Morningside, Auckland

Original 1865 plan for Morningside, including the central church

Morningside seen from Ōwairaka / Mount Albert in 1926

Morningside is a suburb on the western Auckland isthmus, located south of the Northwestern Motorway. It is bisected by New North Road and the Western Line. Morningside lies between the suburbs of Grey Lynn, Kingsland, Sandringham, St Lukes, Mount Albert and Point Chevalier.

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]

On 29 June 1841, the Mount Albert area was sold to the Crown by Ngāti Whātua, as a part of a 12,000 acre section.[5] The terrain of the area was rough, meaning the area saw slower development compared to other parts of the Auckland isthmus.[6] In the 1860s, New North Road was established as road access for the area and as an alternative to the Great North Road to the north.[7] Allan Kerr Taylor, a major landowner in the Mount Albert area, auctioned off a section of his land in March 1865 to create a subdivision along the road. Kerr Taylor named the new village Morningside, referencing Morningside in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, which was the location of a mental asylum.[8] Kerr Taylor's original plan for the village included a church to be built on an island in the middle of New North Road.[9]

Morningside railway station opened in March 1880, connecting Morningside to Auckland city by rail.[10] Morningside saw slower growth compared to Kingsland, located closer to the city. In March 1910, the Shawville housing estate in Morningside was sold off.[11]

Morningside grew as a community after the tramline extended to the suburb along New North Road in 1912.[12]

The suburb is centred on the Morningside shops which are located on the New North Road, near the Morningside railway station. One of Morningside's largest buildings is the 1920s brick building which formerly housed the Mount Albert Borough Council until Mt Albert was amalgamated with Auckland City in the late 1980s.

Morningside was the setting of the animated TV show Bro'Town, and also the album title and hometown of Fazerdaze.

Morningside (Auckland) covers 1.09 km² (0.42 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 3,890 as of June 2022,[2] with a population density of 3,569 people per km².

Morningside (Auckland) had a population of 3,981 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 156 people (4.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 375 people (10.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,320 households, comprising 1,986 males and 1,995 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 32.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 495 people (12.4%) aged under 15 years, 1,206 (30.3%) aged 15 to 29, 2,049 (51.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 231 (5.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 68.6% European/Pākehā, 9.0% Māori, 10.2% Pacific peoples, 21.9% Asian, and 3.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 37.9, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.2% had no religion, 27.8% were Christian, 0.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 5.9% were Hindu, 2.8% were Muslim, 2.0% were Buddhist and 3.6% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,593 (45.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 204 (5.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $46,000, compared with $31,800 nationally. 936 people (26.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,265 (65.0%) people were employed full-time, 477 (13.7%) were part-time, and 165 (4.7%) were unemployed.[13]

Fowlds Park

• The former Mount Albert Borough Council building
• Fowlds Park, a public park home to the Mount Albert Lions rugby league team and the Auckland Irish Club
• Morningside Church of Christ, which opened as the Wm. Moor Memorial Hall in 1911[14]
• Morningside village, including the Morningside Precinct, a gastronomy hub and venue[15]
• School Reserve, a park and former site of the Mount Albert Primary School from 1871 to 1940.[16]

Mount Albert School is a contributing primary school (years 1-6) with rolls of 404.[17] The local state intermediate school is Kōwhai Intermediate School, while the local secondary schools include Mount Albert Grammar School and Marist College.

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.[18] In 1978, Mount Albert became a city,[19] and in 1989 it was absorbed into Auckland City.[20] In November 2010, all cities and districts of the Auckland Region were amalgamated into a single body, governed by the Auckland Council.[21]

Morningside 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.

• Dunsford, Deborah (2016). Mt Albert Then and Now: a History of Mt Albert, Morningside, Kingsland, St Lukes, Sandringham and Owairaka. Auckland: Mount Albert Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-473-36016-0. OCLC 964695277. Wikidata Q117189974.
• The Heart of Colonial Auckland 1865-1910, Terence Hodgson. Random Century 1992.

• Photographs of Morningside held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.