Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flight of residents and retail into the suburbs from the 1960s onwards – turned it from one of Auckland's premier shopping streets into a marginal area with the reputation of a red-light district. Now considered to be one of the cultural centres of Auckland, since the 1980s–1990s it has been undergoing a slow process of gentrification, and is now known for off-beat cafes and boutique shops.
It runs west–east along a ridge at the southern edge of the Auckland CBD, perpendicular to Queen Street, the city's main street. At its intersection with Ponsonby Road in the west, Karangahape Road becomes Great North Road, at its eastern end it connects to Grafton Bridge.
Etymology
Karangahape is a word from the Māori language. Before Europeans appeared Auckland was occupied by several Māori iwi each of whom apparently used the same name for the Karangahape Ridge but with slightly different meanings.
The original meaning and origin of the word is uncertain; there are several interpretations – ranging from "winding ridge of human activity" to "calling on Hape". Hape was the tohunga (priest/navigator) of the Tainui migratory waka who lived around the Manukau Harbour. As the ridge was a walking route and was known as Te Ara o Karangahape – The Path of Karangahape – the name possibly indicates the route that was taken to visit him.Auckland City Street Names (from the Auckland City Libraries website)
Until the mid 20th century Karangahape Road was the only street in central Auckland with a Māori name, undoubtedly due to its use as a thoroughfare in pre-European times. Its Māori name proved difficult for many European settlers to pronounce and as it was the only major thoroughfare in the central area demarcated as a "road" (as opposed to a street) during the 19th century it was apparently often referred to as "The Road".
In 1908 there was a movement to replace the long Māori name with something more urbane, European and modern. Although there were several public meetings and much discussion in the newspapers at the time, the city council was unmoved and the name survived. The topic re-emerged in 1913 but was again unsuccessful, probably because of the advent of the First World War. Just before the Royal Tour in 1953 there was another push to rename the road; this time as "Elizabeth Street" but again the original name survived. From the early 20th century it has become widely known as "K Road", even outside of Auckland.
History
As it was a travel route used by the pre-European Māori, Karangahape Road is an older thoroughfare than Queen Street, which was only developed by Europeans in the 1840s. The land was part of the parcel of 3000 acres sold by a local Māori to the government in 1841. The Karangahape ridge was the formal southern edge of Auckland City in the 19th century. The Karangahape Road District was formed 5 October 1868 and started operation 2 November 1869. In 1882 the road district amalgamated with the City of Auckland.
From about 1900 to the early 1960s, K' Road was Auckland's busiest shopping street with a large range of clothing and shoe shops and several department stores. Most retail chain stores had branches here, often in preference to Queen Street. During the interwar period most of Auckland's main shops selling furniture, musical instruments, radios and household appliances were located here.
In 1908 the gas street lighting was replaced with electric lamps. In 1935 the whole street was lit by electric lights under the shop awnings to create a "Community Lighting" project, referred to as the "Great White Way". First activated by Mayor Sir Ernest Davis, the chain lit up a mile of shop fronts which added to the glamour of late night shopping. In 1948 the second set of traffic lights in Auckland (and the first lights to have pedestrian phases) were installed at the Pitt Street intersection. In 1949 the street lamps were fitted with the first fluorescent street lights in New Zealand.
The Karangahape Road Business Association (KBA) had begun in 1911 as an informal gathering of businesspeople in the area. It officially dates from 1924 when it was registered as the Karangahape Road Businessmen's Association. Its first president was Mathew James Bennett, who ran a paint, wallpaper and interior decorating firm. Bennett was involved in a number of organisations including the Auckland Electric Power Board.
On 15 April 1932 the Queen Street unemployment riot of the night before, extended to Karangahape Road, with 43 shops having their windows broken.
During the middle of the 20th century the Karangahape Road Area was a destination shopping centre, especially busy at night with family groups travelling in (often on public transport) and traversing the district. A line was painted down the centre of the footpaths to regulate foot traffic, and police were posted at the Pitt Street intersection to stop people being pushed out into traffic. A typical late-night outing included seeing a movie, shopping, a meal, and walking along the street window shopping. At this time the street had five cinemas (The Avon, Vogue, Newton Palace, Playhouse and Tivoli) and probably as many dance halls (The Music Academy, Peter Pan Cabaret), including the Druid's Hall in Galatos Street which is still in operation as a music venue (Galatos).
K Road was the location of many shops aimed at the beauty and fashion trade; fabric, clothing, shoes, accessories and many specialist hair and beauty salons (Kay's Beauty Salon, Winter's Hair Dressing, Miss Hubber, The Powder Puff Salon). There were several photographers' studios located along the ridge since the late Victorian period (Ellerbeck, Andrews, Morton's, Partington, Tadema, Sarony, St John Biggs, Peter Pan Studios). In addition to a collection of some fairly upmarket dress emporiums (Flacksons, LaGonda) and furriers, there were a number of establishments which specialised in bridal fashions and accessories (Tadema Studios was just one of the photographers which specialised in Wedding photography).
As shops were not open on Saturdays or Sundays before the 1980s, the inner city was rather quiet during the day on the weekends. Karangahape Road was an exception, however. Most weddings take place on a Saturday and groups of women would loiter on K Road outside the many photographers' studios to catch a glimpse of wedding parties as they arrived or departed from having their studio portraits taken. Sundays were a social event as well; up until the 1960s people regularly attended church in the area.
The Karangahape Road area was the location of several major places of worship; The Baptist Tabernacle, The Pitt St Methodist Church, St James' Wellington Street, Congregationalist, St Benedicts, The Church of Christ Scientist, The Church of Christ, The Church of the Epiphany, Church of Jesus, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Chinese Presbyterian Church, the Salvation Army, Pacific Island Church, two Brethren Halls and after 1968, the Auckland Hebrew Congregation's main campus. There was also the Higher Thought Temple, The Theosophical Society, The Foresters Hall, The Druids Hall, The Scots Hall, The Hibernian Society, The Irish Hall, three Freemasons Halls, several Trade Unions, the Maori Hall and the Old Folks Association. Any of these organisations were likely to be the location of a service, lecture or social event on any given day.
After 1965, K' Road lost most of its local customer base when construction of the inner-city motorway system resulted in over 50,000 people having to move out of the surrounding areas in Eden Terrace, Grafton, and Arch Hill. The downturn in trade led to many shops closing and the relocating of businesses to other areas of Auckland. This accelerated the decline, and by the early 1970s the low rents in the western portion of the street meant it had acquired a rather seedy reputation as Auckland's red-light district, although the adult industry never accounted for more than 4% of the businesses in the area at any time.
Since the early 1990s there has been a move away from this image largely due to newly constructed apartment blocks attracting residents back to the area, as well as a general gentrification of close by areas such as Ponsonby and Grey Lynn. Karangahape Road is probably the most notorious street in the country, as most people imagine it is lined with strip clubs, brothels and adult shops. The reality is different; despite the street's reputation very few enterprises are connected with the adult industry; the proportion of adult establishments to more ordinary businesses has remained fairly constant at about 3% between the early 1960s (when the first red light business appeared) and today. Even at its height of its reputation (between the 1970s and 1990s) as the biggest red light area in the country, there were never more than 12 adult businesses at a time on the street. Today there are 150 shops along the main road, K Road, and around 700 businesses in the general area - in 2010 only 8 were connected with the sex industry - in 2022 there are 6.
K Road currently boasts an eclectic collection of shops, cafés and dealer art galleries. Since the early 1990s it has developed as a focus for nightlife; its restaurants, bars and nightclubs make it a major part of Auckland's social scene. This is largely due to redevelopment of the Queen Street valley in the 1980s as increased rents made many nightclub venues relocate to the K Road ridge. Since the mid 1990s K Road has become a centre for much of Auckland's bohemian scene, with many venues for alternative music and fringe art as well as the LGBT community. In 2007, a museum dedicated to the preservation of sapphic lesbian culture was created and the Charlotte Museum Trust was registered. The organisation became part of the Te Papa National Museum Standards programme and currently occupies space just off of K Road on Howe Street. This area is also known for its trendy op shops, and craft and art collectives.
The street received a major upgrade of its footpaths and street furniture which finished in 2006, at a cost of NZ$3.5 million. As of 2009, approximately 400 businesses were on K Road.
In 2011 the Karangahape Road overbridge had a $2.1 million upgrade as part of the Rugby World Cup Celebration. Designed by Opus Architecture and funded by Auckland Transport, it took 6 weeks to complete. Included in the design were three internally lit perspex pylons which act as entry markers for the bridge designed by the Tongan artist Filipe Tohi. In 2021, a Rainbow Crossing was installed to celebrate the area's history as a refuge for queer people.
Demographics The statistical areas of Karangahape West and East, which include the streets between Hopetoun Street-Beresford Square to the north, and the northwestern motorway to the south, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
The Karangahape statistical areas had a population of 2,334 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 27 people (1.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 531 people (29.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,281 males, 1,026 females and 30 people of other genders in 1,278 dwellings. 16.7% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. There were 138 people (5.9%) aged under 15 years, 645 (27.6%) aged 15 to 29, 1,284 (55.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 264 (11.3%) aged 65 or older.