Originally named Dedwood, the suburb now known as Ponsonby has become one of Auckland’s most well known and colourful neighbourhoods.
Could you start by telling us a little bit about yourself?
Gerry: The first time I came to Ponsonby was in 1973 to see the Rolling Stones in concert. In 1988, my partner Sally and I moved here permanently.
What first interested you in Ponsonby?
Gerry: It’s the most colourful area of New Zealand and arguably the world. “It’s just rich with a deep vein of social history."
Examples include New Zealand’s first Roman Catholic Bishop, Jean Baptiste Pompallier, who arrived in Ponsonby from France in the 1830s. Another example is Sir Michael Joseph Savage, perhaps our greatest and most beloved prime minister, who came from Ponsonby.
We’ve also had colourful characters like Freda Stark who would be well known to a generation of Aucklanders as a famous dancer. She entertained 3000 servicemen a night during World War II, in just gold paint. Then we have Dutch artist Theo Schoon who painted Maori art and really brought it to the fore.
The people that have lived in Ponsonby in the past have achieved many of the things that are taken for granted today.
Up until 1873, Ponsonby was known as Dedwood. There's some confusion about why they changed the name, but why do you think they did it?
Gerry: Well the Crimean War had just happened, and the Brits had to name these places after public, famous people, and Ponsonby was one of them.
Sally: We’re not entirely sure who Ponsonby was, so the reason is lost in the mists of time.
In its early days, Ponsonby had a reputation of being a melting pot of different cultures, when did that start to happen?
Gerry: There were a lot of issues in Ponsonby, a lot of social needs. There was huge Pacific immigration into New Zealand. Rents and houses were cheap to buy, so the Pacific communities moved into Freemans Bay, Ponsonby and Grey Lynn.
With houses prices going up, do you think that Ponsonby’s in danger of losing its sense of community/identity?
Sally: Well, we used to put on a Christmas party at the end of every year and we’d invite the whole street. Unfortunately, the Porsche Brigade, as I call them, aren’t so interested in the community. We used to know everyone here, but it’s changed now.
You used to own the Ponsonby Art Hotel, could you tell me a little bit about the history behind it?
Gerry: In the early 1990s, New Zealand was in a deep recession and there was no decent accommodation in Ponsonby. So we hunted for two years to find a property that we felt we could redevelop into a hotel. It had previously been a family home, and then later owned by a filmmaker. There were all these rumours flying about that there was porn being shot in the house, but we couldn’t prove or disprove any of it.
Finally, what are your thoughts on how Ponsonby’s turned out, are you happy or a bit disappointed?
Gerry: If Ponsonby maintains its sense of community, its sense of openness, and its humanity, then it can still be a great place to live. If it becomes just a rich, exclusive suburb, then it’ll die.
It needs to maintain its soul; it’s still a great place to wander around. The support that I’ve received since being in a wheelchair has been overwhelming. Young people have come up to me said, “Gerry, it's so great to see you out and about." I can’t place them, but I know their grandparents. (KERRY LEE)
For more information about the history of Ponsonby, please visit www.iloveponsonby.co.nz