An aerial photograph taken of Karangahape Road (running horizontal from the middle of the photograph to the bottom left) and surrounding suburbs in 1966. Many Pacific immigrants lived on either side of the ridgeline.

Ref: https://ahi.auckland.ac.nz/2022/03/22/pacific-immigrants-in-the-greater-ponsonby-region/#:~:text=The%20intensification%20of%20Pacific%20Island,houses%20to%20accommodate%20their%20needs.

The intensification of Pacific Island immigrants in suburbs such as Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, Newton and Freeman’s Bay resulted in there being significant changes to the inner-city. In Freeman’s Bay, for example, by 1966 21 per cent of the population were Pacific Islanders, compared to six per cent of the overall Auckland population. Similarly, Ponsonby was termed ‘little Polynesia’, with 42 per cent of the residents being Polynesian or Māori by 1971. 

As one would expect, the adjustment to a new city had its challenges for Pacific immigrants. One of the major issues was housing (as it remains today). The size, layout, and price of the standard central Auckland home was not desirable for Pacific peoples. Many found that “European houses were not big enough for Polynesians, who wanted big rooms where large groups could sit and talk and many guests could stay”. 

Furthermore, most immigrants could not afford to pay for larger houses to accommodate their needs. As a result of this, by the 1970s many Pacific families were forced into renting, as purchasing their own house in the central city was already beyond their means. This was highlighted through a study taken in 1972 of Tokelaun immigrants living in central Auckland. The survey found that only just over 50 per cent of participants owned their own home. Contrasting this, over 70 per cent of Tokelauan immigrants living in South and West Auckland were home owners. The gap in these statistics reveals that it was already very challenging for Pacific immigrant families to purchase an inner-city house that was suitable to their needs.

Due to the frequency of these housing challenges, a group of Pacific Islanders living in central Auckland, known as the Pacific Islands Housing and Welfare Association, began to give advice on a variety of issues. First and foremost, they aimed to “advise and help Islanders and other citizens on housing”, which included the best practices for buying, selling, leasing or renting a house. Second, they wanted to help immigrants get professional advice in their own languages. Third, they helped Islanders and other citizens with welfare and financial matters. And, lastly, the group aimed to teach Pacific Islanders about the law in New Zealand, with the desire to help them settle into New Zealand society seamlessly. Whilst these issues did not disappear, the influence of such groups portrayed the changing identity of those residing in inner-city Auckland. Pacific immigrants became very adept at helping each other out in their newly formed community, which went a long way to solidifying the central suburbs of Auckland as a place where Polynesians could express themselves and fit in incredibly well. 

A second example of the changing face of ‘Greater Ponsonby’ was the significant shift in the makeup of local schools. A number of primary and secondary schools in the area started gaining large numbers of Polynesian students, so much so that in some schools the majority of students did not have English as their first language. For example, at Newton Central School in the mid-1970s, more than 90 per cent of the school roll was made up of immigrants, and English was taught as a second language to most students. Moreover, at Auckland Girls Grammar School, “An increase in Polynesian students pushed up the percentage of non-European girls from 23.5 per cent in 1971 to more than 80 per cent by the mid-1980s”. 

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