User:Ewhite31/sandbox2

Name
Ponsonby, and specifically the area now referred to as Three Lamps, was originally called Dedwood 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, private secretary to Queen Victoria, 1870–1895
 * The Honourable Ponsonby Peacocke, a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
 * Major-General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, a cavalry commander in the Napoleonic Wars and later Governor of Malta (and father of Henry Ponsonby)
 * 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.

It was widely believed that Ponsonby Road was originally called Vandeleur Road, named after Major-General Sir John Vandeleur was a Divisional Commander at Waterloo and Colonel Frederick Ponsonby was a regimental commander under him. This is, however, unlikely. One of the earliest maps of Auckland (1841 by the Surveyor General, Felton Mathew), does show a Vandeleur Road in the general area. However it does not run in the same direction as the existing Ponsonby Road, it would run north–south and sit between the existing Howe and Hepburn Streets.

Prior to the suburb being called Ponsonby, it was called Dedwood. In 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, 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."The origin of the name of the suburb, Ponsonby, is unclear. There have been three men that Ponsonby was possibly named after:


 * 1) Colonel Frederick Ponsonby, in 1841, a map created by Felton Mathew showed a Vandaleur Street, named after Major-General Sir John Vandeleur who was a divisional commander of the cavalry at Waterloo, who Colonel Frederick Ponsonby served under.
 * 2) Major-General Sir William Ponsonby, who was higher ranking, also commanding a cavalry division at Waterloo.
 * 3) Ponsonby Peacock, who was a member of the Legislative Council and an early resident of Ponsonby Road in the 1860s.

Likewise, there are several road names that have unsure origins:


 * Franklin Road has been suggested to have been named after Jane Griffin (Lady Franklin), wife of Sir John Franklin the Governor of Tasmania. She reportedly visited and walked up a track in the Ponsonby area in 1841, which was subsequently named for her as Franklin Road.


 * Jervois Road has been suggested to have been named after Lieutenant-General Sir William Jervois following him being Governor of New Zealand. In 1883 part of Ponsonby Road, then Jervis Street is renamed Jervois Road after him.

History
The Auckland region was settled by Māori not long after their arrival, and by the 15th century, they had several fishing and gardening circuits in the area. In Ponsonby, these fishing and gardening locations included the Tunamau stream that ran through Western Park was an eeling camp during the autumn months, an orchard in the Newton Gully area known as Te Uru Karaka, and the Waikuta Stream that flowed down College Hill which was a harvesting place for Kuta.

In October 1840, 3,000 acres of land, including Ponsonby, was exchanged between Apihai Te Kawau (Ngati Whatau) and Governor William Hobson.

Map 1841

The Development of St. Mary's Mount
In 1853, Bishop Pompallier bought 40 acre, later known as St. Marys Mount. In the same year, Bishop Pompallier moved 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 5 acre of Crown Grant land at the end of Waitemata St. On this land, in 1855, the James O'Neill's house (built in 1852 ) becomes St. Anne's School for Māori Girls run by the Sisters of Mercy. In 1858, The Church of the Immaculate Conception was built and later demolished in 1869 – 70, now the site of the Pompallier Tennis Club. In 1859, New Street is put through the middle of the St Marys Mount, and the eastern side of the street was presented to be the place for St Mary's College.

In 1860, Bishop Pompallier returns from Europe with a group of French sisters, who set up the short lived new Congregation of the Holy Family, who take on the teaching at St. Anne's School for Māori Girls.[REF] In 1863, the Nazareth Institute "for Maori and Half-Caste Girls" was also founded. In the 1860s, the land around the church, convent, and schools was purchased by many Catholics, and the street names such as Pompallier Terrace, Curran, and Dublin, Green Streets reflect the Irish and Catholic identity of the neighbourhood. There was significant debt accrued by Bishop Pompallier in the setting up of the missions around the country, which resulted in 1863, the selling of part of the 40 acres, retaining only 4 acre.[REF] In 1863, St Mary's College, the convent, and orphanage were moved to the New Street site and, in 1866, St Mary's Old Convent Chapel was constructed, designed by Edward Mahoney. On 23 March 1869, Bishop Pompallier resigns and returns to France, leaving behind a diocese that still had a considerable amount of debt. In 1869 and 1870, The Convent of the Holy Family is destroyed by fire, 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.[REF] This led to the dissolution of the order he had formed the Order of the Holy Family.[REF] St. Mary's Convent, College and Chapel remained.[REF]

1873 Bishop Croke, the second Catholic Bishop of Auckland, buys back the land with the Bishop's house on it.[REF]

1893 The wooden Bishop's House is moved to its present location at 57 St. Mary's Road.

1894 The New Bishop's House is constructed to the designs of Peter Paul Pugin.

Building of Churches from 1860 to 1901


'''1866 All Saints Parish is formed. '''

1872 The Anglican parish of All Saints is officially defined, and schoolroom of All Saints Church houses Dedwood District Church Street School.

1877 St Johns Church, Ponsonby Road, is established as a small weatherboard chapel, the current building was opened on 30 April 1882.

1879 On 28 December, St Stephens Presbyterian Church, Jervois Rd, is opened.

1886 The Ponsonby Baptist Church is built. 1886 The Ponsonby Seventh Day Adventist Church in Mackelvie Street is opened.

1887 The Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart is built on the corner of O'Neill St and Ponsonby Road.

1893 The Ponsonby Catholic Parish School building in O'Neill St is opened. 1 901  Unitarian Church. 1a Ponsonby Road. Architect Thomas White. [REF]

1897 The Catholic Order of the Little Sisters of the Poor is established first in a two-storey house in Hepburn St.

Intensification of residential and commercial development
1865-68 The Suffolk Hotel (now the Cavalier Tavern) is built on College Hill.

1871 The Ponsonby and Dedwood Highway District is formed. [REF]

1871 Dedwood Post office is opened. [REF]

In the 1870s, Ponsonby's houses continued to grow in number as the population of Auckland increased. In 1884, the first horse tram service from Queen Street to Ponsonby is started, and was later replaced with electric trams. This led to more residential and commercial development in the Ponsonby area. The route is from Three Lamps to Queen St via Karangahape Road, Pitt St, & Grey St. [REF] The fare is threepence.[REF] Trams ran every 15 minutes from 6.30am to 10.30pm at an average speed of 5 mi an hour.[REF]

1885-1890 - depression

1885 to 1890 An economic slump follows the stock market crash, and E. Earle Vaile noted that "whole 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."

1900s - construction

World War I, Spanish Influenza, and World War II
1914-1918 - public housing and morgue at Vic Park

WWII - Victoria Park

During World War II, Victoria Park was the location of an American army camp.

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, led to plummeting rents and a drastic downturn in the economic fortunes of the area directly west of the CBD. The Auckland Harbour Bridge opened following five years of construction in 1959. Several small commercial boat-yards were forced to close and private boat-slips fell into disuse in St Mary's Bay. 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.

Pacific Island Community
During the 1950s to the 1970s, there were also many Pacific Island Peoples arriving in the country and many settled in Auckland, especially in the Ponsonby area. In 1947, the first ethnic Pacific church in New Zealand, Newton Pacific Islanders Congregational Church was established on Edinburgh St, off Karangahape Rd. The predominant population of Pacific Island Peoples was replaced by Pākehā as described in the Ian Middleton novel Mr Ponsonby.[REF]

1990s to Now
Beginning in the 1980s, a process of gentrification took place in the area, incrementally and dramatically altering the suburb by the late-1990s.

Since the 1960s, the area also had strong LGBT community. Ponsonby Road was the venue for the Hero Parade between 1996 and 2001.

In the 2000s, very little remained of the working-class identity; however, it remains an attractive location for creatives - artists, writers and musicians.

Timeline

 * 1840 3,000 acres of land, including Ponsonby, was exchanged between Apihai Te Kawau (Ngati Whatau) and Governor William Hobson.
 * 1851 The "Suburban West Ward" is created which includes what is now Ponsonby.
 * 1853 Bishop Pompallier bought 40 acre, which he called Mount St. Mary.
 * 1872 The Anglican parish of All Saints is officially defined, and schoolroom of All Saints Church houses Dedwood District Church Street School.
 * 1873 The name of the area is officially changed from Dedwood to Ponsonby.
 * 1876 Ponsonby becomes part of the Newton Constituency. [REF]
 * 1879 Western Park (formerly City Park) opens, after a contest was held for its design in 1873.
 * 1882 Ponsonby is amalgamated with the Auckland City Council area. [REF]
 * 1884 The first horse tram service from Queen Street to Ponsonby is started.
 * 1885 to 1890 An economic slump follows the stock market crash which leads to houses in Ponsonby being empty or sold cheaply.
 * 1889 The Grey Lynn Borough Council Chambers & Volunteer Fire Station in Williamson Avenue is built by John Mitchell.
 * 1897 The Ponsonby Community Centre, initially an infant's school, was built.


 * 1902 The Ponsonby Fire Station in St Marys Road is built.
 * c.1902 The brick building housing the Auckland Gas Company in Beaumont St is constructed.
 * 1905 Victoria Park is created. [REF]
 * 1905 Construction of the City Council Works Depot, now Victoria Park Market, is started.
 * 1910 The kindergarten in Victoria Park is built and opened.
 * 1912 The Ponsonby Post Office is built.
 * 1913 Ponsonby Catholic Parish School moved to Vermont St.
 * 1914 The Auckland City Council allocates £3000 for six municipal houses in Clarence Street, 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.
 * 1928 The ASB Bank in Jervois Rd is built.
 * 1947 The first ethnic Pacific church in New Zealand, Newton Pacific Islanders Congregational Church was established on Edinburgh St, off Karangahape Rd.
 * 1956 The electric tram service is discontinued. [REF]
 * 1960s The motorway viaduct over Victoria Park is constructed. [REF]
 * 1979 The New Zealand Muslim Association starts construction work on the first mosque in New Zealand at 17 Vermont Street.
 * 1980s Assembly of God Church is erected next to the Harbour Bridge approaches at Victoria Park.[REF]
 * 1983 Inactive since 1972, the Destructor at Victoria Park [1915] is saved from demolition by being converted into use as Victoria Park Market.[REF]
 * mid 1980s Two high rise apartment blocks are constructed on Jervois and Shelly Beach Roads. 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 presence in the Ponsonby area is expressed by various annual events, such as Coming Out Day parades & The Hero Parade. [REF]
 * 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.[REF]
 * 1990s Grey Lynn is granted heritage protection under the building laws. Grey Lynn is the largest concentration of wooden Victorian buildings in the world.[REF]
 * 1990s the Link bus service commences.[REF]
 * 1992 The Franklin Road Christmas lights begin.
 * 1994 The Gluepot shuts [REF]
 * 1996 The Hero Parade moved from Queen Street to Ponsonby Road.
 * 1999 A Supermarket is built on the site of the gasholders at the bottom of College Hill.

2000s

 * 2002 The Auckland Gas Company buildings in Beaumont street are converted into a retail & residential apartment complex. [REF]
 * 2013 The Auckland Pride Festival Parade returns to Ponsonby.

Notable buildings and landmarks
Notable buildings in the suburb include: The Ponsonby Baptist Church is built. The 1778 Avery pipe organ is said to be originally from Windsor Castle, a gift from Queen Victoria to Old St. Pauls, Emily Place, which had been demolished the previous year.

Victoria Park - John Court, proprietor of the John Court Department Store, donates money for Playground equipment.[REF]

1894 The New Bishop's House is constructed to the designs of Peter Paul Pugin, which was partly funded by donations from all over the world, raised by Bishop Luck.

Three Lamps Area

 * 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.
 * 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. Savage was MP for the area as well as local resident. He died suddenly in 1940 while in office as Prime Minister.
 * Former Britannia Theatre (283 Ponsonby Road) was originally built in 1905 as a skating rink and converted to a theatre in 1910. In 1969, the theatre shut down and in 1981-1982 it was converted into a shopping plaza, 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. 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. 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 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 Trees 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 (1 Williamson Avenue): In 1889, the Council Chambers and Fire Station were designed by John Mitchell. In 1914, the later Grey Lynn Borough was amalgamated into the Auckland City Council and the local government function of this building ceased.
 * Western Park is 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 and Sir Maurice O'Rorke. 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) was built for wealthy saddler George Allen in the 1890s and became a boarding house by 1900s. It has been a doctors offices, hostel, refuge, restaurant and is now the office of the Auckland Savings Bank Community Trust.
 * 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. 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 Station (1 Ponsonby Road) was designed by the Government architect John Campbell. It was built in 1905, and since the 1970s it has housed the community arts centre, Artstation.
 * Ponsonby Water Reservoir (Corner of Ponsonby and Karangahape Roads) dates to at least the 1870s. The first reservoir on this site was designed by the City Engineer William Errington. It was rebuilt in the 1950s when the adjoining Pumping Station and Turncock's house were demolished.
 * The VAANA Peace Mural (Corner of Ponsonby and Karangahape Roads, Ponsonby Water Reservoir) was painted on large panels in 1985 by eight founding VAANA (Visual Artists Against Nuclear Arms) artists: Pat Hanly, Margaret Lawlor-Bartlett, Jill Carter-Hansen, John Nicol, John Eaden, Claudia Pond Eyley, Nigel Brown and Vanya Lowry 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 and 2014 with extra panels being added.