North Shore City

North Shore City was a territorial authority unit in the Auckland Region of New Zealand that was governed by the North Shore City Council. It existed from 1989 until November 2010, when the council was incorporated into Auckland Council. It had an estimated population of 229,000 at 30 June 2010, making it the fourth most populous city in New Zealand prior to the 2010 reorganisation. It was the country's fourth largest city in land, with an area of 129.81 square kilometres (50.12 sq mi) and a coastline of 141 kilometres (88 mi). It was the most densely populated city in the country, because most of its area was urban or suburban in nature, unlike other New Zealand cities.

The North Shore comprised a large suburban area to the north of downtown Auckland; linked to the rest of the greater Auckland metropolitan area by two harbour bridges - the Auckland Harbour Bridge crosses the inner Waitemata Harbour to Auckland City, while the Upper Harbour Bridge provided a connection to Waitakere City across the northern stretches of the harbour.

The administrative area of North Shore City Council was bounded by Rodney District to the north, Waitemata Harbour to the south and the Rangitoto Channel of the Hauraki Gulf to the east. The seat of the council was in Takapuna.

Today, the entire area has been divided between four local boards of the amalgamated Auckland Council: Devonport-Takapuna, Kaipātiki, Upper Harbour (along with part of the former Waitakere City) and Hibiscus and Bays (along with part of the former Rodney District).

Prior to being merged into Auckland Council in 2010, North Shore City was divided into three wards, with each of them dividing into two community boards for a total of six within the city; with each of them further consisting of the following populated places (i.e.: suburbs, towns, localities, settlements, communities, hamlets, etc.):

The North Shore was first administered by highway districts, which operated from the 1860s onwards, pooling local residents' resources to improve infrastructure. In 1876, the Waitemata County was established across the North Shore and West Auckland after the abolition of the Auckland Province, and was one of the largest counties created in New Zealand. Between 1886 and 1954, areas of the North Shore voted to become independent areas separate from the county, establishing boroughs. The first of these was Devonport in 1886, soon followed by Birkenhead in 1888. Northcote was declared a borough in 1908, and Takapuna in 1913. The final borough that split from the Waitemata County was East Coast Bays in 1954. On 1 August 1974, the Waitemata County was dissolved, leading to Glenfield, Albany and Long Bay being incorporated into Takapuna City.

A North Shore City was proposed in 1961 but was rejected at the polls.

In 1989, Devonport, Birkenhead, Northcote, Takapuna and East Coast Bays amalgamated to form North Shore City in the 1989 New Zealand local government reforms. North Shore City was amalgamated into Auckland Council in November 2010.