Ponsonby, New Zealand

Ponsonby
Ponsonby Road, in the 'Three Lamps' area at northern end of the suburb, looking southwards.
Location of Ponsonby in Auckland.
Basic information
Local authority	Auckland Council
Date established	1845 (approx.)
Population	5,649 (2006)
Surrounds
North	Saint Marys Bay
Northeast	Viaduct Basin
East	Freemans Bay
Southeast	Newton
South	Arch Hill
Southwest	Grey Lynn
West	Westmere
Northwest	Herne Bay

Ponsonby is an inner-city suburb of Auckland located 2 km west of the Auckland CBD, in the North Island of New Zealand. The suburb is oriented along a ridge running north-south, which is followed by the main street of the suburb, Ponsonby Road.

A predominantly upper-middle class residential suburb, Ponsonby today is also known in Auckland for its dining and shopping establishments – many restaurants, cafes, art galleries, up-market shops and nightclubs are located along Ponsonby Road.

The borders of Ponsonby are often seen as being rather fluid, taking in St Mary's Bay and Herne Bay to the north and including Freemans Bay to the east and Grey Lynn to the south - Ponsonby is properly bounded by Jervois Road to the North and Richmond Road to the south but extends down Ponsonby road all the way to the Karangahape road corner - the boundary with Freemans Bay to the east is less clear. The area was originally a working class to middle class area.

From the Great Depression until the 1980s it contained many rundown buildings, and had a somewhat 'colourful' reputation. This was partially due to some criminal elements, its many Maori and Pacific Island residents and (from the 1970s onwards) student flats and an association with Auckland's arts and gay/lesbian scenes.

Ponsonby includes an area called Three Lamps which is located at the north end of the street. This name is derived from a 19th-century Lamppost (now reconstructed - see below), There are other locations called Three Lamps for the same reason; intersections in the UK - Crewe and Totterdown in Bristol which might conceivably have influenced the derivation here. There was also a Pub with that name in Swansea, Wales and a location in Macau in China.

The suburb has undergone extensive gentrification over the last two decades, arguably returning it to its largely middle class origins. Its postcode is 1011.

The Māori name for the ridge is Te Rimu Tahi ('The Lone Rimu Tree', referring to an ancient tree which stood in a prominent position at what is now the intersection of Ponsonby Road and Karangahape Road). No European apparently saw the tree and so its exact location is unidentifiable.