Howick is a suburb of East Auckland, New Zealand. The area was traditionally settled by Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, and in 1847 Howick was established as a defensive settlement for Auckland, by veteran fencible soldiers of the British Army. Howick was a small agricultural centre until the 1950s, when it developed into a suburban area of Auckland. Today Howick is a well-established community that provides significant local facilities.
Until the 1920s, Howick had the reputation of being a sleepy English-style village. By 1921, the village had grown enough to become a town district within the Manukau County. In the 1930s after a concrete road was constructed between Howick and Greenlane, Howick developed into a suburb for people working in Penrose, Westfield and Ōtāhuhu. Howick village held fundraising carnivals from the 1930s to the 1950s known as Queens Carnivals, where beauty pageants were held to choose an annual queen from the community to represent Howick businesses.
After World War II, many Dutch New Zealanders settled in Howick. The population had slowly grown to 1,500 when the settlement celebrated its centenary in 1947. In 1952, Howick split from the Manukau County to form its own borough. Major suburban growth occurred in Howick in the 1960s and 1970s, including the development of new suburbs in the surrounding areas. In the 1980s and 1990s, Howick developed as a location for Asian migrant communities. Entrepreneur Kit Wong established 100 shops at the Meadowlands shopping plaza, which included a number of businesses run by Chinese and Thai immigrants, such as restaurants.
Howick has a wonderful coastal location, with good swimming beaches such as Cockle Bay, Howick Beach and Mellons Bay. Other main attractions are Howick Village and Mangemangeroa Reserve.
