Today in History

1901 Cornwall Park gifted to Auckland

At a civic reception for the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, Mayor John Logan Campbell handed over the deed to land below One Tree Hill. The park was named in honour of the royals.

The Duke and Duchess (later King George V and Queen Mary) were on a tour of the Commonwealth to express gratitude for the support given to Great Britain during the South African War. During their visit to New Zealand, Campbell – widely regarded as the ‘father of Auckland’ – was asked to be honorary Mayor of Auckland. He used the opportunity of this visit to gift the land to the people of Auckland and asked that it be named Cornwall Park.

The park is centred on a volcanic cone, which Maori called Maungakiekie – mountain of the kiekie. It was the site of a pre-European pa. To Pakeha settlers it became know as One Tree Hill after a solitary tree which grew on the summit when Europeans first settled Auckland.