Waikowhai is an Auckland suburb, under the local governance of the Auckland Council. Waikowhai has the largest block of native forest left on the Auckland isthmus. The block was considered the too infertile for farming and subsequently not cleared but given to the Wesley Mission. Today the forest block hosts a valuable sample of Auckland's original fauna and flora. Waikōwhai Walkway extends for linking Onehunga to Lynfield Cove. Etymology The name Waikowhai (sometimes spelt Waikowai) is mentioned on early European maps of the area and in newspapers from the 1850s. The meaning of the name in Māori is unclear, either meaning kōwhai tree waters, or yellow water. History The southern Auckland isthmus has been settled by Tāmaki Māori since at least the 13th century. A traditional trail existed at Waikowhai, linking Te Tōanga Waka (the Whau River portage) in the west to Onehunga in the east. The iwi and hapū of the Manukau Harbour moved seasonally between different areas, collecting seasonal resources and farming. 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 Ngāti Whātua (modern-day Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei). There are two known sites of significance in the Waikowhai area, that are recorded on the 1853 map of the Manukau Harbour by Commander B. Drury: the Cape Horn headland is the recorded location of a fortified pā called Matengarahi, and the modern day Wattle Bay area, a site where many shell middens have been found, was called Taunahi. The land at Waikowhai was purchased through Robert FitzRoy's pre-emptive waiver scheme on 26 March 1844, as a part of Deed 208. Most of the modern suburb of Waikowhai was land gifted to the Wesleyan Methodist Church by the Crown in 1850, for the use of the Wesleyan mission. The land was used by the mission for fishing and swimming by the pupils. Waikowhai Bay was a popular destination for swimmers, day-trippers and picnickers in Auckland during the early 20th century. Gradually the bay lost popularity in the 1930s, due to increased pollution in the Manukau Harbour. In 1927, the Wesley Trust began developing and subdividing the land at Waikowhai for suburban housing, which was followed by government housing developments from the 1940s onwards. In the 1950s and 1960s, a rubbish tip and landfill was established at Waikowhai