<Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz </Td> </Tr> <P> Auckland (/ ˈɔːklənd / AWK - lənd) is a city in New Zealand's North Island . Auckland is the largest urban area in the country, with an urban population of around 1,534,700 . It is located in the Auckland Region--the area governed by Auckland Council--which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, resulting in a total population of 1,657,200 . A diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world . The Māori - language name for Auckland is Tāmaki (pronounced (ˈtaːmaki)) or Tāmaki - makau - rau, meaning "Tāmaki with a hundred lovers", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions . It has also been called Ākarana, a transliteration of the English name . </P> <P> The Auckland urban area (as defined by Statistics New Zealand) ranges to Waiwera in the north, Kumeu in the northwest, and Runciman in the south . Auckland lies between the Hauraki Gulf of the Pacific Ocean to the east, the low Hunua Ranges to the south - east, the Manukau Harbour to the south - west, and the Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north - west . The surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with dozens of dormant volcanic cones . The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitematā Harbour on the Pacific Ocean . Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have a harbour on each of two separate major bodies of water . </P> <P> The isthmus on which Auckland resides was first settled around 1350 and was valued for its rich and fertile land . The Māori population in the area is estimated to have peaked at 20,000 before the arrival of Europeans . After a British colony was established in 1840, William Hobson, then Governor of New Zealand, chose the area as his new capital . He named the area for George Eden, Earl of Auckland, British First Lord of the Admiralty . It was replaced as the capital in 1865 by Wellington, but immigration to the new city stayed strong, and it has remained the country's most populous urban area . Today, Auckland's central business district is the major financial centre of New Zealand . </P>

When was auckland first recognised as a city