Auckland walks: From the city to Mt Eden and back

Fancy a walk? Okay, then pull on those hiking shoes and grab some water ‘cause we’ll be pounding the pavements for about 9 kilometres and we’re going to head up a volcano so you might feel the heat.

At 196 metres, Mt Eden is the highest point in central Auckland so a great place for spectacular panoramic views over the city, its harbours and suburbs. And when we walk there, and back, from the central city, there’s a lot to see along the way, including a historic cemetery, two old churches, some street art, assorted historic buildings, significant places in Maori history, old villas and a huge park.

I’ve plotted our route on a map (just click on it to see it full screen) and numbered the points of interest along the way. These are just a few of the things that have caught my eye on past walks -- you will no doubt see other things that capture your interest and imagination.

1. A convenient place to start, and end, is at the corner of Symonds Street and Grafton Road, right in the centre of the University of Auckland’s huge complex of buildings. We could easily spend a whole afternoon exploring the university grounds … but that’s for another day. We’ll head up Symonds Street, past the towering blocks of student accommodation and offices and pause briefly for a look at Symonds Street cemetery. (For more on this fascinating place, check out my previous blog.) 

2. Church of the Holy Sepulchre

After a left turn at Khyber Pass Road, we find one of the historic highlights of our walk on the corner of Khyber Pass and Burleigh Street. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre dates from 1880 and is renowned for its wooden interior, one of the best in the world. Unfortunately, the only way to see that interior is to attend a Sunday service as the church is not open for public viewing.

3. Cityside Baptist Church

At the bottom of Burleigh Street, on the corner with Mt Eden Road, is another old church, not nearly so distinguished but with its own history and the most gorgeous little bell(-less) tower perched on top.

4. Snippets of Mt Eden history

After turning left along Boston Road, then right at Normanby Road, a glance to our right before we cross the railway line will bring a glimpse of some of Auckland’s street art, in this case the running squirrels of BMD. To our left is Mt Eden jail – not a place we want to enter – and further along Normanby Road, we find some historical links to Mt Eden’s past: the Colonial Ammunition Company's shot tower, the old bluestone building (now the CAC Bar & Eatery), and Normanby pub, to name a few.

The whau tree, from which this mountain takes its Maori name

5. Mt Eden

There are many paths up Mt Eden: sometimes I head up the dirt paths, sometimes I sweat up the steps old and new, sometimes I go up the roadway. It’s worth several visits to check the different routes as the trees and the views are all different. Maori named this volcanic cone Maungawhau (mountain of the whau tree), and archaeologists have discovered that as many as 3000 people lived on its slopes in the 1600s. We can still see the pits and depressions in the landscape, where kumara and taro would have been stored after harvest and houses would have nestled. And now we’re at the top, check out how deep the crater is. Impressive, eh? And look at the magnificent panoramic views – without a doubt, the best in Auckland.

6. Heading down

We’ll head back to the city by a different route. First, we veer off the road and down the steps bordering Government House. I used to think you might be able to get a sneak peek at visiting dignitaries from these steps but the trees are too tall and lush: many were planted as long ago as the 1870s.

We turn left at Mountain Road and our stroll takes us past some very lovely and very expensive real estate, some charming historic villas, past Mercy Hospital and a plethora of villas that now house medical specialists, and then alongside the splendid Spanish Mission-style buildings of Auckland Grammar School.  

7. Auckland Domain

After crossing Khyber Pass Road, we head up the appropriately named Park Road towards Auckland Domain. Today we’re just going to walk past the Duck Ponds and down the pohutukawa-lined Centennial Walkway but the Domain really deserves more time to explore. Check out some of its highlights in my earlier blog here. 

Once we exit the Domain, we simple head up the slope opposite, up Grafton Road, between the buildings, old and new, of the University of Auckland, and hey presto! we’re back where we started a few hours ago. I hope you enjoyed today’s walk.

Auckland, my Auckland

Thanks to the weather Gods holding off the heavy rain that was forecast for today, a holiday Monday here in New Zealand, I had a lovely long morning walk around some of my favourite haunts, etching them into my memory, saying goodbye … for now.

Tomorrow I fly away again – to Singapore to visit my cousin for a couple of nights, and then on to England, for an indefinite period. I enjoyed my five weeks in the UK earlier this year so much that I’ve decided to go back for more – more impressive stately homes, more cool castles, more long walks along the seemingly interminable footpaths, more cute squirrels … and hopefully some work to keep the wolves from the door!

During the eight weeks I’ve been back in Auckland this time, I’ve seen winter fade, the temperatures warm and spring blossoms burst out in all their gorgeous glory. I’ve caught up with my wonderful friends, enjoyed lots of long conversations over glasses of wine and delicious dinners, and seen many entertaining movies. I’ve loved being back in my wee apartment, with familiar things around me, snuggling up in my comfy bed, enjoying my amazing view over Auckland’s sparkling harbour.

I’ve particularly enjoyed walking my old familiar trails, up many of Auckland’s volcanic cones, around the harbourside and inner-city beaches, and circuiting the marinas full of million-dollar boats, strolling along bush tracks under leafy trees, communing with sheep and cows and purring cats, being serenaded by our melodious native birds and laughing at the antics of seagulls and swallows.

Auckland, you are one of the most beautiful cities in the world and I will miss you. Here are some of the reasons why …

Weathervanes, wind vanes and weathercocks

In an effort to improve my photographer’s eye, I often go through periods when, during my daily strolls, I make a point of looking in a particular direction or hunting out certain things. For example, I might spend a whole week looking down (hence my recent fascination with fungi) or seeking out street art or exploring Auckland’s heritage buildings.

During recent days of looking up, I have discovered yet another fascinating aspect of Auckland’s architecture, the embellishments that adorn the city’s turrets and towers, spires and steeples, and this blog on weathervanes is one result – there will be another, about all the other ornamental turret toppings I've found.

Considering they are used to indicate wind direction, it comes as no surprise that weathervanes (also known as wind vanes and weathercocks) are usually found on the highest points of buildings. According to Professor Wiki, the earliest known weathervane (possibly built around 50BC) was a bronze Triton (in Greek mythology, the messenger of the sea) atop the Tower of the Winds in Athens.

Ferry Building weathervane. This wonderful image was taken by John McKillop and is used with his kind permission.

Ferry Building, Quay Street

New Zealand’s weathervanes have no such claims to fame though one of our Auckland weathervanes did literally stop city traffic recently. On 17 April 2014, the remnants of tropical cyclone Ita swept across Auckland, causing huge storm surges to flood waterfront homes and the weathervane on the top of the Ferry Building in Quay Street to sway rather alarmingly. To prevent potential damage to life and limb if it toppled, the street was closed to traffic, and the weathervane has since been removed. Hopefully, it will be repaired and reinstated very soon.

Though their function was purely practical, many weathervanes are themselves beautiful pieces of art and frequently reflect the buildings for which they were designed. The ship design on the Ferry Building is a perfect example and here is another.

Colonial Ammunition Company Shot Tower, Normanby Road, Mt Eden

In 1885, in response to the threat of war with Russia, the Colonial Ammunition Company established New Zealand’s first munitions factory. At that time, their site was far enough away from the built up inner city to be suitable for the manufacture of dangerous goods. Nowadays, the tower is surrounded by commercial buildings and inner-city housing developments. Though activity at the factory increased during the Second World War, when staff numbers rose from 230 to 900, the demand for ammunition steadily decreased and the company closed in 1982.

As this advertisement from the Dominion newspaper (25 November 1916, p.6) shows, the company was very proud of its 140-foot-high state-of-the-art tower, which was used to drop molten metal to make shot. Luckily, the tower and its oh-so-appropriate rifle weathervane (below, left) have survived the wrecking ball and remain a unique part of Mt Eden’s heritage.

Mt Eden weathervanes: at left, on the Colonial Ammunition Company's Shot Tower; at right, on a local building

Mt Eden Village, corner of Essex and Mt Eden Roads

The suburb of Mt Eden is also home to another rather wonderful and very typical weathervane (above, right). The use of a cockerel in a weathervane is where the alternative name ‘weathercock’ originates and is a classic weathervane design, with its origins possibly in Christianity. Apparently, Pope Nicholas issued a decree in the 9th century commanding all churches to display the symbol of a cock on their steeple or dome (the cock is symbolic of Jesus’ prophecy of Peter’s betrayal, Luke 22:34), but there is some evidence that the cockerel appeared in weathervanes before that time and it may simply represent the rooster crowing at daybreak.

According to Auckland City Council’s ‘Mt Eden Heritage Walks’ brochure, the Mt Eden building:

… was erected prior to 1905. Photos show that this side of Mt Eden Road was almost completely unbuilt, rural land in the late 1880s. Designed in a classic Italianate style, this building was a significant addition to the village streetscape, and reinforced this intersection as the hub of the village.

There is nothing to explain the weathervane, unfortunately.

Corner of Carlton Gore Road and George Street, Newmarket

I’ve also found nothing about this next weathervane (on the right in the picture below) of another cockerel and the archetypal compass points. The building is a modern one, currently occupied by the Personalised Plates company, and the weathervane may just be the ornamental addition of an enlightened architect.

Left: on the Royal NZ Foundation for the Blind workshop building; right, on the Personalised Plates building

Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind Workshop Building, Newmarket

Not far from Personalised Plates is an older example of a weathervane, on what was the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind workshop building. This building, and the adjacent residential school for the blind, were built in 1909, to provide a sheltered environment for blind people to live, study, learn skills and earn a living.

The design on the weathervane, of a man sitting weaving with cane, appears to reflect the fact that craft industries such as cane basket weaving and furniture making were the principal occupations offered at the Blind Institute until well into the 1970s [Greg Newbold, Quest for Equity: a history of blindness advocacy in New Zealand, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, 2008].

St Mary’s College Hall, New Street, St Mary's Bay

On the other side of town stands the beautiful old hall of St Mary’s College (above), which has atop its tower a combined wind vane and cross. St Mary’s College is the oldest still-functioning secondary school in New Zealand, founded originally on a different site by the Sisters of Mercy in 1850 but relocated to its present site in Ponsonby in the early 1860s. A wooden chapel dating from that era is still in use but this building, the St Mary’s College Hall, was part of a new school, erected in 1929 at a cost of £36,000, in a picturesque Spanish Mission style on the northern side of the property.

Grey Lynn Library, 474 Great North Road, Grey Lynn

My immediate thought when I saw this turret topping was ‘Quidditch Snitch’. However, though the snitch was first introduced to the game of Quidditch in 1269 by Chief of the Wizards’ Council Barberus Bragge, the folks of early 20th century Auckland were not at all familiar with the world of Harry Potter and his fellow wizards so the similarity must be sheer coincidence.

The Grey Lynn Public Library was designed by architect W. H. Gummer, built of brick in the Georgian style, and opened in December 1924 by then mayor Sir James Gunson. The building continues to be used as a public library and the attached building, on which the snitch sits, as the local community hall. Though the snitch is not your typical weathervane, I have no doubt that its wings were intended to show the direction of the prevailing wind. Sadly, the innovative designer’s name remains a mystery – Rowling, perhaps?

Inspiration for 2014

I’ve spent some time over the past week adding inspirational quotes to some of my favourite photographs to make myself a new set of desktop wallpapers for 2014 and I thought I’d share them with you all.

If anyone wants hi-res versions of these, just get in touch.

Ancient volcanoes, Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa, Bolivia

 

Red deer on bank of Madre de Dios River, Manu National Park, Peru

Confluence of the Waipa and Waikato Rivers, Ngaruawahia, New Zealand (the town where I was born)

 

Waterlily, Wat Damnak pagoda, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Convent of Santa Catalina, Arequipa, Peru

Street art, Santiago, Chile

Hoatzin, Manu National Park, Peru

Banteay Kdei, Angkor World Heritage Site, Cambodia

Laguna and flamingos, Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa, Bolivia

Wintergardens, Auckland Domain, New Zealand

 

Zhouzhuang water town, near Shanghai, China

Mt Eden, Auckland, New Zealand