Cornwall Park, Auckland

Last updated

Cornwall Park
One Tree Hill (6958035569) (cropped).jpg
One Tree Hill near the heart of Cornwall Park
NZ-OneTreeHill.png
location within Auckland
TypePark open to the public
owned by Cornwall Park Trust
Location Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand
Coordinates 36°53′54″S174°47′05″E / 36.898411°S 174.784821°E / -36.898411; 174.784821
Area670 acres (270 hectares)
Created1901
Operated byCornwall Park Trust
StatusOpen year round during daylight
Website www.cornwallpark.co.nz
Sir John Logan Campbell's statue at Cornwall Park's formal entrance in Epsom at 308--312 Manukau Road. Access is on either side of the statue by Campbell Crescent to Puriri Drive Cornwall Park Fountain in Epson. (12215276743).jpg
Sir John Logan Campbell's statue at Cornwall Park's formal entrance in Epsom at 308—312 Manukau Road. Access is on either side of the statue by Campbell Crescent to Puriri Drive

Cornwall Park is an expansive parkland in Epsom near the heart of Auckland, New Zealand, surrounding the park containing Maungakiekie pa or the hill of One Tree Hill. The two independent parks form one large park of 670 acres (270 hectares).

Contents

The Park has centuries-old heritage sites, wide-open spaces, tree lined avenues and walks, places of peace and tranquility in a large city, sports grounds including tennis and bowls and a working farm for the education of city children.

John Logan Campbell, Auckland resident since 1840 and, at the time of this gift, mayor, gave the park's 230 acres to a private trust on 10 June 1901. The adjoining Park Maungakiekie had been purchased by the national government in 1845 and since 2012 belongs to Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective. [1]

Campbell chose to present the deeds the following day to the visiting heir to the throne, the Duke of Cornwall and York later George V asking his consent for it to be named Cornwall Park in honour of the Duke. [2] A few weeks later the adjoining Alexandra Park was named in honour of the Duke's mother. [3]

Origin

Sir John Logan Campbell John Logan Campbell, elderly man.jpg
Sir John Logan Campbell

Land

Campbell gave the land to Cornwall Park Trust, a trust he had established for the purpose. The park was described at the time as "two hundred and thirty acres of the finest land in the district", or 93 hectares, a portion of some 1,100 acres (450 hectares) at One Tree Hill bought by Dr Campbell many years before. He had planned to build a house there and planted the parkland in preparation for that but he subsequently chose to live near the centre of the city in Parnell, his home was named 'Kilbryde' and situated on part of the site of their rose gardens. [2] Still marked by his trees the carriage drive he made in Cornwall Park sweeps in an S-bend from Puriri Drive across Greenlane west of the Park's Greenlane entrance to his house site near Huia Lodge. Visitors may walk along it from the gate opposite the Park's administration and works depot in Greenlane. There were to be further gifts including the land about Puriri Drive and Campbell Crescent and the endowment lands, housing sites to be made available on 21-year leases. [4]

Cornwall Park operates Glasgow leases now outlawed in the United Kingdom. As property values increased in Auckland, the formula for setting the rents has led to higher prices. Logan Campbell specified that leases would allow fair value to the leaseholders for improvements to the property. Some leaseholders have walked away from their family homes unable or unwilling to pay. Cornwall Park was unable to lease a section and it has sat empty for 16 years. Cornwall Park Leaseholders Association was formed to represent leaseholders and negotiate a fairer lease. A petition has been launched seeking some of the Lusk KC Report findings including fair compensation for improvements or a freeholding option. [5]

Cornwall Park Trust

The deeds handed to the trustees stated "the said lands are and shall be held by the Trustees on trust for the people of the colony of New Zealand, and also for such public purposes for the general benefit of the people of New Zealand in the way of affording them recreation, enjoyment, pleasure and instruction and other similar benefits and advantages of that nature as the Trustees shall from time to time consider best." [2]

Management

The trustees, acting through The Cornwall Park Trust Board Inc, also manage the Campbell Trust. Until 2012 they also managed the One Tree Hill Domain on behalf of the Auckland Council. [6] Their One Tree Hill Domain responsibility has ceased and Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective decides upon and implements its own policies on Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill Domain.

The first Cornwall Park trustees were David Murdoch, Arthur Myers (chairman), Robert Hall and Alfred Bankart. [2]

Chairmen of Trustees

  • A M Myers (1901–1926)
  • A S Bankart (1926–1927)
  • J H Gunson (1927–1956)
  • A U Wells (1956–1974)
  • B P Stevenson (1975–1983)
  • K B Myers (1983–1991)
  • R H L Ferguson (1991–2007)
  • H M Horton (2007–2011)
  • J L Clark (2011– )
  • J A W McConnell
  • A F Young-Cooper ( –present) [1]
Archery Robin hoods (137314777).jpg
Archery
on Memorial Steps Cornwall Park Memorial Steps 2011-09-04 (6131625619).jpg
on Memorial Steps
vista from Memorial Steps Cornwall-Park2.JPG
vista from Memorial Steps

Design

A scheme was laid out by young landscape designer Austin Strong (1881–1952) [note 1] inspired by Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

Ongoing design is managed by New York-based landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects in collaboration with New Zealand-based Boffa Miskell. [7]

Endowment

In 1907 a second gift of 104 acres (42 hectares) and the following year another 143 acres (58 hectares) for endowment to be let on building leases to create income to help with the park's upkeep. Together these new gifts made a total area of 477 acres (193 hectares) within Cornwall Park. Combined with the adjoining almost encircled city-owned One Tree Hill Domain of 130 acres (53 hectares) there was now one Park of 607 acres (246 hectares). [8]

However the trustees were personally liable for any expenditure that could not be met by the trust's funds and so in 1914 residential sites along Wheturangi Road were sold on long term lease to meet immediate needs for cash and the trustees asked that local bodies give consideration to some form of rate relief complaining that over 60 per cent of the trusts revenue went in taxes. [9] St Cuthbert's College took 8 acres by the formal entrance on a 99-year building lease in 1919. [10] After many years of petitions and representations from Auckland to Parliament in 1922 Parliament decided that the Cornwall Park land should be valued for rating purposes at its "restricted value", this valuation of the park having regard to its income as grazing land. By this time the capital value of the Park's land exceeded £200,000. [11]

As the Great Depression began to subside and New Zealand's new Socialist government began to change government's policies there was a leap in the Government's assessment for the park's land tax from £300 to £1,400. One Tree Hill Borough's councillors agreed to apply to the Government for the Government's consent to exempt the Park from payment of their rates on the Park's land. [12] The Government agreed and passed enabling legislation in September 1938.

In 1952 following the death of his only daughter Campbell's remaining estate, then valued at £400,000, passed under the control of the Cornwall Park Trustees and the income is allocated according to Campbell's wishes to a wide range of purposes. [13]

Income received by the trustees from the trust's property is exempt from Income Tax.

Restrictions

No more riding or golf

Soon after the beginning of World War II riding and golf were banned. Horses for the damage to lawns, although tracks were provided, and golf for the annoyance and danger to sheep grazing in the park. [14] Subsequently it was decided that golf was not a use available to the people generally and did not comply with the trust deed and the Auckland Golf Club's and Maungakiekie Golf Club's privileges were ended. [15] In any case the trust deed required construction of "Grand Avenue" through the land at present used for golf. [16]

Cornwall Hospital

From 1942 to 1945 the park was occupied by the nation's defence forces as a site of temporary barracks and a temporary hospital was built for the United States Army in the eastern area of Cornwall Park. Initially for 1050 patients and their 715 attendants [17] — the U.S. 39th General Hospital [18] — it was very shortly doubled in capacity to 2,000 beds. [19] There were 122 separate buildings with a floor area of 8 acres, built in just over 6 weeks during a wet winter on 34 acres (14 hectares) of the park. [20]

In 1944 the Government proposed to compulsorily acquire a portion of the land to build a home for blinded ex-servicemen. It was protested that in June 1942 an undertaking had been given that the area would not be used for other than war purposes [21] but to no avail whatsoever. The hospital buildings became Cornwall Hospital and included maternity facilities, National Women's Hospital, and a geriatric hospital. All buildings on the site were demolished in 1975. The hospital for blinded servicemen remains in the adjoining Park Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill Domain, and is known as Sorrento in the Park, an events venue.

A large part of Cornwall Park showing the obelisk and One Tree Hill Domain spreading beyond the showgrounds and the tall white buildings of Greenlane Clinical Centre. The camera is on Mt Eden Cornwall Park (part) showing One Tree Hill 1treehill4mmteden (cropped).JPG
A large part of Cornwall Park showing the obelisk and One Tree Hill Domain spreading beyond the showgrounds and the tall white buildings of Greenlane Clinical Centre. The camera is on Mt Eden

Activities

On top of admiring scenery, drinking tea while the Band plays on its rotunda, picnicking, birdwatching, walking, jogging, bicycling, keeping the dog secure on its leash and admiring the ewes and their lambs, provisions for formalised activities include:

Comparisons – area

Comparison with other significant city parks, worldwide:

Publications

The Cornwall Park Trust Board's publications include:

Brochures
Sir John Logan Campbell
Cornwall Park
Cornwall Park Heritage Trail
Cornwall Park Tree Trail
Cornwall Park Bird Species
Cornwall Park Farm
Acacia Cottage
Huia Lodge
Cornwall Hospital 1942–1975

Notes

  1. ↑ Austin Strong, a step-grandson of Robert Louis Stevenson, was born in San Francisco and grew up in Hawaii, Samoa and Wellington New Zealand where he attended Wellington College. He studied landscape architecture in New York, was chosen to design Cornwall Park and completed the commission. He subsequently became a successful New York playwright. Source Joseph Theroux, Nantucket Historical Association

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abel Tasman National Park</span> National park in New Zealand

Abel Tasman National Park is a national park at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. It covers 237.1 km2 (91.5 sq mi) of land between Golden Bay / Mohua and Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, making it the smallest of New Zealand's national parks. Despite this, the park is one of the most visited, partially due to the popularity of the Abel Tasman Coast Track which spans 60 km (37 mi) along the eastern and northern coastal areas of the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill</span> Hill in Auckland, New Zealand

Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill is a 182-metre (597 ft) volcanic peak and Tūpuna Maunga in Auckland, New Zealand. It is an important place culturally and archeologically for both Māori and Pākehā. The suburb around the base of the hill is also called One Tree Hill. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Royal Oak to the west, and clockwise, Epsom, Greenlane, Oranga, and Onehunga. The summit provides views across the Auckland area, and allows visitors to see both of Auckland's harbours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epsom, New Zealand</span> Suburb in Auckland, New Zealand

Epsom is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in the centre of the Auckland isthmus between Mount Eden and Greenlane, south of Newmarket, and 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the Auckland City Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Logan Campbell</span> New Zealand politician (1817–1912)

Sir John Logan Campbell was a Scottish-born New Zealand public figure. He was described by his contemporaries as "the father of Auckland".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remuera</span> Suburb in Auckland, New Zealand

Remuera is an affluent suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" suburb, Remuera is noted for its quiet tree lined streets. The suburb has numerous green spaces, most obvious of which is Ōhinerau / Mount Hobson – a volcanic cone with views from the top overlooking Waitematā Harbour and Rangitoto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenlane railway station</span> Railway station in New Zealand

Greenlane railway station serves the Southern Line and Onehunga Line of the Auckland railway network. It was opened circa 1877. It has an island platform and is reached via a ramp from Green Lane East. It is the nearest station to Ellerslie Racecourse, Greenlane Clinical Centre, ASB Showgrounds and Cornwall Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenlane</span> Suburb in Auckland, New Zealand

Greenlane is a central isthmus suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is bounded by Epsom to the west, Newmarket to the north, Remuera to the east and One Tree Hill to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Tree Hill College</span> State, co-educational, secondary school

One Tree Hill College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the district of Ellerslie in Auckland, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auckland Botanic Gardens</span>

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. The garden covers 64 hectares, and holds more than 10,000 plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbells Bay</span> Suburb in Auckland, New Zealand

Campbells Bay is a suburb of the North Shore located in Auckland, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Gunson</span> New Zealand businessman and Mayor of Auckland City

Sir James Henry Gunson was a New Zealand businessman and Mayor of Auckland City from 1915 to 1925. He was knighted in 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwoods Corner</span>

Greenwoods Corner is an Auckland neighbourhood located within the suburb of Epsom, situated to the south of Newmarket and to the north of Royal Oak, at the intersection of Pah Road and Manukau Road. It is settled in the lee of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill and serves as a convenient launching point for the area's many attractions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Goldstine</span>

Israel Joseph Goldstine was mayor of One Tree Hill, New Zealand, from 1931 until he retired in 1947. He was a prominent barrister and solicitor in Auckland and chaired several high-profile New Zealand boards.

One Tree Hill is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. The residential part of the suburb is located to the east and south-east of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill, from which it takes its name, with the volcanic peak located within the suburb's boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornwall Hospital</span> Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand

Cornwall Hospital was constructed in Cornwall Park, Auckland, New Zealand during World War II by the American Army and was named the 39th United States General Hospital. It accommodated casualties from the war in the Pacific. From 1945 it was leased by the Auckland Hospital Board to provide maternity and geriatric services and closed in 1975.

The 1938 Auckland Rugby League season was its 30th. Marist Old Boys won their 3rd first grade title with their previous coming in 1924 and 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutukāroa / Hamlins Hill Regional Park</span> Regional Park in Auckland, New Zealand

Mutukāroa / Hamlins Hill Regional Park is a regional park situated in the Auckland suburb of Penrose in New Zealand's North Island. It is situated in Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, north-east of the Manukau Harbour and west of the Tāmaki River. The park is owned and operated by Auckland Council.

Kiwi Tāmaki was a Māori warrior and paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation in Tāmaki Makaurau. The third generation paramount chief of Waiohua, Kiwi Tāmaki consolidated and extended Waiohua power over Tāmaki Makaurau, making it one of the most prosperous and populated areas of Aotearoa. Kiwi Tāmaki's seat of power was at Maungakiekie, which was the most elaborate pā complex in Aotearoa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenlane Clinical Centre</span> Public hospital in Auckland, New Zealand

Greenlane Clinical Centre is a public hospital in Greenlane, Auckland, located on Green Lane West, near Cornwall Park. The hospital is administered by the Northern division of Te Whatu Ora providing outpatient and day surgery services to the Auckland Region. The healthcare facilities at Greenlane have seen many notable developments in New Zealand's healthcare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Cecilia Park</span> Park in Auckland, New Zealand

Monte Cecilia Park is located in the Auckland suburb of Hillsborough, close to its boundary with Royal Oak. The park's landscape showcases a diverse variety of mature exotic plants as well as native New Zealand flora.

References

  1. 1 2 Cornwall Park, the story of a man's vision, The Cornwall Park Trust Board Inc, 1994 Epsom NZ
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cornwall Park. Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 138, 12 June 1901, p. 5
  3. ↑ Alexandra Park. Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 147, 22 June 1901, p. 3
  4. ↑ R C J Stone, The Father and His Gift: John Logan Campbell's Later Years Auckland University Press, 1987. ISBN   186940016X
  5. ↑ Glen, David (23 January 2023). "Dismantling Sir John Logan Campbell's legacy in Cornwall Park". The New Zealand Herald.
  6. ↑ Auckland City to honour Cornwall Park guardians Scoop Independent News, Monday, 22 September 2003, 10:02 am
  7. ↑ What's in store for Cornwall Park? Central Leader, Auckland, 10 July 2013
  8. ↑ Parks and Reserves, Auckland Star , Volume XLII, Issue 182, 3 August 1911, Page 6
  9. ↑ Cornwall Park, Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 163, 10 July 1914, Page 2
  10. ↑ St Cuthbert's College, Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 204, 28 August 1919, Page 6
  11. ↑ Cornwall Park, Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 115, 17 May 1922, Page 3
  12. ↑ Increasing taxation, Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 196, 19 August 1937, Page 8
  13. ↑ Campbell Trust, An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand , 1966
  14. ↑ Cornwall Park, Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 183, 3 August 1940, Page 16
  15. ↑ New Hospital? Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 141, 16 June 1944, Page 6
  16. ↑ Cornwall Park Golf Club to Go, Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 246, 17 October 1942, Page 7
  17. ↑ Service hospitals Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 29, 4 February 1943, Page 6
  18. ↑ Cornwall Park, drive to be reopened, use early in new year, Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 244, 15 October 1945, Page 6
  19. ↑ hospital Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 298, 16 December 1944, Page 6
  20. ↑ "AtoJs Online — Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives — 1946 Session I — D-03 MINISTRY OF WORKS REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF WORKS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31st MARCH, 1946". atojs.natlib.govt.nz. p. 8. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  21. ↑ Trustees Protest Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 240, 10 October 1944, Page 6
  22. ↑ Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Richmond Park. Return of the Number of Acres in Richmond Park that Have Been Drained, and the Proportion They Bear to the Whole Area of the Park, and the Average Cost Per Acre. House of Commons, 2006
  23. ↑ ed: Peter Clark, Professor of European Urban History, Green Landscapes in the European City, 1750–2010 – Page 20, Routledge, New York, 2017 ISBN   9781472464392
  24. ↑ Alan Tate. Great City Parks. Routledge, Abingdon 2015. ISBN   9780415538022
  25. 1 2 Tables and Calculations Ed: Rob Roggema, Agriculture in an Urbanizing Society Volume Two: Proceedings of the Sixth Aesop Conference on Sustainable Food Planning. Cambridge Scholars, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 2017 ISBN   1443899844
  26. ↑ Ray Joyce, Anna Horne. New Zealand: a special place ... – Page 112, Lansdowne Press, Auckland, 1986. ISBN   0868660884
  27. ↑ Bette Flagler. New Zealand's North Island. Hunter Publishing, Oxford, England, 2010.
  28. ↑ New Zealand Waitangi Tribunal. Te Whanganui a Tara Me Ona Takiwa: Report on the Wellington District, Legislation Direct, 2003. ISBN   9781869562649
  29. ↑ Godwit, Random House, Auckland, 2012. ISBN   978 186979 798 0
  30. ↑ The Cornwall Park Trust Inc, 1994

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.