Information AboutGrey Lynn |
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Grey Lynn is an inner residential suburb of Auckland , in the North Island of New Zealand . Grey Lynn is located three kilometres to the west of the city centre, and is surrounded by the suburbs of Western Springs , Westmere , and Ponsonby . Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914 . The former Borough Council Chambers and Fire Station building still stands at the Ponsonby Road end of Williamson Avenue, this brick building dates from 1889 and was designed by John Mitchell. It resembles many American Fire Stations of the period. HISTORY OF GREY LYNN Grey Lynn is named for Sir George Grey , (April 14, 1812–September 19, 1898) Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony (South Africa), Premier of New Zealand and towards the end of his life Member Of Parliament for Auckland West. The original subdivision was of 900 acres (3.6 km&2) of land, which is still the formal extent of Grey Lynn. Most of the houses were built around the same time (1880s to the time of the First War ) so they present a visual consistancy. As very few of the houses have been completely replaced by new structures Grey Lynn is reputably the largest concentration of wooden 19th century houses in the world. Williamson Avenue and Crummer Road are two of the major streets in Grey Lynn. James Williamson and Thomas Crummer were joint owners of a farm in this area. In 1883 Williamson & Crummer sold the property to the Auckland Agricultural Company which was headed by Thomas Russell. The "Surrey Hills" farm was subdivided into 272 building sections forming the suburb between Surrey Crescent and the southern end of Ponsonby Road. The Surrey Crescent shops are located at the intersection of Great North Road and Williamson Avenue. At the corner of Crummer Road and Ponsonby Road stands the large 1890s Italianate Mansion of George Allen, a Saddle & Harness Maker. "Allendale" is a local landmark, having been successively a Doctors Surgery, Maori Girls Hostel, Boarding House, Refuge for Alcoholic Men, and a Restaurant. In the 1990s it was purchased by the ASB Community Trust as its headquaters and restored. Grey Lynn is centred around Grey Lynn Park which was not part of the original subdivision of 1883 since the land was too steep and too wet to build houses on. In 1914 the land was drained and levelled for playing fields. The park is noted for the annual Grey Lynn Festival which attracts around 100,000 visitors on the third Saturday in November each year. In March 2006 Grey Lynn Park played host to the Lightspeed festival, an event celebrating the end of summer and end of daylight savings. The 2006 event hosted the popular New Zealand reggae dub band Fat Freddy's Drop. Grey Lynn Park is the home ground of the Richmond Bulldogs rugby league club. Following the advent of American-style suburbs in the 1950s much of inner city Auckland became unfashionable and rundown. Some people regarded places like Grey Lynn as little better than a slum, rents were low attracting students and immigrant workers from the Pacific Islands. Grey Lynn developed quite a Polynesia n flavour, although in recent years this has diminished. Many of the Kauri villas have been renovated in a wave of " Gentrification " accompanied by soaring house prices and rents. The return of the middle class people who populated the area originally has resulted in the disappearance of student flats and polynesian families. An increasing number of recent housing developments have attracted controversy since they are intensive developments and they are out of character with the original timber villas. EXTERNAL LINKS REFERENCES
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