Auckland Domain
Encyclopedia
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
's oldest park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
, and at 75 hectares one of the largest in the city. Located in the central suburb of Grafton
Grafton, New Zealand
Grafton is a suburb of Auckland City, New Zealand. The suburb is named for the Duke of Grafton, a patron of the first Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson, and was once known as 'Grafton Heights', denoting it's history as a well-off suburb in Auckland's earliest decades...
, the park contains all of the explosion crater and most of the surrounding tuff ring of the Pukekawa volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
.
The park is home to one of Auckland's main tourist attractions, the Auckland War Memorial Museum
Auckland War Memorial Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history , natural history, as well as military history.The museum is also one of the most iconic Auckland buildings, constructed in the neo-classicist...
, which sits prominently on the crater rim (tuff ring). Several sports fields occupy the floor of the crater, circling to the south of the cone, while the rim opposite the Museum hosts the cricket pavilion and Auckland City Hospital
Auckland City Hospital
The Auckland City Hospital is Auckland's main hospital and the largest hospital in New Zealand, as well as one of the oldest medical facilities of the country. It is a publicly funded hospital, run by the Auckland District Health Board since 2001...
. The Wintergarden, with two beautiful glass houses, lie on the north side of the central scoria cone. The fernery has been constructed in an old quarry in part of the cone.The duck ponds lie in the northern sector of the explosion crater, which is breached to the north with a small overflow stream.
Volcano
Auckland Volcanic Field
The Auckland volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field in the North Island of New Zealand. Basaltic in nature, it underlies much of the metropolitan area of Auckland....
, and consists of a large explosion crater surrounded by a tuff ring with a small scoria cone (Pukekaroro) in the centre of the crater. Its tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
ring, created by many explosive eruptions, is made of a mixture of volcanic ash
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
, lapilli
Lapilli
Lapilli is a size classification term for tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. Lapilli means "little stones" in Latin. They are in some senses similar to ooids or pisoids in calcareous sediments.By definition lapilli range...
and fragmented sandstone country rock. Its eruption followed soon (in geological terms) after the neighbouring Grafton Volcano
Grafton Volcano
Grafton Volcano is a buried volcano in New Zealand's Auckland volcanic field that underlies much of the Auckland suburb of Grafton. First recognised in 2010, it includes the Outhwaite Park scoria cone that was first mapped by Hochstetter and inferred by later geologists to be a late phase vent of...
was created, destroying that volcano's eastern parts and burying the rest.
Originally, the crater floor was filled with a lava lake, the western half collapsed slightly and became a freshwater lake which later turned into a swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
and slowly filled up with alluvium
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
and sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
, before being drained by Europeans for use as playing fields and parkland. These origins are still somewhat visible in that the Duck Ponds are freshwater-fed from the drainage of the crater.
Maori habitation
Pukekawa was identified by the Māori early on as one of the best sites in the isthmusIsthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
area, with the northfacing side of the volcanic cone well-suited for growing kūmara
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
, while the hill itself was used for storage and as a pā
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
site. The crater swamp meanwhile provided eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
s and water.
Pukekawa means 'hill of bitter memories' in the Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
, and likely refers to various hard-fought tribal battles between the Ngapuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
and the Ngati Whatua
Ngati Whatua
Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It consists of four hapu : Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei....
iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
s. A sacred totara tree, commemorating the battles and their eventual settlement, was reputedly planted by princess Te Puea Herangi
Te Puea Herangi
Te Puea Herangi, CBE was a respected Māori leader from New Zealand's Waikato region known by the name Princess Te Puea.-Early life:...
and still stands on the central volcanic cone.
European usage
After the Europeans bought the land from the Ngati Whatua, it was set aside as a public reserve in the 1840s, and remains one of the city's greatest assets. During the 1860s the Domain springs were a source of water for the town of Auckland, while the original swamp was drained and turned into a cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
field. The Auckland Acclimatisation Society located their gardens here in the 1860s which were later developed into the Auckland Botanical Gardens. Parts of the layout still exist north of the band rotunda including some greenhouses from the 1870s.
In the 1850s the then Governor-General Gore-Browne eyed up the Domain as the setting for the new Government House
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the residences of Governors-General, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. It serves as the venue for the Governor's official business, as well as the many receptions and functions hosted by...
. He was displeased with both the existing house's location in Waterloo Quadrant and also its style (and especially that it was of wooden construction). He envisaged a castle-style masonry residence similar to the Sydney Government House
Government House, Sydney
Government House is located in Sydney, Australia alongside the Royal Botanic Gardens, overlooking Sydney Harbour, just south of the Sydney Opera House...
, which is also set in a large landscaped domain like Auckland's. Plans were drawn up, but the Premier of the time, Weld, refused to authorise funds for the project and so the Auckland Domain remained freely accessible to the public as it had been intended. The site of the Governor General's residence was later established in a new location on Mount Eden
Mount Eden
Mount Eden is the name of a cinder cone and surrounding suburb in Auckland City, New Zealand, situated five kilometres south of the city centre. The mountain is the highest natural point in the whole of Auckland...
in the early 1960s.
A great many exotic specimen trees were donated and planted throughout the Domain by the late Victorians which have now matured into a splendid landscape park. They are now augmented by many New Zealand species. The wooden Cricket Pavilion designed by Mr Gorrie was built in 1898 as a replacement for an earlier structure that burnt down.
1910 saw the first ever rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
test match in New Zealand when Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
defeated the New Zealand
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
at the Domain's cricket ground as part of the 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand
1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand
The 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand was the first international tour of the Great Britain national rugby league team, "The Lions". They played the second ever Ashes series against Australia before travelling to Auckland to take on New Zealand...
.
In 1913 the Domain was the site of the Auckland Industrial Exhibition. The financial return from this event resulted in many improvements, the chief one being the splendid Wintergardens next to the duckponds. The teahouse was built as the "ideal home" exhibition set piece and retained after the rest of the exhibition was dismantled. A charming example of an Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
cottage, it stands between the Wintergardens and the duckponds.
During the 1920s & 1930s local businessman William Elliot donated several of the marble statues in the Wintergarden complex as well as the splendid Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Domain entrance gates [Park Road]. The gates are surmounted by a bronze statue of a nude male athlete by the NZ sculptor Richard Gross. The Auckland Domain is also the location of several other public artworks including Guy Nygan's "Millennium Tree".
Dominating the Auckland Domain is the Auckland War Memorial Museum
Auckland War Memorial Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history , natural history, as well as military history.The museum is also one of the most iconic Auckland buildings, constructed in the neo-classicist...
and the Cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
in front of it (Architects Grierson, Aimer and Draffin). The large neo-Greek style museum building was opened in 1929 with the rear portion added in the 1960s, with a major renovation and extension in the middle 2000s adding an award-winning dome-shaped building in the inner courtyard.
In 1940, to commemorate the founding of Auckland in 1840, a new road was planned for the Domain. "Centennial Drive" was surveyed and trees planted its length but it was never formed as a road; it is now a walkway between the Duckponds and Stanley Street.
Events
The Domain has also hosted many of New Zealand's largest outdoor events. Such use has a long history, from balloon ascents during the Edwardian period, the 1953 Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
Royal Tour, Papal
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
visits, and various sports events.
Some of the largest annual events are "Christmas in the Park", which in the past has drawn more than 200,000 spectators, and other popular recurring events including the "Symphony under the Stars" and the "Teddybears Picnic".
The 2005 Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix
Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix
The Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix is a novelty downhill race for unpowered vehicles sponsored by caffeinated drink manufacturer Red Bull. It is held in odd numbered years in the city of Auckland, New Zealand....
was held using Domain Drive as the racecourse.
External links
- Auckland Domain (Auckland City website)