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Mt Eden area - Maungawhau Heritage Walks

Introduction | Early development | Mt Eden Village Walk | Mt Eden Neighbourhood Walk | Mt Eden industrial area | Eden Valley Shopping Centre

Mt Eden industrial area

View of Mt Eden in 1866.

Mt Eden's first industry was Mason's flourmill established near Windmill Road. It was Auckland's first flourmill and was located alongside a substantial wheat plantation. Later industry would be located closer to the city end of Mt Eden.

During the early years of Auckland's history the Mt Eden area was a rural locality some distance from the business and residential area centred around the Queen Street valley. For this reason Mt Eden was viewed as an appropriate location for industries and institutions that were accompanied by an element of danger.

The Mt Eden Prison and the Colonial Ammunition Company factory were both erected prior to the extensive development of Mt Eden as a residential area.

The volcano for which the Mt Eden area is named provided the locality with a quarrying industry which would keep prisoners occupied and provide the city with building and roading material. It was the proximity to the city of this mountain of rock which saw it being quarried from an early date. Mt Eden was both close enough, and far enough away from the city to support the industries and institutions established in the nineteenth century.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries population density increased throughout the central city and inner suburbs. This put pressure on growing inner city institutions like the Auckland Grammar School, which found itself rapidly running out of space for expansion. Mt Eden still offered tracts of undeveloped land and it became the chosen site for the new school.

In the early years of the twentieth century a large sawmill, timber yard and joinery factory was established near the Colonial Ammunition Company and Mt Eden quarry. A concrete block and tile factory soon joined the local industrial enterprises. The prison and the local industries grew and developed alongside the surrounding residential areas but as the local population density increased the proximity of the prison and heavy industry became increasingly inappropriate.

It is only in recent years that the industrial area around Enfield Road has been redeveloped for residential and commercial purposes.

View of Mt Eden Gaol in 1900.

Mt Eden Prison II A - Boston Road

In 1856 a stockade was established at the northern end of Mt Eden. Plans were subsequently drawn up for a new prison by colonial architect P.F.M. Burrows.

The prisoners at the stockade built the prison wall from locally quarried stone and it was completed over seven years from 1865. Construction of the prison began in 1882 and at its completion in 1917 it held 220 prisoners.

In 1965 two prisoners began a riot which lasted for two days and left the prison burnt and uninhabitable. The stone walls survived and the prison was rebuilt. The prison now houses up to 421 men and 54 women.

The Colonial Ammunition Company's Shot Tower.

Colonial ammunition company I B Normanby Road

In 1885 the Colonial Ammunition Company established New Zealand's first munitions factory in response to the threat of war with Russia.

The site was considered far enough away from the built up inner city to be suitable for the manufacture of dangerous goods.

The factory became a  hive of activity during the Second World War when staff numbers were increased from 230 to 900.  Plastic containers were produced at the factory when the demand for ammunition dropped at the end of the war.

The company closed its Mt Eden factory in 1982.

The site has been redeveloped with light commercial use predominating.

Mt Eden quarry in 1920s.

Mount Eden quarry

A quarry was established near Mt Eden Prison where prisoners extracted stone for prison buildings.

Winstone's opened three quarries on the mountain in the 1860s and others followed.

Quarrying continued until the 1940s by which time the shape of the mountain had been substantially altered.

Auckland Grammar School  I A

The establishment of Auckland Grammar School dates back to 1869 and it was to occupy several central city sites before cramped conditions prompted the move to Mt Eden in 1916.

The Spanish Mission style main building was the result of an international design competition for the new school won by Auckland architectural firm Arnold & Abbot.

At the time of its opening the school roll numbered 600. Today around 2200 pupils attend the school.

26 Clive Road B

Trevor Lloyd's house, "Wharetane" was constructed in 1928 and was designed by Scottish-trained architect, John Anderson. Trevor Lloyd (1863-1937), possibly best known for his studies of native flora and fauna, was a political cartoonist on the New Zealand Herald from 1910-1930.

When the All Blacks were defeated by Wales in 1905, he drew what is believed to be the first New Zealand cartoon using the kiwi as a symbol for New Zealand. Lloyd was also well known for using Maori motifs and design and this is evident on the stone garage, and detailing throughout this house.

Woods & Co. Grocers in the early 1900s.

Woods Dairy - Corner Mt Eden and Esplanade Roads

In 1906 builder G.B.Braithwaite erected this large wooden shop on the corner of Mt Eden and Esplanade Roads.

It was initially run as Woods & Merson grocers but was soon operating under the name H. Woods & Co.

The building still houses a grocery shop but parts of the original retail space have been subdivided into small shops.

Marino Gardens - Corner Mt Eden and Esplanade Roads

Marino Gardens.

Marino Gardens was one of the largest of several multi-unit residential developments built in the 1930s.

It comprised of eighteen flats complete with garaging, tradesman's entrances and a shared courtyard.

Marino Gardens offered a new housing type and the design won Kenneth W. Aimer a gold medal awarded by the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1936.

The Horse and Trap - Enfield Street

Horse & Trap.

This building was erected  as a store in 1914 for the firm W & G Winstone, carriers and coal merchants. It was built by W. Ball at a cost of £1400.

Winstones had a number of buildings, including stables for their horses, on their property which extended through to Mt Eden Road. It appears that the building was damaged by fire in 1927 and again in 1936.

In the late 1930s the building was occupied by Tasti Products, the well-known crystallized fruit manufacturers. Tasti remained on site for over four decades.

In the early 1990s the building was converted for use as a bar and restaurant known as the Horse & Trap.

Ipu-Pakore

Near the rail over-bridge was a spring named Ipu Pakore (The broken gourds) after two women were ambushed on their return from fetching water during the raids of the famed warrior, Kawharu.

The spring supplied Maungawhau pa - and was where Puhihuia met her lover Ponga before they eloped across the Manukau Harbour.

Henderson & Pollard -Enfield Street

In 1904 Henderson & Pollard established a joinery factory in Enfield Road. The factory was rebuilt twice after destructive fires in 1909 and 1927.

The company expanded its operations over the years and came to occupy nearly three hectares of land.

In 1987 the company was purchased by Carter Holt Harvey who continued to operate from the Mt Eden site until the mid 1990s.

Recently the former Henderson & Pollard site has been redeveloped into high density housing.

Published March 2008