Queen Street, Auckland

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Queen Street
Panoramic view of downtown auckland.jpg
View of Queen Street looking south from Fort Street, 2022
Queen Street, Auckland
Length1.7 km (1.1 mi)
Including pedestrianised section
Location Auckland CBD, New Zealand
Postal code1010
Nearest metro station Britomart station
North end Quay Street
South end Karangahape Road

Queen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. The northern end is at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and the Downtown Ferry Terminal. The road is close to straight, the southern end being almost three kilometres away in a south-southwesterly direction on the Karangahape Road ridge, close to the residential suburbs in the interior of the Auckland isthmus.

Contents

Geography

Named after Queen Victoria, Queen Street was an early development of the new town of Auckland (founded in 1840), although initially the main street was intended to be Shortland Street, running parallel to the shore of Commercial Bay. [1] The early route of Queen Street led up the middle of a gully following the bank of the Waihorotiu Stream (later bounded in as the 'Ligar Canal'). This canal was culverted beneath the street from the 1870s onward, allowing for further development of the street to be undertaken. The course of the stream is still reflected today in the slight bend of lower Queen Street. From north of Shortland Street, Queen Street is built on land reclaimed from the sea in the late 19th century (see Auckland waterfront article).[ citation needed ]

There are several other 'Queen Streets' in the greater Auckland area, mostly in suburbs that were separate towns before being absorbed by a growing central city. Auckland was also called the "Queen City" since before the turn of the 20th century, though that term is now overshadowed by the nickname "City of Sails".[ citation needed ]

Demographics

The statistical areas of Queen Street, which encompasses a full block either side of Queen Street north of Wellesley Street, and Queen Street South West, which includes the area west of Queen Street to Vincent Street and Pitt Street south of Wellesley Street, cover 0.40 km2 (0.15 sq mi) [2] and had an estimated population of 4,910 as of June 2024, [3] with a population density of 12,275 people per km2.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
20062,280    
20133,168+4.81%
20183,807+3.74%
20233,621−1.00%
Source: [4] [5]

Queen Street had a population of 3,621 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 186 people (−4.9%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 453 people (14.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,827 males, 1,725 females and 63 people of other genders in 2,199 dwellings. [6] 13.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. There were 135 people (3.7%) aged under 15 years, 1,467 (40.5%) aged 15 to 29, 1,743 (48.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 276 (7.6%) aged 65 or older. [5]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 42.8% European (Pākehā); 8.4% Māori; 4.8% Pasifika; 44.6% Asian; 7.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 94.8%, Māori language by 2.2%, Samoan by 1.0%, and other languages by 44.7%. No language could be spoken by 1.0% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 64.3, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 23.9% Christian, 6.9% Hindu, 3.0% Islam, 0.7% Māori religious beliefs, 2.9% Buddhist, 0.7% New Age, 0.2% Jewish, and 2.4% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.6%, and 6.0% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,590 (45.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,131 (32.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 774 (22.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 471 people (13.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,914 (54.9%) people were employed full-time, 471 (13.5%) were part-time, and 180 (5.2%) were unemployed. [5]

Individual statistical areas
NameArea
(km2)
PopulationDensity
(per km2)
DwellingsMedian ageMedian
income
Queen Street0.171,6179,5121,00233.1 years$47,100 [7]
Queen Street South West0.232,0048,7131,19730.5 years$38,500 [8]
New Zealand38.1 years$41,500

History

Queen Street (c.1889); painting by Jacques Carabain Mid Queen Street.jpg
Queen Street (c.1889); painting by Jacques Carabain
Looking from Victoria Street East (1880s) across Queen Street (left to right centre) along the south side of Victoria Street West (right) Victoria St Auckland 1880s.jpg
Looking from Victoria Street East (1880s) across Queen Street (left to right centre) along the south side of Victoria Street West (right)

Street, stream and canal

The valley in which Queen Street is situated was formed by Te Wai Horotiu (The water of Horotiu) or Waihorotiu Stream. Māori lived along the stream and used it as a food source and for other purposes. It ran from the ridge along Karagahape Road towards the sea. Horotiu is the name of a taniwha (guardian spirit) which was believed to live in the stream. [9] In 1841 colonial settlers built a number of wooden buildings along the western side, following the general path of the Waihorotiu Stream according to the plans set out by surveyor Felton Mathew. While the street was metalled in 1843, the natural stream still often overflowed its banks, and the area was still swampy. This led to canalisation and later covering-over of the stream. [10]

Mainstreet of Auckland

After a fire in 1858 destroyed around 50 buildings in High Street and Shortland Street, the commercial district began to shift towards Queen Street instead, and the first brick and plaster buildings of the 1860s started to cement this move, with the Bank of New Zealand building (only the façade extant today) being one of the first examples. Fires however still continued to plague the new town, with one in 1873 wiping out another 54 buildings in the Queen Street area between Wellesley Street West and Grey Street (today Greys Avenue). The fires, amongst other things, led to the establishment of the Auckland Volunteer Fire Service. [10]

Lower Queen Street in 1919, with trams, cars and horse-drawn cabs visible. Queen Street Lower Auckland.jpg
Lower Queen Street in 1919, with trams, cars and horse-drawn cabs visible.

In the 1880s, the first horse-drawn buses began connecting Queen Street with areas such as Ponsonby Road and Remuera. In 1900, the first motorcar was admired on the street, and in 1902 the street was finally asphalted, the first street in New Zealand. [11] The same year the first electric trams also arrived, to provide services until 1956. [10]

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a large number of imposing buildings constructed, such as the Smith & Caughey's building, the Auckland Town Hall and the General Post Office at the waterfront, later to become the Britomart Transport Centre. By that time, the street was popular for events such as parades and festivities, as well as for political activities such as the strike demonstrations of 1913. [10] Queen Street riots occurred after a 1932 unemployment march and broke out again in the adjacent Aotea Square in late 1984. During the second half of the 20th century, many of the older buildings on Queen Street were demolished to make space for larger office buildings.[ citation needed ]

Pre-2016 view of Queen Street looking towards downtown Auckland, from in front of the Downtown Ferry Terminal 1-NZ-Street-of-Auckland.jpg
Pre-2016 view of Queen Street looking towards downtown Auckland, from in front of the Downtown Ferry Terminal

Character

Queen Street gives its name to the most expensive square in the New Zealand version of Monopoly and to describe business people with rural investment interests (but lacking farming expertise): 'Queen Street farmers'. The street was immortalised by The Front Lawn with their song (It started on) Queen Street.[ citation needed ]

The street has been the site of numerous parades, marches and other events of political, cultural or sporting nature. Together with adjacent High Street, it is the main retail precinct of the central city, with most national store, bank and restaurant franchises having a branch on the street. Several important other local businesses, such as the Smith & Caughey's department store, have flagship branches here.[ citation needed ]

The street sees very high pedestrian numbers, estimated by some as up to 10 times as high as on Broadway in Newmarket, seen as Queen Street's closest shopping street rival in Auckland. [12]

Transport and foot traffic

Queen Street by Aotea Square. The SkyCity Village Cinemas is visible in the background. Queen Street, Midtown.jpg
Queen Street by Aotea Square. The SkyCity Village Cinemas is visible in the background.

Prior to a 2006–2008 street upgrade (see below), Council figures showed that over 50,000 pedestrians, 40,000 public transport users and 20,000 people in private vehicles used Queen Street daily. [13] The Council anticipated that the private car share would drop by around 15%. [14] An editorial of The New Zealand Herald accused Council of using overestimated public transport user numbers for political purposes to support its bus lane plans. [15]

Former tram network

Until December 1956, trams provided public transport along Queen Street, and it was the only street in New Zealand with grand unions, double-track to double-track junctions, where trams could go to all directions from all directions. These junctions were at the intersections with Customs Street and Wellesley Street. [16] Since the closure of Auckland's tram network, Balaclava Junction on Melbourne's tram network has been the sole grand union left in the Southern Hemisphere.[ citation needed ]

2006–2008 upgrade

A section of Queen Street following the 2006-2008 upgrade Mid Queen Street Auckland.jpg
A section of Queen Street following the 2006–2008 upgrade
Queen Street after a further upgrade in 2023 Queen Street in 2023.jpg
Queen Street after a further upgrade in 2023

Public perception in the early 2000s was that Queen Street had lost some of its good reputation in the previous decades, with a rundown and uncoordinated [17] streetscape and the loss of several prestigious retailers cited as either causes or effects. Auckland City Council decided to address the issue of the 'tired' Queen Street through a major redevelopment of the street.

This involved the widening and relaying of footpaths with basalt kerbstones and paving. Granite insets, designed in consultation with the local Māori (Ngati Whatua iwi), as well as recycled redchip pavers from the existing footpath, were used to denote special areas – such as those related to the existence of the old Waihorotiu Stream. New street furniture (such as multi-purpose poles for lighting, signage and pennants) and new trees and other landscaping were added to create a 'boulevard effect'. [18] The liquidambars and Nīkau Palms chosen for the new design touched off heated public discussion in 2006 as their inclusion came at the destruction of previous, established trees (which were not native flora of New Zealand, and thus not retained in the new landscaping plan). [19]

The 2006–2008 project repeatedly increased in cost, from NZ$23 million to around NZ$43.5 million, with some aspects (such as an improved entrance to Myers Park) falling victim to the blowout. [20] While Council noted in June 2007 that progress had often been quicker than expected, [21] the cost overruns, and the long duration of the construction works – which substantially affected pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic as well as retail sales [22] – made the upgrade unpopular in public, at least during the duration. It also became a problem issue for Dick Hubbard in his failed campaign for re-election to Mayor of Auckland in 2007.[ citation needed ] The upgrade is now considered to have generally been a success, and it won the 2009 Urban Design Award of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, which commended it for creating a quality public realm and sense of place. [17]

Upgrade priorities

To accommodate construction work, Auckland City Council reduced traffic lanes for vehicles to one lane in each direction in early 2007. A proposal was made for this to become permanent, with extended public transport provisions such as bus lanes and cycle lanes proposed for the outer lanes. Also proposed was a 30 km/h speed limit. Committee discussions and public consultation resulted in four physical lanes being retained, mainly to safeguard the street layout for future public transport options such as light rail. [13] [14] [23]

The changes included further improvements to pedestrian facilities, with the total footpath area increasing by 20% to almost 14,000 m2, [24] and longer traffic signal phases for pedestrians, while three new signalised pedestrian crossings were introduced mid-block, at accident 'black spots'. Also undertaken was a reduction of on-street parking spaces from 81 to 51, part of the prioritisation for pedestrians. The remaining spaces became dedicated short-term parking (i.e. drop-offs, loading). Not included in the design were dedicated bus bays, noted as a serious oversight by some critics, causing potential delays on the proposed bus lanes. [18] [23] [25]

Shooting

On 20 July 2023, a mass shooting involving a construction site on the northern end of Queen Street occurred, resulting in the deaths of three people, including the shooter. [26]

Buildings and attractions

Auckland Town Hall, a major civic building of the early 20th century. Aucklandtownhall.jpg
Auckland Town Hall, a major civic building of the early 20th century.
The Farmers Trading Company premises, looking up from the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street. Farmers building.jpg
The Farmers Trading Company premises, looking up from the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street.
The Guardian building, one of the heritage office buildings on the street, recently converted to apartments. GuardianBuildingAuckland.jpg
The Guardian building, one of the heritage office buildings on the street, recently converted to apartments.
Vulcan Buildings, looking up from the corner of Queen Street and Vulcan Lane. Vulcan Buildings.jpg
Vulcan Buildings, looking up from the corner of Queen Street and Vulcan Lane.

At the northern (waterfront) end of Queen Street are several significant buildings. These include:

Between Customs Street and Wellesley Street, Queen Street is lined with retail and office buildings. This section of the street is where the majority of the high-rise buildings are located. These are mostly 20th century in origin, although a number of 19th century structures survive. Many large corporations, insurance companies and banks had substantial buildings on Queen Street and in some cases their head offices were located here rather than in Wellington (the capital). The most significant buildings along the middle part of the street are the:

Beyond the Wellesley Street intersection lies the midtown district, with its entertainment and civic focus, centred on Aotea Square. Here are located most of the important civic buildings, including the:

Further up Queen Street beyond Mayoral Drive is the uptown district, centred on Myers Park. This is often referred to as Upper Queen Street, although that name actually refers to a separate continuation of Queen Street on the other side of the K'Road ridge. The most significant buildings in this area are the:

Beyond the Karangahape Road ridge the southernmost 500 metres of the street is called Upper Queen Street, and it crosses the eastern part of the Central Motorway Junction, the largest interchange on the New Zealand state highway network.

References

  1. "Auckland City History". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Archived from the original on 25 February 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  2. "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service". Statistical Area 2 2023 (generalised). Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  3. "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand . Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  4. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Queen Street (133200) and Queen Street South West (134100).
  5. 1 2 3 "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Queen Street (133200) and Queen Street South West (134100). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  6. "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  7. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer. Queen Street. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  8. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer. Queen Street South West. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  9. "History of Q". Q Theatre. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 History of Queen Street Archived 8 July 2004 at the Wayback Machine (from the Auckland City Council website. Retrieved 15 August 2007.)
  11. Bartley, Bryan (2011). "Roads". In La Roche, John (ed.). Evolving Auckland: The City's Engineering Heritage. Wily Publications. pp. 105–109. ISBN   9781927167038.
  12. "Auckland Central". Property Report – insert to The New Zealand Herald . 5 September 2011. p. 23.
  13. 1 2 Johnston, Martin (26 April 2007). "'Buses first' on new-look Queen St". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  14. 1 2 Dearnaley, Mathew (9 July 2007). "Life to get tough for Queen St car drivers". The New Zealand Herald . p. A5. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  15. "Martin Spencer: Retailers counting cost of bus lanes". The New Zealand Herald . 26 July 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  16. The End of the Penny Section: When Trams Ruled the Streets of New Zealand – Stewart, Graham; Wellington: Grantham House, Revised Edition 1993, Page 149
  17. 1 2 New Zealand Architecture Award Winners 2009 Archived 25 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine (from the New Zealand Institute of Architects website. Accessed 7 June 2009.)
  18. 1 2 Auckland's CBD Into the future – Queen Street upgrade Archived 17 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine (from the Auckland City Council website)
  19. Geoff Cumming (14 January 2006). "The greening of Queen St". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  20. Orsman, Bernard (24 April 2008). "Final stage more facial than facelift". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  21. James Ihaka and Bernard Orsman (18 June 2007). "Queen St businesses just hanging on". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  22. "Upsets and outrage from start to finish". The New Zealand Herald . 24 April 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  23. 1 2 Dearnaley, Mathew (23 June 2007). "Pedestrians get the works". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  24. Orsman, Bernard (22 April 2008). "First the 'massacre' – now the celebration". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  25. Rudman, Brian (13 July 2007). "Brian Rudman: Dedicated followers of visions – but not for bus lanes it seems". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  26. "Two people killed by gunman who stormed Auckland CBD building site, shooter also dead, multiple injured". The New Zealand Herald . 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  27. "Landmark building with sea views". The New Zealand Herald. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  28. "Endeans Building". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  29. "Imperial Hotel (Former)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  30. "Vulcan Lane".
  31. 1 2 A Guide to the Architecture of Central Auckland – Errol Haarhoff. Balasoglou Books 2003
  32. "Heritage Evaluation - Darby Building, 8-18 Darby Street, Auckland Central" (PDF). Auckland Council. May 2017.

36°50′59″S174°45′54″E / 36.849784°S 174.764972°E / -36.849784; 174.764972