Overview / Freeman’s Bay / Herne Bay / St Mary’s Bay & Westhaven / Grey Lynn & Westmere / Sources

GREY LYNN

The Old Surrey Hills Farm

Also part of the original site of Auckland as purchased by Lieutenant Governor Hobson in July 1841, the area identified before as Newton District encompassed all of the land now known as Grey Lynn and Westmere, separated quite naturally from the area known as Ponsonby by Cox’s Creek. This creek once ran through Grey Lynn Park from south to north and was surrounded by a large area of swamp.

From 1844 the land began to be publicly auctioned. In her history on Grey Lynn and Westmere, Kaaren Hiyama (please refer to Sources) writes:

   “A pure speculative spirit fired those who bought up Grey Lynn and Westmere through agents (…)” and: “Cheap land was selling and Pakeha were buying with a quick return in mind. Names came and went from the land deeds, often only registered when a subsequent sale had been achieved (…).”

One of Auckland's first major commercial housing development

The biggest part of what is now called Grey Lynn used to be Surrey Hills, a 314 acre farm, roughly north of Surrey Crescent, going east within the boundaries of Richmond, Ponsonby and Great North Roads.

James Williamson and Thomas Crummer acquired Surrey Hills, in 1883 Williamson developed Surrey Hills Estate for residential sale – one of Auckland’s first major commercial housing development, accompanied by one of Auckland’s earliest debates on town planning.

The area between Edgars and Cox’s Creek Estuaries was called Richmond and incorporated streets we now know as Regina, Kingsley, Livingstone, Webber and Edgars Streets. This was quite and industrious area with slaughterhouses, tanneries, fellmongeries and a soap and candle making operation.

The area grew steadily into a proper borough, made up of Surrey and Sussex Wards (both Surrey Hills) and Richmond Ward, most of the houses being owner-occupied.

Hard-working, self-improving and skilled labourers

In 1898 the area was renamed Grey Lynn, commemorating Governor George Grey who had been the parliamentary representative for Newton, and in 1914 it was amalgamated with Auckland City, 32 years after its neighbour Ponsonby did.

Did you know that the residents of Grey Lynn already had a great reputation in the 1860s? Kaaren Hiyama (please refer to Sources) writes: 

   “It was a point of pride in the area that its people were hard-working, self-improving and skilled labourers.” And: “Newspaper articles often assured their readers that Grey Lynn represented the best of that working class; frugal, eager to be home owners and makers; in other words, emulating the values of the middle class.”