Avondale (/ˈævənˌdeɪl/ AV-ən-dayl)[3] (Māori: Te Whau)[4] is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.

Avondale is one of the westernmost suburbs of the Auckland isthmus, forming the eastern shores of the Whau River, an estuarial arm of the Waitematā Harbour.

[7] Settlement of the area did not occur in larger numbers until the late 1850s, with the completion of Great North Road.

[7] Bollard became a prominent community leader and a Member of Parliament, living in Avondale until his death in 1915.

[6] Taking advantage of the newly opened station, New Zealand businessman William Hunt opened a brickworks adjacent to the railway line at St Georges Road, which continued to manufacture clay goods until 1969.

[11] In 1912, the racecourse was used as a military training camp for the 3rd (Auckland) Mounted Rifles during World War I, as an airfield in the following year, and as a temporary hospital during the 1918 influenza pandemic.

With a greater need to provide infrastructure for the area, the Avondale Borough Council planned to take out a large loan to pay for these costs.

It operated from September 1975 to June 1997, but was plagued by building consent issues and was eventually demolished.

[13] Auckland City Council took ownership of the site, selling part of it for private development in 2001.

[16] In 2017, the council-controlled organisation Panuku Development Auckland announced a major redevelopment of Avondale town centre, including a new library building, community and recreation centre, increased housing and local business development.

[17] Since the 2010s, medium and high-density housing has become more commonly seen in Avondale, including such developments as the Highbury Triangle, a purpose-built Kāinga Ora complex primarily for older residents.

[20][21] The so-called Avondale spider (Delena cancerides), an introduced species of a spectacular but harmless Australian huntsman spider, was for decades only found in the area surrounding Avondale, and thus received its New Zealand name.

Residents of Avondale also elect a single Whau ward councillor, who represents the area on the Auckland Council.

Avondale Railway Station is situated on the Western Line of Auckland's metropolitan rail network.

There were movies in the Avondale Town Hall from 1900,[42] but it wasn't until the building was upgraded in 1915 and 1924 to be a more functional cinema, that they were shown on a regular basis.

Under new ownership since 2015, it continues to show movies and present concerts by international artists such as Billy Bragg,[45] and local musicians, including Marlon Willams.