Today I found myself in Parnell for awhile, in a part I’d never been to before. With some time to kill, I went for a short walk and ended up on Gladstone Road, at the end of Cleveland Road. The arched entrance to Dove-Myers Robinson Park is there, something I’d never seen before.The park is named for Dove-Myers Robinson (“Robbie”), who had been Mayor of Auckland for 18 years and was very popular. He was also a visionary, arguing for the building of a commuter rail system. Sadly, the town fathers of the day, like so many short-sighted politicians in history, felt it would never be needed. Auckland is still paying for their stupidity, and still wishing those politicians had listened to Robbie.
The park, which I didn’t go into, is noted for its rose gardens (from October to April), and has the oldest manuka and largest Pohutukawa trees in Auckland—all of which I didn’t know until I got home. I’ll have to go back and have a proper look around.
The photo above is of the stone arch entrance. The photo below is of the entrance and Gladstone Road, looking toward the harbour (the cranes at the wharf are visible).
4 comments:
That's really pretty. You'll have to visit again to see inside.
Agreed, commuter rail is needed for a city to really grow.
There are a lot of parks I've never explored. I'll have to work on that!
Thanks for posting these. They bring back some good memories of Auckland...
That's another thing I didn't know about you! We must catch up on Skype at some stage.
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