Anzac Avenue, Auckland


Anzac Avenue is a street in Auckland, New Zealand's most populous city. It was constructed between 1914 and 1919 to link Beach Road to Symonds Street, and was named as a memorial to the troops who died in the Gallipoli campaign.

Demographics

The statistical area of Anzac Avenue, which is bounded by Beach Road, Parliament Street, Waterloo Quadrant, Princes Street and Emily Place, had a population of 2,748 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 180 people since the 2013 census, and an increase of 624 people since the 2006 census. There were 1,458 households. There were 1,422 males and 1,323 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.07 males per female. The median age was 30.6 years, with 90 people aged under 15 years, 1,215 aged 15 to 29, 1,269 aged 30 to 64, and 168 aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 45.9% European/Pākehā, 4.4% Māori, 2.6% Pacific peoples, 44.4% Asian, and 8.8% other ethnicities.
The proportion of people born overseas was 66.5%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 54.9% had no religion, 24.7% were Christian, and 16.2% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,320 people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 90 people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $37,200. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,527 people were employed full-time, 363 were part-time, and 135 were unemployed.

History

Anzac Avenue, which started construction in 1914, followed the route of Jermyn Street, but was renamed in 1916 to form a memorial to those who had died at Gallipoli, overriding a recommendation to call it Jellicoe Street. There was an objection to the renaming, because the previous name honoured Captain John Jermyn Symonds, an early resident of the street and figure in the early history of Auckland. A commemoration of the construction of the road was held in 1918, where the Governor-General, Arthur Foljambe, planted two puriri trees at the corner of Anzac Avenue and Waterloo Quadrant, and a score of trees were planted by others. The road was described as busy in 1919 even before it was fully completed. A tramline along Anzac Avenue was opened in February 1921.

Notable locations