Mangere Town Centre Photo: RNZ / Luka Forman
It might not spring to mind as tourist destination, but Māngere Town Centre's manager is hoping the south Auckland hub can offer a unique Pacific experience for international visitors as they head to and from the nearby airport.
The shiny new Mānawa Bay outlet mall recently opened nearby, boasting 100 shops, large crowds and big traffic jams.
But Māngere Town Centre manager Vicky Hau believed the area was big enough for the both shopping centres, and hoped the new mall would boost activity and bring new visitors into the suburb.
"That is a market that we should really tap into. We have seen some tourists come through. Because we are on the way from the airport out - we're at the doorstep of the airport, but we're also a gateway to the airport or to the world."
Facility administrator Siapo Auvae said the town centre currently had only a few tourists through each month, but they loved the experience.
"They say 'oh it's nice and colourful' and one tourist went there and the zumba was on and they said 'guess what? I went and joined!'."
Hau saw the new Mānawa Bay mall as an opportunity for the town centre, rather than competition.
"Just because Mānawa Bay offers will draw a lot of people into our area here into Mangere and also over there you can get an urban experience. We can actually leverage off that with how we can showcase the cultural experience and the authentic pacific destination we have."
Tukua Turia, in front of Tivaivai (traditional Cook Islands quilting) Photo: RNZ / Luka Forman
One person helping to make the town centre an authentic pacific destination was Tukua Turia.
She ran a group called the Polynesian Creative Arts Mamas who made Tivaivai, or traditional Cook Islands quilting.
"We must keep the culture going, because if there's no culture there's no language, no?"
Turia said the community came out in numbers to support the shows they put on to showcase Tivaivai at the arts centre.
Despite acting humble in the face of big crowd, Turia actually had an international reputation - she worked with designer Karen Walker in the past and even met Kate Middleton at Buckingham Palace.
Tivaivai exhibition at the Mangere Arts Centre. Photo: RNZ / Luka Forman
Māngere Town Centre had its issues in the past, including illegal dumping and security problems.
But Danika Manase - who worked at clothing store TwoSevenFive - said that was changing.
"It's starting to look a little bit more cleaner. Because they used to dump rubbish outside and they did something about it. Now it's starting to slowly get better. It's starting to become more alive again."
Fred Passi works at Nesian collective, a shop showcasing unique Pacific products.
"My boss knew that we didn't need another $2.50 shop, another laundromat and we definitely didn't need another vape shop here. But if you look around the room you can obviously see these are Pasifika designed and inspired products."
Fred Passi at Nesian collective . Photo: RNZ / Luka Forman
He was proud of the business, but was not too thrilled about the new vape store that had opened in the town centre, one of several in the area.
"I'm not against adults vaping. But what I hear now is that our tamariki are vaping, we've got under 10s who are vaping. So I'm against the community harm that they're doing."
Hau said she wanted to start promoting Māngere Town Centre more on social media and in ads around the airport, so that people thought of it as more of a drawcard - not just for shopping, but for a taste of Aotearoa's Pasifika culture.
