Mount Roskill
Mount Roskill (Māori: Puketāpapa)[3] is a suburban area in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is named for the volcanic peak Puketāpapa (commonly called "Mount Roskill" in English).
Mount Roskill / Mt Roskill | |
|---|---|
![]() Mount Roskill from Big King. The Waitākere Ranges in the background. | |
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| Coordinates: 36.912594°S 174.737259°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| City | Auckland |
| Local authority | Auckland Council |
| Electoral ward | Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward |
| Local board | Puketāpapa Local Board |
| Area | |
| • Land | 523 ha (1,292 acres) |
| Population (June 2022)[2] | |
| • Total | 17,820 |
| Owairaka, Sandringham | Balmoral, Eden Valley | Mount Eden |
| New Windsor, New Zealand, Wesley |
|
Three Kings |
| Lynfield | Waikowhai | Hillsborough |
Description

The suburb, named after the Mount, is located seven kilometres to the south of the city centre, and is surrounded by the neighbouring suburbs of Three Kings, Sandringham, Wesley, Hillsborough and Mount Albert. The Mount Roskill shops are located at the intersection of Mount Albert and Dominion Roads.
In the 1920s, a new subdivision off Dominion Road was established. It was named the Victory Estate after notable First World War personnel.[4]
One of the city's larger suburbs, it was largely farmland until after the Second World War. It was a separate borough from 1947 until local government reorganisation in 1989 amalgamated it with Auckland City.
In the past, Mount Roskill was referred to as the Bible Belt of Auckland,[5] as it contained the highest number of churches per capita in New Zealand.[6] The electorate was one of the last in the country to go "wet", in 1999, having formally been a dry area where the selling of alcohol was prohibited.[7]
Demographics
Mount Roskill covers 5.23 km2 (2.02 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 17,820 as of June 2022,[2] with a population density of 3,407 people per km2.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 15,336 | — |
| 2013 | 16,131 | +0.72% |
| 2018 | 17,319 | +1.43% |
| Source: [8] | ||
Mount Roskill had a population of 17,319 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,188 people (7.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,983 people (12.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 5,187 households, comprising 8,754 males and 8,556 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female, with 2,853 people (16.5%) aged under 15 years, 4,788 (27.6%) aged 15 to 29, 7,605 (43.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 2,064 (11.9%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 29.1% European/Pākehā, 5.5% Māori, 15.5% Pacific peoples, 53.5% Asian, and 4.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 56.3, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 31.5% had no religion, 34.1% were Christian, 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 15.8% were Hindu, 8.8% were Muslim, 2.4% were Buddhist and 2.6% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 4,764 (32.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,842 (12.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,977 people (13.7%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 7,014 (48.5%) people were employed full-time, 2,016 (13.9%) were part-time, and 588 (4.1%) were unemployed.[8]
| Name | Area (km2) | Population | Density (per km2) | Households | Median age | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Roskill North | 0.96 | 3,813 | 3,972 | 1,317 | 34.0 years | $33,600[9] |
| Mount Roskill White Swan | 1.04 | 4,596 | 4,419 | 1,323 | 32.8 years | $30,400[10] |
| Mount Roskill Central North | 0.90 | 3,324 | 3,693 | 933 | 31.9 years | $23,400[11] |
| Mount Roskill Central South | 1.20 | 2,412 | 2,010 | 630 | 29.2 years | $19,900[12] |
| Mount Roskill South | 1.13 | 3,174 | 2,809 | 984 | 38.3 years | $30,100[13] |
| New Zealand | 37.4 years | $31,800 |
Local government
Mount Roskill had a local government like other suburbs of Auckland at the time. The local government was called Mount Roskill Borough Council, which started in 1947 and merged into Auckland City Council in 1989 and then eventually merged into Auckland Council in 2010.
Mayors (1947–1989)
During its existence from 1947 to 1989, the borough of Mount Roskill had five mayors:[14]
| Name | Term | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles McCullough | 1947–1950 |
| 2 | Philip Ernest Potter | 1950–1953 |
| 3 | Keith Hay | 1953–1974 |
| 4 | Dick Fickling | 1974–1987 |
| 5 | David Hay | 1987–1989 |
Library
Mt Roskill Library[15] was built and opened to public in August 1977. It was refurbished and the floor area extended in November 2011. Mt Roskill Library has English, Māori, Chinese, Tamil, Arabic and Somali collections.
Sport and recreation
Mount Roskill Rugby Football Club, Bay Roskill Vikings, and Eden Roskill District Cricket Club are based in the suburb.
Education
Mount Roskill Grammar School is a secondary school (years 9-13) with a roll of 1764.[16] Mount Roskill Intermediate is an intermediate school (years 7-8) with a roll of 564.[17] Mount Roskill Primary is a contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of 682.[18] These schools are on adjoining sites. Mount Roskill Grammar School opened first in 1953, followed by Mount Roskill Primary in 1955 and Mount Roskill Intermediate in 1956.[19]
Dominion Road School, Hay Park School and May Road School are contributing primary schools (years 1-6) with rolls of 285, 173 and 194, respectively.[20][21][22] May Road School opened in 1925, followed by Dominion Road School in 1929, which operated a satellite site of Three Kings School until 1937. Hay Park School opened in 1963.[19]
Monte Cecilia School is a state-integrated Catholic contributing primary school (years 1-6) with a roll of 166.[23] The school opened in 1925, by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and the Sisters of Mercy, and was originally a private school.[19]
All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of November 2022.[24]
People
Mount Roskill has been home to many successful New Zealanders who attended the local schools. Among them are:
- Rugby coach John Hart,
- Billionaire Graeme Hart,
- Evangelist Bill Subritzky
- Rugby union international Doug Howlett,
- Actor and South Sydney Rabbitohs owner Russell Crowe,
- Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard,
- Tennis player Brett Steven,
- Labour MP Phil Goff,
- Balmain Tigers, Eastern Suburbs Roosters, Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels and New Zealand rugby league international, 1992 Dally M Medallist, former Kiwi coach and commentator Gary Freeman
- Former rugby league international Dane O'Hara
- Former rugby league international and New Zealand Māori representative Bill Burgoyne
- Former New Zealand Warriors, Melbourne Storm, St George-Illawarra Dragons, Parramatta Eels and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby league international, New Zealand Māori representative and current NRL referee Henry Perenara
- Former Parramatta Eels rugby league player Marcus Perenara
- Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and New Zealand rugby league international Steve Matai
- New Zealand Warriors captain, rugby league international and professional boxer Monty Betham
- Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Wests Tigers rugby league international Matt Utai
- New Zealand Warriors and Kiwi rugby league international Evarn Tuimavave
- Parramatta Eels rugby league player Manu Ma'u
- New Zealand Warriors rugby league player Ben Henry
- Canberra Raiders rugby league player Bill Tupou
- Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby league player Sosaia Feki
- New Zealand Warriors rugby league player Sione Lousi
- New Zealand Warriors rugby league player Sam Lousi
- Newcastle Knights rugby league player Paterika Vaivai
- The Hay family (of Keith Hay Homes)
- Professional cricket player Azhar Abbas
- New York Times Best Selling author Nalini Singh
In 2007, the Mount Roskill Community Board commissioned a 176-page book titled Just Passing Through: A History of Mt Roskill (Jade Reidy) which covered the growth of the district from 1840 up until the present time. It identified the significant input of Mount Roskill residents internationally, such as athletics coach Arthur Lydiard in the chapter "How Sport Put Mt Roskill on the World Map."
References
- "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- "Population estimate tables - NZ.Stat". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/6129
- Graves, Joanne. "Mt Roskill's Victory Estate". Heritage et AL. Auckland Libraries.
- "Mt Roskill". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- "God and money: Interactive map shows rich suburbs have most atheists". The New Zealand Herald. 13 May 2015. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- "Tawa ditches prohibition a century after banning alcohol - 150 years of news". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Mount Roskill North (139700), Mount Roskill White Swan (139800), Mount Roskill Central North (140400), Mount Roskill Central South (140700) and Mount Roskill South (141300).
- 2018 Census place summary: Mount Roskill North
- 2018 Census place summary: Mount Roskill White Swan
- 2018 Census place summary: Mount Roskill Central North
- 2018 Census place summary: Mount Roskill Central South
- 2018 Census place summary: Mount Roskill South
- "Timeline of Auckland mayors". Auckland Council Archives. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- "Mt Roskill (Three Kings) Community Library". Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- Education Counts: Mount Roskill Grammar
- Education Counts: Mount Roskill Intermediate
- Education Counts: Mount Roskill Primary School
- Reidy, Jade (2013). Not Just Passing Through: the Making of Mt Roskill (2nd ed.). Auckland: Puketāpapa Local Board. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-927216-97-2. OCLC 889931177. Wikidata Q116775081.
- Education Counts: Dominion Road School
- Education Counts: Hay Park School
- Education Counts: May Road School
- Education Counts: Monte Cecilia School
- "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
Bibliography
- Nicola Legat:"In God We Trust? The Mount Roskillisation of Auckland" Metro 152 (February 1994): 58–67.
- David Craig: "Thin Topsoil: Queer Blokes, Moral Modernity and Real Estate Politics in New Zealand's Biggest Borough" in Ian Carter, David Craig and Steve Matthewman: Almighty Auckland? Palmerston North: Dunmore Press: 2004: ISBN 0-86469-452-0
- Jade Reidy Just Passing Through: The Making of Mt Roskill (c) 2007 Auckland City Council ISBN 978-1-877362-18-7
- City of Volcanoes: A geology of Auckland - Searle, Ernest J.; revised by Mayhill, R.D.; Longman Paul, 1981. First published 1964. ISBN 0-582-71784-1.
- Volcanoes of Auckland: The Essential Guide. Hayward, B.W., Murdoch, G., Maitland, G.; Auckland University Press, 2011.
External links
- Photographs of Mount Roskill held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.

