University House (Auckland) in the context of University of Auckland

The University of Auckland (UoA; Waipapa Taumata Rau) is a public research university in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest and highest ranked University in New Zealand. It was established in 1883 as Auckland University College, a constituent college of the University of New Zealand, following the passage of the Auckland University College Act 1882. In its early years the college operated from a disused courthouse and jail. The University’s Māori name, Waipapa Taumata Rau, was gifted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei in 2021.

As of the mid-2020s, the University is widely reported as the largest in New Zealand by enrolment, with a student population of around 44,000. Teaching and research are centred on three main campuses in central Auckland: City (the historic core), Grafton (home to the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences), and Newmarket (acquired in 2013 on the former Lion Breweries site).