Glen Innes, New Zealand

Glen Innes is a suburb in East Auckland, New Zealand, located nine kilometres to the east of the city centre, close to the waters of the Tamaki River estuary.

Glen Innes
Suburb
Glen Innes, September 2018
Coordinates: 36°52′34″S 174°51′41″E
Country	New Zealand
City	Auckland
Local authority	Auckland Council
Electoral ward	Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward
Local board	Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board
Board subdivision	Tāmaki
Area
• Land	137 ha (339 acres)
Population  (June 2024)
• Total	4,790
Train stations	Glen Innes Railway Station

Kohimarama	Saint Heliers	Glendowie
Saint Johns	Glen Innes	Wai o Taiki Bay
	Point England	Tamaki River

Glen Innes was named after a large farm owned by William Innes Taylor in the area. There were four Taylor brothers in Auckland, the sons of a British man who had had a military career in India. Three of the brothers had farms in this area and built houses; William Innes Taylor at Glen Innes, Richard James Taylor at Glendowie and Charles John Taylor at Glen Orchard (now Saint Heliers). Their brother Allan Kerr Taylor had a farm estate in Mount Albert, whose house was called Alberton.

The main streets in Glen Innes are Taniwha Street and Apirana Avenue, which meet in the shopping centre of the suburb. Glen Innes has a train station on the Eastern Line of the Auckland rail network, and is a hub for eastern Auckland isthmus buses (Metrolink).

Glen Innes is a low-income, working class area with around 1,500 state houses. In an effort to improve the quality of state housing in Glen Innes, the government introduced "Talbot Park", an area of higher density housing, consisting of mostly apartment-style housing. The Tāmaki Regeneration Programme will also target 2500 public homes that will transform into 10,500 new private market, affordable and public homes across the area creating new vibrant and mixed-tenure neighbourhoods.

European settlement

The first government sale of land in Tamaki was on 1 February 1842. Allotments were bought for farming by Charles Whybrow Lidgar, John Armitage Buttery, and Patrick Anderson. William Innes Taylor arrived in Auckland in November 1843 made his first purchase of land shortly after. Taylor named the farm the Glen Innes estate. He gradually added to his land holdings and by 1862, Taylor owned around 751 acres. The site Taylor chose for his homestead is now occupied by the Glen Taylor School on West Tamaki Road. Although the homestead is no longer in existence, a Morton Bay fig tree thought to have been planted by Taylor still stands at the entrance of the school. William Innes Taylor died on 7 March 1890. By 1913, 400 acres of the Glen Innes estate had been sold. The land was described as peerless seaside sections.

Demographics

The statistical area of Glen Innes West covers 1.37 km² (0.53 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 4,790 as of June 2024, with a population density of 3,496 people per km².

Glen Innes historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	3,819	—
2013	3,603	−0.83%
2018	4,413	+4.14%
Source:

Glen Innes West had a population of 4,413 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 810 people (22.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 594 people (15.6%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,212 households, comprising 2,109 males and 2,304 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female. The median age was 29.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 1,125 people (25.5%) aged under 15 years, 1,149 (26.0%) aged 15 to 29, 1,824 (41.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 315 (7.1%) aged 65 or older.

As of 2013, 39.1% of residents were European/Pākehā, 20.8% were Māori, 40.2% were Pacific peoples, 12.5% were Asian, and 3.6% were other ethnicities. The percentage of people who were born overseas was 33.8, compared with 27.1% nationally. 32.8% had no religion, 49.2% were Christian, 3.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% were Hindu, 3.5% were Muslim, 2.5% were Buddhist and 1.6% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 645 (19.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 624 (19.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $25,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 474 people (14.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,494 (45.4%) people were employed full-time, 486 (14.8%) were part-time, and 237 (7.2%) were unemployed.

Education

Tamaki College is a secondary school (years 9-13) with a roll of 720.

Glen Innes School is a full primary school (years 1-8) with a roll of 161.

St Pius X Catholic School is a state-integrated full primary school with a roll of 124.

Sacred Heart College is a state-integrated Catholic boys' school (years 7-13) with a roll of 1275.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Pūau Te Moananui-ā-Kiwa is a composite school (years 1-13) with a roll of 109. It teaches primarily in the Māori language.

All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of August 2024.

Te Ara Rama Matariki Light Trail

Since 2013, the annual Te Ara Rama Matariki Light Trail has been hosted in Glen Innes in celebration of Matariki, the Māori new year. It is an outdoor public lighting festival that runs throughout Maybury Reserve, and typically takes place over nine nights, representing the nine stars of Matariki. On the final night, a large fireworks display takes place.

Redevelopment conflict

There have been protests in Glen Innes over proposals to redevelop existing state-owned housing. Housing New Zealand plans to replace houses on large sections with more "intensive development", including many conversions to privately owned and sold housing with profits going to developers such as property mogul, Murdoch Dryden. This involves removing tenants from properties some have lived in for long periods. There has been a number of reported deaths of elderly tenants from during the relocation process. Many protests have resulted in arrests of demonstrators, including Mana Party MP Hone Harawira on one occasion, as well as a number of reported police brutality cases. Housing New Zealand argues that the development will "make better use of land" and enable the provision of higher quality homes to their tenants, however community members argue it is a gentrification process which is tearing apart their community.

Notable people

• Dave Dobbyn
• George Moala

Panmure-Glen Innes industrial area

The area to the southwest of Glen Innes is primarily industrial.

The statistical area called Panmure Glen Innes Industrial covers 2.01 km² (0.78 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 360 as of June 2024, with a population density of 179 people per km².

Panmure-Glen Innes industrial area historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	153	—
2013	252	+7.39%
2018	321	+4.96%
Source:

Panmure Glen Innes Industrial had a population of 321 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 69 people (27.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 168 people (109.8%) since the 2006 census. There were 51 households, comprising 192 males and 129 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.49 males per female. The median age was 33.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 24 people (7.5%) aged under 15 years, 108 (33.6%) aged 15 to 29, 165 (51.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 21 (6.5%) aged 65 or older.

As of the 2013 census, 35.5% were European/Pākehā, 23.4% were Māori, 21.5% were Pacific peoples, 27.1% were Asian, and 4.7% were other ethnicities. The percentage of people who were born overseas was 44.9%, compared with 27.1% nationally. 31.8% had no religion, 43.9% were Christian, 4.7% had Māori religious beliefs, 6.5% were Hindu, 4.7% were Muslim, 1.9% were Buddhist and 3.7% were other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 57 (19.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 33 (11.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $26,700, compared with $31,800 nationally. 30 people (10.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was; 153 (51.5%) people were employed full-time, 42 (14.1%) were part-time employed, and 21 (7.1%) were unemployed.

References

• Delving Into The Past Of Auckland's Eastern Suburbs; section 6, St Heliers Bay. Elizabeth T. Jackson. Premier Print Services 1976.

External links

• Photographs of Glen Innes held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.