1910 and assembled by members of the Auckland Aeroplane Syndicate. The Papakura Military Camp was established on the outskirts of the town in 1939 and remains an important base for the New Zealand Army, being the home of the New Zealand Special Air Service. The camp was initially built by the Stevenson family construction business. In the early 2000s some land was set aside for new housing developments. During the major reformation of local government in 1989, Papakura became a district. Prior to 1989, a smaller area was known as Papakura City. The new district included parts of the surrounding rural countryside that had previously been part of Manukau City. The newly amalgamated area was known as the Papakura District. Instead of being an independent city, as Papakura had been previously, the district became a part of the also newly-created Auckland Regional Council area. From October 2010, after a review of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance, the various cities and districts of the Auckland Region were amalgamated into a single unitary authority, governed by the Auckland Council. As well as the Papakura District, the other cities and districts within the Auckland Region, such as the neighbouring Manukau City, as well as the regional council itself, were abolished with the entire area merged into a single authority. Papakura and the other suburbs of the former Papakura District are now in the Papakura Local Board within the Manurewa-Papakura Ward of the Auckland Council. The entirety of Papakura and the former district is included as part of the Auckland urban area for statistical purposes, forming part of its southern boundary. Demographics Papakura covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Papakura had a population of 22,500 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 3,276 people (17.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 4,833 people (27.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 6,636 households, comprising 11,085 males and 11,412 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.97 males per female, with 5,745 people (25.5%) aged under 15 years, 5,238 (23.3%) aged 15 to 29, 9,279 (41.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 2,232 (9.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 46.3% European/Pākehā, 34.2% Māori, 21.6% Pacific peoples, 16.9% Asian, and 2.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 25.7, compared with 27.1%