Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914.
Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of the original subdivision of 1883, since the land was too steep and too wet for house construction. In 1914 the land was drained and levelled for playing fields. The park is home to the annual Grey Lynn Park Festival, which attracts around 100,000 visitors on the third Saturday in November.[3]
The character of the area is often seen as "arty", and one of being a "traditional home to free-thinkers and anti-establishment types".[4]
Grey Lynn covers 2.82 km2 (1.09 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 11,180 as of June 2023,[2] with a population density of 3,965 people per km2.
Grey Lynn had a population of 11,733 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 891 people (8.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,491 people (14.6%) since the 2006 census. There were 4,173 households, comprising 5,751 males and 5,985 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female, with 1,695 people (14.4%) aged under 15 years, 3,291 (28.0%) aged 15 to 29, 5,994 (51.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 753 (6.4%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 78.7% European/Pākehā, 9.7% Māori, 12.4% Pacific peoples, 9.8% Asian, and 3.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 29.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 60.5% had no religion, 28.2% were Christian, 0.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.6% were Hindu, 0.9% were Muslim, 1.0% were Buddhist and 2.7% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 4,884 (48.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 564 (5.6%) people had no formal qualifications. 3,432 people (34.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 6,591 (65.7%) people were employed full-time, 1,392 (13.9%) were part-time, and 318 (3.2%) were unemployed.[5]
Grey Lynn takes the first part of its name from Sir George Grey (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898), who served as Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony (part of what is now South Africa), Premier of New Zealand, and towards the end of his life, Member of Parliament for Auckland West. Grey's service as member of parliament for the area was apparently widely appreciated, since following his retirement from politics and death in 1898 the north-western portion of the suburb of Newton was renamed Grey Lynn in his honour.
The original subdivision was 900 acres (3.6 km2), which is still the formal extent of Grey Lynn. Most of the houses were built between the 1880s and the beginning of the First World War of 1914–1918. Very few of the houses have been completely replaced by new structures.
Thomas Crummer owned Surrey Hills farm in the area, and left it to his children and his business partner, James Williamson.[10] Williamson bought the Crummer's children's share in the land.[10] In 1883, Williamson sold the property to the Auckland Agricultural Company. The Surrey Hills Estate was subdivided into 272 building sections to form the neighbourhood between Surrey Crescent and the southern end of Ponsonby Road.[citation needed] Two major roads in Grey Lynn, Williamson Avenue and Crummer Road are named after the two men.
The developers largely laid out Grey Lynn's streets as straight roads (as opposed to the earlier farm roads such as Richmond Road, which twists and turns following the curve of the landscape). Several street-names echo the names of early landowners; Williamson, Crummer, Mckelvie, Pollen, and Prime. But there is a prevalence of cultural personages from Britain: Sir John Millais, Lord Elgin, Alfred Lord Leighton, Coleridge, the Earl of Beaconsfield, Dr Arnold, Dickens, and Dryden. This was obviously intended to give an artistic ambience to the area.[original research?]
Most of the houses in the area were built between the 1880s and the beginning of the First World War. They were constructed quickly and with little variation in layout. Their façades were differentiated by the application of mass-produced items; wooden fretwork, stained-glass panels, turned balusters and pressed tin (intended for interior ceilings – this "new" product occasionally appears on the gable ends of some villas). The most important feature was the bay window—hence the name "Bay Villa"—an important feature which marked the owner as middle class. The new inhabitants tended to be younger married couples, employed in jobs such as clerks and office workers, teachers or skilled crafts-people. The adjacent area north of Richmond Road was probably similar.[original research?] This was different from the nearby working-class area of Freeman's Bay or from the upper-middle-class area of Herne Bay.
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By the 1930s and 1940s the original owners were beginning to age and the fussily detailed houses of Grey Lynn on their cramped sections were seen as very old-fashioned and undesirable. The increased ownership of motorcars meant suburban development was expanding exponentially, resulting in the mid-20th century ideal of the quarter-acre section. All the inner suburbs of Auckland became less desirable, and areas like Grey Lynn became very rundown. Many properties became owned by people who lived elsewhere and were often divided into flats or operated as boarding houses. Repairs were kept[by whom?] to a minimum and in some cases houses were not repainted for almost half a century. The fact that so many houses of this period still stand today despite the depredations of fire, rot and borer is an indication of how well they were built.
By the 1950s the very low rents in places like Grey Lynn and Ponsonby attracted students and immigrant workers from the Pacific Islands. By the 1960s Grey Lynn had developed a definite Polynesian flavour. Although in recent years this has greatly diminished, there are still a large number of Tongan and Samoan churches in the area.
The 1970s saw a renewed interest in older Victorian properties, and from that period onwards many young professionals began buying dilapidated kauri villas in areas like Grey Lynn and renovating them.[11] On 3 December 1981 a landslide destroyed homes around Herringson Avenue and Shirley Road.[12]
From the early 1990s this gentrification began to visibly change the area, resulting in an increase in house prices and in higher rents.[4] Major corporate projects have gradually replaced lower-end retail enterprises.[citation needed] An influx of middle-class people has resulted in a reduction of student flats and the slow but steady displacement of Polynesian families. A number of recent[when?] housing developments in the suburb have attracted controversy for their perceived contribution to the area's increasing population density.[citation needed]
Grey Lynn had a local government like other suburbs of Auckland at that time. The local government was called Grey Lynn Borough Council, which started in 1885 and in July 1914 merged into Auckland City Council.[13]
Grey Lynn Park was established in the 1880s at the site of a former dairy farm, and became the home of the Richmond Rovers, one of the oldest Rugby League clubs in Auckland.[14] The Grey Lynn Park Festival has been held in early summer since 1984,[15] and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009.[16] It is the last independent community event in the city.[citation needed] The event, which attracts on average 100,000 visitors each year, is organised by four people who raise money from stall fees and charitable grants.[17] It started as a local community get-together with working-class and Pasifika roots, though the appeal has broadened through the decades.[18] Local band Unity Pacific first performed at the festival in 1987, and have appeared many times since. They headlined in 2009.[16]
Grey Lynn School and Newton Central School are contributing primary (years 1-6) schools with rolls of 263[19] and 308,[20] respectively.
St Joseph's School is a Catholic state-integrated full primary (years 1-8) school with a roll of 45.[21]
All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of February 2024.[22]
Secondary schools serving the area include Auckland Girls' Grammar School, Mount Albert Grammar School, and Western Springs College.
Grey Lynn Park is the home ground of the Richmond Rovers rugby league club.
The suburb is served by public transport. It lies within walking distance of the central business district via Ponsonby. Buses run down Great North Road, Richmond Road, Surrey Crescent and Williamson Avenue.
Notable people who have grown up, lived or worked in Grey Lynn include:
