Glenfield, New Zealand

Glenfield (called Mayfield until 1912) is a suburb on Auckland's North Shore in New Zealand.

The population of central Glenfield was 4,791 in the 2013 census, an increase of 237 from 2006. Glenfield North has an additional 4,311 people, and parts of the census area of Kaipatiki, with 4,560 people, might also be considered as part of Glenfield.

Geography
It is located to the north of the Waitematā Harbour, nine kilometres northwest of the Auckland city centre. The suburb is located in the northern inland part of the North Shore, and is surrounded by the suburbs of Marlborough, Sunnynook, Forrest Hill, Birkenhead, Northcote, Windy Ridge, and is situated close to Takapuna. The northern part of Glenfield is regarded as a separate suburb known as Glenfield North. This latter suburb is sited close to State Highway 1 as it stretches north towards Albany.

Glenfield has two main areas of commerce. One is the  Glenfield Mall and the surrounding shops. The other is Wairau Valley, which is a former industrial area that is now a mixture of commercial and industrial properties.

History
The district's first official name was Freemans after John Freeman, who established a post office bureau in his home on the corner of Glenfield and Kaipatiki Roads in 1888. It was commonly referred to as Mayfield because the white blossom of the manuka and kanuka trees reminded settlers of May springtime ‘back home’ in England. The existence of Mayfield in Canterbury meant that the name was never officially bestowed upon the area by the postal service. On 12 March 1912, the area was renamed Glenfield by the postal service. The name Mayfield lives on in Mayfield Road, a quiet side road several hundred metres north of the Glenfield shops.

Prior to the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1959, Glenfield primarily consisted of farmland. During the 1960s, as access to the area improved, many of the large farm properties were subdivided to provide space for residential development.

On 9 December 1971, in response to fears about commercial sprawl down the length of Glenfield Rd, Glenfield Mall opened. It was among the earliest enclosed malls in the country. It featured a large aviary in the centre of the mall. In 2000, Glenfield Mall was completely redeveloped as Westfield Glenfield, but in 2015 reverted to its original name.

From 1 November 2010, Glenfield became part of the Kaipatiki Local Board area in the new Auckland Council.

Amenities
Southern Cross Hospital North Harbour, a privately owned hospital, is in Wairau Road.

Education
Glenfield College, founded in 1969, is a secondary (years 9–13) school with a decile rating of 6 and a roll of 500. Glenfield Intermediate, founded in 1972, is an intermediate (years 7–8) school with 531 students and a decile rating of 8P. Glenfield Primary School, founded in 1959, is a contributing primary (years 1–6) school with a decile rating of 6N and a roll of 368. All three schools are coeducational.

The South Seas Film, Television, and Animation school is in Glenfield.

Sport
Glenfield is home to Glenfield RFC, who are a member of the North Harbour Rugby Union, and Glenfield Rovers, who compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1B. The Glenfield Greyhounds rugby league club are based in nearby Sunnynook.

Notable people
Rachel Hunter – model
Benjamin Thomas Watt – Worlds first openly gay boxing judge

References

External links
 Glenfield College website
 Glenfield Intermediate website
 Glenfield Primary School website
 Photographs of Glenfield held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.

Category:Suburbs of Auckland
Category:North Shore, New Zealand