Devonport’s past has a continued presence in the community.

As a peninsula surrounded by sea and strategically placed to defend NZ’s largest harbour from the onslaught of would-be attackers, Devonport remains home to the navy and retains much of its early nautical history. Ironically, Devonport was declared the first Nuclear Free Borough Council in 1981.

Maori settlement predates that of European by 3 centuries, from the mid-14th century (roughly during the same time as the supposed landing of the Tainui waka which is commemorated by a stone memorial on the foreshore). The last remaining significant Māori settlement in the area, on North Head, was wiped out by rival tribes in the 1790s. Ngapuhi chief, Patuone(c1764-1872),  www.patuone.com is buried on the side of MountVictoria (Takarunga).

Devonport was first settled by European in 1840. It was initially called Flagstaff because of the flagstaff raised on nearby Mount Victoria (Takarunga). For the first half century or so of its existence Devonport was geographically isolated from the rest of the North Shore, and was sometimes called “the island” by the local inhabitants. Only a thin strip of land beside the beach at Narrow Neck connected Devonport to Belmont and the rest of the North Shore peninsula. In the late 19th century the mangrove swamp that stretched from Narrow Neck to Ngataringa Bay was filled in to form a racecourse, now a golf course.^[9] A new road was built along the western edge of the racecourse allowing more direct travel to the north.

By 1859 Devonport was renamed, after the English naval town of Devonport. It achieved Borough status in 1886, was incorporated into North Shore City in 1989 ,and in 2010 became part of the Auckland ‘Supercity’.

TIMELINE:

1350– Around 40,000 years ago Devonport consisted of three islands of volcanic origin, Mount Victoria, North Head and between them Mount Cambria (now largely quarried away), which are believed to have been occupied by fortified Maori settlements from about 1350 AD. The remaining volcanic cones ( North Head and Mount Victoria) are popular visitor spots where evidence of Maori is still to be found.

1840 – If the Navy moves its museum to the Devonport ferry terminal history will have come full circle, for it was on the nearby Windsor Reserve that the service first set up in 1840. The transfer of the infant colony’s capital from Kororareka to Auckland in September of that year brought with it the need for a naval shore establishment. William Hobson, a naval captain, was quick to spot the deep-water anchorage on the northern shores of the Waitemata, where the Navy’s Sydney-based … www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1

1841 – In 1841, Lieutenant Robert Snow was the officer in charge when the Royal Navy founded it’s first naval base in Devonport, on the North Shore in Auckland. Lt. Snow lived on the base with his wife, Hannah, and their two daughters. Six years later they still resided in the same cottage with their neighbours being a few local Maoris and European settlers. A shipping signal station manned by Able Seaman Thomas Duder could be seen on Mount Victoria.
From Auckland Naval Base Murders

Oct 23, 1847 – Plaque at King Edward Parade, Devonport, commemorates the site of one of New Zealand’s first mass murders. Robert and Hannah Snow and their daughter Mary were killed in their home on October 23, 1847. Thomas Duder, signalman for Mt Victoria and Snow’s neighbour was …
From Local History Online

1855 – Mr Ewe.n William Allison is a New Zealander, being born in 1855. He was the founder of the Devonport Ferry Company, and lias been Mayor of Devonport for five years.
From THE NEW MEMBERS.

Jan 17, 1860 – The vessel’s first arrival in Auckland was on January 17, 1860, and among the passengers on that occasion were the late Mr. W. Hoffman, who was one of the pioneers in the pianoforte business in Auckland; Mrs. Annie Buchanan, of Devonport; Mr. Alfred Jowitt, of New North Road, Auckland; and Mr. SJ Gorman, of Auckland, the three latter being still alive. Mrs. Buchanan, who is over 90 years of age, is the widow of Mr. William Buchanan, a very well-known Aucklander …
From The Nimroud | NZETC

Jul 9, 1863 – During the protracted Mahurangi Block transactions, Ngai Tai continued to live in the Te Onewa area, though the largest Maori settlement in the Northcote- Devonport area was now around North Head, near where the Devonport Golf Club now is. On 9 July 1863, Maori living in the Auckland region were obliged to swear allegiance to Queen Victoria or move to the Waikato, and a curfew was placed on Maori vessels on the Waitemata and Manukau harbours after dark. As a result …
From Visit Us – North Shore Libraries

Sep 19, 1872 – Patuone died on 19 September 1872. Of his four wives and nine children only one son, Hohaia, survived him. His funeral was of a European kind; he lay in the Devonport Hall, attended by 500 mourners – Maori and Pakeha – and was buried in the Mt Victoria Cemetery, Devonport. The government enclosed the grave with an iron fence and erected a plaque which celebrated Patuone as a ‘warm friend of Europeans, supporter of the Queen’s laws, and Peacemaker’. Next: Further …
From Patuone, Eruera Maihi – Biography – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand

1886 – The district was proclaimed a borough in 1886, and Mr. Malcolm Niccol, the present mayor, who is now completing his sixth term of office, was elected as the first occupant of the mayoral chair. Mr. EW Alison was Mayor for five consecutive years, and Mr. JC Macky, who succeeded him, remained in office for a similar period. These gentlemen have been well supported by their colleagues in the council, and, as showing their progressive spirit, it must be mentioned that Devonport …
From Devonport | NZETC 

1886 – A wooden cutter, she was built at Devonport, Auckland by George Niccol in 1886. Her dimensions were 44’6” x 15’6” x.
From Stewart Island Boats

1888 – In 1888 the biggest fire in Devonport’s history gutted nine shops in Victoria Road, and seven dwellings. It was thought to have been deliberately started by a shopkeeper for reasons unknown.
From Local History Online 

1888 – With its deepwater port, Devonport was also chosen as the site for the Calliope Dock, which was the largest drydock in the Southern Hemisphere when it opened in 1888. A large part of Devonport is still taken up by the Naval Dockyards and if you take the 5 minute walk west along the waterfront to Spring Street, you will find the Royal New Zealand Naval Museum featuring numerous exhibits and memorabilia.
From GO Rentals Explore New Zealand

The PS Eagle was built for George Quick’s Auckland and North Shore Steam Ferry Co., which for several years ran in competition with Ewen and Alex Alison’s Devonport Steam Ferry Co. When Quick’s company folded in 1888, the Alisons bought his feries. Eagle was used on the Devonport service, but because she had electric lights, the Alisons also used her for moonlight excursions, as George Quick had previously. She was sold for scrap in the 1920s and beached near …
From Local History Online

Apr 1895 – …In April, 1895, the government impounded the subsidy due to Devonport under the Municipal Corporations Act because Devonport refused to pay Hospital and Charitable Aid levies; the amount impounded was ₤140 2s. 6d; leaving the sum of ₤15 still owing by Devonport; for several years the Devonport Council had protested against the magnitude of the levies, and only paid them under severe pressure. [Complete article.] From Local History Online — Subsidy impounded

1905 – The MV Kestrel, built in 1905, began life as a steamer under the ownership of the Devonport Steam Company, serving most of her working life on the Devonport and then the Birkenhead run.
From Waiheke Gulf News – Historic Kestrel returns to the Gulf

Feb 1909 – When the school first began, in February 1909, it was just an extension of Devonport School. Miss M. Barr, a teacher from Devonport School, was appointed Head Teacher.” from “The History of Stanley Bay School”, by Jordan Griffiths, Year 5, 2005.
From Stanley Bay School Centenary Reunion – Memories & Photo’s

1915 – The Kiosk was built in 1915. The architect, Edward Bartley, designed a number of houses in Devonport, and was also the architect of the Presbyterian church in Albert Road, Devonport.
From … Shore Library Collections — Cheltenham Beach tea kiosk, Devonport

Oct 1917 – According to news received by the soldier’s father, Mr JW Harris of Devonport, it was for a special act of valour at the action at Passchendaele Ridge in October 1917 that the decoration was awarded. Private Harris was a member of the 8th Reinforcements. He …HARRIS, Private William J, has been awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government for gallantry in the field. According to news received by the soldier’s father, Mr JW Harris of Devonport, it was for a special act of valour at the action at Passchendaele Ridge in October 1917 that the decoration was awarded. Private Harris was a member of the 8th Reinforcements. He was born in Tonga and educated at Devonport, in which place he lived with his parents for many …

From NEW ZEALAND AND WORLD WAR ONE – AUCKLAND WEEKLY NEWS

1931– Back in 1931, as communication lines crashed down, it was a message from the radio operator of the Veronica which alerted Devonport Naval Base that ” something terrible” had befallen the region. But like it was in the hours after the Christchurch quake, things moved quickly and two Navy cruisers, Diomede and Dunedin, were dispatched to Napier carrying food, medicine and tents as well as medical teams. Army troops, Red Cross, police and fire teams also assembled and quickly …
From Christchurch Earthquake: Two tragedies bear eerie similarities

Jun 1934 – The group has existed under various names since it was established at Devonport’s Masonic Hall in June 1934, as an association for serving and non- serving gunners. Vice President of the Royal New Zealand Artillery Association, Barry Dreyer says during this time the organisation has worked “in all honourable ways to keep alive the old spirit of comradeship among gunners and extend a helping hand to members of the Association who may be in need of assistance.”
From Artillery Association marks 75 years

Dec 19, 1941 – The last post rang out as relatives laid wreaths at the Devonport Naval Base on Sunday morning to remember the 150 New Zealanders who died when the ship struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea on December 19, 1941.
From HMS Neptune victims remembered – TVNZ Smartphone – tvnz.co.nz

Jul 27, 1950 – On July 27, 1950, the first frigates, Pukaki and Tutira, left the Devonport naval base in Auckland 48 hours after the Government decided to support the United Nations campaign to repel the North Korean invasion of the south. The Navy asked for volunteers, and within an hour or so of posting the notices at Devonport had enough men for both ships. Initially the frigates were on convoy escort and general patrol work.
From Peacetime return to field of war

Mar 25, 1957 – some pathetic porter from the Pathology Dept. Just to think of the party you could have thrown it, had you only known.’7 ARD Fairburn died at his Devonport home on 25 March 1957.
From NZEPC – ARD FAIRBURN – Introduction to ARD Fairburn Selected Poems

1981 – The North Shore has been officially declared a Peace City, a symbolic gesture which reflects the area’s history as home to New Zealand’s first nuclear-free local authority, Devonport Borough Council in 1981.
From Local History Online

Oct 12, 2009 – Ninety-two years later, on Monday 12 October 2009, North Shore City hosted a commemorative ceremony to remember those lost in the Battle of Passchendaele and the rest of the Western Front. The ceremony was held at sunset at Fort Takapuna in Devonport.
From North Shore City Heritage Festival 2009

November 2010 – Devonport is amalgamated into the new Auckland SuperCity which includes all former Auckland regional cities and districts.