Avondale, Auckland

Avondale
Suburb
Location of Avondale in Auckland
Coordinates: 36.8985°S 174.6967°E / -36.8985; 174.6967
Country	New Zealand
City	Auckland Council
Electoral ward	Whau ward
Established	c. 1850s
Population  (2001)
• Total	8,451
Train stations	Avondale Railway Station

Rosebank	Waterview
New Lynn	Avondale	Owairaka
Green Bay		Blockhouse Bay

Avondale is a suburb in the West Auckland, New Zealand, located in the Whau ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions for the Auckland Council. It was originally called Te Whau, which is the common name, of Māori origin, for Entelea arborescens, a native tree.

History

The first European settler in the area was John Sheddon Adam in 1843, but settlement did not occur in larger numbers until the late 1850s, with the completion of Great North Road. Expansion was rapid, with churches, stores and a public hall built by 1867. With a railway connection to the settlement in 1880, the rate of settlement increased further. Te Whau became Avondale District on 5 June 1882, although the old name survives in the Whau River, an estuarial arm of the Waitematā Harbour, which runs along the western edge of the suburb. A prominent community leader and Member of Parliament was John Bollard, who lived in Avondale from 1861 to 1915.

Early industries included brickyards, tanneries, mills and pottery works. Avondale also had numerous market gardens, especially on the Rosebank Peninsula. It was here that the "Hayward" cultivar of the Chinese gooseberry, later known as the kiwifruit, was developed by Hayward Wright.

From the mid-1920s Avondale became increasingly suburban. In 1927 the Avondale Borough Council was absorbed into the Auckland City Council.

The so-called Avondale spider (Delena cancerides), an introduced species of a spectacular but harmless Australian huntsman spider, was for decades only found in the area surrounding Avondale, and thus received its New Zealand name. It was introduced to New Zealand in a shipment of timber to the Aitkins Timber Yard in Patiki Road, and was left to spread, so its distribution pattern might help with the identification of future introduced species dispersal.

In 2017, the council-controlled organisation Panuku Development Auckland announced a major redevelopment of Avondale town centre, including a new library building, community and recreation centre, increased housing and local business development.

Amenities

Avondale is home to Avondale College, the third largest high school in New Zealand.

The Avondale Jockey Club operates the Avondale Racecourse - one of only two gallops tracks in suburban Auckland and the location of the Sunday markets, the largest in the country.

Avondale Railway Station is part of the Western Line of Auckland's metropolitan rail network.

References

• Lisa Truttman, 2003, Heart of The Whau, The Story of the Centre of Avondale 1841-2001, Words Incorporated.

External links

• Photographs of Avondale held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.