Mount Albert, New Zealand
Mount Albert is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, which is centred on Mount Albert, a local volcanic peak which dominates the landscape. In the past Mt Albert also referred to the 2,500 acre borough that was created in 1911 on the outskirts of Auckland City. Mt Albert was also one of the original five wards within the Mt Albert Borough. The suburb is located seven kilometres to the southwest of the Central Business District (CBD). Volcano. The peak, in parkland at the southern end of the suburb, is 135 metres in height, and is  one of the many extinct cones which dot the city of Auckland, all of which are part of the Auckland volcanic field. Suburb. Mount Albert suburb was the second that developed in Auckland, after Remuera. It was mostly settled by well-off families in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Significant growth occurred between the two world wars. It is surrounded by the neighbouring suburbs of Owairaka, Sandringham, Morningside, Point Chevalier and Waterview. Its postcode is 1025. Unitec Institute of Technology, a large tertiary educational college, is located towards the northern end of the suburb. The Mount Albert Research Centre  (originally established by the DSIR) houses the Auckland centre of Plant & Food Research and other Crown Research Institutes. Fowlds Park lies in the northern area of Mt Albert. Demographics. Mount Albert, comprising the statistical areas of Mount Albert West, Mount Albert North, Mount Albert Central, Mount Albert South and St Lukes, had a population of 15,204 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 720 people (5.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,515 people (11.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 4,866 households. There were 7,626 males and 7,584 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.01  males per female, with 2,877 people (18.9%) aged under 15 years, 3,741 (24.6%) aged 15 to 29, 7,107 (46.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,479 (9.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 60.3% European/Pākehā, 8.3% Māori, 8.1% Pacific peoples, 31.5% Asian, and 4.3% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 40.2%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 49.3% had no religion, 31.4% were Christian, and 14.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 5,154 (41.8 %) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 1,077 (8.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 6,489 (52.6%) people were employed full-time, 1,893 (15.4%) were part-time, and 477 (3.9%) were unemployed. Government. Mount Albert has been administered by Auckland Council since 2010, and Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010. An early local government body was the Mount Albert Highway District Board, which was formed in 1866 and became Mount Albert Road Board in 1883. The road board became Mount Albert Borough Council in 1911, and then Mount Albert  City Council in 1978. It amalgamated with Auckland City Council in a nationwide local government reorganisation in 1989. Mount Albert has been part of the Mount Albert electorate since 1946, except for the 1996–99 term, when it was the Owairaka electorate. The electorate has been held by Jacinda Ardern of the Labour Party since 25 February 2017. Notable residents. Rugby player Sonny Bill Williams and actress Lucy Lawless both grew up in Mount Albert. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark, famous acoustician Sir Harold Marshall and the former TVNZ's "Breakfast" presenter Petra Bagust are current residents of the area. Famous  New Zealand athlete, Sir Peter Snell (triple Olympic gold medalist and world mile record holder and NZ's athlete of the 20th century), was educated in and a long-time resident of Mt Albert as was Bryan Williams, an All Black great and president of the NZRFU. Education. Mount Albert Grammar School is a high school (years 9-13) with a roll of . Opened in 1922, it was a single-sex boys' school until 2000, when it became co-educational. Marist College is a Catholic state-integrated girls' college (years 7-13) with a roll of . The college was founded  in 1928, and originally called Marist Sisters College, changing its name to Marist College in 2000. Marist School is a Catholic contributing primary (years 1-6) school on the same site as Marist College. It has a roll of . Mount Albert School and Gladstone Primary School are contributing primary schools (years 1-6) with rolls of and , respectively. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Nga Maungarongo is a full primary school (years 1-8) with a roll of . It is a Māori language-immersion school. All these schools apart from Marist College are coeducational. Rolls are as of Tertiary education providers  in the area include Auckland Institute of Studies and Unitec. Sport. Association football. Mount Albert is the home of association football club Metro F.C., who compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier, and Mount Albert-Ponsonby, who compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 2. Rugby league. Mount Albert is home to both the Marist Saints and the Mount Albert Lions, who split from Marist in 1927. Both clubs compete in the Auckland Rugby League's top division, the Fox Memorial. Transport. Mount Albert is well served by trains and buses, and is only 7 km from Auckland 's CBD. The railway station is centrally located, near the intersection of New North Road and Mt Albert/Carrington Road. Mount Albert Railway Station is a part of the Western Line; trains run regularly into the city and the western suburbs beyond. The centre of all the shopping and business activities in the suburb of Mt Albert is New North Road, roughly between Richardson Road and Lloyd Avenue.