The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand. Consisting of of land, Auckland Domain is the oldest park in the city. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the parkland is the remains of the explosion crater and most of the surrounding tuff ring of the Pukekawa volcano. The park is home to one of Auckland's main tourist attractions, the

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

, which sits prominently on the crater rim (tuff ring). Several sports fields occupy the floor of the crater and the rim opposite the museum hosts the cricket pavilion and Auckland City Hospital. The Domain Wintergardens, containing two large glass houses, lies on the north side of the central

scoria Scoria or cinder is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock formed by ejection from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains called clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackso ...

cone called Pukekaroa Hill. A sacred tōtara tree grows on top of Pukekaroa. The fernery has been constructed in an old quarry located in a part of Pukekaroa. The duck ponds lie in the northern sector of the explosion crater, which is breached to the north with a small overflow stream.

Naming

The site was originally named "Pukekawa" by

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

. After being reserved by Governor George Grey in 1845, the park became known as "Auckland Domain", or simply "the Domain". In 2014, the geographic hill between Parnell and Grafton, locally known as "The Domain", was officially named "Pukekawa" as set out in a

Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Claims and settlements under the Treaty of Waitangi () have been a significant feature of New Zealand politics since the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the Waitangi Tribunal that was established by that act to hear claims. Successive governme ...

. The place name was changed to reflect the historical association of local Māori with this site.

Auckland Council Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...

and others call the park by the name "Pukekawa / Auckland Domain". "Pukekawa" traditionally meant 'sour hill', because the land was considered (meaning sour or bitter) and would not grow kumara. The first Māori King

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato iwi of the ...

interpreted it to mean 'hill of bitter memories', likely referring to various hard-fought tribal battles between the

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

and Ngati Whatua

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. Alternatively, Pukekawa may be a shortening of or 'the hill of the kawakawa tree', which are still found in the vicinity. The central volcanic cone ''Pukekaroa'', also known as ''Pukekaroro'' (" Black-backed gull Hill")'','' has a

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...

tree, commemorating the battles and the continued peace agreement.

Geography

Auckland Domain is the remains of Pukekawa volcano, one of the oldest volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field, that erupted approximately 100,000 years ago. Pukekawa consists of a large explosion crater surrounded by a tuff ring with a small scoria cone named Pukekaroa Hill in the centre of the crater. Its

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

ring, created by many explosive eruptions, is made of a mixture of

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...

lapilli Lapilli (: lapillus) is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' is Latin for "little stones". By definition lapilli range from in dia ...

and fragmented sandstone

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

. Its eruption followed soon (in geological terms) after the neighbouring Grafton Volcano 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, that of which later turned into a

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

and slowly filled up with

alluvium Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

and

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

, 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.

History

Māori habitation

Pukekawa was identified by Tāmaki Māori early on as one of the best sites in the

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

area, with the north-facing side of the volcanic cones well-suited for growing kumara, while Pukekaroa Hill itself was used for storage and as a ''

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

'' site. The crater swamp meanwhile provided

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s and water. In 1828, Pukekaroa was the site of a peacemaking meeting between Northern and Waikato iwi. Soon after signing the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...

Paramount Chief Apihai Te Kawau gifted 3000 acres of land on the

Waitematā Harbour The Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city ...

for the new capital of Auckland, including Pukekawa. The Domain lands at this time were primarily covered by bracken fern, trees and wetlands.

Colonial Auckland

The area was set aside as a government-owned recreational space for the newly established town of Auckland in 1840. Governor

William Hobson Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Royal Navy, who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson was dispatched f ...

based the design of the area, then known as the Government Domain, on similar recently established parks in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, as multi-purpose area serving as the grounds of Old Government House, a recreational area and a botanical garden. In the early 1840s, ropeworks and a flour mill were established at the northern, non-swampy side of the domain near Mechanics Bay. Joseph Low and William Motion, the owners of the flour mill, diverted the Waipapa River which ran through the Domain for the mill, creating a dam. The flour mill dam was often swum in by the European and Māori inhabitants of Auckland, and an annual "Native Feast" was held to celebrate Queen Victoria's Birthday. Governor

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy, politician and scientist who served as the second governor of New Zealand between 1843 and 1845. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of ...

officially designated the Domain as a public park reserve in 1844, naming it "Auckland Park". The Domain was one of the few areas close to the settlement of Auckland with remaining trees, and the proclamation of the Domain as a reserve protected these trees. Between May and August 1845, Governor FitzRoy built a European-style cottage for

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

rangatira

, as a way to ensure peace and stability in the Auckland Region, in response to hostilities seen at Russell in the north. Te Wherowhero settled at the cottage seasonally, moving between here and other residences gifted to him by Tāmaki Māori iwi. In the late 1840s, Te Wherowhero regularly met with Governor Grey, whom he formed a close working relationship with. Te Wherowhero's brother Kati died at the cottage in 1850, and it became dilapidated by the 1860s. In 1866, the springs at the Auckland Domain became the first piped source of water for the town of Auckland after the Waihorotiu Stream became unsuitable. The original swamp was drained and turned into a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

field. This was replaced by the pumpworks at Western Springs in 1877. From 1879 until 1920, market gardens run by Chinese New Zealanders operated in the Domain grounds.

Public domains, the Auckland Exhibition and Museum

The Auckland cricket team played all their home matches at Auckland Domain until 1913, when they moved to

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

. The Auckland Acclimatisation Society had their gardens in Auckland Domain in 1862; they became the

Auckland Botanic Gardens Auckland Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden in the New Zealand city of Auckland. It is located in the suburb of Manurewa, in the Manurewa (local board area), Manurewa Local Board Area. The garden covers , and holds more than 10,000 plants.Auc ...

. Parts of the layout still exist north of the Band Stand, including some greenhouses from the 1870s. Many exotic specimen trees were donated and planted throughout Auckland Domain by the late Victorians which have now matured into a landscape park. They are now augmented by many New Zealand species. The wooden Cricket Ground Pavilion designed by William Anderson was built in 1898 as a replacement for an earlier structure that burnt down. In 1910, Auckland Domain witnessed the first ever

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

test match in New Zealand when

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

defeated

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in the 1910 Great Britain Lions tour. From 1 December 1913 to 18 April 1914, the Auckland Domain was the site of the Auckland Exhibition, whose president was local businessman William Elliot. The financial return from this event resulted in many improvements to Auckland Domain, chief among them the Wintergardens next to the duck ponds. Unlike many of the other buildings, the Tea Kiosk was intended to remain after the Exhibition closed. Reputedly built in the form of an "ideal home", it is an example of an

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

cottage and was designed by architectural partnership Banford & Pierce. It stands between the Wintergardens and the duck ponds and houses a café and function centre. The Wintergardens Fernery was created in a former scoria quarry on the side of the small Pukekaroa cone. In 1920, the Chinese market gardens land was offered to the Auckland Rugby League Association for a sports ground and stadium. The garden buildings were removed, and replaced by the Carlaw Park sports stadium. During the 1920s and 1930s, Elliot donated several of the marble statues as well as money to complete the Wintergarden complex. He provided a further sum of money to construct the

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

entrance gates. Designed by the architectural firm Gummer and Ford, the gates are surmounted by a bronze statue of a nude male athlete by the sculptor Richard Gross. Auckland Domain is also the location of several other public artworks including Guy Nygan's ''Millennium Tree'' and ''

Kaitiaki Kaitiakitanga is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship of the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as k ...

'' by Fred Graham. In 1929 the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which was built in a neo-Greek style, was opened. The rear portion was added in the 1960s, with a major renovation and extension in the mid-2000s adding a dome to the south end. The Auckland Cenotaph surrounded by a Court of Honour in front of the museum, is modelled on the 1920 Empire Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, was consecrated by the

Archbishop of New Zealand Primate of New Zealand is a title held by a bishop who leads the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Since 2006, the Senior Bishop of each ''Tikanga Māori, tikanga'' (Māori people, Māori, Pākehā, Diocese of Polynesia, Pa ...

in November 1929. In 1940 a tōtara tree was planted on top of the central cone Pukekaroa by Kiingitanga leader Princess Te Puea Hērangi, the great-granddaughter of Pōtatau Te Wherowhero to commemorate 100 years of the

. The sacred tōtara is surrounded and protected by carved ancestral guardians of Pukekaroa, which were restored in 2017. Also in 1940, to commemorate the founding of Auckland 100 years earlier, a new road was planned for Auckland Domain. "Centennial Drive" was surveyed and trees were planted along its length, but it was never formed as a road; it is now a walkway between the duck ponds and Stanley Street. During World War II, two camps were erected in Auckland Domain for 1,726 United States troops, one in front of the Auckland Museum. To the west of the main entrance, a plaque commemorates their presence from 1942 to 1944. An 18,500 cubic metre (4 million gallon) water reservoir was constructed in 1952, buried in the field at the high point to the immediate south of the museum. The reservoir is still in use maintaining the water supply into Auckland's central business district. In 1970, a sensory garden for the blind was established at the eastern end of Auckland Domain by the Tamaki Lions Club and Council. In 2005, a monument for the Auckland Regiment was installed south of the central cone Pukekaroa.

Events

Lake_formed_from_floodwaters_on_top_of_cricket_pitches_in_Pukekawa_Auckland_Domain_from_Carlton_Gore_Road

Auckland 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, to the 1953 Royal Tour of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, to

papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

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 War Memorial Museum in the Auckland Domain is the site of the largest annual

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...

service in Auckland. White crosses erected on the field in front of the War Memorial Museum, commemorate the people that died in the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...

and the New Zealand military personnel that died from wars fought overseas (beginning with the

South African War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

). The Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix was held using Domain Drive as the racecourse from 2003. During the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods, a lake reformed in the lower elevation area of Pukekawa / Auckland Domain that was once a wetland.

List of public art and memorials

List of buildings

Gallery

Notes

References

External links

Auckland Domain
information on the website of

.
Photographs of Auckland Domain
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.
Photographs of Auckland Domain
held in the collections of

. {{Parnell, New Zealand 1843 establishments in New Zealand Auckland volcanic field Grafton, New Zealand Parks in Auckland Parnell, New Zealand Tourist attractions in Auckland World's fair sites in New Zealand Auckland cricket grounds Urban forests in New Zealand Urban public parks