Northcote ( ) is a suburb of
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
in northern
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. It is situated on the
North Shore, on the northern shores of
Waitematā Harbour
Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...
, four km northwest of
Auckland CBD
The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson. It is New Zealand's l ...
. The suburb includes the peninsula of Northcote Point and the northern approaches to the
Auckland Harbour Bridge
The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and th ...
.
Northcote Central
Northcote Central is a suburb of Auckland's North Shore, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the northern shore of the Waitematā Harbour.
The Northcote Shopping Centre is anchored by a Countdown supermarket.
Tuff Crater, or Tank Farm, ...
is to the north of Northcote.
History
Northcote Point, known as Tōtaratahi ("single Totara tree"), was the location of Te Onewa Pā, a fortified
pā supporting
Tāmaki Māori
Tāmaki Māori are Māori '' iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M ...
in the area, close to
kūmara
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young shoot ...
gardens, shellfish and the
Waitemata Harbour Waitemata or Waitematā may refer to:
* Waitematā Harbour, the primary harbour of Auckland, New Zealand
* Waitematā (local board area), a local government area in Auckland, New Zealand
** Waitematā Local Board, a local board of Auckland Council, ...
shark fishery, which were hunted for during summers.
The land was purchased by the crown during the Mahurangi purchase in 1840,
after which the peninsula was named Rough Point, named after Captain David Rough, first harbourmaster of Auckland.
In 1848 it was renamed Stokes Point, in honour of Captain
John Lort Stokes
Admiral John Lort Stokes, RN (1 August 1811 – 11 June 1885)Although 1812 is frequently given as Stokes's year of birth, it has been argued by author Marsden Hordern that Stokes was born in 1811, citing a letter by fellow naval officer Crawford ...
of the survey vessel
HMS ''Acheron''.
In 1880, it was renamed Northcote Point, and in 1908 the peninsula became a public park.
In 1882, the St Heliers and Northcote Land Company was formed and some land in the area was subdivided. In 1889 a major subdivision was the result when the Bartley Estate was auctioned. Before the construction of the Harbour Bridge, the Northcote Wharf was heavily utilised by Auckland Harbour ferry services. After the bridge was opened in 1959, the number of ferry crossings fell and the Northcote Point peninsula became a quiet cul-de-sac. The wooden Northcote Tavern was once in the thick of things; it still stands but now surveys a quiet streetscape.
Demographics
Northcote covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
Northcote had a population of 5,742 at the
2018 New Zealand census
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, an increase of 393 people (7.3%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 513 people (9.8%) since the
2006 census
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
. There were 1,959 households, comprising 2,751 males and 2,991 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female, with 1,041 people (18.1%) aged under 15 years, 1,185 (20.6%) aged 15 to 29, 2,718 (47.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 792 (13.8%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 73.6% European/
Pākehā
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New Z ...
, 7.7%
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
, 3.7%
Pacific peoples, 21.9%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, and 2.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 36.1, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.1% had no religion, 34.7% were
Christian, 0.2% had
Māori religious beliefs, 2.0% were
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, 1.3% were
Muslim, 1.4% were
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and 2.4% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,941 (41.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 354 (7.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,458 people (31.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,583 (54.9%) people were employed full-time, 717 (15.3%) were part-time, and 138 (2.9%) were unemployed.
Local government
From 1876 until 1908, Northcote was a part of the Takapuna Riding administered by the
Waitemata County
The Waitemata County was one of the counties of New Zealand in the North Island. Established in 1876, the county covered West Auckland, Rodney and the North Shore. The county shrunk in size between 1886 and 1954 when various urban areas on the ...
, a large rural county north and west of the city of Auckland.
In 1908, the area split from the county, forming the Northcote Borough Council. In 1989, the borough was merged into the
North Shore City
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' i ...
. North Shore City Council was amalgamated into
Auckland Council in November 2010.
Within the Auckland Council, Northcote is a part of the
Kaipātiki
Kaipātiki is a local government area in New Zealand's Auckland Region, governed by the Kaipātiki Local Board and Auckland Council. It currently aligns with the council's North Shore Ward.
Geography
It includes the suburbs of Totara Vale, ...
local government area governed by the
Kaipātiki Local Board
The Kaipātiki Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of Auckland Council, and is one of the two boards overseen by the council's North Shore Ward councillors. It covers Glenfield south to Northcote Point. Its eastern border is the North ...
. It is a part of the
North Shore ward, which elects two councillors to the Auckland Council.
Mayors of Northcote Borough Council
![Jim Holdaway, mayor of Northcote](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Jim_Holdaway%2C_mayor_of_Northcote.jpg)
*1908
Alexander Bruce
*1908–1912 Herbert Cadness
*1912–1917 George Fraser
*1917–1919 John Byrne Tonar
*1919–1921 Arthur Edwin Greenslade
*1921–1925 William Ernest Richardson
*1925–1927 Charles Archibald Deuxberry
*1927–1931 Arthur Edwin Greenslade
*1931–1941 Robert Martin
*1941–1944 Ernest Clyde Fowler
*1944–1956 Frank Montagne Pearn
*1956–1962 John Forsyth Potter
*1962–1968 Albert Ernest James Holdaway
*1968–1974 Alfred James Evans
*1974–1979 Trevor Edwin La Roche
*1979–1989 Jean Sampson
Features and landmarks
Northcote is surrounded by the suburbs of
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
,
Hillcrest and
Takapuna
Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...
to the west and north, and the waters of Shoal Bay, an arm of the Waitemata, to the south and east.
State Highway 1
The following highways are numbered 1.
For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads.
For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads.
For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads.
For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads.
For roads numbere ...
stretches along the waterfront of Shoal Bay, heading north from the bridge towards
Albany.
To the north of Northcote Point on one of the main routes leading to and from the Harbour Bridge is the Northcote Shopping Centre, which was developed in the early 1960s. It is now a multi-cultural retail hub featuring many Asian food outlets.
Smiths Bush in the Onewa Domain is a remnant native forest, dominated by
kahikatea
''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was fi ...
and
taraire trees. Originally purchased by Alexander Mackay, his son-in-law Thomas Drummond preserved the forest from milling. The park became a public reserve in 1942, and received its name from James and Catherine Smith, the owners of the land who preserved it in the early 20th century. A large section of the forest was felled in 1959, during the construction of the
Auckland Northern Motorway
The Auckland Northern Motorway (known locally as the Northern Motorway, and historically as the Auckland–Waiwera Motorway) in the Auckland Region of New Zealand links Central Auckland and Puhoi in the former Rodney District via the Hibisc ...
.
Notable buildings
* St John the Baptist (Anglican Church)
Education
Northcote College is a coeducational secondary (years 9–13) school with a roll of . It was established in 1877.
During its early years, the College incorporated Standards five and six (Forms one and two) which were transferred to Northcote Intermediate School when that was established as a separate entity on its present site in Lake Road in Northcote Central in 1958.
Northcote Primary School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1–6) school with a roll of . It was established on its present site in 1918. The Northcote area war memorial stands at the front of the school, on the corner of Lake and Onewa Roads.
St Mary's School is a primary school with a roll of . It is a state integrated Catholic school, which provides education for both boys and girls in years 1–6, and for girls only in years 7–8. It celebrated its 75th Jubilee in 2008.
Rolls are as of
Sport and recreation
Northcote is home to the
Northcote Tigers
The Northcote Tigers are a rugby league club based in Northcote, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1910 as the Northcote Warriors though they became known as the Northcote Ramblers shortly afterwards.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Gol ...
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
club and the Northcote Birkenhead Rugby Union Sports Club.
Transport
Auckland ferry services run by
Fullers Group stop at Northcote Point, near the northern end of the
Auckland Harbour Bridge
The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and th ...
.
References
Further reading
*Hodgson, Terence (1992). ''The Heart of Colonial Auckland, 1865–1910''. Random Century NZ.
External links
Photographs of Northcoteheld in
Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.
Photographs of Northcote Pointheld in
Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.
{{Kaipātiki Local Board Area
Kaipātiki Local Board Area
Suburbs of Auckland
North Shore, New Zealand
Populated places around the Waitematā Harbour