Symonds Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery and park in central

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 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 ...

. It is in 5.8 hectares of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

forest on the western slope of

Grafton Gully Grafton Gully is a deep (about 50 m) and very wide (about 100 m) gully running northwards towards the sea through the volcanic hills of the Auckland volcanic field in New Zealand. It divides the CBD from the suburbs of Grafton and Parnell in ...

, by the corner of

Symonds Street Symonds Street is a street in Auckland, New Zealand's most populous city. The road runs southwest and uphill from the top of Anzac Avenue (originally Jermyn Street), through the City Campus of University of Auckland, over the Northwestern Motorw ...

and

Karangahape Road Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flight of resident ...

, and is crossed by the

Grafton Bridge Grafton Bridge is a road bridge spanning Grafton Gully in Auckland, New Zealand. Built of reinforced concrete in 1910, it connects the Auckland CBD and Karangahape Road with Grafton. It spans about 97.6 metres (320 feet), rises 25.6 metr ...

. The street (and by extension the cemetery) are named for

William Cornwallis Symonds Captain William Cornwallis Symonds (1 August 1810 – 23 November 1841) was a British Army officer who was prominent in the early colonisation of New Zealand. Symonds was born at Lymington, Hampshire in 1810, the eldest son of William Symo ...

, a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer prominent in the early colonisation of

. It has a Historic Place - Category I listing with the

New Zealand Historic Places Trust Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

. Maintenance and administration of the cemetery is provided by the

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

History

Symonds Street Cemetery was the first official cemetery in Auckland, in use from 1842.. Originally it was divided into four sections for Anglicans, Catholics, Jews, and a shared Presbyterian, Wesleyan, and general section. By 1852, the shared section became Presbyterian, and an additional Wesleyan and general section was added. After the establishment of a new municipal cemetery in West Auckland at Waikumete, the Symonds Street Cemetery was closed for burials in 1886, other than to existing family plots. No new plots were sold. In 1909 the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

took over management of the cemetery. Due to development of the

Auckland Southern Motorway The Auckland Southern Motorway (also known as the Southern Motorway, and historically as the Auckland–Hamilton Motorway) is the major route south out of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highw ...

during the mid-1960s, more than 4,100 bodies were moved and re-interred into two memorial sites at the cemetery, and the land area was reduced by about a quarter. During the relocation, 2000 graves were found under 1200 headstones in the Anglican section, and 2100 graves under 400 headstones were found in the Catholic section. Many of Auckland's early colonists are buried here, including

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 ...

, the first

Governor of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and l ...

and co-author of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

. ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' columnist

Brian Rudman Brian C. Rudman is a columnist and regular editorial contributor to ''The New Zealand Herald'', New Zealand's largest daily newspaper. He has his own column, 'Rudman's City', where he mainly focuses on issues relating to Auckland (New Zealand's l ...

has repeatedly criticised the state of disrepair, vandalism, and the presence of vagrants at the cemetery, and called for the city council to improve the maintenance. Although the Auckland City Council commissioned the '' Symonds St Cemetery Conservation Plan in 1996'', only some of its recommendations have been carried out. The Council does employ a specialist stonemason to undertake gravestone restoration, but as many of the restored gravestones have been subsequently vandalised the Waitamata Local Board admits the situation is much like "treading water". Security guards do patrol the cemetery at irregular intervals, but have proved largely ineffective in stopping further damage. In October 2012 more than 20 of the headstones were sprayed with

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

graffiti and

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

s. The vandalism occurred the night before a white nationalist celebration called "Flag Day". Three people were arrested, but in November the charges against one were dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Notable burials

* Archibald Clark (1805–1875), 1st Mayor of Auckland Borough Council in 1851 *

Edward Costley Edward Costley (1794 – 18 April 1883) was a New Zealand philanthropist. Costley was born in Ireland to John and Anne Costley. Costley was known among the "old identities" of Auckland as a man of rather penurious and retiring habits, who had ac ...

(1794–1883), land owner and philanthropist * Thomas Henderson (1810–1886), significant entrepreneur who gave his name to the suburb of Henderson *

(1792–1842), first Governor of New Zealand and co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi *

William Hulme William Hulme (c.1631 – 1691) was an English lawyer and landowner from Lancashire responsible for the creation of the Hulme Trust (also known as Hulme's Charity). Early life The Hulme family's pedigree was recorded by the Heralds in a Vi ...

(1788–1855), officer in the British Army *

Henry Keesing Henry Keesing (31 December 1791–10 May 1879) was a New Zealand shopkeeper, financier and community leader. He was born Hartog ben Tobias in Amsterdam, Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = ...

(1791–1879), early pioneer, entrepreneur, financier and community leader *

Frederick Edward Maning Frederick Edward Maning (5 July 1812 – 25 July 1883) was an early settler in New Zealand, a writer, and a judge of the Native Land Court. He published two books under the pseudonym of "a Pakeha Maori." Early life Maning was born in Johnvill ...

(1812–1883), writer and judge of the Native Land Court * Frederick Merriman (1818–1865), MP in the first two Parliaments * David Nathan (1816–1886), merchant and Jewish community leader *

Thomas Peacock Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

(1837–1922), optician, Mayor of Auckland, MP *

Philip Philips Philip Aaron Philips (11 June 1831 – 3 June 1913) was a New Zealand politician who served as the first mayor of Auckland City. He held the office from 1871 to 1874 and immediately prior to that, he was chairman of the City Board. He was a memb ...

(1831–1913), 1st Mayor of Auckland City (1871–1874) *

George Dean Pitt Major-General George Dean-Pitt, KH (1781 or 1772 – 8 January 1851) was Lieutenant-Governor of the former New Zealand Province of New Ulster from 14 February 1848 to his death on 8 January 1851. Early life He was born George Dean, the illegit ...

(1772–1851), Lieutenant-Governor of New Ulster Province *

Annie Jane Schnackenberg Annie Jane Schnackenberg ( Allen; 22 November 1835 – 2 May 1905) was a New Zealand Wesleyan missionary, temperance and welfare worker, and suffragist. She served as president of the Auckland branch of the Women's Christian Temperance Union N ...

(1835–1905), missionary, temperance and suffrage activist. * John Sheehan (1844–1885), MP from 1872 to 1885 *

Charles Southwell Charles Southwell (1814 – 7 August 1860) was a radical English journalist, freethinker and colonial advocate. Early life Charles Southwell was born in London, the youngest of 33 children in a poor family. His father, William, was a piano ma ...

(1814–1860), radical English journalist and freethinker *

William Turnbull Swan William Turnbull Swan (27 August 1827 – 15 March 1875) was a 19th-century politician in Auckland, New Zealand. Swan was born in Serampore, West Bengal, India in 1827. At the time, the area was part of Danish India. His elder brother Thomas ...

(1827–1875), MP from 1868 to 1870 *

Charles de Thierry Charles Philippe Hippolyte de Thierry (April 1793 – 8 July 1864) was a nineteenth-century adventurer who attempted to establish his own sovereign state in New Zealand in the years before the Treaty of Waitangi between the British Crown and the M ...

(1793–1864), adventurer who attempted to establish his own sovereign state in New Zealand before British annexation * Henry Tucker (1793–1850), Royal Navy officer and first colonial storekeeper * William White (1794–1875), an early Methodist missionary *

Samuel Yates Samuel Yates (May 10, 1919 in Savannah, Georgia – April 22, 1991 in New Brunswick, New Jersey) was a computer engineer and mathematician who first described unique primes in the 1980s. In 1984 he began the list of "Largest Known Primes" (today Th ...

(1829–1900), a prominent trader from Northland

Gravestones

File:Symonds Street Cemetery Auckland, NZ.jpg File:Symonds Street Cemetery Auckland NZ (2).jpg File:Symonds Street Cemetery Auckland NZ (3).jpg File:Symonds Street Cemetery Auckland NZ (4).jpg File:Symonds Street Cemetery Auckland NZ (5).jpg File:Symonds Street Cemetery Auckland NZ (6).jpg File:Symonds Street Cemetery Auckland NZ (7).jpg

References

External links

{{Commons category, Symonds Street Cemetery
History of the Symonds Street Cemetery in Auckland
by David Verran, Local History Librarian,

Auckland City Libraries Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

Symonds Street Cemetery records

held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. Cemeteries in Auckland NZHPT Category I listings in the Auckland Region Tourist attractions in Auckland Urban forests in New Zealand