Ardmore, New Zealand

History

Ardmore's first Church, St Peters Church, was constructed in 1861. In 1892 St Peters burnt down and St James was constructed the following year on the same site. In 1961—as part of a centennial for the Church congregation—two stained glass windows were installed.

The area contains Ardmore Airport, which is one of Auckland's busiest airports due to Ardmore Flying School. This rural tranquility is located just to the east of the Auckland Metropolitan Area with Papakura being the closest town (within the Auckland urban area). Ardmore has a state co-educational primary school which provides education for the local children.

Ardmore Teachers' Training College was situated adjacent to the airfield from 1948 to 1974. The college opened in 1948 to help address the shortage of teachers in New Zealand caused by the 'baby boom' after WW2. It was New Zealand's only fully residential teachers' college and during its 27-year history, trained around 8500 teachers. The closure of the college in 1974 was the end of an era and nothing remains at the site to indicate its existence except for a memorial stone.

Auckland University's School Of Engineering was established at the aerodrome in 1948, using old World War II military barracks and hangars. It remained there until 1969, when it moved to a much larger new building in Symonds Street in central Auckland, near the University's other faculties. While at Ardmore, the school offered only Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering degrees. The school would move from Ardmore in 1969.

The aerodrome was used for the NZ Grand Prix in the 1950s and 1960s before the Pukekohe Park Raceway was completed. Bruce McLaren was a winner there, and the circuit hosted many famous drivers including Jack Brabham, Prince Bira, Stirling Moss and Reg Parnell.

The New Zealand Defence Force's military prison, the Services Corrective Establishment was based in Ardmore until it relocated to Burnham Military Camp in 1995.

Demographics

Ardmore covers 44.27 km2 and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.

Ardmore had a population of 1,323 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 63 people (−4.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 27 people (2.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 696 males, 618 females and 6 people of other genders in 438 dwellings. 2.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 41.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 243 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 198 (15.0%) aged 15 to 29, 672 (50.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 210 (15.9%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 74.6% European (Pākehā); 19.7% Māori; 7.5% Pasifika; 13.6% Asian; 1.1% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 94.6%, Māori language by 2.9%, Samoan by 0.5%, and other languages by 14.3%. No language could be spoken by 1.8% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.7%. The percentage of people born overseas was 23.8, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 33.8% Christian, 1.4% Hindu, 0.5% Islam, 1.4% Māori religious beliefs, 1.4% Buddhist, 0.7% New Age, 0.2% Jewish, and 3.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 50.1%, and 7.0% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 216 (20.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 570 (52.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 294 (27.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $49,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 195 people (18.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 618 (57.2%) people were employed full-time, 138 (12.8%) were part-time, and 21 (1.9%) were unemployed.

Education

Ardmore School is a coeducational full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of as of

Climate

| Jan record high C = 31.5 | Feb record high C = 31.2 | Mar record high C = 30.0 | Apr record high C = 27.6 | May record high C = 24.1 | Jun record high C = 22.9 | Jul record high C = 19.8 | Aug record high C = 21.9 | Sep record high C = 22.0 | Oct record high C = 24.2 | Nov record high C = 28.0 | Dec record high C = 32.8 | year record high C = 32.8 | Jan avg record high C = 28.3 | Feb avg record high C = 28.5 | Mar avg record high C = 27.2 | Apr avg record high C = 24.9 | May avg record high C = 21.7 | Jun avg record high C = 19.5 | Jul avg record high C = 18.2 | Aug avg record high C = 18.3 | Sep avg record high C = 20.1 | Oct avg record high C = 21.7 | Nov avg record high C = 24.0 | Dec avg record high C = 26.7 | year avg record high C = 29.1 | Jan avg record low C = 7.6 | Feb avg record low C = 7.6 | Mar avg record low C = 5.8 | Apr avg record low C = 2.9 | May avg record low C = 1.1 | Jun avg record low C = -1.1 | Jul avg record low C = -1.5 | Aug avg record low C = 0.0 | Sep avg record low C = 1.3 | Oct avg record low C = 3.2 | Nov avg record low C = 4.2 | Dec avg record low C = 6.6 | year avg record low C = -2.3 |Jan record low C = 5.1 |Feb record low C = 3.8 |Mar record low C = 0.6 |Apr record low C = -1.5 |May record low C = -2.9 |Jun record low C = -4.0 |Jul record low C = -4.0 |Aug record low C = -3.5 |Sep record low C = -1.9 |Oct record low C = -1.5 |Nov record low C = 1.1 |Dec record low C = 3.4 |year record low C = -4.0 |access-date = 12 Jul 2024}}

References

References

4. (February 1980). "Historic Buildings in Manukau City". Manukau City Council.
5. (2008). "Disce, Doce, Dilige - Learn, Teach, Serve, A History of Ardmore Teachers College". Bassdrum Books Ltd.
6. (June 2009). "Auckland engineering school".
7. [https://archive.today/20070505094130/http://www.bruce-mclaren.com/the-cars/cooper/the-1959-season-with-the-t45-cooper-climax 1959 Season with the T45 Cooper Climax]
8. (24 August 2025). "'A very hard place’: What will life be like in military detention for NZ's attempted spy". [[Newstalk ZB]].
9. "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service".
10. {{NZ census 2018. Ardmore (162300). ardmore. Ardmore
11. "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
12. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
13. {{TKI. 1208. Ardmore School