North Shore Heritage Thematic Review Report ... - Auckland Council

4.3 Commerce
The earliest mode of transport to Devonport for both people and goods was by sea. It followed naturally
that the first areas of commerce were adjacent to the water, with the initial settlement being opposite the
foreshore at the bottom of Church Street. Oliver Mays opened his store in 1863 in Church Street, moving in
1874 to Beach Road (King Edward Parade), next to the Masonic Hotel.
From 1863 when the Holmes Bros moved to the bottom of Victoria Road and built the Flagstaff Hotel,
trade began to develop along Victoria Road. With the introduction of a regular ferry service and later the
vehicular ferry, Victoria Road became the suburb‟s premier commercial centre. The shops built on the
western side followed the model of retail at footpath level, with residential accommodation above and a
goods‟ yard behind. 52
Fig. 25. E. Ford‟s Irresistible Tearooms, Victoria Road, 1920, North Shore Libraries, D PB 0002.
From 1880 to 1920 Devonport was the commercial centre of the North Shore. As the main point of
communication with Auckland, it was a centre for goods and services to outlying areas such as Takapuna
and Milford, and country settlements further to the north. Many stores and local businessmen served large
areas with orders for foodstuffs, tools, clothing and medicines. 53 The Duder Bros enterprise was so large
that it imported its own goods from overseas and had its own wharf across the road from its store.
52 Note: Devonport Historical and Museum has an excellent pictorial record of the ownership of these shops.
53 B. J. Griffiths, „The North Shore, Its Character and Functions in 1888, 1913, 1936‟. MA Thesis, Auckland College,
University of New Zealand, 1959, p. 14.
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