Parks in Auckland

Auckland Domain

Access from Park Road/Domain Drive/George Street/Titoki Street/Stanley Street, Auckland central

Background
Present and past
Wintergardens
Special events
How to get there

of the 'Auckland Domain' brochure

Background

The Auckland Domain is the city's oldest park and is spacious and diverse. The 75 hectare park has been developed around the cone of an extinct volcano. The 'tuff rings' created by volcanic activity thousands of years ago can be seen in the land contours and forms a natural amphitheatre with about 10 hectares developed as first-class sports fields.

The park has the classic charm of formal gardens, green clearings edged by mature trees and an impressive statuary. Most pieces are in the formal gardens, including one of the most striking - a large free-form reflecting pool with three bronze sculptures. The central, male figure represents Auckland and the two females offer wisdom and 'fertility of the soil'.

Paths wind through native bush at its perimeter. Closer in, duck ponds mark the up-welling of the Domain's natural springs, and century-old trees shade numerous picnic spots. In summer heat, manicured playing fields sustain the city's oldest cricket traditions, while winter brings the vigour of rugby, league, and soccer.

Several of the outstanding trees in the lawn arboretum were seedlings from a nursery set up in the Domain in 1841 to grow and distribute European plants and trees to the whole of the city. Today, the nursery supplies plants for displays in the Winter Garden, and city parks.

Features for visitors include the Wintergardens and the stately Auckland War Memorial Museum which stands at the Domain's highest point.

Click here for more information about Auckland Domain and its facilities.

Present and past

Time has smoothed the once-stark ash collar and central scoria cone of the Domain's 50,000 year old crater, but both Maori and Pakeha always recognised its natural power.

Te Wherowhero, Waikato's great fighting chief, came to the hill called Pukekaroa to make peace with the feared Nga Puhi in the 1820's. And when Lieutenant Governor Hobson founded the city of Auckland with the Ngati Whatua in 1840, he reserved 200 acres around this same cone, it became the Auckland Domain, New Zealand's oldest park.


On Pukekaroa, this totara tree and memorial palisade (left) honours the first Maori King, Potatau Te Wherowhero (right).

Each new day at the Domain touches older traditions. The Formal Gardens evolved from an 1860's Auckland Acclimatisation Society site to test and propagate exotic trees, birds, and trout. Today's picnickers at the Duck Ponds relax beside the source, in 1866, of Auckland's first piped water supply. The nearby kiosk made its debut at the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1913 - 1914 as 'the ideal New Zealand house'. The 1912 band rotunda, and the statuary, inform of the Domain's tradition of individual or publicly subscribed gifts.

Wintergardens

The Wintergarden complex is situated in the Domain. It was established after World War I and is a protected heritage site.

The complex consists of:

two display glasshouses (temperature averaging 20 degrees Celsius)
- one containing temperate plants
- the other containing tropical plants - see Refurbishment project for more information
a formal courtyard with a pond in the center
a fernery within an old quarry.

The complex is open all year round and is available for private events outside of public hours. You can take photos throughout the public areas of the wintergardens however no wedding or private photos can be taken in the display houses during public hours. Entry is free.

1 April - 31 October	Monday to Sunday (9am - 4.30pm)
1 November - 31 March	Monday - Saturday (9am - 5.30pm) and Sunday (9am - 7.30pm)

The Wintergarden's Cool House teems with flowers, its blooms changing with the seasons.
Click here for more Wintergarden photos.

Refurbishment project

In 2001, a report found that the Wintergardens complex had deteriorated with age and needed to be restored. A three-stage programme was launched to return the site to its former glory.

Stages one and two involved the refurbishment of the Temperate House and the courtyard at a cost of $1.5 million. The fernery was also been upgraded.

Stage three involved the refurbishment of the Tropical House and the historic retaining wall surrounding the complex. This was expected to cost $1.3 million. Auckland City's heritage specialists and architects Salmond Reed advised on various aspects of the project. The Tropical House reopened to the public on Tuesday 25 July 2006.

The work included:

replacement of decayed or missing parts of the structure
replacement of panes of glass
repair and restoration of damaged parts of the structure
repair to the historic brick retaining wall surrounding the complex. The damage was caused by the nearby Cypress trees.

Plants in the Tropical House

There are nearly 2000 plants in the Tropical House. A few species remained in the Tropical House during construction as the contractors were able work around them without causing them any damage. The rest were relocated for the duration of the works.

Some of the more rare plants not found elsewhere in New Zealand include:

Ficus avi-avi Mayotte - a shrub from the Commorus Islands off the coast of Tanzania
Hernandia bivalvis - an endangered grease nut tree from Australia
Pimenta officinalis - an all spice tree from the West Indies
Hevea brasiliensis - a Brazilian rubber tree
Stondias cyatherea - a Tahitian apple tree
Cocoa tree - the country's only fruiting coca tree.

Removal of the diseased Cypress trees

Some of the Cypress trees in the Wintergarden complex have a disease called Cypress Canker, which causes disfigurement and can lead to the trees dying. The diseased trees were removed and replaced with a smaller disease-free variety of conifer after the retaining wall was repaired. The replanting was in keeping with the original landscape design for the site.

Special events

Outdoor concerts and many other events are held in the Domain. All events, group functions and filming in the Auckland Domain require a permit. See Events

If you are intending to book an event at the Wintergardens during the refurbishment project please be aware that there will be scaffolding in place.

Getting there

The main park gates are on Park Road, Grafton by Auckland Hospital, just a short walk across Grafton Bridge from upper Symonds Street. Other vehicle entrances are from Stanley Street, George Street and Titoki Street. The Link bus service stops at the Domain.