The Near West: A History of Grey Lynn, Arch Hill and Westmere

The inner-city Auckland neighbourhood of Grey Lynn has near legendary status. Sometimes referred at as ‘The People’s Republic of Grey Lynn’, history is everywhere here, despite its recent gentrification. From the eeling ground of mana whenua and its colonial carve-up into farmland to the gradual progression of residential areas in Victorian and Edwardian times, early industry, the rough and tumble of left-wing politic, the wave of Pacific residents from the late 1960s, the boho scene of artists, filmmakers, writers, journalists, musicians, the students and the safe haven it has always been for the queer community . . . there is probably no other New Zealand neighbourhood quite as fascinating. This comprehensive, engaging and richly illustrated history of Grey Lynn and its neighbours Arch Hill and Westmere surveys it all.