Ponsonby, New Zealand: Difference between revisions

Ponsonby
Suburb
Ponsonby Road, in the 'Three Lamps' area at northern end of the suburb, looking southwards.
Location of Ponsonby in Auckland. Location of Ponsonby in Auckland.
Country	New Zealand
City	Auckland City
Established	1845 (Approx.)
Population  (2001)
• Total	5,697

Herne Bay	Saint Marys Bay	Viaduct Basin
Westmere	Ponsonby	Freemans Bay
Grey Lynn	Arch Hill	Newton

Ponsonby is an inner-city suburb of Auckland City located 2 km west of the Auckland CBD, in the North Island of New Zealand. The suburb is oriented along a ridge 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, up-market shops and nightclubs are located along Ponsonby Road. Previously containing many rundown buildings, and having a somewhat 'colourful' reputation (due to its association with Auckland's arts and gay/lesbian scenes), the suburb has undergone extensive gentrification over the last two decades.

The Māori name for the ridge is Te Rimu Tahi ('The Lone Rimu Tree', referring to an old prominent tree formerly standing at what is now the intersection of Ponsonby Road and Karangahape Road).

History

See also: Timeline history of Ponsonby, Three Lamps and Freemans Bay

Etymology

The suburb was originally called Dedwood in 1845, after a farm in Shelly Beach Road. The name was changed to Ponsonby in 1873. There are various people who might have inspired the name:

• Major-General Sir Henry Ponsonby (private secretary to Queen Victoria, 1870-1895)
• The Honorable Ponsonby Peacock, a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
• Colonel Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby
• Major-General Sir William Ponsonby

Ponsonby Peacock was living in what was by then already called Ponsonby Road (later renamed Jervois road when Vandeleur Road was renamed Ponsonby Road in the 1880s). This fact alone would make it somewhat unlikely that he would have been the namesake for the new suburb.

The fact that part of what is now Ponsonby Road was called Vandeleur Road provides some basis for a derivation from either of the two latter men, who both fought at Waterloo. Major-General Sir John Vandeleur was a Divisional Commander at Waterloo and Colonel Frederick Ponsonby was a regimental commander under him. Neither Frederick Ponsonby or Vandeleur came to New Zealand but they are considered the most likely people the streets and the suburb were named after.

Iconic suburb

Originally a suburb for wealthy Aucklanders who favoured the harbour views available from the ridgeline, later residential subdivision off the main street began in the 1860s, with comparatively small lot sizes, and an influx of working people and their families. Many historic buildings, from shops to churches, were built in this time of the late 19th century, as was a tramline along Ponsonby Road. Ponsonby was amalgamated with Auckland City in 1882.

In the 1950s and 60s 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, led to plummeting rents and a drastic downturn in the economic fortunes of the area directly west of the CBD. In the 1970s, artists, bohemians, gays and lesbians, and Polynesian migrant workers and their families moved into the area, attracted by the low rents. The presence of so many 'creative types' created a distinct culture in the area, with which the area is still identified in the popular imagination of Auckland.

However, beginning in the 1980s and reflective of urbanisation patterns in other Western cities, processes of gentrification and ethnic transition took place in the area (with Pakeha replacing Polynesians) that dramatically altered the suburb by the late-1990s, as described in the Ian Middleton novel Mr Ponsonby. Into the 2000s, Ponsonby is widely perceived of as a spatial centre of Auckland's so-called creative class of professionals working in the better-paid professions, as well as the culture industry. It is also 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.

Demographics

Ponsonby has a big cafe culture as well as a historical reputation for being Auckland's gay quarter.

Not all the older villas in the area are restored yet.

According to the 2001 census, Ponsonby has a population of 5,697. Statistical information gathered by Auckland City shows that generally speaking the Ponsonby area is one of:

• low population growth (9% from 1991-2001)
• average median age
• more than average number of households
  • with access to the internet
  • with unrelated people living together
• a more than average number of people who:
  • have a bachelor or higher degree
  • have no religious affiliation
  • are employed full-time
  • speak English / are New Zealand Europeans
  • have a high median income

While official statistics are not collected, Ponsonby is also popularly imagined as having a large gay population relative to other Auckland suburbs.

Education

The secondary schools which serve the area include Western Springs College (a co-ed school which was an important early school in Auckland originally located in the central city and called Seddon Memorial Technical College), Saint Mary's College (a Catholic school for girls and one of the oldest schools in New Zealand) and St Pauls College (a Catholic school for boys with origins which go back more than 100 years).

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 Road Online (website of the local business association)