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

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. It is the oldest

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

in the city, and at is one of the largest. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the park land 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 Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auckl ...

, 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 The Domain Wintergardens is a complex of gardens located within the Pukekawa / Auckland Domain. It is registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Heritage New Zealand#Heritage List, Category I historic place. Description The Winte ...

, with two large glass houses, lie on the north side of the central

scoria Scoria is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock that was ejected from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains or clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) '' ...

cone called Pukekaroa Hill. A sacred tōtara tree grows on top of Pukekaroa. The fernery has been constructed in an old quarry in 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 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 C ...

before being gifted for the new town of Auckland in 1840. 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 governments ...

. The place name was changed to reflect the historical association of local Māori with this site. Auckland Council 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 warrior, leader of the Waikato iwi (confederation of tribes), the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known just as ''Te Wherowhero'' and took th ...

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

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...

. 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'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane a ...

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 ...

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, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...

, lapilli and fragmented sandstone country rock. 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 which later turned into a swamp and slowly filled up with

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') 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. Alluv ...

and

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

, 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 Tāmaki Māori are Māori '' iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M ...

early on as one of the best sites in the

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) 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 counterpart of an isthmu ...

area, with the north-facing side of the volcanic cones well-suited for growing kumara, while the Pukekaroa Hill itself was used for storage and as a '' pā'' site. The crater swamp meanwhile provided

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 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 ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the History of New Zealand, history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in ...

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 Apihai Te Kawau (died November 1869) was a paramount chief of the Ngāti Whātua Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of Auckland (), New Zealand in the 19th century. Te Kawau's father was Tarahawaiki and his grandfather was Tūperiri, the principal leader o ...

made a ''tuku'' (strategic gift) of 3,500 acres (1,400 hectares) of land on the

Waitematā Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...

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 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 a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson was dispatched from London in July 1 ...

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

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, as multi-purpose area serving as the grounds of

Old Government House Old Government House may refer to: * Old Government House, Parramatta, Australia * Old Government House, Queensland, Australia * Old Government House, South Australia, Australia * Old Government House, Hobart, Australia * 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 Mechanics Bay ( mi, Te Tōangaroa) is a reclaimed bay on the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It is also the name of the area of the former bay that is now mainly occupied by commercial and port facilities. Sometimes the bay form ...

. 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 and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...

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 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 Zealand ...

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

iwi. In the late 1840s, Te Wherowhero regularly met with Governor Grey, who 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 Waihorotiu (from the Māori language, Māori Wai Horotiu), sometimes called the Waihorotiu Stream and the 'Queen Street River', is a stream that ran down the Queen Street, Auckland, Queen Street gully in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, into the Wa ...

became unsuitable. The original swamp was drained and turned into a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

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. The Auckland Acclimatisation Society had their gardens in Auckland Domain in 1862; they became the Auckland Botanic Gardens. 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 just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

test match in New Zealand when

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

defeated

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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 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 in 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 Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of around 28,000 in the 1 ...

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 ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

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" 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, Pākehā, Pasefika) serves automatically as one of three co-eq ...

in November 1929. In 1940 a tōtara tree was planted on top of the central cone Pukekaroa by Kiingitanga leader Princess

Te Puea Hērangi Te Puea Hērangi (9 November 1883 – 12 October 1952), known by the name Princess Te Puea, was a Māori leader from New Zealand's Waikato region. Her mother, Tiahuia, was the elder sister of King Mahuta. Early life She was born at Whatiwhati ...

, 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 meter (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 A sensory garden is a self-contained garden area that allows visitors to enjoy a wide variety of sensory experiences. Sensory gardens are designed to provide opportunities to stimulate the senses, both individually and in combination, in ways that ...

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

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 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, to

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

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 a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...

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 New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the ...

and the New Zealand military personnel that died from wars fought overseas (beginning with the South African War). The Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix was held using Domain Drive as the racecourse from 2003.