Albany History
And the winner is... ALBANY! This had been Captain McArthur's suggestion; he told his family that it was the name of a town in a fruit-growing region of Western Australia, which he had visited in his seafaring days. He had been impressed by the apple orchards there and must have made a connection between them and those in his present home, and so the New Zealand Albany was born.
The Birth of Albany - The people called for a vote to rename their village ever since the name ‘Lucas Creek’ (named after the first European to settle in the area) held unsavoury implications, which had been growing since the days of the sly-groggers of the 1860s and 1870s, and were kept alive by a steady supply of petty criminality. The Post Office accepted the change of name, and Lucas Greek officially became Albany on 1 December 1890.
War - At the beginning of the twentieth century, Queen Victoria was still on the throne but she was aged and failing, and her son Edward was waiting to step up. War, which had begun in 1899, was being waged in South Africa, and it was a measure of New Zealand’s commitment to the British Empire that around six thousand men (and eight thousand horses) went voluntarily to fight the 'Boers' during the three years of conflict.
Auckland - despite losing its status as capital of New Zealand in 1865, Auckland was a thriving city with many fine buildings. The use of ferro-concrete as a building material accounted for much of the development, as timber construction was discouraged because of the danger of fire.
By 1900 there was a ferry service from Birkenhead to Auckland. One of the ferries had a peculiarly piercing whistle and small children of nervous disposition would cry and plead to go home, as they approached the wharf and the certainty of that terrible ear-splitting sound. For an Albany resident a trip to the city was more arduous, involving either a slow steamer down Lucas Creek (which would probably necessitate an overnight stay) or the rough, uncomfortable drive to Birkenhead, the stabling of the horse, then the ferry trip.
The Great War - In 1914 a big war was going on in the rest of the world while in Albany, and surrounding regions, parties were held to celebrate life. These sort of events stood as a counterpoint to the main effects of the war. People were receiving letters and telegrams about killed family members. Although physical disablement could be seen and understood, psychological damage was worse. But life had to go on. It was decided that Albany’s tribute to its dead would be a War Memorial library building; an Auckland designer named Sholto Smith was commissioned to plan what was then described as a ‘pleasing building’, but is now designated as ‘quaint’. It was opened in 1922 by the Governor General, Lord Jellicoe, and there could have been few residents who did not have a photo of Their Excellencies, taken as Lady Jellicoe graciously bent to take a bouquet from little Rae Charman.
Development in Albany - During the war, the school that was set up after the last one burned down in 1897, had continued to grow. In 1915 there were forty-three names on the roll. Education was still very formal. Copybooks were used to promote elegant handwriting and drawing lessons consisted of copying inanimate objects and drawing to scale. By 1922 there were seventy-three children attending the Albany school, but it had only one room. The major building development of this era took place in 1923, and concerned the arrival of the Post Office. The modernization of Albany increased by benzene pumps set up in 1923, improvements on the roads (bridge across Lucas Creek e.g.) and an increase of motor traffic. This modernization continued with the arrival of electricity, which reached Coronation Hall in 1928 and the school in 1934.
The Great Depression - The depression that hit New Zealand about 1929 seems to have had little economic impact on Albany; people were used to living self-sufficient, careful lives and the farms were small and not over-committed. Albany’s population was so much smaller, and there was only a handful of people who worked for wages. There were no business firms or large properties, and the hotel, store, bakery and butchery were the only shops. Men ‘on relief’ who had no other job planted pines in a plantation at the eastern end of Rosedale Road. The face of Albany did change somewhat during this time, as transient families appeared and disappeared; they were neither farmers nor workers, nor did they intend to become permanent residents.
Modernization - Yet while Albany was changing, it was also consolidating, at least socially, with the establishment of a local branch of the Women’s Institute. The participants took an interest in many subjects, discussed education, currency reform and social problems, and listened to different speakers. Entertainment in Albany was still largely home-grown in the early part of the twentieth century. There was also a local dramatic society, and for those who were sports-minded, there was tennis, and a football team. These were also the years of the local A&P show, introduction of radio, major improvements in roading cause with the coming of motors, and international travelling was easier.
The Second World War - On 3 September 1939, New Zealand declared war on Germany, the announcement timed to coincide with that made by Britain. International communications, which include newspaper coverage and radio bulletins, had developed to the stage where thoughtful New Zealanders were well aware of the issues that had tipped Europe over the brink of war. They were also gravely concerned that Japan, no longer an ally, was a very real threat in the Pacific region. In Albany, as in every other community throughout the land, young men hurried to enlist, most in the Army, though some chose the Air Force, which had become a separate arm of the forces as recently as 1934. Albany buckled down to its war effort, very alive to the possibility of attack by Japan. Albany astride the main highway between Auckland and the camps at Warkworth, so that convoys of Army lorries filled with extroverted young men became a familiar sight, especially to schoolchildren as they waited by the roadside for their school bus. But part from the comings and goings of the U.S. Army Albany was little affected by the horrors of war. When the war ended in 1945 the boys returned, though they were boys no longer; a memorial plaque went in the library. Seven past pupils of Albany School had died (five of them in the Air Force) and Albany’s memorial was this time, appropriately, a pair of gateposts at the school.
From rural to semi-urban - When the Auckland Harbour Bridge opened on 30 May 1959, Albany was further exposed to development and change. But for some, this was to come at a price. Before the opening of the Harbour Bridge, the East Coast Bays were sparsely settled, with few permanent residents and many acres of empty, rolling country. Each beach had a small crop of baches, which featured such amenities as outhouses and corrugated iron water tanks. In 1959 though, the chain of pleasant, safe beaches was ‘discovered’, and the subsequent rush to buy and build resulted in such an acceleration of development that services could barely keep pace. The urbanisation of the East Coast Bays meant that the infrastructure had to grow too: well-designed roads, street lighting, a reliable power supply and water reticulation were essential. On 29 september 1962 the plant in Rosedale Road was officially opened, a major event for the whole North Store. Another opening ceremony held in 1962 were the Waitemata Golf Club at Devonport, the Municipal Golf Course on Northcote Road and the Pupuke Golf Club on East Coast Road.
Albany was truly raised to suburban status, though, when the telephone service to Auckland became toll-free, so removing the inconvenience, delays and expense of being a country exchange. No longer were children obliged to travel to Northcote on completion of primary school. Intermediate schools had opened at Northcross, Glenfield and Takapuna. In 1966 Albany School held its 90th anniversary. The face of education continued to change in Albany with the arrival of a new school in 1978, the private Kristin School. There were very few non-agricultural businesses at that time; those that did exist included Glavish’s well driving, Price’s nurseries and the small joinery of Sam Hendrikse. Retail outlets were very conventional until Thompson’s Albany Meats broke the mould by introducing both Saturday shopping and the sale of discounted bulk meat.
The steep growth of the automobile-sector in Albany - Allan Clarke brought Albany to wider notice during the 1970’s. He came with the instantly recognizable slogan, ‘Allan Clarke Motors, only twelve minutes north of the bridge’. Allan Clarke came to Albany because he considered it a good, central place for a car yard. He set up a modest business in 1974, which he later moved across the road. Between 1980 and 1990, Allan Clarke Motors held franchises for Mitsubishi, Toyota, Peugeot and General Motors. His car sales averaged five hundred per month, and his was the biggest privately owned motor vehicle dealership in New Zealand. With unrelenting publicity campaigns, the business grew so successful that it employed two hundred and seven staff and achieved an annual turnover of $100,000,000. Albany became a centre for car sales yards and the advertisements beam forth from television and radio. On 1 August 1974, the long-standing link with the Waitemata County Council was broken. Albany became part of Takapuna city which then assumed control over the Albany Basin.
A true suburb - The last decade has seen the landscape of Albany change dramatically. The suburb has moved far from its quiet rural background, to become a popular place to live and work, with retail, education and leisure facilities that would be the envy of many other areas of Auckland. In April 1991, a natural disaster hit Albany when a tornado swept in from the west. Its random course caused minor damage and major fright in the village, and a tragedy when Wayne Stanley-Hunt, who was driving an earth-moving machine near the old school, was struck and killed by a flying piece of debris. Macrocarpa and gum trees were demolished and the Presbyterian Church disappeared in a moment of spectacular disintegration. A new church of pleasing design has now been completed on the old site, and was opened on 22 july 2001.
Massey University - Of the recent developments in Albany, one of the most elegant is the Auckland campus of Massey University. The original Massey was named after W. Ferguson Massey, farmer/politician, who was Premier from 1912 to 1925. For twenty-five years Massey consolidated itself as a residential agricultural college, then on 1 January 1964 it was granted autonomy and degree-confering status, and officially became Massey University. The impressive North Harbour Stadium was opened in March 1997. This stadium is part of a 25,000,000 North shore Domain, intended for sport and recreation. Further expansion is in the pipeline. The level ground is ready and waiting, occupied at present by pukeko in their neat blue uniforms.
Demographic facts:
At the 2001 census, the Albany Basin's population totalled 21,198 people and 7,104 households, accounting for 11.5% of the population of North Shore City and 1.8% of Auckland Region's population. Projected population growth rates in the Albany Basin are significantly ahead of projections for both the Auckland Region and North Shore City. Over the next 40 years, the wider Albany Basin will be the major recipient of the North Shore's projected population increase.
The Albany Basin is less intensively developed than North Shore City overall, with 189 households per square kilometer, which reflects both its capacity for future residential development and the mixed-use character of the locality.
Compared to regional averages, the Albany population is better educated, has higher incomes, has more professional workers and fewer trade workers and has higher home ownership rates.
Welcome to Albany!
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