He rode a stingray instead, and arrived on the shores of the Waitemata Harbour before the others, who saw him standing on a ridge performing a karanga to Tane Mahuta. It became an important arterial route for Maori for more than yearsβthe way out west, through Avondale to the Manukau Harbour.
The other limitation was earthier. They were fitted for bridal gowns, and shopped, and had tea with their friends, and photos taken. There were hairdressing salons and furniture shops. The names of the department stores that once lined the street are still chiselled in stone on some of the fronts.
It stayed a shopping destination until the s, when social change dramatically altered the street. And that, believes Bennett, led to its destruction. From , the Government bought nearby land for the new motorway system, a move, suggests Bennett, that was more than a matter of practical necessity. It was the beginning of a decline made worse by the increasing usage of cars and the coming of the suburban mall. Rents plummeted and the sex industryβevicted from its old stomping ground near Britomart in another burst of social engineeringβbegan to move in.
Bennett is philosophical about the image of his road. The adult industry is just three per cent of the businesses here. There are businesses, and even if you factor in all the nightclubs, it still only comes to 13 per cent.
Nevertheless, with the sex shops and the reputation, the hitch of a short skirt in the wind on the ridge or the flash of Cartier on the wrist of a gentleman is laden with more significance here than elsewhere.
