Ponsonby is an inner-city suburb of
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
located 2 km west of the
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 lea ...
. The suburb is oriented along a
ridge
A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
running north–south, which is followed by the main street of the suburb, Ponsonby Road.
A predominantly upper-middle class residential suburb, Ponsonby today is also known in Auckland for its dining and shopping establishments – many restaurants, cafes,
art galleries
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
, up-market shops and
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
s are located along Ponsonby Road.
The borders of Ponsonby are often seen as being rather fluid, taking in St Mary's Bay and Herne Bay to the north and including Freemans Bay to the east and Grey Lynn to the south and west. Ponsonby is properly bounded by Jervois Road to the north, Richmond Road to the south and Ponsonby Road to the east. The area was originally a working class to middle class area.
From the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
until the 1980s it contained many rundown buildings, and had a somewhat 'colourful' reputation. This was partially due to some criminal elements, its many Maori 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 north end of Ponsonby Road. This name is derived from a 19th-century Lamppost (now reconstructed - see below), There are other locations called Three Lamps for the same reason; intersections in the UK - Crewe and Totterdown in Bristol which might conceivably have influenced the derivation here. There was also a Pub with that name in Swansea, Wales and a location in Macau in China.
The suburb has undergone extensive
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
over the last two decades. Addresses in Ponsonby have either the 1011 or 1021 postcode.
The
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 ...
name for the ridge was ('The Lone
Rimu
''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps.
The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...
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
Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flight of resident ...
).
The main street for which Ponsonby is known is Ponsonby Road, which runs the length of the ridge from the Karangahape Road intersection to the south to the Three Lamps intersection to the north. En route there are three major intersections; Williamson Avenue, which is the main thoroughfare of
Grey Lynn
Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914.
Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of the ...
to the west, Richmond Road (again to the west), which divides Grey Lynn and Ponsonby and Franklin Road, which is the main road in
Freemans Bay
Freemans Bay is the name of a former bay and now inner city suburb of Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. The bay has been filled in to a considerable extent, with the reclamation area now totally concealing the ancient shoreline. Hist ...
to the east.
Name
The area now referred to as Three Lamps was originally called Dedwood in 1845,
[Ponsonby Heritage Walks](_blank)
– Mace, Tania; Ponsonby Road Promotions & Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
, ca. 2005 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:
* Major-General Sir
Henry Ponsonby
Major-General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby (10 December 182521 November 1895) was a British soldier and royal court official who served as Queen Victoria's Private Secretary.
Biography
Born in Corfu, he was the son of Major-General Sir Frede ...
, private secretary to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, 1870–1895
* The Honourable
Ponsonby Peacocke
Captain Stephen Ponsonby Peacocke (1813 – 29 May 1872) was a British officer of the Bombay Army and an artist notable for his 17 paintings of historic landscape views in the Nilgiri Hills in South India. Tinted lithographs were made of thes ...
, a member of the
New Zealand Legislative Council
The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...
* Major-General Sir
Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby
Major General Hon. Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby (6 July 178311 January 1837) was an Anglo-Irish military officer.
Early life and education
Ponsonby was the second of three sons of Frederick Ponsonby, Viscount Dungannon (who succeeded as ...
, a cavalry commander in the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
and later
Governor of Malta
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
(and father of
Henry Ponsonby
Major-General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby (10 December 182521 November 1895) was a British soldier and royal court official who served as Queen Victoria's Private Secretary.
Biography
Born in Corfu, he was the son of Major-General Sir Frede ...
)
* Major-General Sir
William Ponsonby, a cavalry commander killed at
Waterloo
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)
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.
The Vandeleur connection: It is widely believed that what is now Ponsonby Road was originally called Vandeleur Road, but this is not backed up by evidence. One of the earliest maps of Auckland (1841 by the Surveyor General,
Felton Mathew
Felton Mathew (1801 – 26 November 1847) was New Zealand's first Surveyor General. Central Auckland was laid out by him. Felton Mathew Avenue was named after him, and is a difficult incline amongst the cycling community in Auckland.
Early life
...
), does show a Vandeleur Road in the general area. However it does not run in the same direction as the existing Ponsonby Road and it was probably never laid out - if it had been it would run north–south and sit between the existing Howe and Hepburn Streets (basically where
Western Park is located).
Many of the early street names of Auckland were derived from military men involved in the Napoleonic Wars; this includes Wellington and Nelson. The Ponsonby area contains several examples; Collingwood, Cockburn, Anglesea, Picton, Vandeleur and Ponsonby.
Major-General
Sir John Vandeleur
General Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur (1763 – 10 December 1849) was a British Army officer who fought in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
Biography
Vandeleur, born in 1763, was the son of Richard Vandeleur (died 1772) and Elinor, dau ...
was a Divisional Commander at Waterloo and Colonel Frederick Ponsonby was a regimental commander under him. His relative Major-General Sir William Ponsonby was also at Waterloo. Neither Frederick or William Ponsonby or Vandeleur came to New Zealand but they are probably the source for the street names and ultimately the suburb's name.
History
Timeline
* 1841
Jane Griffin (Lady Franklin), wife of Sir
John Franklin
Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through ...
the Governor of Tasmania, visits Auckland. During her time in Auckland she walks up a track in the Ponsonby area subsequently named for her as Franklin Road.
* mid1840s Governor Hobson's secretary James Stuart Freeman lives in the area subsequently known as "Freemans Bay".
* 1848 The area now known as Ponsonby is included in the "
Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
of Auckland".
* 1851 The "Suburban West Ward" is created which includes what is now Ponsonby.
* 1854 James O'Neill's house becomes St. Anne's School for Maori Girls run by the Sisters of Mercy. Responding to a Maori request for holy women to teach the children, the sisters of Mercy had arrived in Auckland from Ireland in 1850 already fluent in the Maori language. Their first school and orphanage was situated near St Patrick's Cathedral.
* 1854 St Mary's College for Catechists on the North Shore is transferred to St Mary's Bay, St. Marys School for Boys & a Seminary are built on of Crown Grant land at the end of Waitemata St.
* 1858 ''The Church of the Immaculate Conception'' is built (it is demolished in 1869 – 70, the site is now the Pompalier Tennis Club).
* 1859 ''New Street'' is put through the middle of the St Mary Mount estate and Bishop Pompallier presents land on the eastern side of the street for the creation of St. Mary's College. Almost unaided the sisters erect a three-storey convent building and open it in 1861. The only surviving building from this period is the Kauri St Mary's Chapel constructed in 1865 by
Edward Mahoney
E. Mahoney and Son was an architectural business consisting of Edward Mahoney (1824 or 1825 – 28 April 1895) and his son and architectural partner, Thomas Mahoney (1855–1923), who were prominent New Zealand architects based in Auckland. They ...
for £1100.
* 1860s Many Roman Catholics buy land in the new subdivisions in order to be near the Catholic centre with its Church, Convent & Schools. Names such as "Dublin" & "Green" reflect this development.
* 1860 Bishop Pompallier returns from Europe with a group of French nuns. Under his direction they form the Congregation of the Holy Family, which concentrates on teaching Maori girls.
* 1861 St. Anne's boarding school occupies O'Neill's former house.
* 1862 The Convent is completed. The new order of the Holy Family takes over teaching at the school. The order now consists of Maori as well as French Sisters.
* 1862 The Bishop takes over O'Neill's former house as his official residence.
* 1863 The Bishop sells more land, retaining the with the Bishop's House, The Church of the Holy Family and the Convent of the Holy Family. The Nazareth Institute for Maori and Half-Caste Girls is founded.
* 1863 The 1863 map of Auckland shows the road from Karangahape Rd to Franklin Rd labelled as Ponsonby Rd. At this time Jervois Rd is also called Ponsonby Rd. The map does not show the piece of road from Franklin Rd to College Hill that is called Vandeleur Rd.
* 1866 All Saints Parish is formed and a Sunday School opened.
* 1866 St. Mary's Convent, with its dormitories and Chapel, is built.
* 1865-68 The Suffolk Hotel (now the Cavalier Tavern) is built on College Hill.
* 1869 - 70 The Convent of the Holy Family is destroyed by fire. The Catholic Bishop is forced by his mortgagee to sell his remaining land, including the Bishop's House. The buyer is a Mr. Bennett who demolishes the Church of the Immaculate Conception. The Bishop resigns and leaves, leading to the dissolution of the order he had formed; the Order of the Holy Family. St. Mary's Convent remains.
* 1871 The Ponsonby and Dedwood Highway District is formed.
* 1871 Dedwood Post office is opened.
* 1872 The Anglican parish of All Saints is officially defined.
* 1872 The Ponsonby Anglican householders meet with local Education Board. The schoolroom of All Saints Church is rented at 30 per year to house Dedwood School. By 1874 Dedwood School is attended by 100 girls and 74 boys.
* 1873 The name of the area is officially changed from Dedwood to Ponsonby.
* 1873 Bishop Croke, the second Catholic Bishop of Auckland, buys back the land with the Bishop's house on it. In 1874 the wooden house is moved to its present location at 57 St. Mary's Road.
* 1873 A contest for the design of City Park (now known as Western Park) is held. Sir George Grey and Judge Thomas Gillies donate specimen trees.
* 1876 Ponsonby becomes part of the Newton Constituency.
* 1876 St Stephens Presbyterian Church, Jervois Rd, is built.
* 1877 St Johns Church, Ponsonby Road, is built.
* 1879 Western Park opens. However work on the project continues for several decades.
* 1879 A school opens in Beresford St known as Harrison's School named after its headmaster.
* 1882 Ponsonby is amalgamated with the
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
area.
* 1883
Lieutenant-General Sir William Jervois becomes
Governor of New Zealand
The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and liv ...
883-1889 Part of Ponsonby Road is renamed Jervois Road after him.
* 1884 The first horse tram service from Queen Street to Ponsonby is started. The route is from Three Lamps to Queen St via K'Rd, Pitt St, & Grey St. The fare is threepence. Trams ran every 15 minutes from 6.30am to 10.30pm at an average speed of an hour.
* 1885 to 1890 An economic slump follows the stock market crash. "
ole streets such as John Street and Clarence Street had not a soul living in them. Workmen's cottages handy to Queen Street brought half a crown per week: further out, say Ponsonby, such cottages were gladly let free of rent".
* 1886 The water reservoir at the corner of K'Rd and Ponsonby road is built.
* 1886 The Ponsonby Baptist Church is built. The 1778 Avery pipe organ is said to be originally from
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original cast ...
, a gift from
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
to Old St. Pauls, Emily Place, which had been demolished the previous year.
* 1886 - 1887 The Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart is built on the corner of O'Neill St and Ponsonby Road. This took over the role of Parish Church from St Mary's Chapel.
* 1887 The Ponsonby Seventh Day Adventist Church in McKelvie Street is opened.
* 1889 The Grey Lynn Borough Council Chambers & Volunteer Fire Station in Williamson Avenue is built by
John Mitchell.
* 1893 The Ponsonby Catholic Parish School building in O'Neill St is opened; in 1913 when the school is moved to Vermont St the building became a hall.
* 1894 The New Bishop's Palace is constructed to the designs of Pugin & Pugin (sons of
Augustus Welby Pugin
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...
, the Gothic enthusiast responsible for much of the decorative work of the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
). The Bishop's Palace was partly funded by donations from all over the world, including 5000 schools in Europe and the US, the Lord Mayor of London and an Archduchess of Austria. An imposing dark brick gothic pile, it is believed to be the first house in Auckland built to include electric lighting.
* 1897 The Catholic Order of the Little Sisters of the Poor is established in NZ. They were first located in a two-storey house in Hepburn St and from 1904 in Tweed St.
* 1902 The Ponsonby Fire Station in St Marys Road is built.
oldsbo'ro & Wade architects* 1903 The brick building housing the
Auckland Gas Company
The Auckland Gas Company is a company providing gas for residential or commercial customers in the Auckland area, New Zealand. It is one of the oldest still existing brand names in New Zealand, having been established as Auckland Gas Company Ltd ...
in Beaumont St is constructed.
* 1903 3 December after a blazing row the Ponsonby Yacht club take up residence at the Rob Roy Hotel.
* 1905
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
is created. John Court, proprietor of the John Court Department Store donates money for Playground equipment.
* 1905 Construction of the City Council Works Depot is started.
ow Victoria Park Market* 1909 The kindergarten in Victoria Park is built. When it encounters financial difficulties in 1910,
Logan Campbell purchases it to rescue the institution.
* 1911 The Ponsonby Post Office is built.
John Campbell - Government Architect
Z Historic Places Listing* 1914 The Auckland City Council allocates £3000 for six municipal houses in Clarence Street. This is the council's first venture into public housing.
* 1918 The wooden grandstand in Victoria Park is used as a temporary morgue during the great influenza epidemic. From here, the corpses are taken to the train station at the bottom of town and transported out to Waikumete cemetery in
West Auckland. In Auckland almost 1,700 people perish.
* 1920 Augustus Braithwaite, the Ponsonby postmaster, is murdered at his home in Shelly Beach Rd. The murderer Dennis Gunn was hanged as a result of the first use of fingerprint evidence in a trial in New Zealand.
* 1928 The ASB Bank in Jervois Rd is built.
* 1942-1945 Victoria Park is occupied by a military camp for WWII American troops. Air-raid drills and black outs are commonplace.
* 1956 The electric tram service is discontinued, the tracks are torn up, the overhead wires continue to be used for the electric trolley buses.
* 1950s The foreshore of St. Mary's bay disappears under the approaches to the Harbour Bridge. Cut off from the sea a great number of small commercial boat-yards are forced to close and many private boat-slips which have been used for almost a century fall into disuse. The Auckland Harbour Board planned to fill in Westhaven completely, but a group of local residents including engineers and architects donated their services to create Westhaven Marina.
* 1960s The motorway viaduct over Victoria Park is constructed.
* 1970s The electric trolley bus system is discontinued – the overhead wires are taken down.
* 1979 The
New Zealand Muslim Association
New Zealand Muslim Association (NZMA) established in 1950 is the oldest Islamic institution in New Zealand. The New Zealand Muslim Association (NZMA) was formed in the year 1950, with the objective to serve all Muslims brothers and sisters with ...
starts construction work on the first
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
in
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 ...
at 17 Vermont Street, Ponsonby.
* 1980s Assembly of God Church is erected next to the Harbour Bridge approaches at Victoria Park.
* 1983 Inactive since 1972, the Destructor at Victoria Park
915
Year 915 ( CMXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays s ...
is saved from demolition by being converted into use as
Victoria Park Market
Victoria Park Market is a cluster of galleries, workshops, studios, offices, restaurants and retail shops as well as a gym and Pilates Studio in Auckland, New Zealand. The precinct is housed in a former waste depot and incinerator complex. It ...
.
* ~1984~ Ponsonby Shopping Village is established by Gene and Maneeka Campbell (founders of the Auckland Motor Show). The New Zealand Herald's front-page article for the completion and opening of this building was titled,
* ''"Ponsonby's on the move again".''
* mid 1980s Two high rise apartment blocks are constructed on Jervois Rd. Following this, the Auckland City Council amends the height restrictions to make it impossible for similar buildings to be erected in the future.
* 1990s The
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
presence in the Ponsonby area is expressed by various annual events, such as Coming Out Day parades & The Hero Parade.
* 1990s Other festivals develop in the area: the Grey Lynn Festival & Pasifika and the iconic Franklin Road Christmas lights.
* 1990s Less restrictive liquor laws result in a large increase in small restaurants & bars. Auckland City Council's relaxation of bylaws prohibiting pavement cafes encourages large numbers of cafes to appear.
* 1990s Grey Lynn is granted heritage protection under the building laws. Grey Lynn is the largest concentration of wooden Victorian buildings in the world.
* 1990s the Link bus service commences.
* 2000 A Supermarket is built on the site of the gasholders at the bottom of College Hill.
* 2002 The Auckland Gas Company buildings in Beaumont street are converted into a retail & residential apartment complex.
* 2013 2013 sees the return of the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
presence in the Ponsonby area with the
Auckland Pride Festival Parade
Favoured suburb
From as early as the 1850s St Mary's Bay and Herne Bay were favoured by several prosperous Aucklanders for their harbour views. They built elegant "marine villas" with extensive gardens and private jetties from which they commuted to the bottom of Queen Street. These were largely accessible only from the water as the Ponsonby and Jervois ridges and the area beyond were mostly coarse scrubland. A number of these 'marine villas' still stand, now surrounded by later Edwardian suburban developments.
As College Hill was too steep for horse-drawn vehicles, all traffic from the centre of Auckland came via Karangahape Road (which is why the numbering starts at the K Road end). After the establishment of the horse bus service in the 1880s a small shopping centre developed at the end of the route . This shopping centre prospered as it was able to serve the larger properties in Herne Bay, the small workers cottages in College Hill and the new middle-class houses of Grey Lynn. Eventually the tram route (first horse drawn and then electric) was extended along Jervois Road, which saw more residential and retail development.
The area now called Three Lamps was originally a farm called "Dedwood", apparently named after a friend of the first owners; a Captain Dedwood, who may, or may not, have served in the armed forces in New Zealand. What is now called Jervois Road was at that time called Ponsonby Road. There was apparently both a Dedwood Road Board and a Ponsonby Road Board as well as references to both a Dedwood District Board and a Ponsonby District Board. Ponsonby definitely sounded more elegant than Dedwood so by the 1870s Ponsonby was apparently used by many people to refer to the whole area. Around 1873 the name was changed from Dedwood to Ponsonby although throughout the mid 1870s public announcements refer to 'Dedwood and/or Ponsonby' just to be safe.
The name change may have sounded better in real estate advertisements, but it initially caused problems; in the New Zealand Herald, Volume X, Issue 3608, 4 June 1873, Page 2 it is mentioned that the change caused problems with the area's membership of both the Harbour Board and the Domain Board as their legal documents specified the Dedwood Road Board and Dedwood District Boards.
(The) ''Superintendent, should have intimated to the rate-payers of the Dedwood district, that by their adopting a less funereal name they would disfranchise themselves''.
This problem was eventually sorted out and in any case in 1882 Ponsonby, along with
Karangahape and
Grafton was amalgamated with
Auckland City
Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...
.
In the 1950s and 1960s a combination of people moving to new outer suburbs, Auckland City Council policy of "slum" clearances and the construction of the motorway through
Freemans Bay
Freemans Bay is the name of a former bay and now inner city suburb of Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. The bay has been filled in to a considerable extent, with the reclamation area now totally concealing the ancient shoreline. Hist ...
, led to plummeting rents and a drastic downturn in the economic fortunes of the area directly west of the CBD. The 1950s and 1960s saw many Pacific Islanders arriving in the country and they tended to take up residence in low cost areas - Ponsonby was one of them. By the 1970s, the combination of artists, bohemians, gays and lesbians, and Polynesian migrant workers,
attracted by the low rents created a distinct culture in the area, with which the area is still largely identified in the popular imagination of Auckland.
However, beginning in the 1980s a process of
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
and ethnic transition took place in the area. This was reflective of patterns in other Western cities, but here it dramatically altered the suburb by the late-1990s, as the apparent predominant population of
Polynesians
Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...
was replaced by
Pakeha as described in the
Ian Middleton
Ian Middleton (26 October 1928 – 24 October 2007) was a New Zealand novelist, who made a particular mark with his books set in post-Second World War Japan. Born in New Plymouth, he was the younger brother of noted New Zealand short story wri ...
novel ''
Mr Ponsonby
''Mr Ponsonby'' is the fourth novel from noted New Zealand author Ian Middleton, and is described as "his eulogy to a gentrifying Ponsonby". He had an intimate connection with Ponsonby (a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand), where the book is set, ...
''. By the early 2000s, Ponsonby became widely perceived as a spatial centre of Auckland's so-called
creative class
The creative class is the posit of American urban studies theorist Richard Florida for an ostensible socioeconomic class. Florida, a professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of To ...
.
Upper Middle Class Professionals, usually working in the better-paid professions, as well as the
culture industry
The term culture industry (german: Kulturindustrie) was coined by the critical theorists Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) and Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), and was presented as critical vocabulary in the chapter "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment ...
became an obvious (if not dominant) presence in the area. This also reintroduced many more children into the area; the local schools, which through the 1970s and 1980s had had shrinking roles now started growing in size and the children attending them were now predominantly white rather than brown.
The retail shops changed in character as well. Ponsonby Road was previously lined with second hand appliance & furniture stores, junk shops, Pacific Island fruit & vegetable shops and cheap eateries. By the late 1990s these had been largely replaced with flash bars, restaurants, 'gorgeous things' shops, dress boutiques and upmarket hairdressers. In the 1960s most people regarded Ponsonby as little better than a slum; now it is seen as a place of consumption of up-market consumer goods (particularly clothing) and dining and drinking experiences for the city's upper middle classes.
The 2000s saw a number of traffic accidents (including one death) along Ponsonby Road, which is both an important traffic arterial route and a favourite nightspot. As a result, the speed limit along Ponsonby Road was lowered to 40 km/h zone in 2009.
Notable buildings and landmarks
![Ponsonby Bay Faded Glory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Ponsonby_Bay_Faded_Glory.jpg)
Notable buildings in the suburb include:
Three Lamps Area
* The Three Lamps. Reconstructed Lamp post with the three distinctive Lanterns that gave this area its name. The Giant Lamp-post (then lit by gas) stood in the centre of the intersection and was removed in the 1930s as a traffic hazard. Three lamps of another design were placed on the corner of the gluepot Tavern to remember the name. After many years of lobbying the old Lamp post has finally been rebuilt next to the former Gluepot. (which still sports the other set of three lamps). On 10 August 2012 the Waitemata Local Board celebrated the "lighting up" and the return of the Three Lamps at the corner of Ponsonby Road and Jervois Road.
* Former
Ponsonby Post Office
The Ponsonby Post Office is a Heritage New Zealand Category 1 List of category 1 historic places in Auckland, Historic Place. It is the former post office for the suburb of Ponsonby, New Zealand, Ponsonby, and is located in Three Lamps area of Po ...
. 1–3 St Marys Bay Road. Architect:
John Campbell. Erected in 1911 this is a fine example of the Edwardian Baroque Style. Campbell was Government Architect. Despite what the historic plaque to the right of the front door says, the Postmaster Augustus Braithwaite was not murdered here by
Dennis Gunn in 1920 but at his house nearby in
Herne Bay
Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...
. His keys were then used to rob the Post Office.
* Former Ponsonby Fire Station. 15 St Marys Bay Road. Architects; Goldsboro & Wade.
* The Leys Institute. 20 St Marys Bay Road. Library, Lecture Hall and Gymnasium; the gift of local residents William & Thompson Leys in 1905. Wanting to provide resources for working people, including night classes, the Leys brothers created this public facility. Now part of the Auckland Council Public Library system.
* ASB Bank: Jervois Road. This small neo-classical building is one of the many buildings commissioned by the Auckland Savings Bank from the architect
Daniel B. Patterson
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
. Similar buildings appear in Auckland suburban centres and in provincial towns throughout the Auckland Province.
* Plunket Rooms and Memorial Drinking Fountain. Jervois Road. Behind the unassuming 1940s modernist
Plunket Rooms is a small grassed area with a memorial drinking fountain dedicated to local politician
Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940.
Savage was born in the Colony ...
. Savage was MP for the area as well as local resident. He died suddenly in 1940 while in office as Prime Minister.
* Former
Gluepot Hotel. Cnr Ponsonby and Jervois Roads. Its real name was the Ponsonby Club Hotel. Notorious drinking establishment and from the 1960s until its closure in the mid 1990s one of Auckland's premier live music venues. 1930s building replacing a 19th-century structure. now apartments with retail on the ground floor.
* Former Britannia Theatre. 283 Ponsonby Road. Built in 1910 as a roller-skating rink and remodelled as a cinema in the 1920s. Converted into a shopping plaza in 1982 it is now Three Lamps Plaza.
* Renall Street. A Heritage Area. In the 1970s this whole street was demarcated by the Auckland City Council as a special heritage area. The street contains a representative collection of buildings; 19th century workers cottages, Edwardian villas, 1920s bungalows & 1930 houses with an Edwardian Freemasons Hall.
* All Saints Church. Architect; Prof
Richard Toy
Richard Horton Beauclerc Toy (9 May 1911 – 2 July 1995) was a New Zealand architect renowned for his church architecture.
Toy was born in Ignace, Ontario, Canada in 1911. His family moved to New Zealand in 1923. He enrolled in agricultu ...
. An award-winning building from the 1950s which replaced an earlier wooden Victorian church.
Ponsonby Road
* Former
Letholite Luggage Factory: 239 Ponsonby Road. Erected in 1919 for the firm of Palmer, Collins & Whittaker. The factory was extended in 1929 and in the 1970s the business employed 50 workers, making it an important employer for this area. Letholite was a major supplier of good quality luggage to the New Zealand public. From the 1980s to the late 1990s the building was the location of Joes Bargain House, after which the building was extensively renovated as office/retail space.
* St John's Methodist Church. 229 Ponsonby Road. Architect;
Edward Bartley
Edward Bartley (23 February 1839 – 28 May 1919) was a Jersey-born New Zealand architect. Beginning as a builder, Bartley transitioned into a career as an architect, not an uncommon occurrence in the 19th century. He is responsible for design ...
. Built in the 1880s this is a fine example of a wooden church in the Gothic style. This building includes carved detailing by
Anton Teutonberg the first European sculptor in New Zealand.
* Doctor's House, 225 Ponsonby Road. From 1908 to 1920
Florence Keller and her husband Martin ran their doctors surgery from this location. The American Florence Keller was a Seventh-day Adventist, who, when she died in her mid 90s was the oldest practising surgeon in the world.
* Terrace Houses, 203–209 Ponsonby Road. Built for E. Marian Edger (sister of
Kate Edger
Kate Milligan Evans (née Edger, 6 January 1857 – 6 May 1935) was the first woman in New Zealand to gain a university degree, and possibly the second in the British Empire to do so.
Early life
Edger was born in 1857 at Abingdon, Berkshire, En ...
and
Lilian Edgar). An interesting development dating from around 1900 these brick built houses with cement stucco finish are a half-way point between the London Town houses and the contemporary wooden villas of New Zealand.
Franklin Road intersection
* Vermont Street Shops. 222-224 Ponsonby Road. Fine sey of Edwardian shops - recently restored.
* Ponsonby Mosque. 17 Vermont Street. Built in 1979, this is the first mosque in New Zealand.
* Holmdene - Gentleman's residence in the Italianate style from the 1880s built for shipping magnate Alexander McGregor. This was run as a Boarding House in the 1980s and was popular with Transvestites.
* Braemar Building. Designed by William Holman and built around 1911 for M.G McGregor and Captain J. Smith.
* Franklin Road. The
London Plane Tree
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
s lining this street were part of the first beautification scheme undertaken by Auckland City Council in the early 1870s. Three streets were planted with trees; Lower Symonds Street, Grey Street (now Greys Ave) and Franklin Road.
* Gloucester Court, 1 Franklin Road. 1935 Art-Deco Apartment building by Horace Massey.
Richmond Road intersection
* Fairfield Terrace 117-131 Ponsonby Rd. Stuccoed brick retail development from around 1910.
* Ponsonby Central. Built as the Allans Calendar Printing Works in the 1950s.
* Leys Block. Queen Anne / Art Nouveau building erected in 1911 for the Leys family. From the early 1980s to the late 1990s this was the location of the popular "Open Late Cafe".
* Former Vogels Bakery. 120-128 Ponsonby Road. In the 1940s a German Jewish refugee and doctor of Philosophy named Max Reizenstein established a bakery. Later sold to Johan Klisser the firm has grown into a major manufacturer of baked goods and specifically Vogel's Bread.
Williamson Avenue intersection
* Former Newton Borough Council Chambers & Fire Station 1889. 1 Williamson Avenue. Architect; John Mitchell. The upper floor was built as offices for the Local Borough Council. In 1898 this part of Newton was renamed Grey Lynn, and then in 1914 it was absorbed into Auckland City and the local government function of this building ceased. Now a cafe/bar.
*
Western Park. The city's oldest park, the result of a competition in 1872. Some of the large specimen trees were donated by notable people such as Sir
George Grey
Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...
and Sir
Maurice O'Rorke
Sir George Maurice O’Rorke (2 May 1830 – 25 August 1916) was a New Zealand politician, representing (as George O’Rorke) the Auckland seat of Onehunga, and later Manukau, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a committed ...
. Park furniture designed in the 1990s by
Micheal Von Sturmer, sculptures by John Radford and mosaic panels by Mark Davidson.
* Allendale House. 50 Ponsonby Road. Built for wealthy Saddler George Allen in the 1890s this is one of the most imposing examples of a Victorian Mansion. This house is distinguished by a Turret which afforded the owner a splendid view across
Western Park and
Freeman's Bay
Freemans Bay is the name of a former bay and now inner city suburb of Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. The bay has been filled in to a considerable extent, with the reclamation area now totally concealing the ancient shoreline. His ...
to the harbour.
* The Palace. A group of three Italianate town houses built for Alfred Adams in the 1890s. Adams occupied the middle house for a short time. In the 1970s and 1980s this was the location of "The Palace" Massage Parlour during which time it was painted a bright pink. These houses were built with double storied wooden verandahs similar to nearby Allandale house. Now bereft of these verandahs the houses look slightly bare but actually more italianate in style.
Karangahape Road intersection
* Former ASB Bank. 8 Ponsonby Road. Architect
Edward Bartley
Edward Bartley (23 February 1839 – 28 May 1919) was a Jersey-born New Zealand architect. Beginning as a builder, Bartley transitioned into a career as an architect, not an uncommon occurrence in the 19th century. He is responsible for design ...
. Erected in 1884 as a single storeyed building for the Auckland Savings Bank, in 1886 a second storey was added. Currently an Art Gallery. Of special note is the original Gas Street Lamp, one of only three remaining in Auckland.
*
Unitarian Church. 1a Ponsonby Road. Architect Thomas White. Built in 1901 and apparently based on a church in Johannesburg, South Africa.
* Former Newton Police Barracks. 1 Ponsonby Road. Designed by the Government architect
John Campbell. Built in 1905, an example of the Queen Anne Style. Since the 1970s this has housed Auckland City Council's Community Arts Programmes.
Artstation
* Ponsonby Reservoir. The first reservoir on this site was designed by the City Engineer William Errington. That structure from the 1880s was rebuilt in the 1950s when the adjoining Pumping Station and Turncock's house were demolished. This reservoir is gravity fed with water from the
Waitākere Ranges
The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. The area, traditionally kno ...
.
* VAANA PEACE MURAL. Visual Artists Against Nuclear Arms. In 1985, eight founding VAANA artists: Pat Hanly,
Margaret Lawlor-Bartlett, Jill Carter-Hansen, John Nicol, John Eaden,
Claudia Pond Eyley
Claudia Pond Eyley (born 1946) is a New Zealand artist and filmmaker. Her works are held in the collection of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Early life
Claudia Pond Eyley was born in 1946 ...
, Nigel Brown and Vanya Lowry each painted large panels in the main gallery at Outreach (now Artstation) with members of the public giving verbal encouragement. Master potters Peter Lange and Lex Dawson worked with Master Builder Matt Stafford to fix the panels to the wall. The mural was recreated in 2006 with extra panels being added.
Demographics
Ponsonby covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
![Dorothy's Friends And Siblings](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Dorothy%27s_Friends_And_Siblings.jpg)
Ponsonby had a population of 5,730 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 153 people (2.7%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 243 people (4.4%) 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 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
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 Ze ...
, 8.8%
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 ...
, 8.6%
Pacific peoples, 9.2%
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 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
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, 0.2% had
Māori religious beliefs, 1.3% 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 ...
, 0.7% were
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, 1.0% 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, 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.
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.
Education
St Paul's College is a state-integrated Catholic boys' secondary school (years 7-13) with a roll of students. Marist School is a Catholic coeducational contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of which shares the same site.
Ponsonby Intermediate is a coeducational intermediate school (years 7-8) with a roll of . Richmond Road School is a coeducational contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of .
Rolls are as of
Other secondary schools nearby include
Western Springs College
Western Springs College ( mi, Nga Puna O Waiorea) is a state co-educational secondary school located in Western Springs (Auckland suburb), Western Springs, an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand. The school educates appr ...
,
Auckland Girls' Grammar School
"Through trials to triumph"
, colours = gold, navy blue
, type = State single-sex girls' secondary school (Years 9–13)
, established = 1878
, address = Howe Street, Newton, Auckland
, coordinates =
, principal = Ngaire Ashmore ...
and
St Mary's College (a Catholic school for girls).
Notable residents
*
Ella Yelich-O'Connor
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and ...
/
Lorde
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and i ...
singer and songwriter.
*
Peter Burling sailor.
*
Karen Walker designer.
*
Andrew Entrican
Andrew Jack Entrican (31 October 1858 – 19 February 1936) was an Irish-born New Zealand businessman and local-body politician. He was twice deputy mayor of Auckland.
Biography Early life
Entrican was born at Stoneyfalls, near Strabane in Count ...
Deputy Mayor of Auckland in the 1890s.
* Captain
William Daldy
William Crush Daldy (1816 – 5 October 1903) was a 19th-century captain and New Zealand politician.
Biography
Daldy was born on 20 April 1816 in Rainham, Essex, England. He started going to sea aged 16 on the ''Mayflower'', a ship belonging ...
MP. Member of the Auckland Harbour Board - lived Hepburn Street.
*
Amey Daldy
Amey Daldy ( Hamerton, 1829 – 17 August 1920) was an English-born New Zealand feminist and suffragist. She was an important leader in the movement for women's suffrage in New Zealand, but later resigned as superintendent of the Auckland W. ...
feminist wife of William and significant member of the Suffrage Movement which secured the vote for women in 1893.
*
Freda Stark - Performer and dancer - regarded as the most notorious woman in Auckland. Danced naked, apart from gold paint, on the stage of the
Civic Theatre.
* George Allen - Saddler - built an impressive mansion which still stands opposite Western Park.
* Doctor
Florence Keller The American Florence Keller (née Armstrong) was a Seventh-day Adventist, who, when she died in her mid 90s was the oldest practicing surgeon in the world. She lived here from 1908 to 1920.
* Alexander McGregor - local business man - part owner of the
Northern Steamship Line and latterly the McGregor Steam Ship Company.
*
Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940.
Savage was born in the Colony ...
Labour Prime Minister and MP for Ponsonby.
*
Peter Fraser
Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand Lab ...
Prime Minister.
*
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...
Labour Prime Minister - flatted here for a while with Judith Tizard.
*
Judith Tizard
Judith Ngaire Tizard (born 3 January 1956) is a former New Zealand politician, and a member of the Labour Party.
Early life and career
Tizard was born at Auckland's St Helen's maternity hospital in Pitt Street in 1956. She was educated at Glen ...
MP for Central Auckland.
*
John Currie Architect - lived at 50 Wood Street.
*
Charles Blomfield (artist)
Charles Blomfield (5 January 1848–15 March 1926) was an English-born artist who executed paintings of New Zealand landscapes, including the Pink and White Terraces, a notable natural feature that was later destroyed in the 1886 eruption of ...
Noted New Zealand Landscape painter - lived at 40 Wood Street.
*
Betty Wark Elizabeth Cecilia Wark (née Te Wheao, 6 June 1924–16 May 2001) was a New Zealand social worker and politician.
Biography Early life and family
Wark was born at Omanaia in 1924 to unmarried parents; Cyril Chapman and Nau (Mabel) Rini Te Wheao wh ...
Social worker and activist - lived in Hopetoun Street.
* Bunny Rigold - 1970s Television presenter - lived at 35 Brown Street.
* Michael Glock - Furniture designer. Remodelled 10 Pompellier Tce in the 1980s
Post-modern
Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...
style (referred to as the "Glock House") and ran a design shop called "Design-Design" at 282 Ponsonby Road.
*Gene and Maneeka Campbell, creators of Auckland's 'City of Sails' title, construct Ponsonby's Shopping Village, a multi-storey shopping complex and penthouse on 106 Ponsonby Rd, taking residence in 1984.
Sport
Ponsonby is home to the
Ponsonby Ponies
The Ponsonby Ponies are a rugby league club based in Ponsonby, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1908 and was originally named Ponsonby United. The Ponies compete in the Auckland Rugby League competition and are the oldest rugby league club in ...
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 112 ...
club and
Ponsonby Rugby Football Club
Ponsonby District Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Auckland, New Zealand. The club was established in 1874 and is affiliated with the Auckland Rugby Football Union. Ponsonby is the oldest extant member of the Auckland union, a ...
.
References
*''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.
External links
Ponsonby Business Association(website of the local business association)
held in
Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.
{{Waitematā Local Board Area
Suburbs of Auckland
Waitematā Local Board Area