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Ponsonby, New Zealand

Coordinates: 36°51′07″S 174°44′20″E / 36.852°S 174.739°E / -36.852; 174.739
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ponsonby
Suburb
The Three Lamps area in Ponsonby, with the Ponsonby Post Office and Leys Institute visible
The Three Lamps area in Ponsonby, with the Ponsonby Post Office and Leys Institute visible
Map
Location of Ponsonby in Auckland.
Coordinates: 36°51′07″S 174°44′20″E / 36.852°S 174.739°E / -36.852; 174.739
CountryNew Zealand
CityAuckland
Local authorityAuckland Council
Electoral wardWaitematā and Gulf ward
Local boardWaitematā Local Board
Established1845 (approx.)
Area
[1]
 • Land135 ha (334 acres)
Population
 (June 2023)[2]
 • Total5,440
Herne Bay Saint Marys Bay Viaduct Harbour
Westmere
Ponsonby
 Freemans Bay
Grey Lynn Arch Hill Newton

Ponsonby (Māori: Te Rimu Tahi)[3] is an inner-city suburb of Auckland located 2 km west of the Auckland CBD. The suburb is oriented along a ridge running north–south, which is followed by the main street of the suburb, Ponsonby Road.

Ponsonby was originally a working class neigbourhood, now it is a predominantly upper-middle class residential suburb, Ponsonby today is also known in Auckland for its dining and shopping establishments.

From the Great Depression until the 1980s it contained many rundown buildings, and had a somewhat 'colourful' reputation. This was partially due to some criminal elements, its many Māori and Pacific Island residents and (from the 1970s onwards) student flats and an association with Auckland's arts and gay/lesbian scenes.

Ponsonby includes an area called Three Lamps which is located at the intersection of Ponsonby Road, College Hill, and St Marys Road. This name is derived from a 19th-century Lamppost.

The suburb has undergone extensive gentrification over the last two decades.[4]

Etymology

[edit]

The area now referred to as Three Lamps was originally called Dedwood in 1845,[5] after a farm in Shelly Beach Road, which was apparently named after a Captain Dedwood. The name was changed to Ponsonby in 1873, apparently derived from Ponsonby Road which first appears on an 1850s Map of Auckland. Ponsonby is now applied to a larger area (as described above). There are various people who might have inspired the name Ponsonby:

Sir Henry Ponsonby became private secretary to the Queen just before the name change in 1873; it is unlikely however that his name would have been very well known and Ponsonby Road appears as early as the mid-1850s. His surname is thus the least likely source for the naming of the road (and eventually the new name for the suburb)[citation needed]

The Hon. Colonel Stephen Ponsonby Peacocke (also known as Ponsonby Peacocke) was a member of the Legislative Council (1866). He was living on Ponsonby Road in the 1860s and died in 1872. His Christian name is an unlikely source for the naming of the road and there is a map from the mid-1850s showing Ponsonby Road which may predate Peacocke's arrival in New Zealand in 1858.[citation needed]

It was widely believed that Ponsonby Road was originally called Vandeleur Road, named after Major-General Sir John Vandeleur was a Divisional Commander at Waterloo and Colonel Frederick Ponsonby was a regimental commander under him.[7] This is, however, unlikely.[8] One of the earliest maps of Auckland (1841 by the Surveyor General, Felton Mathew), does show a Vandeleur Road in the general area.[9] However it does not run in the same direction as the existing Ponsonby Road, it would run north–south and sit between the existing Howe and Hepburn Streets.[9]

The Māori name for the ridge is Te Rimu Tahi ('The Lone Rimu Tree'), referring to an ancient tree which, it is claimed, stood in a prominent position at what is now the intersection of Ponsonby Road and Karangahape Road.[10]

History

[edit]
Ponsonby in the early 1900s as seen from Cox's Creek
Aerial view of Ponsonby, 1970

In 1840 3,000 acres of land, which includes land that would become Ponsonby, was gifted from Apihai Te Kawau to Governor William Hobson to serve as the new capital of New Zealand.[10][5][11]

Ponsonby saw residential growth as Dedwood in the 1850s with saw mills and shipyards supporting a small work force. Bishop Pompallier and the Sisters of Mercy arrival in the area, combined with their purchase of Mount St Mary created a cavalcade of Catholic immigration to the area.[12]

In 1854 St. Anne's School for Māori Girls was established and ran by the Sisters of Mercy, who arrived from Ireland in 1850. The property they used for this (Bishop Pompallier's House) is registered as a category 1 building with Heritage New Zealand.[13][14]

The Nazareth Institute for Maori and Half-Caste Girls was founded in 1863.[10]

In 1873 the name of the area was officially changed from Dedwood to Ponsonby.[5][15]

In 1882 the Ponsonby Highway Board was amalgamated with Auckland City Council.[16]

The first horse tram service from Queen Street to Ponsonby started in 1884.[5] This supported residential growth in Ponsonby.[12]

Around the dawn of the 20th century complaints were raised as to the quality and state of housing in the area. Ponsonby was considered an overcrowded area. Surburban expansion in Auckland around the 1950s led to many Ponsonby homes being converted to flats for lower income residents, mainly students and Polynesians. Increasing fuel prices and other factors led to more central locations becoming desirable and Ponsonby began to gentrify starting in the mid 1970s.[12]

The first mosque in New Zealand was established in 1979 by the New Zealand Muslim Association.[5]

In 1992 The Franklin Road Christmas lights display first ran. Over 100 houses on the street participate in decorating their homes with Christmas lights for free public viewing. It has since ran each year.[17]

Three Lamps

[edit]
The Three Lamps in Ponsonby, whence the name Three Lamps derives

Three Lamps is an area of Ponsonby around the intersection of Ponsonby Road, St Marys Road, Jervois Road and College Hill. It is named after a lamp that was located at the centre of the intersection.[5] The lamp was removed in the 1930s as a traffic hazard. It was later replaced with a replica on the footpath in 2012.[18]

Notable buildings and landmarks

[edit]
Gluepot Tavern with the replica Three Lamps visible
Renall Street is a protected historic area in Ponsonby
St John's Church

St John's Church, Ponsonby is a Methodist church on Ponsonby Road that was constructed in 1882. It is registered as a category 2 building by Heritage New Zealand.[19]

St Mary's Old Convent Chapel was built in 1866 to a design from Edward Mahoney. The Chapel is registered as a category 1 building.[20]

St Stephens Church, Ponsonby is a Presbyterian church built in 1879. It is registered as a category 2 building.[21]

The Ponsonby Baptist Church is a Baptist church established in 1875 with the current church building erected in 1905. Both the old and new church building have a category 1 heritage listing.[22]

The Bishop House was constructed 1893–1894 and is part of the Catholic Diocese of Auckland. The building is registered as a category 1 building.[23]

The Ponsonby Fire Station was constructed in 1902 and is registered as a category B building with Auckland Council.[24]

The Ponsonby Post Office was constructed in 1912 with an Edwardian Baroque design from John Campbell. It is registered as a category 1 building.[25]

The Auckland Savings Bank building was constructed in 1928. It is registered as a category 2 building.[26]

The Gluepot Tavern was constructed in the 1930s as a hotel. It has an art deco design. The hotel was originally known as Gluepot but the origin of this name is unknown. In the 1990s the hotel closed and the building was turned into a mix of apartments, shops, and offices. The façade has been kept.[5]

The Leys Institute comprises two public buildings, the Leys Institute Gymnasium and the Leys Institute Public Library. The Leys Institute was founded from the will of a local resident and built in 1905–1906 in an Edwardian Baroque design by Robert Martin Watt. Both buildings have a category 1 heritage listing.[27][28]

The Britannia Theatre was constructed in 1905 as a skating rink and by 1910 it was converted to become the Windsor Picture Theatre. By the 1920s it was named the Britannia Theatre. In 1969 the building closed. It was renovated to become the Three Lamps Plaza in 1981 and has served as a shopping arcade since.[29]

Renall Street is a historic area and registered with Heritage New Zealand. All the houses on the street date to the Victorian era and have seen minimal changes. The properties on the street reflect the varied styles of construction for housing for lower-income families.[12]

The Letholite Factory is a former factory that was used to produce Letholite Luggage. Constructed in 1919 for Palmer Collins & Whittaker the building continued to operate until the 1970s.[5]

225 Ponsonby Road has an unnamed house that was used as a doctor's surgery from 1908 to 1920 by two Seventh-day Adventists.[5]

203–209 contains a group of terraced houses that were built in the early 20th century. The houses have a category B heritage listing with Auckland Council.[5]

The Vermont Street corner shops are a row of shops built in 1907 along Ponsonby Road at the intersection with Vermont Street. The buildings have a category B heritage listing with Auckland Council.[5]

Holmdene is an Italianate home built in the 1880s for a local businessman. Holmdene later served as a boarding home in the 1980s.[5]

The Braemar Building was built in 1911–1912 for a local lawyer. It was designed by William Alfred Holman. The building has since served as shops.[5]

The Leys block is a corner building built in 1911 in the Queen Anne style by the Leys family.[5]

The Auckland Unitarian Church is the first Unitarian church constructed in New Zealand. It was designed by Thomas White and built in 1901. It has a category 1 heritage listing.[5]

The former Newton Police Station, designed by John Campbell. It was built in 1905 and has a category B heritage listing with Auckland Council.[5]

Demographics

[edit]

Ponsonby covers 1.35 km2 (0.52 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 5,440 as of June 2023,[2] with a population density of 4,030 people per km2.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
20065,487—    
20135,577+0.23%
20185,730+0.54%
Source: [30]

Ponsonby had a population of 5,730 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 153 people (2.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 243 people (4.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,085 households, comprising 2,763 males and 2,967 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.93 males per female, with 951 people (16.6%) aged under 15 years, 1,299 (22.7%) aged 15 to 29, 2,970 (51.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 513 (9.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 83.4% European/Pākehā, 8.8% Māori, 8.6% Pacific peoples, 9.2% Asian, and 3.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 29.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 58.2% had no religion, 31.2% were Christian, 0.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.3% were Hindu, 0.7% were Muslim, 1.0% were Buddhist and 2.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 2,415 (50.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 273 (5.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,971 people (41.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,063 (64.1%) people were employed full-time, 639 (13.4%) were part-time, and 144 (3.0%) were unemployed.[30]

While official statistics are not collected, Ponsonby is also popularly imagined as having a large gay population relative to other Auckland suburbs. A survey by the NZ AIDS Foundation has however found that the stereotype seems to be true, and that the area and the directly adjacent suburbs have a (in comparison) very high percentage of gay people, possibly attracted by the fact that they feel more at ease in an environment where gay people are relatively commonplace.[31]

Individual statistical areas
Name Area (km2) Population Density (per km2) Households Median age Median income
Ponsonby West 0.65 2,337 3,595 804 36.6 years $55,300[32]
Ponsonby East 0.70 3,393 4,847 1,281 34.8 years $59,500[33]
New Zealand 37.4 years $31,800

Education

[edit]

St Paul's College is a state-integrated Catholic boys' secondary school (years 7–13) with a roll of 405 students.[34] Marist School is a Catholic coeducational contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of 142 which shares the same site.[35]

Ponsonby Intermediate is a coeducational intermediate school (years 7–8) with a roll of 518.[36] Richmond Road School is a coeducational contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of 292.[37]

Rolls are as of August 2024.[38]

Notable residents

[edit]

Sport

[edit]

Ponsonby is home to the Ponsonby Ponies rugby league club and Ponsonby Rugby Football Club.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Population estimate tables - NZ.Stat". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Te Rimu Tahi Ponsonby". Discover Auckland. Tātaki Auckland Unlimited. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  4. ^ McClure, Margaret (6 December 2007). "Auckland places - Western suburbs: Ponsonby to Hillsborough". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Ponsonby Heritage Walks – Mace, Tania; Ponsonby Road Promotions & Auckland City Council, ca. 2005. Archived from the original 14 June 2006.
  6. ^ "Wellington (newspaper column item)". Otago Witness. 19 May 1866. p. 6. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  7. ^ Perrott, Alan (21 February 2012). "The geneology of Auckland street names". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Timespanner: A slightly flawed "genealogy" of street names". Timespanner. 26 February 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Plan of the town of Auckland in the Island of New Ulster or Northern Island, New Zealand, by Felton Mathew 1841". kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Blair, Ngarimu. "Te Rimu Tahi. Ponsonby Road Masterplan - Maori Heritage Report" (PDF). Auckland Council. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  11. ^ AUCKLAND CITY HERITAGE WALKS - AUCKLAND'S ORIGINAL SHORELINE (PDF). Auckland Council.
  12. ^ a b c d "Renall Street Historic Area". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand.
  13. ^ Delany, Veronica (1990). "'Maher, Mary Cecilia', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  14. ^ "Bishop Pompallier's House (Former)". Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Ponsonby history". Ponsonby News. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  16. ^ Stewart, Di; Petry, Bruce (1995). Ponsonby Road and Jervois Road, Heritage Study (Report). Auckland City Council.
  17. ^ "The man behind Auckland's most beloved Christmas display". Newshub. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Three Lamps: Ponsonby's High Street". Ponsonby News. 9 October 2014. p. 41. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  19. ^ "St John's Church (Methodist)". Heritage New Zealand.
  20. ^ "St Mary's Old Convent Chapel". Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  21. ^ "St Stephen's Church (Presbyterian)". Heritage New Zealand.
  22. ^ "Ponsonby Baptist Church". Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  23. ^ Jones, Martin (12 December 2012). "Bishop's House (Catholic)". Heritage New Zealand.
  24. ^ "Fire station has been nightclub, restaurant". NZ Herald. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  25. ^ "Ponsonby Post Office (Former)". Heritage New Zealand.
  26. ^ Cox, Elizabeth (6 June 2015). "Auckland Savings Bank (former)". Heritage New Zealand.
  27. ^ Cox, Elizabeth (6 June 2015). "Leys Institute Public Library". Heritage New Zealand.
  28. ^ Cox, Elizabeth (6 June 2015). "Leys Institute Gymnasium". Heritage New Zealand.
  29. ^ "Historic Ponsonby character has great future potential". New Zealand Herald. 23 October 2015.
  30. ^ a b "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Ponsonby West (130400) and Ponsonby East (131200).
  31. ^ Collins, Simon (7 September 2006). "It's true - Ponsonby really is NZ's gay capital". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  32. ^ 2018 Census place summary: Ponsonby West
  33. ^ 2018 Census place summary: Ponsonby East
  34. ^ Education Counts: St Paul's College
  35. ^ Education Counts: Marist School
  36. ^ Education Counts: Ponsonby Intermediate
  37. ^ Education Counts: Richmond Road School
  38. ^ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  39. ^ "Keller, Nettie Florence – Biography". Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

Further reading

[edit]
  • The Lively Capital, Auckland 1840–1865 Una Platts, Avon Fine Prints Limited New Zealand 1971.
  • The Heart of Colonial Auckland, 1865–1910. Terence Hodgson. Random Century NZ Ltd 1992.
  • Colonial Architecture in New Zealand. John Stacpoole. A.H & A.W Reed 1976
  • Decently And in Order, The Centennial History of the Auckland City Council. G.W.A Bush. Collins 1971.
  • Auckland Through A Victorian Lens. William Main. Millwood Press 1977.
  • Urban Village: The Story of Ponsonby, Freemans Bay and St. Marys Bay. Jenny Carlyon and Diana Morrow. Random House New Zealand 2008
[edit]
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