NZ Visual Diary - entry 368
Sandringham Village retail
As gentrification intensified in the inner suburbs of Auckland, beginning in the 1980s, and housing grew increasingly unaffordable, new arrivals of immigrant populations settled in outer suburbs. One outer suburb, Sandringham, attracted a rich demographic mix of peoples, especially from South Asia.
Sandringham was originally swamp land with numerous water-filled lava-flow caves formed by the activity of two nearby volcanic cones Maungawhau (Mount Eden) and Owairaka (Mount Albert)
Today it is a vibrant community with a population of 12,000. It is home to one of my grandson’s favourite playgrounds Gribblehirst and one of my family’s favourite Indian cuisine restaurants Paradise.
I was told recently by a dear friend, who with her husband had a business office in Sandringham Village across the street from the Sandringham Public Toilets, that the Sandringham community organisation known as Spice hosts, among numerous civic events, an annual floral carpet festival. With camera in hand I shall attend the festival in March of 2026.