Grey Lynn takes the first part of its name from Sir George Grey (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898), Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony (South Africa), Premier of New Zealand, and (towards the end of his life), Member of Parliament for Auckland West.
Grey's service as member of parliament for the area was apparently widely appreciated, since following his retirement from politics and death in 1898 the north-western portion of the suburb of Newton was renamed Grey Lynn in his honour.

The original subdivision was 900 acres (3.6 km²), which is still the formal extent of Grey Lynn.
Most of the houses were built between the 1880s and the beginning of the First World War of 1914–1918.
Very few of the houses have been completely replaced by new structures.

Williamson Avenue and Crummer Road are two of the major streets in Grey Lynn.
James Williamson and Thomas Crummer jointly owned a farm in the area.
In 1883 Williamson and Crummer sold the property to the Auckland Agricultural Company.
The Surrey Hills farm was subdivided into 272 building sections to form the neighbourhood between Surrey Crescent and the southern end of Ponsonby Road.
Shops are located at the intersection of Great North Road and Williamson Avenue.

The developers largely laid out Grey Lynn's streets as straight roads (as opposed to the earlier farm roads such as Richmond Road, which twists and turns following the curve of the landscape.)
Several street-names echo the names of early landowners; Williamson, Crummer, Mckelvie, Pollen, Prime etc.
But there is a prevalence of cultural personages from Britain: Sir John Millais, Lord Elgin, Alfred Lord Leighton, Coleridge, the Earl of Beaconsfield, Dr Arnold, Dickens, Dryden etc.
This was obviously intended to give an artistic ambience to the area.

Most of the houses in the area were built between the 1890s and the beginning of the First World War.
They were constructed quickly and with little variation in layout.
Their façades were differentiated by the application of mass-produced items; wooden fretwork, stained-glass panels, turned balusters and pressed tin (intended for interior ceilings – this "new" product occasionally appears on the gable ends of some villas).
The most important feature was the bay window—hence the name "Bay Villa"—an important feature which marked the owner as middle class.
The new inhabitants tended to be young couples, mostly white-collar workers such as clerks and office workers, teachers or skilled crafts-people.
The adjacent area north of Richmond Road was probably similar.
This was different from the nearby working-class area of Freeman's Bay or from the upper-middle-class area of Herne Bay.

By the 1930s and 1940s the original owners were beginning to age and the fussily detailed houses of Grey Lynn on their cramped sections were seen as very old-fashioned and undesirable.
The increased ownership of motorcars meant suburban development was expanding exponentially, resulting in the mid-20th century ideal of the quarter-acre section.
All the inner suburbs of Auckland became less desirable, and areas like Grey Lynn became very rundown.
Many properties became owned by people who lived elsewhere and were often divided into flats or operated as boarding houses.
Repairs were kept to a minimum and in some cases houses were not repainted for almost half a century.
The fact that so many houses of this period still stand today despite the depredations of fire, rot and borer is an indication of how well they were built.

By the 1950s the very low rents in places like Grey Lynn and Ponsonby attracted students and immigrant workers from the Pacific Islands.
By the 1960s Grey Lynn had developed a definite Polynesian flavour.
Although in recent years this has greatly diminished, there are still a large number of Tongan and Samoan churches in the area.

The 1970s saw a renewed interest in older Victorian properties, and from that period onwards many young professionals began buying dilapidated kauri villas in areas like Grey Lynn and renovating them.
On 3 D
Grey Lynn takes the first part of its name from Sir George Grey (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898), Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony (South Africa), Premier of New Zealand, and (towards the end of his life), Member of Parliament for Auckland West. Grey's service as member of parliament for the area was apparently widely appreciated, since following his retirement from politics and death in 1898 the north-western portion of the suburb of Newton was renamed Grey Lynn in his honour.
The original subdivision was 900 acres (3.6 km²), which is still the formal extent of Grey Lynn. Most of the houses were built between the 1880s and the beginning of the First World War of 1914–1918. Very few of the houses have been completely replaced by new structures.
Williamson Avenue and Crummer Road are two of the major streets in Grey Lynn. James Williamson and Thomas Crummer jointly owned a farm in the area. In 1883 Williamson and Crummer sold the property to the Auckland Agricultural Company. The Surrey Hills farm was subdivided into 272 building sections to form the neighbourhood between Surrey Crescent and the southern end of Ponsonby Road. Shops are located at the intersection of Great North Road and Williamson Avenue.
The developers largely laid out Grey Lynn's streets as straight roads (as opposed to the earlier farm roads such as Richmond Road, which twists and turns following the curve of the landscape.) Several street-names echo the names of early landowners; Williamson, Crummer, Mckelvie, Pollen, Prime etc. But there is a prevalence of cultural personages from Britain: Sir John Millais, Lord Elgin, Alfred Lord Leighton, Coleridge, the Earl of Beaconsfield, Dr Arnold, Dickens, Dryden etc. This was obviously intended to give an artistic ambience to the area.
Most of the houses in the area were built between the 1890s and the beginning of the First World War. They were constructed quickly and with little variation in layout. Their façades were differentiated by the application of mass-produced items; wooden fretwork, stained-glass panels, turned balusters and pressed tin (intended for interior ceilings – this "new" product occasionally appears on the gable ends of some villas). The most important feature was the bay window—hence the name "Bay Villa"—an important feature which marked the owner as middle class. The new inhabitants tended to be young couples, mostly white-collar workers such as clerks and office workers, teachers or skilled crafts-people. The adjacent area north of Richmond Road was probably similar. This was different from the nearby working-class area of Freeman's Bay or from the upper-middle-class area of Herne Bay.
By the 1930s and 1940s the original owners were beginning to age and the fussily detailed houses of Grey Lynn on their cramped sections were seen as very old-fashioned and undesirable. The increased ownership of motorcars meant suburban development was expanding exponentially, resulting in the mid-20th century ideal of the quarter-acre section. All the inner suburbs of Auckland became less desirable, and areas like Grey Lynn became very rundown. Many properties became owned by people who lived elsewhere and were often divided into flats or operated as boarding houses. Repairs were kept to a minimum and in some cases houses were not repainted for almost half a century. The fact that so many houses of this period still stand today despite the depredations of fire, rot and borer is an indication of how well they were built.
By the 1950s the very low rents in places like Grey Lynn and Ponsonby attracted students and immigrant workers from the Pacific Islands. By the 1960s Grey Lynn had developed a definite Polynesian flavour. Although in recent years this has greatly diminished, there are still a large number of Tongan and Samoan churches in the area.
The 1970s saw a renewed interest in older Victorian properties, and from that period onwards many young professionals began buying dilapidated kauri villas in areas like Grey Lynn and renovating them. On 3 D
Grey Lynn