The convenience of bus and car travel to Auckland radically altered the land-use of the Birkdale suburb located to the northwest of Birkenhead. In 1961, within only few years of the opening of the Harbour Bridge, Birkdale and Birkenhead抯 population doubLED. The population of Birkenhead increased from 6,000 in 1961 to 13,000 in 1967 and to 20,000 in 1978. This growth in population gave it a greater importance (Mc Clure, 1987, pp. 183, 197). In 1981, the population of Birkenhead exceeded 31,000 while in 1991 it reached more than 34,000. Currently, the number is estimated to have exceeded 37,500 putting Birkenhead抯 population among the top suburbs in the North Shore City (Table 1).
Table 1: Total Population of Selected North Shore Suburbs (1981-2000) Suburb 1981 1991 2000 % of Increase Albany 5,085 8,703 14,900 71.2 Birkenhead 31,338 34,293 37517 9.4 Davenport 15,450 16,314 17,228 5.6 Glenfield 23,946 25536 27,221 6.6 Takapuna 30,981 34,095 37,537 10.1
Source: NZ Department of Statistics Percentages and estimates for 2000 were calculated by the author.
The early roads in the study area were so bad that owners of cars were forced to use chains on their wheels in winter. After it had been raining, buses and carts often sank up to their axles in soggy clay. Mr. Charles Verran started a carrying business down near Birkenhead Wharf as early as 1904. In later years he opened a big stable for his horses at the highest point in Birkenhead. The site soon became known as Verran抯 Corner. In l
