and private farms, and leading to local council management of the problem.