St Lukes, New Zealand

Coordinates: 36°52′59″S 174°43′53″E / 36.88313°S 174.73152°E / -36.88313; 174.73152
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

St Lukes
Westfield St Lukes
Map
Coordinates: 36°52′59″S 174°43′53″E / 36.88313°S 174.73152°E / -36.88313; 174.73152
CountryNew Zealand
CityAuckland
Local authorityAuckland Council
Electoral wardAlbert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward
Local boardAlbert-Eden Local Board
Area
 • Land46 ha (114 acres)
Population
 (June 2023)[2]
 • Total2,300
Mount Albert Morningside Sandringham
Mount Albert
St Lukes
Sandringham
Mount Albert
Owairaka
Sandringham

St Lukes is a suburb of New Zealand's largest city, Auckland. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. After Westfield St Lukes opened in 1972, the area developed into a major commercial area of the Auckland isthmus.

Geography

St Lukes is a small suburb on the Auckland isthmus, located between New North Road and Sandringham Road in the vicinity of Saint Lukes Road.

History

St Luke's Church on New North Road

The broader area was originally swampland, and known to Tāmaki Māori as Ngā Anawai, referring to the water-filled lava-flow caves that formed in the area. The lava caves were created by Maungawhau / Mount Eden and Mount Albert over 30,000 years ago.[3][4] The area, especially the north-east along Sandringham Road at Gribblehirst Park was known to early European residents as Cabbage Tree Swamp, due to the number of tī kōuka (cabbage trees) that lined the swampland.[4]

On 29 June 1841, the Mount Albert area was sold to the

Great North Road to the north.[7] In 1864, reverend Alexander French purchased allotment 161 and established a farm in the modern St Lukes area.[3] Allan Kerr Taylor, a major landowner in the Mount Albert area, gifted land along New North Road to the Anglican Church. The name Church of St. Luke was chosen during a community meeting in July 1872,[8] and the church opened in November 1872.[9]

In 1962, the Wagener subdivision, an industrial area of Auckland, was constructed on Saint Lukes Road.[10]

In 1971, the St Lukes Shopping Centre was opened by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake, as the second modern shopping centre in Auckland after LynnMall.[11] The centre was funded by the Mount Albert Borough Council, and was later extended in the early 2000s.[11]

From 2003 to 2011, a large apartment complex called St Lukes Garden was built in the area. Many of the buildings in the complex had issues with leaking, which led to one of the largest court cases dealing with leaky buildings in New Zealand.[12] In 2018, Chemist Warehouse set up their first store in New Zealand in St Lukes.[13]

Demographics

St Lukes covers 0.46 km2 (0.18 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 2,300 as of June 2023,[2] with a population density of 5,000 people per km2.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
20061,653—    
20132,256+4.54%
20182,391+1.17%
Source: [14]

St Lukes had a population of 2,391 at the

2006 census
. There were 903 households, comprising 1,188 males and 1,206 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 31.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 375 people (15.7%) aged under 15 years, 735 (30.7%) aged 15 to 29, 1,089 (45.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 192 (8.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 37.8% European/Pākehā, 6.0% Māori, 7.3% Pacific peoples, 54.2% Asian, and 5.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 59.5, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 43.3% had no religion, 25.2% were Christian, 0.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 15.6% were Hindu, 5.6% were Muslim, 1.9% were Buddhist and 3.6% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 885 (43.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 132 (6.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $33,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 303 people (15.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,086 (53.9%) people were employed full-time, 282 (14.0%) were part-time, and 90 (4.5%) were unemployed.[14]

Amenities

Opening of the St Lukes Shopping Centre in 1971
  • Mt Albert Library
  • St Luke's Plunket Family Centre
  • The Roy Clements Treeway Path, a nature reserve bordering the Meola Creek[15]
  • Warren Freer Park, which includes a public playground and is the home of the Ramblers Softball Club[16]
  • Westfield St Lukes, a shopping centre in central Auckland

Education

Mount Albert School and Edendale Primary School are contributing primary schools (years 1–6) with rolls of 413 and 493, respectively.[17][18] Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Nga Maungarongo is a full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of 78.[19] It is a Māori language-immersion school. The local state intermediate schools are Kōwhai Intermediate School and Balmoral while the local secondary school is Mount Albert Grammar School.

Transportation

Saint Lukes Road is the major arterial road in the area, which runs between Great North Road, and the Northwestern Motorway, New North Road and Sandringham Road. At this point, the road becomes known as Balmoral Road as it continues through Balmoral, and after crossing St Andrews Road is known as Greenlane.

St Lukes can be reached by public transport by using the OuterLink buses.[20]

Local government

In October 1866, the Mt Albert District Highway Board, the first local government in the area, was formed to administer New North Road and the surrounding areas.[7] In 1911, the board became the Mount Albert Borough, who elected a mayor.[21] In 1978, Mount Albert became a city,[22] and in 1989 it was absorbed into Auckland City.[23] In November 2010, all cities and districts of the Auckland Region were amalgamated into a single body, governed by the Auckland Council.[24]

St Lukes is a part of the Albert-Eden local board area. The residents of Albert-Eden elect a local board, and two councillors from the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward to sit on the Auckland Council.

References

  1. ^ a b "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Population estimate tables - NZ.Stat". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei; Truttman, Lisa (2009). "Balmoral & Sandringham Heritage Walks" (PDF). Auckland Council. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Gribblehirst Park". Auckland Council. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  5. ^ Dunsford, Deborah 2016, pp. 19.
  6. ^ Dunsford, Deborah 2016, pp. 25.
  7. ^ a b Dunsford, Deborah 2016, pp. 26–29.
  8. ^ "Our History". Saint Luke's Mt Albert. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  9. ^ Dunsford, Deborah 2016, pp. 44.
  10. ^ Dunsford, Deborah 2016, pp. 154.
  11. ^ a b Dunsford, Deborah 2016, pp. 156–157.
  12. ^ Slade, Maria (6 June 2016). "Largest ever leaky homes case launched against Auckland Council". Stuff. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  13. ^ Nadkarni, Anuja (29 July 2018). "Free prescriptions, competition shakes up pharmacy industry". Stuff. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. St Lukes (135800). 2018 Census place summary: St Lukes
  15. ^ "Roy Clements Treeway Path". Auckland Council. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Warren Freer Park". Auckland Council. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  17. ^ Education Counts: Mount Albert School
  18. ^ Education Counts: Edendale School (Auckland)
  19. ^ Education Counts: Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Nga Maungarongo
  20. ^ Parminter, Alice (28 June 2016). "Auckland's new bus network gets the tick of approval". Stuff. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  21. ^ Dunsford, Deborah 2016, pp. 79.
  22. ^ Dunsford, Deborah 2016, pp. 119.
  23. ^ Dunsford, Deborah 2016, pp. 200.
  24. ISSN 2324-1101
    .

Bibliography