Gulf Harbour is a new township designed for 7,000 persons located an hour north of Auckland, New Zealand, at the end of the Whangaparaoa (Bay of Whales) Peninsula on the Hibiscus Coast. Originally a large farm, occupying its own 700 acre peninsula, it was purchased in the early 1980s by Wilkins and Davies,Ltd, an Auckland based contracting and land development company.
The initial development of the property involved the construction of a 900 berth marina and harbour to provide for the large number of sailors in the Auckland area. In 1988, after the success of the marina, Wilkins and Davies hired Robin Riley as development manager to prepare a master plan and lead the development of the balance land. Mr Riley completed a master plan with Antony Wood, Land Development Consultant, but in 1990 Wilkins and Davies went into receivership and the development effort was terminated.
In 1992 Gulf Harbour was purchased by Singaporean interests and Robin Riley Associates, Ltd was contracted to provide lead architectural and urban design services and to initiate development along the lines of the initial master plan.
Over the next several years, Robin Riley, Antony Wood and a team of planners, engineers and contractors designed and developed a Marine Village with shops, restaurants and a hotel; a number of neighborhoods around a Robert Trent Jones designed golf course and a country club and clubhouse.
Today, the project is under new ownership and the community continues to expand.
