Ponsonby (Māori: Te Rimu Tahi) is an inner-city suburb of Auckland located 2 km west of the Auckland CBD. The suburb is oriented along a ridge running north–south, which is followed by the main street of the suburb, Ponsonby Road.

Ponsonby was originally a working class neigbourhood, now it is a predominantly upper-middle class residential suburb, Ponsonby today is also known in Auckland for its dining and shopping establishments.

From the Great Depression until the 1980s it contained many rundown buildings, and had a somewhat 'colourful' reputation. This was partially due to some criminal elements, its many Māori and Pacific Island residents and (from the 1970s onwards) student flats and an association with Auckland's arts and gay/lesbian scenes.

Ponsonby includes an area called Three Lamps which is located at the intersection of Ponsonby Road, College Hill, and St Marys Road. This name is derived from a 19th-century Lamppost.

The suburb has undergone extensive gentrification over the last two decades.

The area now referred to as Three Lamps was originally called Dedwood in 1845, after a farm in Shelly Beach Road, which was apparently named after a Captain Dedwood. The name was changed to Ponsonby in 1873, apparently derived from Ponsonby Road which first appears on an 1850s Map of Auckland. Ponsonby is now applied to a larger area (as described above). There are various people who might have inspired the name Ponsonby:

• Major-General Sir Henry Ponsonby, private secretary to Queen Victoria, 1870–1895
• The Honourable Ponsonby Peacocke, a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
• Major-General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, a cavalry commander in the Napoleonic Wars and later Governor of Malta (and father of Henry Ponsonby)
• Major-General Sir William Ponsonby, a cavalry commander killed at Waterloo

Sir Henry Ponsonby became private secretary to the Queen just before the name change in 1873; it is unlikely however that his name would have been very well known and Ponsonby Road appears as early as the mid-1850s. His surname is thus the least likely source for the naming of the road (and eventually the new name for the suburb)

The Hon. Colonel Stephen Ponsonby Peacocke (also known as Ponsonby Peacocke) was a member of the Legislative Council (1866). He was living on Ponsonby Road in the 1860s and died in 1872. His Christian name is an unlikely source for the naming of the road and there is a map from the mid-1850s showing Ponsonby Road which may predate Peacocke's arrival in New Zealand in 1858.

It was widely believed that Ponsonby Road was originally called Vandeleur Road, named after Major-General Sir John Vandeleur was a Divisional Commander at Waterloo and Colonel Frederick Ponsonby was a regimental commander under him. This is, however, unlikely. One of the earliest maps of Auckland (1841 by the Surveyor General, Felton Mathew), does show a Vandeleur Road in the general area. However it does not run in the same direction as the existing Ponsonby Road, it would run north–south and sit between the existing Howe and Hepburn Streets.

The Māori name for the ridge is Te Rimu Tahi ('The Lone Rimu Tree'), referring to an ancient tree which, it is claimed, stood in a prominent position at what is now the intersection of Ponsonby Road and Karangahape Road.

In 1840 3,000 acres of land, which includes land that would become Ponsonby, was gifted from Apihai Te Kawau to Governor William Hobson to serve as the new capital of New Zealand.

In 1854 St. Anne's School for Māori Girls was established and ran by the Sisters of Mercy, who arrived from Ireland in 1850. The property they used for this (Bishop Pompallier's House) is registered as a category 1 building with Heritage New Zealand.

The Nazareth Institute for Maori and Half-Caste Girls was founded in 1863.

In 1873 the name of the area was officially changed from Dedwood to Ponsonby.

In 1882 the Ponsonby Highway Board was amalgamated with Auckland City Council.

The first horse tram service from Queen Street to Ponsonby started in 1884.

• 1893 The Ponsonby Catholic Parish School building in O'Neill St is opened; in 1913 when the school is moved to Vermont St the building became a hall.
• 1894 The New Bishop's House is constructed to the designs of Peter Paul Pugin, which was partly funded by donations from all over the world, raised by Bishop Luck.
• 1897 The Ponsonby Community Centre, initially an infant's school was built on Ponsonby Terrace.
• 1897 The Catholic Order of the Little Sisters of the Poor is established in NZ. They were first located in a two-storey house in Hepburn St and from 1904 in Tweed St.
• 1902 The Ponsonby Fire Station in St Marys Road is built. It was designed by Goldsbro' and Wade.
• c.1902 The brick building housing the Auckland Gas Company in Beaumont St is constructed.
• 1903 3 December after a blazing row the Ponsonby Yacht club take up residence at the Rob Roy Hotel.
• 1905 Victoria Park is created. John Court, proprietor of the John Court Department Store donates money for Playground equipment.
• 1905 Construction of the City Council Works Depot, now Victoria Park Market, is started.
• 1910 The kindergarten in Victoria Park is built and opened. When it encounters financial difficulties in 1910, Logan Campbell purchases it to rescue the institution.
• 1912 The Ponsonby Post Office is built. John Campbell, the Government Architect, designed the building.
• 1914 The Auckland City Council allocates £3000 for six municipal houses in Clarence Street. This is the council's first venture into public housing.
• 1918 The wooden grandstand in Victoria Park is used as a temporary morgue during the great influenza epidemic. From here, the corpses are taken to the train station at the bottom of town and transported out to Waikumete cemetery in West Auckland. In Auckland almost 1,700 people perish.
• 1920 Augustus Braithwaite, the Ponsonby postmaster, is murdered at his home in Shelly Beach Rd. The murderer Dennis Gunn was hanged as a result of the first use of fingerprint evidence in a trial in New Zealand.
• 1928 The ASB Bank in Jervois Rd is built.
• 1942-1945 Victoria Park is occupied by a military camp for WWII American troops. Air-raid drills and black outs are commonplace.
• 1956 The electric tram service is discontinued, the tracks are torn up, the overhead wires continue to be used for the electric trolley buses.
• 1959 The Auckland Harbour Bridge opened following five years of construction. Several small commercial boat-yards were forced to close and private boat-slips fell into disuse in St Mary's Bay. The Auckland Harbour Board planned to fill in Westhaven completely, but a group of local residents including engineers and architects donated their services to create Westhaven Marina.
• 1960s The motorway viaduct over Victoria Park is constructed.
• 1970s The electric trolley bus system is discontinued – the overhead wires are taken down.
• 1979 The New Zealand Muslim Association starts construction work on the first mosque in New Zealand at 17 Vermont Street, Ponsonby.
• 1980s Assembly of God Church is erected next to the Harbour Bridge approaches at Victoria Park.
• 1983 Inactive since 1972, the Destructor at Victoria Park [1915] is saved from demolition by being converted into use as Victoria Park Market.
• 1984 Ponsonby Shopping Village is established by Gene and Maneeka Campbell (founders of the Auckland Motor Show). The New Zealand Herald's front-page article for the completion and opening of this building was titled, "Ponsonby's on the move again".
• mid 1980s Two high rise apartment blocks are constructed on Jervois and Shelly Beach Roads. Following this, the Auckland City Council amends the height restrictions to make it impossible for similar buildings to be erected in the future.
• 1992 The Franklin Road Christmas lights begin.
• 1990s The LGBT presence in the Ponsonby area is expressed by various annual events, such as Coming Out Day parades & The Hero Parade.
• 1996 The Hero Parade moved from Queen Street to Ponsonby Road.
• 1990s Less restrictive liquor laws result in a large increase in small restaurants & bars. Auckland City Council's relaxation of bylaws prohibiting pavement cafes encourages large numbers of cafes to appear.
• 1990s Grey Lynn is granted heritage protection under the building laws. Grey Lynn is the largest concentration of wooden Victorian buildings in the world.
• 1990s the Link bus service commences.
• 1999 A Supermarket is built on the site of the gasholders at the bottom of College Hill.
• 2002 The Auckland Gas Company buildings in Beaumont street are converted into a retail & residential apartment complex.
• 2013 The Auckland Pride Festival Parade returns to Ponsonby.

St John's Church, Ponsonby is a Methodist church on Ponsonby Road that was constructed in 1882. It is registered as a category 2 building by Heritage New Zealand.

St Mary's Old Convent Chapel was built in 1866 to a design from Edward Mahoney. The Chapel is registered as a category 1 building.

St Stephens Church, Ponsonby is a Presbyterian church built in 1879. It is registered as a category 2 building.

The Ponsonby Baptist Church is a Baptist church established in 1875 with the current church building erected in 1905. Both the old and new church building have a category 1 heritage listing.

• The Three Lamps that gave the area its name stood in the centre of the intersection of Ponsonby Road, St Marys Road, Jervois Road and College Hill. It was removed in the 1930s as a traffic hazard. Three lamps of another design were placed on the corner of the former Gluepot Tavern, and the old lamp post was rebuilt next to the Gluepot, and on 10 August 2012 the relighting of the lamps was celebrated.
• Gluepot Tavern (340 Ponsonby Road), officially The Ponsonby Club Hotel and later known as the Gluepot, was an art deco building that replaced an 1875 wooden structure. In the 1970s, it had a rough reputation. The downstairs bar was known as a popular spot for the gang, the King Cobras, and upstairs was a popular music venue with acts including The Radars, Hello Sailor, Dragon, Supergroove, Che Fu, Mick Jagger and Peter Garrett. It closed in 1994, the façade remains, however, the interior was demolished and replaced with apartments upstairs and shops downstairs.
• Former Ponsonby Post Office (1-3 St Marys Rd) was designed by John Campbell, the Government Architect, and construction began in 1912. It is no longer owned by New Zealand Post, and has had numerous businesses based in the building since its sale in 1992.
• Former Ponsonby Fire Station (15 St Marys Road) was erected in 1902, and was used as a fire station until 1923. Since then has been a nightclub, a funeral parlour, a soft toy factory, the offices of the City News newspaper, and Raffles and later Plusone Restaurants.
• The Leys Institute (20 St Marys Road) was a gift of local residents William & Thompson Leys in 1905. It includes a public library now part of Auckland Council Libraries, recreation room, lecture hall and gymnasium.
• ASB Bank: Jervois Road. This small neo-classical building is one of the many buildings commissioned by the Auckland Savings Bank from the architect Daniel B. Patterson. Similar buildings appear in Auckland suburban centres and in provincial towns throughout the Auckland Province.
• Plunket Rooms and Memorial Drinking Fountain. Jervois Road. Behind the unassuming 1940s modernist Plunket Rooms is a small grassed area with a memorial drinking fountain dedicated to local politician Michael Joseph Savage. Savage was MP for the area as well as local resident. He died suddenly in 1940 while in office as Prime Minister.
• Former Britannia Theatre (283 Ponsonby Road) was originally built in 1905 as a skating rink and converted to a theatre in 1910. In 1969, the theatre shut down and in 1981-1982 it was converted into a shopping plaza, Three Lamps Plaza.
• Renall Street. A Heritage Area. In the 1970s this whole street was demarcated by the Auckland City Council as a special heritage area. The street contains a representative collection of buildings; 19th century workers cottages, Edwardian villas, 1920s bungalows & 1930 houses with an Edwardian Freemasons Hall.
• All Saints Church. Architect; Prof Richard Toy. An award-winning building from the 1950s which replaced an earlier wooden Victorian church.

• Former Letholite Luggage Factory: 239 Ponsonby Road. Erected in 1919 for the firm of Palmer, Collins & Whittaker. The factory was extended in 1929 and in the 1970s the business employed 50 workers, making it an important employer for this area. Letholite was a major supplier of good quality luggage to the New Zealand public. From the 1980s to the late 1990s the building was the location of Joes Bargain House, after which the building was extensively renovated as office/retail space.
• St John's Methodist Church. 229 Ponsonby Road. Architect; Edward Bartley. Built in the 1880s this is a fine example of a wooden church in the Gothic style. This building includes carved detailing by Anton Teutonberg the first European sculptor in New Zealand.
• Doctor's House, 225 Ponsonby Road. From 1908 to 1920 Florence Keller and her husband Martin ran their doctors surgery from this location. The American Florence Keller was a Seventh-day Adventist, who, when she died in her mid 90s was the oldest practising surgeon in the world.
• Terrace Houses, 203–209 Ponsonby Road. Built for E. Marian Edger (sister of Kate Edger and Lilian Edgar). An interesting development dating from around 1900 these brick built houses with cement stucco finish are a half-way point between the London Town houses and the contemporary wooden villas of New Zealand.

• Vermont Street Shops. 222-224 Ponsonby Road. Fine sey of Edwardian shops - recently restored.
• Ponsonby Mosque, at 17 Vermont Street, was built in 1979. It was the first mosque built in New Zealand (though not the first islamic centre).
• Holmdene - Gentleman's residence in the Italianate style from the 1880s built for shipping magnate Alexander McGregor. This was run as a Boarding House in the 1980s and was popular with Transvestites.
• Braemar Building. Designed by William Holman and built around 1911 for M.G McGregor and Captain J. Smith.
• Franklin Road: Franklin Road residents have a tradition of decorating their homes with Christmas lighting, which attracts thousands of spectators each night they are on. The tradition began around 1993, and in 2022 RNZ called the tradition a "hallmark of Auckland's festive season". The London Plane Trees lining Franklin Road were part of the first beautification scheme undertaken by Auckland City Council in the early 1870s. Three streets were planted with trees; Lower Symonds Street, Grey Street (now Greys Ave) and Franklin Road.
• Gloucester Court, 1 Franklin Road. 1935 Art-Deco Apartment building by Horace Massey.

• Fairfield Terrace 117-131 Ponsonby Rd. Stuccoed brick retail development from around 1910.
• Ponsonby Central. Built as the Allans Calendar Printing Works in the 1950s.
• Leys Block. Queen Anne / Art Nouveau building erected in 1911 for the Leys family. From the early 1980s to the late 1990s this was the location of the popular "Open Late Cafe".
• Former Vogels Bakery. 120-128 Ponsonby Road. In the 1940s a German Jewish refugee and doctor of Philosophy named Max Reizenstein established a bakery. Later sold to Johan Klisser the firm has grown into a major manufacturer of baked goods and specifically Vogel's Bread.

• Former Newton Borough Council Chambers & Fire Station (1 Williamson Avenue): In 1889, the Council Chambers and Fire Station were designed by John Mitchell. In 1914, the later Grey Lynn Borough was amalgamated into the Auckland City Council and the local government function of this building ceased.
• Western Park is the city's oldest park, the result of a competition in 1872. Some of the large specimen trees were donated by notable people such as Sir George Grey and Sir Maurice O'Rorke. Park furniture designed in the 1990s by Micheal Von Sturmer, sculptures by John Radford and mosaic panels by Mark Davidson.
• Allendale House (50 Ponsonby Road) was built for wealthy saddler George Allen in the 1890s and became a boarding house by 1900s. It has been a doctors offices, hostel, refuge, restaurant and is now the office of the Auckland Savings Bank Community Trust.
• The Palace. A group of three Italianate town houses built for Alfred Adams in the 1890s. Adams occupied the middle house for a short time. In the 1970s and 1980s this was the location of "The Palace" Massage Parlour during which time it was painted a bright pink. These houses were built with double storied wooden verandahs similar to nearby Allandale house. Now bereft of these verandahs the houses look slightly bare but actually more italianate in style.

• Former ASB Bank. 8 Ponsonby Road. Architect Edward Bartley. Erected in 1884 as a single storeyed building for the Auckland Savings Bank, in 1886 a second storey was added. Currently an Art Gallery. Of special note is the original Gas Street Lamp, one of only three remaining in Auckland.
• Unitarian Church. 1a Ponsonby Road. Architect Thomas White. Built in 1901 and apparently based on a church in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• Former Newton Police Station (1 Ponsonby Road) was designed by the Government architect John Campbell. It was built in 1905, and since the 1970s it has housed the community arts centre, Artstation.
• Ponsonby Water Reservoir (Corner of Ponsonby and Karangahape Roads) dates to at least the 1870s. The first reservoir on this site was designed by the City Engineer William Errington. It was rebuilt in the 1950s when the adjoining Pumping Station and Turncock's house were demolished.
• The VAANA Peace Mural (Ponsonby Water Reservoir) was painted on large panels in 1985 by eight founding VAANA (Visual Artists Against Nuclear Arms) artists: Pat Hanly, Margaret Lawlor-Bartlett, Jill Carter-Hansen, John Nicol, John Eaden, Claudia Pond Eyley, Nigel Brown and Vanya Lowry in the main gallery at Outreach (now Artstation) with members of the public giving verbal encouragement. Master potters Peter Lange and Lex Dawson worked with Master Builder Matt Stafford to fix the panels to the wall. The mural was recreated in 2006 and 2014 with extra panels being added.

Ponsonby covers 1.35 km (0.52 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 5,440 as of June 2023, with a population density of 4,030 people per km.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	5,487	—
2013	5,577	+0.23%
2018	5,730	+0.54%
Source:

Ponsonby had a population of 5,730 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 153 people (2.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 243 people (4.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,085 households, comprising 2,763 males and 2,967 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.93 males per female, with 951 people (16.6%) aged under 15 years, 1,299 (22.7%) aged 15 to 29, 2,970 (51.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 513 (9.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 83.4% European/Pākehā, 8.8% Māori, 8.6% Pacific peoples, 9.2% Asian, and 3.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 29.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 58.2% had no religion, 31.2% were Christian, 0.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.3% were Hindu, 0.7% were Muslim, 1.0% were Buddhist and 2.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 2,415 (50.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 273 (5.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,971 people (41.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,063 (64.1%) people were employed full-time, 639 (13.4%) were part-time, and 144 (3.0%) were unemployed.

While official statistics are not collected, Ponsonby is also popularly imagined as having a large gay population relative to other Auckland suburbs. A survey by the NZ AIDS Foundation has however found that the stereotype seems to be true, and that the area and the directly adjacent suburbs have a (in comparison) very high percentage of gay people, possibly attracted by the fact that they feel more at ease in an environment where gay people are relatively commonplace.

Individual statistical areas

Name	Area (km)	Population	Density (per km)	Households	Median age	Median income
Ponsonby West	0.65	2,337	3,595	804	36.6 years	$55,300
Ponsonby East	0.70	3,393	4,847	1,281	34.8 years	$59,500
New Zealand					37.4 years	$31,800

St Paul's College is a state-integrated Catholic boys' secondary school (years 7–13) with a roll of 405 students. Marist School is a Catholic coeducational contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of 142 which shares the same site.

Ponsonby Intermediate is a coeducational intermediate school (years 7–8) with a roll of 518. Richmond Road School is a coeducational contributing primary school (years 1–6) with a roll of 292.

Rolls are as of August 2024.

• Ella Yelich-O'Connor/Lorde singer and songwriter.
• Peter Burling sailor.
• Karen Walker designer.
• Andrew Entrican Deputy Mayor of Auckland in the 1890s.
• Captain William Daldy MP. Member of the Auckland Harbour Board - lived Hepburn Street.
• Amey Daldy feminist wife of William and significant member of the Suffrage Movement which secured the vote for women in 1893.
• Freda Stark - Performer and dancer - regarded as the most notorious woman in Auckland. Danced naked, apart from gold paint, on the stage of the Civic Theatre.
• Doctor Florence Keller The American Florence Keller (née Armstrong) was a Seventh-day Adventist, who, when she died in her mid 90s was the oldest practicing surgeon in the world. She lived here from 1908 to 1920.
• Alexander McGregor - local business man - part owner of the Northern Steamship Line and latterly the McGregor Steam Ship Company.
• Michael Joseph Savage Labour Prime Minister and MP for Ponsonby.
• Peter Fraser Prime Minister.
• Helen Clark Labour Prime Minister - flatted here for a while with Judith Tizard.
• Judith Tizard MP for Central Auckland.
• John Currie Architect - lived at 50 Wood Street.
• Charles Blomfield (artist) Noted New Zealand Landscape painter - lived at 40 Wood Street.
• Betty Wark Social worker and activist - lived in Hopetoun Street.

Ponsonby is home to the Ponsonby Ponies rugby league club and Ponsonby Rugby Football Club.

• The Lively Capital, Auckland 1840–1865 Una Platts, Avon Fine Prints Limited New Zealand 1971.
• The Heart of Colonial Auckland, 1865–1910. Terence Hodgson. Random Century NZ Ltd 1992.
• Colonial Architecture in New Zealand. John Stacpoole. A.H & A.W Reed 1976
• Decently And in Order, The Centennial History of the Auckland City Council. G.W.A Bush. Collins 1971.
• Auckland Through A Victorian Lens. William Main. Millwood Press 1977.
• Urban Village: The Story of Ponsonby, Freemans Bay and St. Marys Bay. Jenny Carlyon and Diana Morrow. Random House New Zealand 2008

• Ponsonby Business Association (website of the local business association)
• Photographs of Ponsonby held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.