The Auckland Domain is Auckland's oldest park, and at 75 hectares one of the largest in the city. The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country A park is a protected area of Land and Water, usually in its natural or semi-natural (landscaped state and set aside for some purpose often to do with human [1] Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the park lies mostly within the crater of the Pukekawa volcano. 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 Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the [2].
The park is home to one of Auckland's main tourist attractions, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which sits prominently on the crater rim. The Auckland War Memorial Museum (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand 's most important national Museums and War memorials 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. 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 The Wintergarden, with two beautiful glass houses, as well as the Duck Ponds lie on the north edge of the cone.
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Volcano
The Auckland Domain volcano, Pukekawa, is around 100,000-150,000 years old, making it one of the oldest in the Auckland Volcanic Field, and in time has been formed into a gently sloped crater ring with a small scoria cone (Pukekaroa) in the centre. The Auckland volcanic field is a generally Monogenetic volcanic field in the North Island of New Zealand. Its tuff crater rim, created by at least one major explosion, is made of a mixture of scoria, lapilli and original basement rock. Tuff (from the Italian "tufo" is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption Scoria is a textural term for macrovesicular Volcanic rock. It is commonly but not exclusively Basaltic or andesitic in composition Lapilli is a size classification term for Tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption. At least one small lava flow also flowed out of the crater, into the general area of the Auckland City Hospital to the west. [2]
Originally, the crater floor was a lake, which later turned into a swamp and slowly filled up with alluvium and sediment, before being drained by Europeans for use as playing fields and parkland. A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water Alluvium (from the Latin, alluvius, from alluere, "to wash against" is Soil or Sediments deposited by a river or other running Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of These origins are still somewhat visible in that the Duck Ponds are freshwater-fed from the drainage of the crater. [2]
History
Maori habitation
Pukekawa was identified by the Māori early on as one of the best sites in the isthmus area, with the northfacing side of the volcanic cone well-suited for growing kūmara, while the hill itself was used for storage and as a pā site. This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas The sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas) is a Dicotyledonous plant which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae The word pā (pronounced pah refers to a Māori Village, generally one from the 19th century or earlier that was fortified for defence The crater swamp meanwhile provided eels and water. True eels ( Anguilliformes) are an order of Fish, which consists of four suborders 19 families 110 Genera and approximately 600 [2]
Pukekawa means 'hill of bitter memories' in the Māori language, and likely refers to various hard-fought tribal battles between the Ngapuhi and the Ngati Whatua iwis. Ngā Puhi is a Māori Iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand. Ngāti Whātua is a Māori Iwi (tribe of New Zealand. It consists of three hapu (subtribes Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa and Ngāti Whātua In New Zealand society iwi (iwi form the largest everyday Social units in Māori populations. A sacred totara tree, commemorating the battles and their eventual settlement, was reputedly planted by princess Te Puea Herangi and still stands on the central volcanic cone. Podocarpus totara ( tōtara) is a species of podocarp endemic to New Zealand. Te Puia Herangi, CBE ( 9 November 1883 - 12 October 1952) was a respected Māori leader from New Zealand 's [2]
European usage
After the Europeans bought the land from the Ngati Whatua,[2] 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 cricket field. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries [2] 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 is the name given to some of the residences of Governors-General, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors in the Commonwealth and the 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, which is also set in a large landscaped domain like Auckland's. Government House is located in Sydney just south of the Sydney Opera House, and overlooks Sydney Harbour. 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 in the early 1960s. Mount Eden ( Maungawhau, the 'Mountain of the Whau tree ' in Māori) is the name of a volcano and surrounding suburb in Auckland City,
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.
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 cottage, it stands between the Wintergardens and the duckponds. The Arts and Crafts Movement was a British, Canadian, and American Aesthetic movement occurring in the last years of the 19th century and the
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 Domain entrance gates [Park Road]. Art Deco was a popular international design movement from 1925 until 1939 affecting the decorative arts such as Architecture, Interior design, and Industrial 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 and the Cenotaph in front of it (Architects Grierson, Aimer and Draffin). The Auckland War Memorial Museum (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand 's most important national Museums and War memorials A cenotaph is a tomb or a Monument erected in honour of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere 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 II Royal Tour, Papal visits, and various sports events. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and
Some of the largest annual events are "Christmas in the Park", which in the past has drawn more than 200,000 spectators[3], and other popular recurring events including the "Symphony under the Stars" and the "Teddybears Picnic".
The 2005 Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix was held using Domain Drive as the racecourse. The Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix is a novelty downhill race for unpowered vehicles sponsored by caffeinated drink manufacturer Red Bull.
References
- ^ Parks in Auckland (from the Auckland City Council website, Retrieved Sunday 15 April 2007)
- ^ a b c d e f g Pukekawa - The Domain Volcano (PDF) (from the Auckland War Memorial Museum website)
- ^ Domain ablaze with spirit of Christmas, New Zealand Herald, Monday, December 12 2005, page unknown
- The Heart of Colonial Auckland, 1865-1910. Auckland City Council is the Local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand. The Auckland War Memorial Museum (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand 's most important national Museums and War memorials The New Zealand Herald is a daily Broadsheet Newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand. Terence Hodgson. Random Century NZ Ltd 1992.
- Auckland Through A Victorian Lens. William Main. Millwood Press 1977.
- The Lively Capital, Auckland 1840-1865. Una Platts. Avon Fine Prints Limited New Zealand 1971.
External links
- Auckland Domain (Auckland City website)
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