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One of Glen Innes’s new homes flying Tongan flags, 2019 (Image: Brendan Kitto).
One of Glen Innes’s new homes flying Tongan flags, 2019 (Image: Brendan Kitto).

In My BackyardNovember 19, 2019

In pictures: The transformation of Glen Innes

One of Glen Innes’s new homes flying Tongan flags, 2019 (Image: Brendan Kitto).
One of Glen Innes’s new homes flying Tongan flags, 2019 (Image: Brendan Kitto).

In the second part of a new event series looking at the future of Auckland, The Spinoff and Auckland Council host In My Backyard: Glen Innes, to ask what the suburb can teach the rest of the city about housing. Photographer Brendan Kitto shares his images from the 2016 exhibition Redevelop which explored housing changes in Tāmaki and new photos of the neighbourhood. 

My relationship with Glen Innes began in the mid-90s when my family relocated from Whanganui to Auckland and their school of choice for me was Sacred Heart College. The bus route was a tour of Panmure and Glen Innes which was an eye-opener for a new kid who had just moved to Pakuranga. Later on, I became friends with Gary Silipa – a Glen Innes local who now runs GI’s The Good The Bad art gallery – which kept me frequenting the area. My documentation of Glen Innes began when the fences went up and the houses came down. The project is neither for nor against the transformation; it’s a visual record of an event that many thought would never occur in their lifetime.

Shed remaining standing on vacant lot painted with “GI”, Fenchurch St, 2016 (All photos: Brendan Kitto)
Demolition in progress, Fenchurch St, 2016
Quintessential style of Glen Innes state house stands empty, Linthorpe St, 2016
Early progress on new development, Sunnymead Rd, 2016
Taniwha St, 2016
Completed Fenchurch development, 2019
1.6 million dollar home for sale on Taniwha St, 2019
Row of new houses on Sunnymead Rd, 2019
Old house sits empty between two new houses, 2019
Older style home still occupied with ready to be developed land surrounding, Kiano Pl 2019
Taniwha St 2019
Original houses remaining while development carries on around them, 2019
Glen Innes Town Centre, 2019
“Kakariki”, one of the original Apirana Ave government housing flats still in use, 2019
Shared space for residents of Apirana Ave flats, 2019
The road to Glen Innes, 2019
Te Oro music & arts centre, 2019
Entrance to Maybury Reserve, links Line Rd with Elstree Ave, 2019
Totem poles painted by local community groups each depicting local scenes, Maybury Reserve, 2019
Ruapotaka Marae, 2019
Glen Innes library building, 2019
St Pius Jesus shrine, 2019
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