Shortland Street, initially called Shortland Crescent, was the initial main street of Auckland, built close to the shoreline of Commercial Bay (since reclaimed),[3] established and metalled by 1844.

[3] The street was named for Willoughby Shortland, the first Colonial Secretary of New Zealand.

[7][4] John Logan Campbell, David Nathan, and other early business figures in Auckland established their first stores on Shortland Street in the 1840s.

The street was also ceremonially used as a way to visit Point Britomart (then a military camp), by figures such as Governor William Hobson.

[5] In 1858, a major fire broke out on the street, destroying the wooden buildings in the area.

The results were 50.0% European (Pākehā); 5.8% Māori; 4.1% Pasifika; 42.3% Asian; 5.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".