Mount Wellington, Auckland

Mount Wellington is a suburb in East Auckland, New Zealand, located southeast of the city centre. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Stonefields, Tamaki, Panmure, Penrose, and Ellerslie, and by the Tāmaki River. The suburb is named after the volcanic peak of Maungarei / Mount Wellington. Sylvia Park is a large business park and shopping centre located in the suburb.

Geography

Maungarei / Mount Wellington is a volcanic peak of the Auckland volcanic field. It is the youngest onshore volcano of the Auckland volcanic field, having been formed by an eruption around 10,000 years ago. It is the largest of Auckland's scoria cones. Prior to European settlement, the area around Maungarei was bracken scrub and not densely forested. The southern section, closer to Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond, was primarily broadleaf and podocarp forest with patches of clear scrubland.

History

The isthmus south of the mountain was traditionally settled by Ngāi Tāhuhu, descendants of Tāhuhunui-o-te-rangi, captain of the Moekākara waka and namesake of Ōtāhuhu. Four archaeological sites near Carbine Road/Panama Road near the Tāmaki River were occupied in the mid to late 1500s. A large number of storage pits for root vegetables (such as kūmara) were found at the sites, suggesting the area was extensively gardened by Māori, as well as an area where toki (adze) were created. South of Mutukaroa / Hamlins Hill was Karetu, a 2 km portage between the Waitematā Harbour/Tāmaki River and the Manukau Harbour.
Mount Wellington had historically supplied most of Auckland's vegetables alongside Tāmaki until the 1940s when that land was turned into an industrial estate. Mount Wellington Borough was formed in 1952 from the earlier Mount Wellington Road District (formed 1865 from the earlier Panmure Road District), three years later it annexed the Panmure Township Road District.

Demographics

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

While most of the suburb is residential, Sylvia Park is almost entirely commercial, and the central area of Mount Wellington Industrial is almost entirely industrial.

Mount Wellington had a population of 26,280 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,047 people (4.1%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 2,985 people (12.8%) since the 2013 census. There were 13,215 males, 12,966 females and 99 people of other genders in 8,553 dwellings. 3.8% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 34.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 4,785 people (18.2%) aged under 15 years, 6,012 (22.9%) aged 15 to 29, 12,321 (46.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 3,165 (12.0%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 35.5% European (Pākehā); 12.8% Māori; 24.3% Pasifika; 38.7% Asian; 2.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 90.8%, Māori language by 2.4%, Samoan by 4.7%, and other languages by 34.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.9% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 48.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 42.1% Christian, 7.1% Hindu, 2.9% Islam, 1.0% Māori religious beliefs, 3.4% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, 0.2% Jewish, and 2.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 35.4%, and 5.8% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 6,441 (30.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 8,643 (40.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 6,405 (29.8%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $45,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 2,259 people (10.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 12,264 (57.1%) people were employed full-time, 2,034 (9.5%) were part-time, and 696 (3.2%) were unemployed.

Economy

Retail

The Sylvia Park shopping centre opened in 2006, and an upgrade opened in 2020. The mall has 106,427 m² of lettable space spread across two floors, alongside 4,053 carparks. Its 250 stores include anchor tenants The Warehouse, Farmers, Kmart, Pak'nSave and a 10-screen Hoyts Cinema.

Mt Wellington Shopping Centre has 22 stores spread across 9,000 m², including anchor tenants Countdown and Supercheap Auto.

Education

Bailey Road School, Stanhope Road School and Sylvia Park School are state full primary schools (years 1–8) with rolls of , and students, respectively.

Panama Road School is a contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of students.

All these school are coeducational. Rolls are as of

References

*''Volcanoes of Auckland: The Essential guide'' - Hayward, B.W., Murdoch, G., Maitland, G.; Auckland University Press, 2011.

External links

Bailey Road School

Stanhope school

Sylvia Park School

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

{{Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Area
Suburbs of Auckland
Populated places on the Tāmaki River