Aviation have occupied and operated Mechanics Bay Heliport since mid-2018. A fleet of Airbus/Eurocopter H130 helicopters are operated by luxury charter company Helicopter Me. Surrounding area At its eastern end where Beach Road turns into Parnell Rise is a major intersection, over which the railway is carried on a metal viaduct. The road to the north is The Strand which follows the shore line of the reclaimed St Georges Bay. The road to the south is Stanley Street, which turns into Grafton Road as it ascends the hill towards the hospital and Auckland Domain. Stanley Street is named for Mrs Stanley, who lived in the area during the 1850s and ran a well known and apparently well regarded girls school. On the corner of Stanley Street and Parnell Rise is the Strand Hotel. This building is almost overpowered by the busy intersection and by the railway viaduct passing close to it. When the Strand Hotel was built in the 1840s as the Swan Hotel it stood directly on the quayside as a waterfront pub. Just opposite it on the other corner of Stanley Street stood the Native Hostel. Long before the Europeans arrived, Māori had beached their wakas on the broad flat beach just here and right from the founding of Auckland in 1840 into the late 20th century this portion of land was reserved for their use. The 19th century hostel buildings only disappeared in the 1970s, when they were replaced by a depot for the New Zealand Post Office. External links Photographs of Mechanics Bay held in Auckland Libraries heritage collections. References Decently And In Order, The Centennial History of the Auckland City Council. G.W.A Bush. Collins 1971. Auckland Through A Victorian Lens. William Main. Millwood Press 1977. Auckland's Original Shoreline. Dr Nerida Campbell. Heart of the City 2005. The Lively Capital, Auckland 1840-1865. Una Platts. Avon Fine Prints Limited New Zealand 1971. Heliports in New Zealand Suburbs of Auckland Transport buildings and structures in the Auckland Region Auckland CBD Waitematā Harbour Bays of the Auckland Region