Lost Neighbourhoods of Central Auckland

The domestic past of central Auckland, bounded by the ridgelines above the Queen Street valley, has been almost completely overlaid, often more than once, by commercial development. Tower blocks and carparks stand where little lanes, with long forgotten names, provided access to rows of houses where daily life played out. Up on the ridges there were grander homes, with harbour views and servants.

So what were these inner city neighbourhoods like and how did they develop and change over time? Who lived there and what was their daily life like – what were the sights, smells and sounds of their neighbourhood? What prompted the redevelopment of these areas?

This talk is a glimpse into the history of three lost central Auckland neighbourhoods during the city’s first century - Chancery Street, Greys Avenue and Princes Street - and the people who made them home.

Biography:
Tania Mace is a freelance historian with a Master of Arts with honours in history. For more than two decades she has worked in the heritage field, researching and writing histories of buildings and places.

Her most recent book The Near West: A History of Grey Lynn, Arch Hill and Westmere, was published in 2024. She was awarded the 2024/2025 Auckland Library Heritage Trust John Stacpoole Scholarship for her project Lost Neighbourhoods of Central Auckland.