The Domain Wintergardens is a complex of gardens located within the

Auckland Domain The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in Auckland, New Zealand. Consisting of of land, Auckland Domain is the oldest park in the city. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, New Zealand, Grafton, the ...

. It is registered with the

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

as a Category I Historic Place.

Description

The Wintergardens consists of two large glasshouses: one non-heated Temperate House and one Tropical House (heated to an average of 28 °C). In between the two glasshouses there is an ornate courtyard with several neoclassical statues and a sunken pond in the centre. Off to one side is the Fernery which is situated in a former scoria quarry in the side of the small volcanic cone named ''Pukekaroro''.

History

The Domain Wintergardens were constructed following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with funds generated from the Industrial, Agricultural and Mining Exhibition of 1913-1914 (which was held at the same site). Additional funding for the Wintergardens came from a variety of other local benefactors. Perhaps most significantly was local businessman Sir George Elliot, who was the chairman of the exhibition, and also chairman of the

Bank of New Zealand Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is one of New Zealand's Big Four (banking)#New Zealand, big four banks. It has been operating since October 1861, and since 1992 has been owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), retaining local governance with a New Z ...

. The

had been a public park since 1844 but was considered to be an area that was frequented by "undesirables". The Wintergardens were considered to be part of the gentrification of the park, providing an attraction for people in the area during the winter months.

Construction

The gardens were designed by Gummer and Ford, showing considerable influence from the English partnership of

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

and

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British Horticulture, horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Sta ...

and the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the 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 America. Initiat ...

. Initially only the Temperate House was built. This was opened and presented to the people of Auckland on 12 October 1921. The courtyard, the Tropical House, and the Fernery were added later in the 1920s. The initial stage cost £4000 to build. The second stage was constructed by

Fletcher Building Fletcher Building Limited is one of the largest listed companies in New Zealand, with a market capitalisation of nearly NZ$4 billion. The company was split from Fletcher Challenge in 2001, formerly New Zealand's largest business and multinati ...

at a cost of £19500. The

Mayor of Auckland City The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...

George Baildon George Baildon (1868–1946) was a New Zealand businessman and Mayor of Auckland City from 1925 to 1931. Biography Born and educated in Auckland, George Baildon was a builder and contractor. He was on the Archhill Road Board for four years (one ...

, officially opened the completed Wintergardens on 2 May 1928.

Renovations

Many of the statues in the courtyard were added in 1945, and the sunken pond in the centre of the gardens was installed in 1954. A significant reconstruction project was undertaken during 1993 and 1994 to renovate the Wintergardens. On 1 December 2013, the Tropical House of the Wintergardens became the first place in New Zealand to have the giant

Amorphophallus titanum The titan arum (''Amorphophallus titanum'') is a flowering plant in the family Araceae. It has a large unbranched inflorescence; a tall single leaf, branched like a tree; and a heavy tuber which enables the plant to produce the inflorescence. ' ...

in flower. This plant can take 10 years to flower, with the flower smelling of rotting flesh. The glass houses were restored again between 2021 and 2023 at a cost of $5.62m.

References

External links

New Zealand Historic Places Entry for the Domain WintergardensAuckland Council Parks Entry for the Domain WintergardensPhotographs of the Domain Wintergardens
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. * {{Parnell, New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Auckland Region Buildings and structures in Auckland Tourist attractions in Auckland Auckland Domain Parnell, New Zealand