Epsom, New Zealand

Epsom
Auckland Grammar School, a prominent secondary school in Epsom
Auckland Grammar School, a prominent secondary school in Epsom
Map
Coordinates: 36°53′21″S 174°45′59″E / 36.8892°S 174.7665°E / -36.8892; 174.7665
CountryNew Zealand
CityAuckland
Local authorityAuckland Council
Electoral wardAlbert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward
Local board
Area
 • Land627 ha (1,549 acres)
Population
 (June 2023)[2]
 • Total19,260
Eden Terrace Newmarket Remuera
Mount Eden
Epsom
Remuera
Three Kings Royal Oak One Tree Hill, Greenlane

Epsom is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in the centre of the Auckland isthmus between Mount Eden and Greenlane, south of Newmarket, and 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the Auckland City Centre.

A valley located between four volcanic hills, Epsom was settled by Tāmaki Māori likely in the 13th or 14th centuries, becoming an are cultivated for Māori gardens due to the fertile volcanic soil. By the 17th and 18th centuries, Epsom was close to the centre of Waiohua, an influential union of Tāmaki Māori tribes, who focused life at Maungawhau / Mount Eden and Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Around the year 1741, conflict between iwi led to the area becoming a part of the rohe of Ngāti Whātua.

After the establishment of Auckland, Ngāti Whātua sold 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of land to the Crown, on which the village of Epsom was established in 1841. Epsom developed into an agricultural area during the 1840s and 1850s, and by the 1860s upper class members of Auckland society began establishing large country homes at Epsom. In 1903, a tramway was established in the suburb, and commercial villages developed in Epsom. By the 1920s, most of Epsom had been converted from farmland into suburban housing. From 1930 to 1989, eastern Epsom was the One Tree Hill Borough, a local government area independent from the City of Auckland.

Major features of the Epsom area include Cornwall Park, Greenlane Clinical Centre and Alexandra Park.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Population estimate tables - NZ.Stat". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023.