Grafton, New Zealand

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Grafton is an Auckland suburb under the local governance of the Auckland City Council. The suburb is named for the Duke of Grafton, a patron of the first Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson. According to the 2001 census, Grafton has a population of 2,052.

[edit] Grafton landmarks

• Grafton Bridge: Grafton Bridge is an iconic Auckland bridge spanning Grafton Gully and connecting the Auckland CBD with Grafton and parts further east. Built in 1910, it was the largest reinforced concrete bridge of its time, spanning almost 300 metres.

• Auckland City Hospital: As early as 1842 this area was seen as an ideal spot for the colony's hospital; a sunny, north facing location a short distance from town but fairly isolated should there be an epidemic of any kind. The first buildings of the 1850s and 1860s were wooden and have long disappeared. The main building was designed by Philip Herepath in 1878 in the Italianate style. It was demolished in the early 1960s and replaced by a 10 story modernist block which still stands on the hill. In the 1880s and 1890s new brick buildings of some size were built including the Costley block (now demolished) which was the legency of local benefactor Edward Costly. Close by are several other specialist blocks from before and after the first world war. On the other side of Park Road glowers the large grey bulk of the 1967 medical school buildings (Stevenson & Turner architects).

• Auckland Domain: This park, established in the 1840s, is one of the city's greatest assets. The Auckland War Memorial Museum and Cenotaph are perhaps its most dominant features.

• Outhwaite Park lies on the corner of Park Road and Carlton-Gore Road. This was the residence of Auckland's first Registrar of the Supreme Court, Thomas Outhwaite. From the 1840s onwards Outhwaite and his French wife Louise established a beautiful garden with many interesting specimen plants. In 1927 the last of their four children gave this land to the city as a park. The house does not survive but the basic layout of the grounds and many of the mature trees date from the Outhwaite family's time.

• Grafton Campus: The Medical School of the University of Auckland is located on Park Road, opposite Auckland Hospital. Closeby is Grafton Hall of Residence.

• In 1861 the Auckland Bowling Club in Stanley Street was established. This still exists and is the oldest club in the Southern Hemisphere.

[edit] Famous people

During the late 1840s Chief Putatau Te Wherowhero resided in the lower part of the Auckland Domain in a house provided for him by the Government, [somewhere on the slopes of Grafton Gully below the Hospital and above the Bowling club in Stanley Street, probably in the vicinity of Centennial Drive]. Here he was visited by the then Governor, George Grey.

Another famous resident of the area was Gustavus von Tempsky (1828-1868) who lived on Grafton Road sometime during the early 1860s.

[edit] References

• The Heart of Colonial Auckland, 1865-1910. Terence Hodgson. Random Century NZ Ltd 1992.
• Colonial Architecture In New Zealand. John Stacpoole. A.H & A.W Reed 1976
• Decently And In Order, The Centennial History of the Auckland City Council. G.W.A Bush. Collins 1971.
• Auckland Through A Victorian Lens. William Main. Millwood Press 1977.
• The Lively Capital, Auckland 1840-1865. Una Platts. Avon Fine Prints Limited New Zealand 1971.
• Grafton Heritage Trail, Grafton Residents Association 2005