Grafton

History

The Khyber Pass Road District was formed on 31 December 1867 to administer the area. In 1868, the road district renamed to Grafton Road Highway District and started operation 9 September 1868. In 1882 the road district was annexed by the City of Auckland.

Description

The suburb is characterised by its many historic buildings, many of them essentially unchanged from the early decades of the 20th century. While the extents of the suburb have shrunk with the motorway and arterial road construction of the middle 20th century, the remaining smaller suburb thus has a highly cohesive structure, which is recognised, for example, in the residential zoning which discourages demolition of existing buildings.

Grafton has a local resident's association, abbreviated as the GRA. The menswear fashion brand and retail chain Barkers has its head office in Grafton.

Demographics

Grafton covers 0.87 km2 (0.34 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 3,520 as of June 2025, with a population density of 4,046 people per km2.

Grafton had a population of 3,111 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 531 people (20.6%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 306 people (10.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,512 males, 1,575 females and 24 people of other genders in 1,239 dwellings. 11.2% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 31.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 186 people (6.0%) aged under 15 years, 1,215 (39.1%) aged 15 to 29, 1,446 (46.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 261 (8.4%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 53.4% European (Pākehā); 7.5% Māori; 5.0% Pasifika; 38.8% Asian; 5.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.0%, Māori language by 2.0%, Samoan by 1.0%, and other languages by 37.9%. No language could be spoken by 1.1% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 53.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 28.8% Christian, 4.2% Hindu, 2.3% Islam, 0.4% Māori religious beliefs, 2.5% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, 0.2% Jewish, and 1.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.1%, and 4.6% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,515 (51.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 957 (32.7%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 450 (15.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $52,000, compared with $41,500 nationally. 573 people (19.6%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,677 (57.3%) people were employed full-time, 372 (12.7%) were part-time, and 123 (4.2%) were unemployed.

Education

St Peter's College is a state-integrated Catholic boys' secondary (years 7–13) school with a roll of 1,318 as of July 2026.

Landmarks

Grafton Bridge: Spanning Grafton Gully and connecting the Auckland CBD with Grafton and parts further east this was the largest piece of Civil Engineering in New Zealand. When it was completed in 1910 it was the largest reinforced concrete arched bridge in the world, spanning almost 300 metres.

Basley-Bush House (aka. Rothesay Private Hotel), 123 Grafton Road, was built c. 1882 for George William Basley (1846–1919), Mayor of Parnell 1906–1909. Featuring Italianate design to the windows and detailing of the building, with its distinctive faceted pyramidal roof bay, ornate chimneys and modillions it is the sole remnant of the Victorian-Edwardian era on Grafton Road. During and after the construction of Grafton Bridge in 1908–1910 the house was the residence of the City Engineer Walter Ernest Bush who was supervising the completion of the bridge. After being derelict for many years, the house has been recently restored from its decrepit state by Falling Apple Charitable Trust volunteers and currently operates as a café, art gallery and salon, namely Hum Salon.

Auckland City Hospital: As early as 1842 this area was seen as an ideal spot for the colony's hospital; a sunny, north facing location a short distance from town but fairly isolated should there be an epidemic of any kind. The first buildings of the 1850s and 1860s were wooden and have long disappeared. The main building was designed by Philip Herapath in 1878 in the Italianate style. It was demolished in the early 1960s and replaced by a 10-story modernist block which still stands on the hill. In the 1880s and 1890s new brick buildings of some size were built including the Costley block (now demolished) which was the legency of local benefactor Edward Costley. Close by are several other specialist blocks from before and after the first world war. In 2003, a new hospital was completed adjacent to the existing one. This new hospital amalgamated services of the old hospital's Acute Adult care, as well as Green Lane Hospital's Cardiothoracic services and National Women's Obstetric, Gynaecological and Neonatal services. Acute Paediatric services are delivered by the adjoining Starship Children's Hospital. By bringing all these services on to one campus, Auckland City Hospital gained the status of being the largest hospital in New Zealand.

Huia Lodge – cnr Grafton and Park Road. In the 1960s a highrise Nurses residence replaced an Edwardian Mansion retaining several of the trees on the property.

Notable residents

During the late 1840s Chief Pōtatau Te Wherowhero resided in the Auckland Domain in a house provided for him by the Government, this house was located north of the Domain Ponds, between the hospital and the southern entrance of what is now called Centennial Walk. Here he was visited by the then Governor, George Grey.

Gustavus von Tempsky (1828–1868) lived on Grafton Road in the early 1860s.

The early settler Outhwaite family resided in their Grafton house for nearly eighty five years.

Noted aviator Jean Batten stayed with her brother when he lived in Seafield View road during the 1930s (house demolished around 2006).

The painter Max Gimblett's family lived in Grafton in the 1940s and ran the shop on the corner of Carlton Gore and Seafield View Roads. In the 1990s the painter Don Binney rented the same shop as a studio space.

Pauline Kumeroa Kingi CNZM is a notable current resident.