Hobsonville Church & Settlers' Cemetery

Hobsonville Church & Settlers' Cemetery 1875 heritage-listed Hobsonville Church and Settlers' Cemetery is lovingly maintained and protected by volunteers and descendants of the area’s early settlers.

Visitors are always welcome. Graveyard open dawn to dusk. Church building available for hire.

Here’s an update from AT. New section of shared path on Scott Road outside Hobsonville ChurchTo make it easier for peopl...
18/08/2026

Here’s an update from AT.

New section of shared path on Scott Road outside Hobsonville Church

To make it easier for people to walk or cycle around your area, we’re planning to build a new section of shared path along Scott Road, past the Hobsonville Church, where there is currently a gravel path.

The new section of shared path will connect the paths from the corner of Clark Road to the path outside the Ryman Retirement Village.

These improvements are proposed to be delivered with other works on Scott Road, later in 2026.

If you have any questions or comments, you can email [email protected] (Reference: Scott Road shared path) by 30 August 2026.

Alternatively, you can leave a comment directly on the AT project page: haveyoursay.at.govt.nz/scott-road-hobsonville
More information and updates are available there too.

Lovely to see Michael Simpson at the graveyard today, visiting the Simpson family graves. Michael is responsible for the...
14/08/2026

Lovely to see Michael Simpson at the graveyard today, visiting the Simpson family graves.
Michael is responsible for the beautiful daffodils on the Simpson and Anderson plots 💛

In Loving Memory Of
Clyde McGregor Simpson 🌼
M.B.E. D.F.C
Sqn Ldr RNZAF 404415
10-2-1922 – 2-9-2002
Cherished Husband of Joyce
Loved Father of Judith, Sherry, Michael & Peter
Grandfather and Great Grandfather
“Forever In Our Hearts”
Loved Son of Duncan & Jane Simpson

In Loving Memory Of
Joyce Tomlinson Simpson née Mutter 🌼
10-10-1923 - 22-12-2008
Cherished Wife of Clyde
Loved Mother of Judith, Sherry, Michael & Peter
Grandmother and Great Grandmother
“Look For Me In Rainbows”
Loved Daughter of William & Mary Mutter

In Loving Memory Of
Joyce McGregor Simpson 🌼
14-12-1917 - 15-8-2013
Loved Daughter of Jane and Duncan Simpson
A Wonderful Caring Lady
Loyal Family Member and Loving Aunt
To All Her Nieces and Nephews

In Loving Memory Of Bruce Andrew Anderson 🌼
16.11.1948 - 09.06.2023
Dearly loved Husband of Judith
Loving Parents of Dawne, Andrew & Rochelle
Cherished Grandparents of Danielle, James, Emma, Jacob, Nathan, Charlotte and Madeline
Life's work well done 💛

🚧 The Upper Harbour Lock That Almost HappenedFrom as early as 1913, there were bold proposals to transform the Upper Wai...
12/08/2026

🚧 The Upper Harbour Lock That Almost Happened

From as early as 1913, there were bold proposals to transform the Upper Waitematā Harbour by building a lock system.

Ideas included a “tide deflector” to be erected off Campbells Point, construction of a solid embankment from Hobson wharf to Stanley Point with a navigation lock for large steamers, a large lock at the northern end of the Whau Canal, and installing a lock across Lucas Creek near Albany, creating a constant high water level over the entire harbour above Hobson Street.

Supporters believed this would provide 80 miles of foreshore with a permanently full tide - a huge advantage for industries and for any future connection between the Manukau, Kaipara, and Upper Waitematā Harbours.

By 1924, the concept had gained momentum. A deputation from the Upper Harbour Association met with local MP Hon. J. G. Coates to promote a lock between Hobsonville and Birkdale.

They argued it would create a vast freshwater lake where mudflats currently sat, benefiting communities along 50 miles of shoreline. The Upper Harbour, they said, could become a major residential area with an unrivalled sheet of water for sport.

They proposed that the Government fund 60% of the project, with the remaining 40% raised by rating the areas that would benefit.

The main obstacle was the Harbour Board’s concern about reduced “scour” - the natural tidal flushing that keeps channels clear.

Coates agreed the idea needed careful investigation and would depend heavily on the marine engineer’s report.

The vision didn’t fade. In October 1932, a well attended public meeting at Beach Haven again supported the scheme to link Birkdale and Hobsonville by constructing a lock and roadway across the Upper Harbour.

The Upper Waitematā Harbour Development Association continued to champion the project.

Although the lock was never built, these proposals show just how ambitious early planners were - imagining a reshaped harbour, new transport links, and a transformed Upper Harbour community.

🌿 From Kauri Forest to Settler Tracks to Hobsonville WharfBefore 1800, all the land around the Upper Waitematā was dense...
12/08/2026

🌿 From Kauri Forest to Settler Tracks to Hobsonville Wharf

Before 1800, all the land around the Upper Waitematā was dense kauri forest.

After 1840, as more settlers arrived, timber mills sprang up across the Upper Harbour districts.

Within less than twenty years the kauri was virtually worked out, and gumdiggers soon replaced timber workers as they searched the remaining gum across the region.

The Hobsonville peninsula at the time was described simply as “undulating fern land, 40 feet above sea level.”

With good access to Auckland by boat, and rough overland tracks leading toward the Kaipara, gumdigging became widespread from the Waitākere ranges right through to the Wade River.

The Wade River is the former name for what we now call the Weiti River - an estuarine waterway north of Auckland. It rises in the low hills west of Silverdale and winds through mangrove lined channels before entering the Hauraki Gulf just south of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula. With care, small craft can navigate it as far as Silverdale at high tide. Stillwater is the only other settlement along the river's banks.

When the Hobsonville peninsula was divided into blocks in the 1850s, no roading was included at all.

There were no roads - only rough tracks through the scrub.

Every journey relied on water access.

The only connection with Auckland and the rest of the Upper Harbour was by boat, and larger vessels had to work with the tides.

By the early 1870s there was a reliable steamer service from Riverhead, but Hobsonville’s link to it was only a dinghy launched from a rock on Rev. David Bruce’s land, known as Bruce’s Point.

Recognising how essential proper access was, settlers approached Rev. Bruce, who generously provided about a mile of road and financial help toward a wharf.

With local donations and support from the Auckland Harbour Board, Bruce’s Wharf opened in 1871, finally giving Hobsonville a dependable connection to the wider harbour.

⚓ The Ships’ Graveyard of the Upper HarbourFrom the early 1900s, the Upper Waitematā Harbour became a kind of marine gra...
11/08/2026

⚓ The Ships’ Graveyard of the Upper Harbour

From the early 1900s, the Upper Waitematā Harbour became a kind of marine graveyard.

In those days - even right up to the 1940s - anything past Herald Island was considered “never‑never land”, and ship owners wanting to dispose of old hulks simply towed them past the island and left them to their fate.

Among the vessels abandoned here was the barque 'Principe du Ligudio', believed to have once been a Portuguese slave trader built around 1876.

Another was the 593‑ton 'Leon', damaged in a heavy easterly gale at Whangaroa while carrying coal from Newcastle to Honolulu. Converted to a hulk in Auckland in 1903, she was finally condemned and beached behind Herald Island on 4 September 1908, where she slowly rotted into the sand.

After the Second World War, the Waiheke steamer 'Duchess' - no longer required after being requisitioned - joined the growing collection of obsolete ships abandoned behind the island.

And when the Auckland Harbour Bridge opened in 1959, the Devonport Steam Ferry Company’s vehicular ferries 'Goshawk' and 'Sparrow Hawk' were suddenly redundant.
Both were run aground near the entrance to Lucas Creek and burnt.

For decades, the frames and skeletons of these vessels lay undisturbed.

It wasn’t until 1995 that the Auckland Regional Council began cleaning up parts of the harbour.

A barge was brought in, the remains were winched aboard, and trucked to landfill in Albany.

Remarkably, some of the heavy timbers - keels and sternposts buried deep in the mud - were still in sound condition.

Today, with resource consents and environmental rules, the idea of abandoning ships on local beaches would spark immediate protest.

But back then, it was simply how things were done.

Herald Island, Little Shoal Bay, Browns Island, and the back of Rangitoto were all common dumping grounds.

Another “out‑of‑sight” method was to burn a vessel down to the waterline in deeper harbour waters and let it sink.

A hidden chapter of our harbour’s history - and one that still surprises many locals.

Extract from "God Willing and Weather Permitting", Malcolm Hahn (2006).

A 1930s photo from Christmas Beach on Herald Island, showing a couple beside one of the old wrecks.

11/08/2026

The shared pathway and parking bay works are almost ready to begin outside the church grounds on Clark Road. Video taken from the Clark Road graveyard entrance.

Strolling through the graveyard today, from the earliest settlers to the newer graves and plaques, you can feel the dept...
11/08/2026

Strolling through the graveyard today, from the earliest settlers to the newer graves and plaques, you can feel the depth of Hobsonville’s history in every corner of our heritage graveyard 💛

🚧 Hobsonville Roads - Almost 100 Years Ago!1 August 1927 - “Better Roads Wanted”Nearly a century ago, Hobsonville’s main...
10/08/2026

🚧 Hobsonville Roads - Almost 100 Years Ago!

1 August 1927 - “Better Roads Wanted”

Nearly a century ago, Hobsonville’s main road was in terrible condition - worn right down to the clay in many places.

After months of frustration, locals finally had enough.

A big meeting of ratepayers was held in the Hobsonville Hall, with Mr R. Ockleston in the chair and Mr F W Grigg (the member for the riding) in attendance.

Mr Grigg faced plenty of criticism, but promised to raise the issue with the council.

Residents pushed for the engineer to come out and see the state of the roads for himself, and the meeting was adjourned so this could happen.

Afterwards, the community formed the Hobsonville Ratepayers’ Association, electing Mr R. Ockleston as chairman, Mr J. B. Allan as vice chairman, and Mr W. Shaw as secretary.

Their mission was simple: agitate for better roads - and use every means possible to get them.

A great reminder that Hobsonville locals have always been strong advocates for their community!

Early in the morning of Tuesday 9 June 1942, the first B‑17E Flying Fortress to visit New Zealand - known as the Texas T...
06/08/2026

Early in the morning of Tuesday 9 June 1942, the first B‑17E Flying Fortress to visit New Zealand - known as the Texas Tornado - crashed shortly after take‑off from Whenuapai Airport, killing all eleven crew and passengers on board.

The aircraft departed at 12.30am on a flight from Auckland to Laverton near Melbourne, but barely became airborne before it crashed with a full bomb load into the uphill slopes on the nearby farm of George Sinton.

Two of the four 500lb bombs onboard exploded, blowing the Sinton house of its foundations, injuring George Sinton and waking thousands of residents across north and west Auckland.

The crash became a significant moment in New Zealand’s wartime history, marking the arrival of American forces to the country and the beginning of the Pacific war effort.

There has long been talk that the Texas Tornado was on a secret mission, which added to the mystery surrounding the crash and the strict wartime silence that followed.

At the time, this was New Zealand’s worst air disaster.

EXTRACT from ‘Horses & Flying Fortresses’ by Meryl Morris (nee Sinton):
"One Flying Fortress caused a terrible upheaval to the district when it crashed right beside the main road near Brigham’s Creek. Sometime just before midnight the aircraft took off.
It had 11 crew on board, and struggled to gain height but unsuccessfully.
There was a shelter belt of pine trees on a farm near the aerodrome, and the plane caught its undercarriage on these pines and plummeted towards the ground.
As she careered over the paddocks she took with her fences, hedges, scrub and trees.
She finally came to rest right beside the home of George Sinton.
George and his wife heard the crashing noise and saw from the window this huge aircraft beside the hedge.
George just had time to put his wife and their granddaughter under the bed.
He looked out of the window to see an airman pull another out of the door, to lay him beside a hedge, and go back for another, when the depth charges went off, showering the entire area with debris. The house was shattered so badly that really only the framework was intact.
All windows were gone and all doors lay on the floor.
The contents of the cupboards were strewn across the rooms.
The pantry was a sight to behold.
George’s wife had spent many days preserving fruit and making jam, all of which was mixed together in a huge big mess all over the floor.
The paddock had two huge craters in it where the 500lb bombs had exploded.
The fuselage and all parts of the plane were scattered over a wide area.
I recall my father saying the bull which was in the paddock had to be shot, so terrified and wild it was.
All the roads were cordoned off and it made it very difficult.
For weeks flesh and bones were gathered up and when they thought all was found a mass grave at Waikumete was the resting place of these poor fellows.
There were some gruesome things that followed though.
My sister went over to show a visitor the crash site some time later, only to find part of a jaw bone with lovely white teeth attached to it. Another girl found a shoe with a foot in it some time after the area was cleared.
The air force took over restoring George’s house to its original condition.
No-one who lived in the Whenuapai district ever forgot the terrible crash that woke the whole area on that dreadful night.
The explosion was heard as far away as Auckland."

There's a pdf of Robert Brassey's presentation on the crash and its archaeology from the 2017 West Auckland Heritage Conference here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10LDqOjpcpANScGF9pEXcoRctnwON-oPp/view?usp=sharing

A gorgeous winter’s day at the Church and graveyard today. Brothers Lloyd and Murray Sinton called in to visit the grav...
06/08/2026

A gorgeous winter’s day at the Church and graveyard today.

Brothers Lloyd and Murray Sinton called in to visit the graveyard - always lovely to see them 💛

The shared pathway on Clark Road is almost ready to begin construction outside the Church, and the daffodils are starting to pop up beautifully.

The garden is looking super tidy thanks to Diane Midgley, and the camellias around the new water tank are growing really well

The headstones and graves are looking beautifully clean after our recent spray for moss, mould, and lichen - such a difference across the whole graveyard.

The new grass around the Scott Road fenceline graves is growing really well and starting to soften the whole area beautifully. The new grave plaques look fantastic - thank you to Steven Webb and the team at Monumental Headstones & Plaques (www.headstonesandplaques.co.nz) for their excellent work 🌼

Excellent grounds maintenance as always from James Watson and the team at Express Lawnmowing.

Thanks everyone for your continued support in protecting and maintaining our community’s heritage Church and graveyard. He mihi nui - your kindness and care truly make a difference💛

Address

1 Scott Road, Hobsonville
Auckland
0618

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 7pm
Tuesday 7am - 7pm
Wednesday 7am - 7pm
Thursday 7am - 7pm
Friday 7am - 7pm
Saturday 7am - 7pm
Sunday 7am - 7pm

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