Point Chevalier

Point Chevalier
Northern part of Point Chevalier from Meola Reef.
Basic information
Local authority	Auckland Council
Date established	1920s (Approx.)
Population	8,934 (2001)
Surrounds
North	(Waitemata Harbour)
Northeast	(Waitemata Harbour)
East	Westmere, Western Springs
Southeast	Mt Albert
South	Waterview
Southwest	Rosebank
West	(Waitemata Harbour)
Northwest	(Waitemata Harbour)

Point Chevalier is a suburb and peninsula in the west of the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to the west of the city centre on the southern shore of the Waitemata Harbour.

The suburb stretches from the town centre / shopping area along its southern edge (on Great North Road, and near the SH16 motorway) to the tip of the peninsula in the north. Its postcode is 1022.

The suburb is situated to the north of State Highway 16 and the campus of Unitec New Zealand and to the west of the suburb of Western Springs. It is largely sited on the triangular peninsula, which extends north into the harbour for 1800 metres. The soil is mostly clay without the overlay of volcanic material which covers much of the Auckland isthmus; this means the vegetation of the area is less lush than some of the other suburbs of Auckland.

Visible from Coyle Park is Meola Reef, which is situated to the east of the Point Chevalier peninsula and bordering the suburb of Westmere. Meola Reef is an outcrop of black basalt rock which extends some distance north into the Waitemata Harbour. This is the end of the lava flow emanating from Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta, a volcano several miles south of this area. Formerly a landfill site, it has now been rehabilitated as a park and nature reserve. Other parks in the suburb include Walker Park, Eric Armshaw Reserve and Coyle Park. The latter is located at the northern tip of the peninsula.

Before the European settlement of the Auckland isthmus in the 1840s, small Maori settlements existed in the area which later became Point Chevalier, including one at Meola Reef and a fishing settlement at Rangi-mata-rau (later Point Chevalier Beach). The latter was a staging point for shark fishing off Kauri Point on the inner Waitemata Harbour.

As the city of Auckland grew, Point Chevalier gained strategic importance as it lay on what was then the main land route out of Auckland, the Great North Road. Because of this, a military encampment was located here during the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s. The name 'Point Chevalier' comes from Captain George Robert Chevalier (1825 - 1871), a musketry instructor serving in the 65th Regiment, stationed at this camp.