North Shore City, Auckland Region, North Island, New Zealand

:NZ: The North Shore is part of the large urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the north of the Waitematā Harbour. To the east, has the Hauraki Gulf, to the west, is West Auckland, to the south, has the Waitematā Harbour and Central Auckland, to the north has the Hibiscus Coast. From 1989 until 2010, North Shore City was an independent city within the Auckland Region, until it was incorporated into the Auckland Council.

Geography The North Shore comprised a large suburban area to the north of downtown Auckland; linked to the rest of the greater Auckland metropolitan area by two harbour bridges - the Auckland Harbour Bridge crosses the inner Waitemata Harbour to Auckland City, while the Upper Harbour Bridge provided a connection to Waitakere City across the northern stretches of the harbour.

The administrative area of North Shore City Council was bounded by Rodney District to the north, Waitemata Harbour to the south and the Rangitoto Channel of the Hauraki Gulf to the east. The seat of the council was in Takapuna.

Today, the entire area has been divided between four local boards of the amalgamated Auckland Council: Devonport-Takapuna, Kaipātiki, Upper Harbour (along with part of the former Waitakere City) and Hibiscus and Bays (along with part of the former Rodney District).

Administrative divisions Prior to being merged into Auckland Council in 2010, North Shore City was divided into three wards, with each of them dividing into two community boards for a total of six within the city; with each of them further consisting of the following populated places (i.e.: suburbs, towns, localities, settlements, communities, hamlets, etc.): Albany Community Board: • Albany • Albany Heights • Fairview Heights • Greenhithe • Lucas Heights • Oteha • Paremoremo • Pinehill • Rosedale • Schnapper Rock • Unsworth Heights • Windsor Park • North Harbour

East Coast Bays Community Board: • Browns Bay • Long Bay • Mairangi Bay • Murrays Bay • Northcross • Okura • Rothesay Bay • Torbay • Waiake

Birkenhead-Northcote Community Board: • Beach Haven • Birkdale • Birkenhead • Chatswood • Northcote • Northcote Point • Highbury

Glenfield Community Board: • Bayview • Glenfield • Hillcrest • Wairau Valley •

Devonport Community Board: • Bayswater • Belmont • Devonport • Narrow Neck • Stanley Bay

Takapuna Community Board: • Campbells Bay • Castor Bay • Forrest Hill • Hauraki • Milford • Sunnynook • Takapuna.

History The North Shore was first administered by highway districts, which operated from the 1860s onwards, pooling local residents' resources to improve infrastructure. In 1876, the Waitemata County was established across the North Shore and West Auckland after the abolition of the Auckland Province, and was one of the largest counties created in New Zealand. Between 1886 and 1954, areas of the North Shore voted to become independent areas separate from the county, establishing boroughs. The first of these was Devonport in 1886, soon followed by Birkenhead in 1888. Northcote was declared a borough in 1908, and Takapuna in 1913. The final borough that split from the Waitemata County was East Coast Bays in 1954. On 1 August 1974, the Waitemata County was dissolved, leading to Glenfield, Albany and Long Bay being incorporated into Takapuna City.

A North Shore City was proposed in 1961 but was rejected at the polls.

In 1989, Devonport, Birkenhead, Northcote, Takapuna and East Coast Bays amalgamated to form North Shore City in the 1989 New Zealand local government reforms. North Shore City was amalgamated into Auckland Council in November 2010.

Local government The city was run by the 15-member North Shore City Council and mayor, democratically elected every three years using the first-past-the-post voting system. The mayor was a strong critic of the 'Super City' proposals, which would see North Shore City amalgamated into a larger Auckland authority. While the Auckland Regional Council had power to impose property tax rates on suburban areas such as North Shore City, local residents voiced strong opposition. There was a pattern of conflict between local authorities and Auckland city officials regarding many matters, such as transportation, land purchases and decay of wharf facilities. The issue of whether Auckland should be a single city, or a collection of autonomous cities, was a subject of debate.

Transport Commuting within the North Shore itself can be done relatively easily, but those who commute to the Auckland CBD and need to cross the Auckland Harbour Bridge face severe traffic congestion. The alternative route through western suburbs is also prone to nose-to-tail traffic at peak times. As with the greater Auckland area, there has been much discussion regarding the problem at both national and local government levels, but very little concrete action, mostly related to the high cost and difficulty of providing additional crossings over the Waitematā Harbour. Several options for new bridges and tunnels have been studied in depth, but at the moment, the official position is to mitigate congestion effects instead of providing new infrastructure. In May 2021, the government announced a $685 million dollar cycling/walking bridge that would cross the Waitematā Harbour, after a bike protest shut down two lanes of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. However, just four months later in October, the government decided to scrap the project.

The Northern Busway running alongside the Northern Motorway, together with park and ride or drop-off areas at most of its stations, serves as the spine of a bus-based rapid transit system for North Shore and Hibiscus Coast citizens. The bus-way was fully operational between Constellation and Akoranga in February 2008.

A number of North Shore suburbs have a regular ferry service operated by Fullers360 to the Auckland CBD, including Devonport, Stanley Bay, Bayswater, Birkenhead. Others are planned for Takapuna and Browns Bay. A plan in the mid 2000s to turn North Shore streets into a venue for a three-day V8 super-car race generated controversy; traffic experts were hired by the North Shore City Council to assess whether such a race was possible "without causing mayhem on the roads".

Economy There are over 22,000 businesses located on the North Shore, contributing to over 6% of New Zealand's GDP. The city topped the nation's growth rates for numbers of businesses between 1998 and 2002, growing 29.3%.

The suburb Albany has become the commercial centre of the North Shore. A number of retailers like Westfield are building or have built "super stores" in the area, anticipating ongoing commercial growth and expansion. The area has also experienced the construction of intense cheaper housing, and thousands of acres of farmland has been turned into mini-suburbs comprising hundreds of houses all of a similar design. As such, the Albany area has attracted hundreds of millions of investment dollars.

The Royal New Zealand Navy has its main base in Devonport and is a significant employer and industry.

Residential development on the North Shore continues to rapidly sprawl northwards. The Rodney township of Orewa and the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, 25 km north of Takapuna, were once holiday resorts. They are now linked by the Northern Motorway and may eventually be contiguous with the North Shore's northward urban expansion.

Some parts of the North Shore boast some of the most expensive real estate in New Zealand. The stretch of coast that runs north from Takapuna Beach to Milford, often referred to as the "Golden Mile", has many properties there that have sold for several million dollars (NZ$) particularly because of the beaches, Lake Pupuke, popular schools and shopping centres such as Shore City. In 2005, one beachfront property sold for $12.8 million. Rents and property prices on the North Shore are high in relative terms, with average weekly rents (in 2002) of $243 versus $237 for Wellington and $236 for Auckland.

Demographics In the 2006 census, the median income for North Shore residents over 15 years was $29,100, compared with a national average of $24,400.

The racial makeup of the city was 67.5% European, 18.5% Asian, 6.3% Māori, 3.4% Pacific Islander, and 1.8% from the Middle East, Africa or Latin America. Just under 10% gave their ethnicity as "New Zealander", with most of this group having identified itself as European in former Census surveys.