Auckland Museum. An extinct Moa bird.
Introduction to Auckland.
Auckland is the largest NZ city with over 1.2 million people, about the same size as Adelaide. It has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world. The city area includes 50 islands and 48 dormant volcanic cones. The city’s tallest structure is the Sky Tower is 328 metres.
The oldest building in the city is a tiny cottage at no 1 Bankside Street built in 1841-47. The University of Auckland was established in 1883 with just 95 students. Today it is the largest of the eight universities in NZ with over 32,000 students spread across five campuses. It has 2,000 Maori students. Maori is an official language in NZ and the education system has a stream of special Maori language immersion schools for some students. Many students learn some Maori at school these days. The weather of Auckland is similar to that of Sydney with 50 inches (1250 mm) of rain per annum spread throughout the year. Auckland is always green. Temperatures in Auckland are always mild. In November the average minimum is 13 degrees and the average maximum 20 degrees with 80 mms of rain.
A Little History of Auckland.
Auckland was the only major settlement of the 1840s NOT founded by Wakefield’s New Zealand Company. Auckland was primarily a garrison town for British troops. Over half of the early residents came from Sydney and a third from Ireland. The province around Auckland was a main agricultural region for the Maoris before the arrival of white men. For a short time Auckland was the national capital from 1841-1865. Hobson chose this site based around the volcanic cone of Mt Eden. He had purchased land from the local Ngati Whatua Maori chiefs. He chose the area because it was between two major Maori strongholds- Northland (Bay of Islands) and the Waikato region (based around where the city of Hamilton now stands.) He named the city after Lord Auckland, the naval commander of those times.
In 1851 the Borough of Auckland was established with 9,000 residents and the city was declared in 1854. In 1865 the first gas street lights were lit and a year later the city got its first piped water supply. The 1870s saw the city boom and many fine public buildings were erected, the first railway opened, and the Museum opened. The population jumped from 7,000 in 1861 to 33,000 by 1886. Horse drawn tram services were started, the University of Auckland established, and the Art Gallery was opened (1888.) By 1900 the population had climbed to 70,000 people. It finally reached one million in 1998 but it has grown very quickly since then. The railway to link Auckland with the capital Wellington was not completed until 1908, although Prime Minster Vogel had announced this plan in 1870!
Auckland War Memorial Museum.
This war memorial building in the neo-classical style was erected in the 1920s and finally opening in 1929.Its interior has wonderful plaster motifs from the Maori culture and other designs from the Art Deco period. It is wonderfully sited in the Domain, a large public park, on the top of an extinct volcanic cone. Its collections cover the natural history of New Zealand, the Maori heritage and the military history of the nation. Its collections however go back to the 1850s when a small museum was initiated. Today we can see entire Maori buildings, boats, and art treasures in the museum.
Auckland Museum. An extinct Moa bird.
Introduction to Auckland.
Auckland is the largest NZ city with over 1.2 million people, about the same size as Adelaide. It has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world. The city area includes 50 islands and 48 dormant volcanic cones. The city’s tallest structure is the Sky Tower is 328 metres.
The oldest building in the city is a tiny cottage at no 1 Bankside Street built in 1841-47. The University of Auckland was established in 1883 with just 95 students. Today it is the largest of the eight universities in NZ with over 32,000 students spread across five campuses. It has 2,000 Maori students. Maori is an official language in NZ and the education system has a stream of special Maori language immersion schools for some students. Many students learn some Maori at school these days. The weather of Auckland is similar to that of Sydney with 50 inches (1250 mm) of rain per annum spread throughout the year. Auckland is always green. Temperatures in Auckland are always mild. In November the average minimum is 13 degrees and the average maximum 20 degrees with 80 mms of rain.
A Little History of Auckland.
Auckland was the only major settlement of the 1840s NOT founded by Wakefield’s New Zealand Company. Auckland was primarily a garrison town for British troops. Over half of the early residents came from Sydney and a third from Ireland. The province around Auckland was a main agricultural region for the Maoris before the arrival of white men. For a short time Auckland was the national capital from 1841-1865. Hobson chose this site based around the volcanic cone of Mt Eden. He had purchased land from the local Ngati Whatua Maori chiefs. He chose the area because it was between two major Maori strongholds- Northland (Bay of Islands) and the Waikato region (based around where the city of Hamilton now stands.) He named the city after Lord Auckland, the naval commander of those times.
In 1851 the Borough of Auckland was established with 9,000 residents and the city was declared in 1854. In 1865 the first gas street lights were lit and a year later the city got its first piped water supply. The 1870s saw the city boom and many fine public buildings were erected, the first railway opened, and the Museum opened. The population jumped from 7,000 in 1861 to 33,000 by 1886. Horse drawn tram services were started, the University of Auckland established, and the Art Gallery was opened (1888.) By 1900 the population had climbed to 70,000 people. It finally reached one million in 1998 but it has grown very quickly since then. The railway to link Auckland with the capital Wellington was not completed until 1908, although Prime Minster Vogel had announced this plan in 1870!
Auckland War Memorial Museum.
This war memorial building in the neo-classical style was erected in the 1920s and finally opening in 1929.Its interior has wonderful plaster motifs from the Maori culture and other designs from the Art Deco period. It is wonderfully sited in the Domain, a large public park, on the top of an extinct volcanic cone. Its collections cover the natural history of New Zealand, the Maori heritage and the military history of the nation. Its collections however go back to the 1850s when a small museum was initiated. Today we can see entire Maori buildings, boats, and art treasures in the museum.