Ponsonby, New Zealand

Ponsonby
Ponsonby Road, in the 'Three Lamps' area at northern end of the suburb, looking southwards.
Location of Ponsonby in Auckland.
Basic information
Local authority	Auckland City
Date established	1845 (Approx.)
Population	5,649 (2006)
Facilities
Surrounds
North	Saint Marys Bay
Northeast	Viaduct Basin
East	Freemans Bay
Southeast	Newton
South	Arch Hill
Southwest	Grey Lynn
West	Westmere
Northwest	Herne Bay

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. Its postcode is 1011.

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).

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).^{[citation needed]} 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.

History

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

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.

After a number of traffic accidents (including one death) during the 2000s along Ponsonby Road, which is both an important traffic arterial and a favourite nightspot, the main road was changed into a 40 km/h zone in 2009.

Notable buildings

Former Ponsonby Post Office

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

Notable buildings in the suburb include:^{[citation needed]}

• Former Ponsonby Post Office. 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.

• Former Ponsonby Fire Station. 15 St Marys Bay Road. Architects; Goldsboro & Wade.

• The Leys Institute. 20 St Marys Bay Road. Gift of William & Thompson Leys in 1905.

• 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. Similar buildings appear in Auckland suburban centres and in provincial towns throughout the Auckland Province.

• 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.

• All Saints Church. Architect; Prof Richard Toy. An award winning building from the 1950s which replaced an earlier wooden Victorian church.

• St Johns Church. 229 Ponsonby Road. Architect; Edward Bartley. 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.

• Terrace Houses, 203–209 Ponsonby Road. 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.

• Former Newton Borough Council Chambers & Fire Station 1889. 1 Williamson Avenue. Architect; John Mitchell. Now a cafe/bar.

• 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.

• 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. 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.

• Former ASB Bank. 8 Ponsonby Road. Architect Edward Bartley. Erected in 1884 as a single storied building, in 1886 a second story was added. currently an Art Gallery. Of special note is the original Gas Street Lamp.

• Ponsonby Mosque. 17 Vermont Street. Built in 1980, it is the first mosque in the whole of New Zealand.

Demographics

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

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. 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

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), Auckland Girls' Grammar School, Saint Mary's College (a Catholic school for girls and one of the oldest schools in New Zealand) and St Paul's College (a Catholic school for boys with origins which go back more than 100 years).

Ponsonby Intermediate School (P.I.S) on Clarence St is the only intermediate school in the area.

Sport

Ponsonby is home to the Ponsonby Ponies rugby league club.

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)