Ponsonby was originally a working-class neighbourhood until going through a period gentrification that saw upper-middle class residents move to the area starting in the 1970s.

The name Ponsonby Road, which appears as early as 1860 on a map of Auckland, and reportedly was also recorded earlier in the 1850s.

[6] There are various people who might have inspired the name Ponsonby: The Māori name for the ridge is Te Rimu Tahi ('The Lone Rimu Tree'), referring to an ancient tree which, it is claimed, stood in a prominent position at what is now the intersection of Ponsonby Road and Karangahape Road.

[9] The Auckland region was settled by Māori not long after their arrival, and by the 15th century, they had several fishing and gardening circuits in the area.

[9] In Ponsonby, there was a harvesting place for Kuta alongside the Waikuta Stream that flowed down College Hill.

[9][5][10] Ponsonby saw residential growth as Dedwood in the 1840s and 1850s with saw mills and shipyards supporting a small work force.

[11] In 1853, Bishop Pompallier purchased 40 acres (160,000 m2), what was later known as St Mary's Mount, which saw a large Catholic immigration to the area.

[11][12][13] Later in 1853, Bishop Pompallier moved St Mary's College for Catechists on the North Shore to St Mary's Bay, and St. Marys School for Boys & a Seminary were built on 5 acres (20,000 m2) of Crown Grant land at the end of Waitemata St.[12] In 1855, formerly the Bishop Pompallier House became St. Anne's School for Māori Girls run by the Sisters of Mercy.

[15] In 1858, The Church of the Immaculate Conception was built and later demolished in 1869 – 70, and is now the site of the Pompallier Tennis Club.

[16][17] On 23 March 1869, Bishop Pompallier resigns and returns to France, leaving behind a diocese that still had a considerable amount of debt.

[20] In the 1870s, Ponsonby's houses continued to grow in number as the population of Auckland increased.

[11] In 1917, the Victoria Park Market-City Destructor was built to begin to manage rubbish for the area.

[5] During World War II, Victoria Park was the location of an American army camp.

[24] During the 1940s to the 1970s, there were many Pacific Islanders arriving in the country and many settled in Auckland, especially in the Ponsonby area.

[25] In the 1950s and 1960s, a combination of people moving to new outer suburbs, Auckland City Council policy of "slum" clearances and the construction of the motorway through Freemans Bay, led to significantly lower rents and a economic downturn in the area directly west of the CBD including Ponsonby.

Over 100 houses on the street participate in decorating their homes with Christmas lights for free public viewing.

[37] The Ponsonby Fire Station was constructed in 1902 and is registered as a category B building with Auckland Council.

[38] The Ponsonby Post Office was constructed in 1912 with an Edwardian Baroque design from John Campbell.

The Leys Institute was founded from the will of a local resident and built in 1905–1906 in an Edwardian Baroque design by Robert Martin Watt.

The properties on the street reflect the varied styles of construction for housing for lower-income families.

[5] 225 Ponsonby Road has an unnamed house that was used as a doctor's surgery from 1908 to 1920 by two Seventh-day Adventists.

[5] 203–209 Ponsonby Road contains a group of terraced houses that were built in the early 20th century.

[45] Ponsonby is popularly imagined as having a large gay population relative to other Auckland suburbs.

A survey by the NZ AIDS Foundation found that the stereotype seems to be true, and that the area and the directly adjacent suburbs have a (in comparison) very high percentage of gay people, possibly attracted by the fact that they feel more at ease in an environment where gay people are relatively commonplace.

[47] St Paul's College is a state-integrated Catholic boys' secondary school (years 7–13) with a roll of 402 students.