Avondale, Residential suburb in Auckland, New Zealand
Avondale is a residential suburb on the western side of central Auckland, sitting on the narrow strip of land that forms the city's isthmus. The area has a main commercial street lined with shops and cafes, and the Avondale Racecourse is one of its most recognizable landmarks.
The area was known as Te Whau by Maori before European settler John Bollard renamed it Avondale in 1861, borrowing the name from a forest in County Wicklow, Ireland. From that point on, the suburb grew steadily through the late 19th and into the 20th century as Auckland expanded westward.
The Avondale Sunday Market draws sellers and shoppers from across the Pacific and Asia, filling the grounds of the local racecourse with food stalls, clothing, and fresh produce. Walking through it on a Sunday morning gives a clear sense of how diverse the people who live here actually are.
Avondale is well connected to central Auckland by bus, and street parking is generally available outside of market days. If you plan to visit the Sunday market, arriving early in the morning gives you more space and a better choice of stalls.
The Avondale Racecourse grounds are used for far more than horse racing, with rugby league, soccer, cricket, and netball all sharing the same site throughout the week. This makes it one of the more active community sports spaces in the western suburbs.
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