Mount Roskill, New Zealand

Mount Roskill is a suburban area in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is named for the volcanic peak Puketāpapa (commonly called "Mount Roskill" in English).

Description

The suburb, named after the Mount, is located seven kilometres to the south of the city centre, and is surrounded by the neighbouring suburbs of Three Kings, Sandringham, Wesley, Hillsborough and Mount Albert. The Mount Roskill shops are located at the intersection of Mount Albert and Dominion Roads.

In the 1920s, a new subdivision off Dominion Road was established. It was named the Victory Estate after notable First World War personnel.

One of the city's larger suburbs, it was largely farmland until after the Second World War. It was a separate borough from 1947 until local government reorganisation in 1989 amalgamated it with Auckland City.

In the past, Mount Roskill was referred to as the Bible Belt of Auckland, as it contained the highest number of churches per capita in New Zealand. The electorate was one of the last in the country to go "wet", in 1999, having formally been a dry area where the selling of alcohol was prohibited.

Demographics

Mount Roskill covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km².

Mount Roskill had a population of 17,319 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,188 people (7.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,983 people (12.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 5,187 households, comprising 8,754 males and 8,556 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female, with 2,853 people (16.5%) aged under 15 years, 4,788 (27.6%) aged 15 to 29, 7,605 (43.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 2,064 (11.9%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 29.1% European/Pākehā, 5.5% Māori, 15.5% Pacific peoples, 53.5% Asian, and 4.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 56.3, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 31.5% had no religion, 34.1% were Christian, 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 15.8% were Hindu, 8.8% were Muslim, 2.4% were Buddhist and 2.6% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 4,764 (32.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,842 (12.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,977 people (13.7%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 7,014 (48.5%) people were employed full-time, 2,016 (13.9%) were part-time, and 588 (4.1%) were unemployed.

Local government

Mount Roskill had a local government like other suburbs of Auckland at the time. The local government was called Mount Roskill Borough Council, which started in 1947 and merged into Auckland City Council in 1989 and then eventually merged into Auckland Council in 2010.

Mayors (1947–1989)

During its existence from 1947 to 1989, the borough of Mount Roskill had five mayors:

Library

Mt Roskill Library was built and opened to public in August 1977. It was refurbished and the floor area extended in November 2011. Mt Roskill Library has English, Māori, Chinese, Tamil, Arabic and Somali collections.

Sport and recreation

Mount Roskill Rugby Football Club, Bay Roskill Vikings, and Eden Roskill District Cricket Club are based in the suburb.

Education

Mount Roskill Grammar School is a secondary school (years 9-13) with a roll of . Mount Roskill Intermediate is an intermediate school (years 7-8) with a roll of . Mount Roskill Primary is a contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of . These schools are on adjoining sites.

Dominion Road School, Hay Park School and May Road School are contributing primary schools (years 1-6) with rolls of , and , respectively.

Monte Cecilia School is a state-integrated Catholic contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of .

All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of

People

Mount Roskill has been home to many successful New Zealanders who attended the local schools. Among them are:
*Rugby coach John Hart,
*Billionaire Graeme Hart
*Rugby union international Doug Howlett,
*Actor and South Sydney Rabbitohs owner Russell Crowe,
*Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard,
*Tennis player Brett Steven,
*Labour MP Phil Goff,
*Balmain Tigers, Eastern Suburbs Roosters, Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels and New Zealand rugby league international, 1992 Dally M Medallist, former Kiwi coach and commentator Gary Freeman
*Former rugby league international Dane O'Hara
*Former rugby league international and New Zealand Māori representative Bill Burgoyne
*Former New Zealand Warriors, Melbourne Storm, St George-Illawarra Dragons, Parramatta Eels and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby league international, New Zealand Māori representative and current NRL referee Henry Perenara
*Former Parramatta Eels rugby league player Marcus Perenara
*Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and New Zealand rugby league international Steve Matai
*New Zealand Warriors captain, rugby league international and professional boxer Monty Betham
*Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Wests Tigers rugby league international Matt Utai
*New Zealand Warriors and Kiwi rugby league international Evarn Tuimavave
*Parramatta Eels rugby league player Manu Ma'u
*New Zealand Warriors rugby league player Ben Henry
*Canberra Raiders rugby league player Bill Tupou
*Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby league player Sosaia Feki
*New Zealand Warriors rugby league player Sione Lousi
*New Zealand Warriors rugby league player Sam Lousi
*Newcastle Knights rugby league player Paterika Vaivai
*The Hay family (of Keith Hay Homes)
*Professional cricket player Azhar Abbas
*New York Times Best Selling author Nalini Singh

In 2007, the Mount Roskill Community Board commissioned a 176-page book titled ''Just Passing Through: A History of Mt Roskill'' (Jade Reidy) which covered the growth of the district from 1840 up until the present time. It identified the significant input of Mount Roskill residents internationally, such as athletics coach Arthur Lydiard in the chapter "How Sport Put Mt Roskill on the World Map."

References

Bibliography

*Nicola Legat:"In God We Trust? The Mount Roskillisation of Auckland" ''Metro'' 152 (February 1994): 58–67.
*David Craig: "Thin Topsoil: Queer Blokes, Moral Modernity and Real Estate Politics in New Zealand's Biggest Borough" in Ian Carter, David Craig and Steve Matthewman: ''Almighty Auckland?'' Palmerston North: Dunmore Press: 2004:
*Jade Reidy ''Just Passing Through: The Making of Mt Roskill'' (c) 2007 Auckland City Council
*''City of Volcanoes: A geology of Auckland'' - Searle, Ernest J.; revised by Mayhill, R.D.; Longman Paul, 1981. First published 1964. .
*''Volcanoes of Auckland: The Essential Guide''. Hayward, B.W., Murdoch, G., Maitland, G.; Auckland University Press, 2011.

External links

Photographs of Mount Roskill
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roskill
Suburbs of Auckland