Urban renewal, Freeman’s Bay

Urban renewal, Freeman’s Bay

From the early 1900s to the 1960s, Freeman’s Bay was considered Auckland’s slum. In the 1950s the city council started an urban renewal scheme there. Many of its old houses were demolished and replaced with flats and town houses. This area – in Beresford Street and Whitson Terrace – is shown being cleared for low-income city council flats. The large gasometer (top right) was used to store gas for cooking and heating.