Where are Grey Lynn's bohemians now?

Grey Lynn was founded on speculation. Acquired dubiously by the Crown in 1840, the land was first marketed as the Village of Richmond but renamed Grey Lynn in honour of New Zealand premier Sir George Grey, who was MP for the area.

Today, the suburb that was once the last affordable inner-city hangout of Pacific Island families, flatting students, and bohemians is now every bit as expensive as its gentrified neighbours Ponsonby and Herne Bay. The average house price has risen 42 percent over five years to $1.25 million, although it is not unusual for properties to sell for $2 million-plus.

Who lives there?

Grey Lynn is home to a wide range of housing types, but is best known for its 19th century villas and worker cottages. With rent levels for a one-bedroom flat starting at $510 a week, it’s not surprising that the suburb is now populated by professional types in the upper end of the income bands. But there are still some promising pockets: Richmond Road School’s immersion and bilingual units for Māori, Samoan and French children attract a culturally diverse school community from across Auckland, as does Grey Lynn School.

What do they do?

The back bone of Grey Lynn is Grey Lynn Park, which winds its way through the valley from Williamson Avenue to Cockburn Street, then joins, via a couple of back lanes, Hukanui and Coxs Bay reserves and the bay. Its swish playground and paddling pool are magnets for kids, and the pump track is always swarming with bikers, but there’s plenty of room for runners and dog walkers to find a quiet spot.

Grey Lynn’s signature event is the Grey Lynn Park Festival. Launched 35 years ago, the festival is kept going by three stalwarts: Kate Burke, Hans Heumann and Roger Bannan (“stubbornly hanging on because we’re grass roots”, says Burke). The trio ekes out tiny grants with hours of volunteer labour to bring community organisations, local makers and artists, bands and musicians together in November.

Burke says there is still a strong sense of connection and passion for the area among former residents and community groups, who return every year to celebrate the spirit of the old Grey Lynn. Harvest Whole Foods is still around, now known as Harvest by Huckleberry, as is Mamata Bakehouse, opened as a women’s co-op in 1985.

Grey Lynn 2030, launched ten years ago to respond to climate change challenges, hosts a popular Sunday farmers market in the community centre - waste-free with a cute bring and buy table that suggests locals are still keen gardeners, pickle makers and bakers etc. Industrial buildings on the edge of the residential streets are home to a slew of good art galleries, including the award-winning Objectspace.

There are also yoga studios, hip cafes, from Kokako’s flagship in the old post office to teeny Crumb on Ariki Street, as well as new restaurants and shops bumping up against old-time service places and bakeries, more remnants of the neighbourhood’s industrial past. Gourmet food store Farro supplements the usual supermarkets.

What’s to love?

Grey Lynn is just around the corner from the best of the inner-city action of Ponsonby and K Road in one direction, or the parks, Zoo, beach and outdoor spots of Western Springs and Point Chev in the other. While bike paths are still to be sorted, public transport is frequent and reliable.

And then there’s the architecture: tree-lined streets of pretty houses, with a few modern gems tucked in; old-school shopping streets; and grand old civic buildings.

Mustn’t grumble

After learning to accept the rows of designer apartments on the ridges of Great North Road and Surrey Crescent, Grey Lynn luvies last moaned about a certain international hardware mega-store opening, but can now be seen happily shopping for their DIY projects and selling sausages to fund the kids’ sports trips. Folks are still optimistic that attempts at creating a co-housing campus will make it through council objections to become a model for new way of city-side living, a fitting 21st century twist on the suburb’s bohemia of the 1960s and 1970s.

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