Auckland Domain

Also known as The Domain, Duck Ponds, Wintergardens, Sensory Gardens, Pukekawa, Pukekaroa, Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Band Rotunda, Kiosk and Gum Tree Hill. Auckland Domain is the city's oldest park. It is spacious and diverse. The Wintergardens are a feature of the Domain with the Auckland War Memorial Museum sitting at the highest point. There are formal gardens, duck ponds, large green open spaces edged by mature trees, bush walks and statuary. The 75ha park has been developed around the cone of an extinct volcano. The 'tuff rings' created by volcanic activity thousands of years ago can be seen in the land contours and forms a natural amphitheatre with about 10 hectares developed as first-class sports fields. The Formal Gardens evolved from an 1860s Auckland Acclimatisation Society site to test and propagate exotic trees, birds, and trout. The Duck Ponds are the source, in 1866, of Auckland's first piped water supply. The nearby kiosk made its debut at the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1913-1914 as 'the ideal New Zealand house'. The 1912 band rotunda, and the statuary, inform of the Domain's tradition of individual or publicly subscribed gifts.