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The history of Parnell:
Parnell, contained between the harbour and the Domain is
Auckland's oldest suburb. It is vibrant with history. Pukekawa
is the Maori name for the Domain, in memory of the dead in
ancient wars. There was a Maori Pa at Point Resolution, above
the present baths. At the foot of Stanley St, then waterfront
at Mechanics Bay, was a Maori hostelry, canoe reserve and
market, not demolished till the 1960s.
The purchase of land for Auckland was confirmed in 1841,
and blocks of 3-5 acres were sold, quickly subdivided into
"36 allotments...metamorphosised into the village of
Parnell". But there was stately development too: Judges
Bay was named for Sir William Martin (the first Chief Justice)
and Attorney General Swainson; and John Blackett's house and
grounds in St Georges Bay were "the finest in the province".
Bishop Selwyn decided early that Parnell was to be the focus
of the Church of England in Auckland, and in 1842 he had chosen
the site for its future Cathedral. He established a deanery,
St Barnabas Church (formerly above Mechanics Bay), St Stephen's
School (initially for Maori girls), the Church Grammer School
in Ayr St, St Stephens Chapel in Judges Bay, the first St.
Mary's Church, and the Cathedral Library and bell tower and
Bishopscourt in St Stephens Avenue.
Most early settlers were mechanics and tradesmen. They congregated
in Mechanics Bay, where the first European suburban and industrial
development took place. Early industry included a sawmill,
a brickworks, Robertson's Rope Walk, a flour mill, and boat-building.
From the 1870's first Mechanics Bay and then St Georges Bay
disappeared as they were reclaimed for industry, railway and
port development.
In the early 1850's a bridge crossed the inlet to Mechanics
Bay - right where Parnell Rise begins now - and this opened
a main highway through Parnell and Newmarket to the farming
settlement of Epsom, Onehunga and the south. In the 1870's
a railway system saw a bridge over Parnell Rd and a tunnel
through Parnell Hill. Tramcars ran up Parnell Rd in the early
1900's. In 1919 some of the finest foreshore houses were demolished
and their land cut away to form Tamaki Drive, finally severing
Parnell from contact with the open harbour.
For a time Parnell languished. Industry, office, transient
accommodation encroached. But Les Harvey, a local property
developer, revitalised many of the old buildings along Parnell
road, and so created "Parnell Village", the catalyst
for regeneration of Parnell both as a tourism centre and prime
residential area.
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