is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, which is centred on Ōwairaka / Mount Albert, a local volcanic peak which dominates the landscape. By 1911, growth in the area had increased to the point where Mount Albert was declared an independent borough, which was later absorbed into Auckland. The suburb is located to the southwest of the Auckland City Centre.

Geography

thumb|left|[[Ōwairaka / Mount Albert surrounded by the suburb in 2009]]

The suburb is centred around Ōwairaka / Mount Albert, a volcano which erupted an estimated 120,000 years ago. Ōwairaka / Mount Albert is one of the older volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field, and the westernmost volcanic feature. Approximately 28,000 years ago, Te Kōpuke / Mount Saint John erupted, causing a lava flow in northern Mount Albert, which flowed into the Waitematā Harbour and created the Meola Reef.

Oakley Creek is a major stream on the Auckland isthmus, which forms the western border of the suburb.

History

Early history

thumb|left|[[Ōwairaka / Mount Albert in an 1845 watercolour by John Guise Mitford]]

One of the earliest names Tāmaki Māori gave to the volcano was Te Puke o Ruarangi (The Hill of Ruarangi). A traditional story involves Ruarangi, a chief of the supernatural Patupaiarehe people, escaping a siege on the volcano through lava tunnels. Other early names include or , means 'the long burning fires of Rakataura', referring to its continuous occupation by the Tainui explorer Rakataura. The name Ōwairaka refers to Wairaka, an early Māori ancestor, who was the daughter of Toroa, the captain of the Mātaatua voyaging waka. Wairaka fled to Auckland to escape an unwanted marriage, and established her people on the volcano.

During the early 18th century, the Auckland isthmus was heavily populated by the Waiohua confederation of tribes. Ōwairaka / Mount Albert was the western-most hill-top pā of Waiohua and had extensive terraces and cultivations, although not as many as Maungakiekie or Maungawhau to the east. After a conflict between Waiohua and Ngāti Whātua in the mid-18th century, the area became part of the rohe of Ngāti Whātua. Ngāti Whātua had a much smaller population than the Waiohua, and seaside areas were preferred places to live. Because of this, much of the area fell into disuse. Oakley Creek has been traditionally used by Tāmaki Māori as a source for crayfish, eels and weka. Harakeke (New Zealand flax) and raupō, which grew along the banks of the creek, were harvested here to create Māori traditional textiles.

In 1820, English priest Samuel Marsden visited the area, and climbed to the peak of Ōwairaka / Mount Albert with the paramount chief of Ngāti Whātua, Apihai Te Kawau. The mountain was named during the early colonial era after Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria.

European settlement

thumb|Ōwairaka / Mount Albert in a postcard, from around 1910.

On 29 June 1841, Mount Albert was sold to the Crown by Ngāti Whātua, as a part of a 12,000 acre section. The terrain of the area was rough, meaning the area saw slower development compared to other parts of the Auckland isthmus. In the 1860s, New North Road was established as road access for the area and as an alternative to the Great North Road to the north. Mount Albert area became an area of large estates for wealthy landowners, due to its proximity to Auckland township. Large houses including Alberton and Ferndale House were constructed for the families of the area.

In 1866, the Mt Albert Methodist Church was constructed. Later that year in October 1866, the Mt Albert District Highway Board, the first local government in the area, was formed to administer New North Road and surrounding areas. Tensions existed among the ratepayers of the area, primarily between the "mountain" area ratepayers and the city-side ratepayers in Eden Terrace, who believes that they were paying too high rates for a road that did not lead to any specific location. By June 1875, Eden Terrace had split from the Mt Albert District Highway Board. The first school in the area, Mt Albert School, was established in 1870 on land gifted by John McElwain, at School Road in Morningside.

Early society in Mount Albert centred around the Anglican Church, and figures such as pioneer Allan Kerr Taylor and his wife Sophia Taylor. The Kerr Taylor family renovated their home in the early 1870s, transforming Alberton into an elaborate Anglo-Indian-inspired mansion, that hosted many formal events in the area.

Mount Albert railway station opened in March 1880, connecting Morningside to Auckland city by rail, and spurring suburban growth. In the 10 years after 1881, the population of Mount Albert doubled to 1,400 people. During the latter 19th century, a quarry was established on Ōwairaka / Mount Albert, with a rail spur connecting the quarry to the North Auckland Line. Local residents had become concerned for the mountain, and petitioned the government to stop the quarry in 1895 and 1915. The Railways department chief engineer dismissed the residents' concerns. By 1905, the summit of the mountain became public land, and the quarry was eventually closed in 1928.

Suburban development

thumb|[[ANZAC Day services at the newly constructed Mount Albert War Memorial in 1961]]

By the 1910s, Mount Albert had become one of the fastest growing suburbs of Auckland. The district attracted many families from outside the Anglican community, notably many successful businessmen, who wanted to establish large family homes while still able to commute to Auckland. By 1911, the population of the area had grown to 6,666, and in 1912 the King George V Hall opened, becoming a social hub for Mount Albert. The area was still significantly more rural compared to Kingsland in the north-east, home to many dairy and poultry farms. In 1915, the Auckland tramline reached the suburb, creating suburban growth and leading to the development of the Mount Albert commercial shopping area, originally known as Ohlsen's Corner. As the Mount Albert shops developed, the area gained the name the Terminus, as at the time it was the final stop on the tramline along New North Road.

Growth in the area led to the creation of the Mount Albert Borough on 1 April 1911. The borough took our significant loans, in order to invest in the water supply for the area. Between 1901 and 1931, the population of the area surged from 2,035 to 20,600, making Mount Albert the largest borough in New Zealand.

Demographics

Mount Albert covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km<sup>2</sup>.