Hurstmere Road

Hurstmere Road is named after William John Hurst, an Englishman who owned all of the land from Earnoch Avenue to Milford. Hurst sat on the Auckland Provisional Council from 1868 until 1876, served as Mayor of Auckland from 1876 to 1877, and then sat as a Member of Parliament from 1879 to 1886. Many of Auckland’s oldest trees were planted by him.

Where you are currently standing is the site of a Rendell's clothing store, which was established in Takapuna in 1958 in anticipation of Auckland’s Harbour Bridge opening. This site became Postie Plus in 2003 and then, after it was bought by Auckland Council in 2017, the building was demolished in early 2019 to make way for a new town square.

To your right, Hurstmere Road continues to Halls Corner. Beside the Halls Building is the former site of Woolworths, which stretched between Hurstmere and Lake Road. Now several restaurants and the House of Travel call the building home. Next to it is the former Dyers Building, which housed Dyer’s Butchery. It became the John Greer Building in 1988 and now houses Retrospace. Other businesses along this stretch included apparel and shoe stores, a chemist shop, a music store, and a Milne & Choyce department store.

Across the road on your right, the former Takapuna Post Office, opened in 1964, and McKenzies Department Store sat across from the Halls Building. Between these structures and the park, some of Takapuna’s more upscale stores were found, including jewellery, footwear, lingerie, and menswear shops. The ASB building has been occupied by Auckland Savings Bank since the mid-1960s but once had an arcade as well. It featured several popular chain stores focused on health and lifestyle.

To your left, Hurstmere Road continues to Milford, becoming first Kitchener Road and then East Coast Road, which ends in Silverdale. Next to the site of Rendell’s is the Eat Street food court, which was once several government offices. A variety of businesses occupied the adjacent buildings including fashion shops, a fabric store, and cafes. Next to Starbucks is the Parkway Arcade, the oldest arcade on Hurstmere Road.

Across the street, Augustine was once the home of Roberts Electrical. The business first opened in 1927 by Ernest Trevor Roberts under the name Triner & Roberts Electrical Engineers and Radio Dealers. The business expanded to Warkworth and, in 1938, was rebranded Roberts Electrical. An intense fire in the warehouse behind the shop in March 2005 destroyed the structure and damaged the main store along its back wall. The next year, Roberts closed its Takapuna store, and the building was renovated. Augustine designer women’s clothing boutique opened in May 2018. Next door, the KiwiBank building is the former Takapuna Post Office, which replaced the post office at 15 Hurstmere Road in 1985. The post office moved again in mid-2019 to Paper Plus.

Cross Hurstmere Road at the crosswalk.