Dove-Meyer Robinson Park, Parnell, 2006

More from the vault: some shots I took on a sunny day at the Dove-Meyer Robinson Park in 2006. The name changed to that in 1991; before that, it was the Parnell Rose Gardens. Before that, it was Parnell Park. Before that, it was two estates, Killbryde (Sir John Logan Campbell's home, much of which was chopped away in reclamations) and Birtley.

The stone gateway dates from 1924-1925. Folks in Auckland took a dislike to it apparently, and it was mocked in contemporary cartoons as a stone elephant upon which the local politicians were riding. The bases are squared Ashlar, with the arches "Rustic Rubble", all in basalt from the City Council's own quarries.

 

The Nancy Steen Rose Garden was set up in 1982-1984 in honour of Nancy Steen (1898-1986), author of The Charm of Old Roses and others.

This drinking fountain, in honour of Jane Anna Mowbray (c.1853-1940) is one of the few remaining traces of the Victoria League's activities left in Auckland. The other is the Land Wars memorial in Symonds Street.

This memorial was erected by the New Zealand Korea Veterans’ Association, financed by businesses in Pusan, South Korea, and unveiled on 27 July 1992. The memorial is a 1.7m high, 2.5 tonne granite stone, quarried near Kapyong, north-east of Seoul, South Korea, and inscribed with the Korean equivalent of “Lest We Forget”. The unveiling took place on the 39th anniversary of the armistice of the war. The stone was blessed by Padre Patrick Parr.

The memorial overlooks Gladstone Road, and the tennis courts beyond.

In contrast, this memorial overlooks the Waitemata Harbour. When planned, it was the first Netherlands War Memorial to be erected in New Zealand. The idea was raised at a 1954 meeting of the Netherlands Veterans Legion, and in July 1959 the Auckland City Council were requested to nominate a suitable place for an independent monument. The Parnell Rose Gardens was chosen.

The War Memorial Committee of the Netherlands Veterans Legion raised £500 by appeal and started work on the monument on 22 December 1962. It was designed by architect J. W. LaGro, and built by members of the Legion’s Building Committee on weekends, taking five months to build. The monument was unveiled on 4 May 1963 by K. W. Fraser, Past Dominion President of the NZ Returned Services Association, and handed over officially to the City of Auckland.

Aggregate concrete slabs were used for the steps, small terrace and ornamental wall, while Roman bricks were used for the back of the seat, low side walls and flowerbox.

Part of the North Island Main Trunk Line, the South-Eastern line from Britomart via Orakei, Glen Innes and Sylvia Park boasts one of the finest stretches, although a brief one, of Auckland's rail system -- going over the rail causeway which crosses first Judges Bay, then the width of Hobson Bay, with the sea on either side. Before they added the Sylvia Park stop at the new shopping mall, the trains between Penrose and Glen Innes went swiftly along the line. Now, it's more restrained. Darn it.

Two views of Judge's Bay. I was heading across towards the St Stephen's Chapel at the time. More in a later post.