Ellerslie lies seven kilometres to the southeast of the city centre, close to State Highway 1.

Administratively, Ellerslie forms part of the Ōrākei Local Board, which also includes the suburbs of Orakei, Mission Bay, Kohimarama, Saint Heliers, Glendowie, St Johns, Meadowbank and Remuera.

To the west, Ellerslie borders on the One Tree Hill area and Cornwall Park.

The suburb was named by early local politician and entrepreneur Robert Graham, after his father's home in Elderslie (sic) in Renfrewshire, Scotland.

[3] In 1848 Graham bought two blocks of land where, after his marriage to Sophia Swann in 1852, he built the ‘Ellerslie House’ as a family homestead.

[4] Adjacent to this home was a track along which Mrs Graham was in the habit of riding her horse every morning, now a street called Ladies Mile.

The gardens included flower beds, fountains, a bandstand, dance pavilion and a zoo.

[3] The racecourse had its own railway station for race days, and was a prominent feature of the Ellerslie area up until its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s.

[5] Next to Ellerslie Train Station a small township developed, servicing not only the local residents but also the race day crowds.

As the 20th century progressed the surrounding rural land disappeared and Ellerslie became absorbed into suburban Auckland.

[3] It was believed that this ‘singing’ was created by water and air blowing from a larger cave into a smaller passage, making a vibrating sound.

In the 1960s a new grand stand was constructed at the racecourse and the caves were filled with concrete to create a seal.

The construction in the 1960s of the Southern Motorway cut Ellerslie off nearby Greenlane, resulting in a downturn in trade and many empty shops.

However, in the 2000s, Ellerslie recovered with a strong upturn in employment in the nearby business parks on the southern side of the motorway (connected to the area with a pedestrian overbridge).

[6] In 2006, the overbridge was transformed with a ‘Bridge of Memories’ mosaic storyboard portraying different landmark buildings, houses (past and present), and images from the local schools.

[8] The meteorite landed into the living room of the house, bouncing off the couch and hitting the ceiling.

[10] This meteorite received world-wide attention and an American collector offered the Archer family $50,000 for the space rock.

The Archers declined this offer, favouring the public display of the rock in New Zealand, so that anyone interested could view it.

Ellerslie West, which is separated from the rest of the suburb by the Auckland Southern Motorway, is commercial/industrial.

The Ellerslie area has been known as the centre for horseracing since New Zealand’s first race meeting was organised there in 1842.

In recent years, associated activities like fashion shows and socialising have become as important as watching the races.

Several sporting associations use the domain for their training, including the Ellerslie Eagles who compete in the Auckland Rugby League.

The reserve has an interesting array of plants and wildlife and a wetland is present in its north corner.

[27] The Ellerslie Recreation Centre is located within the reserve, with a gymnasium which hosts various indoor sports.