Parnell, New Zealand - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Parnell is a suburb of Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is often billed as Auckland's "oldest suburb" since it dates from the earliest days of the European settlement of Auckland in 1841. To its west lies the Auckland Domain, to the south Newmarket

Newmarket, New Zealand

Newmarket is an Auckland suburb to the south-east of the central business district. With its high building density, especially of retail shops, it is considered New Zealand's premier retailing area, and a rival of local competitor Auckland CBD...

, and to the north the commercial area of St Georges Bay with mainly office-space.

Parnell Rise and Parnell Road make up the main road through Parnell. Parnell Rise leads to the central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

to the west; Parnell Road runs from Parnell Rise uphill to the top of the suburb, and then bends almost 90 degrees and continues towards Newmarket in the south-east. Parnell Road ends at the intersection of George and Sarawia Streets, where it becomes Broadway. Early European settlers knew Parnell Road as "Manukau Road" until well after the formation of Khyber Pass (or Khyber Pass Road) in 1845.

History

Parnell was named after Samuel Duncan Parnell

Samuel Duncan Parnell

Samuel Duncan Parnell was an early New Zealand settler often credited with the establishment of the Eight hour day in New Zealand.-Early years:...

, who is credited with the establishment of the Eight hour day in New Zealand.

The Borough of Parnell, established in 1877, was amalgamated into the Auckland City Council

Auckland City Council

Auckland City Council was the local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand, and was amalgamated into the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. It was an elected body representing the 404,658 residents of the city...

area in 1913
or in 1915. The Parnell Road Board administered the area before the Borough was established.

While Parnell has so far never had a dedicated train station, it is planned to construct a new station near the Mainline Steam Depot

Parnell Train Station

The Parnell Train Station is a planned train station in Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the Auckland–Newmarket Line The Parnell Train Station is a planned train station in Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the Auckland–Newmarket Line The Parnell Train Station is a...

at the west of the Parnell shops area, north of the Parnell Tunnel

Parnell Tunnel

The Parnell Tunnel is a railway tunnel under Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand. It is long, and allows the Western and Southern lines coming from Newmarket Train Station to Britomart Transport Centre to pass under the Parnell Ridge before the line drops to harbour level...

, which has been located under the suburbs since 1873.

Buildings

The Anglican Cathedral

Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland

Holy Trinity Cathedral is situated in Parnell, a residential suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.The first Anglican place of worship in Auckland was "Old" St Paul's, at the bottom of Princes Street, but Parnell residents tired of walking about over paddocks to reach their church. The first church...

, which stands at the top of the hill, has become an iconic feature of Parnell. It replaced the old wooden St Mary's, demolished in 1888, having served the community for 28 years. The building has two parts: the brick choir and body of the church date from about 1960 and represent a "modern" simplified version of Gothic

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

. This closely resembles Guildford Cathedral

Guildford Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford is the Anglican cathedral at Guildford, Surrey, England.-Construction:Guildford was made a diocese in its own right in 1927, and work on its new cathedral, designed by Sir Edward Maufe, began nine years later, with the foundation stone being laid...

, by Edward Maufe

Edward Maufe

Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe KBE, R.A, F.R.I.B.A. was an English architect and designer, noted chiefly for his work on places of worship and remembrance memorials. He was a skilled interior designer and designed many pieces of furniture...

, completed in 1961. (Guildford exempllifies Municipal Gothic: one commentator described it as "the dying gasp of the Gothic Revival in England".) The massing of the forms, the detailing of the masonry and the smooth expanses of plain brick occur in both buildings. Over the transept entrance stands a bronze sculpture of the Archangel Michael

Michael (archangel)

Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...

defeating the Devil

Devil in Christianity

In mainstream Christianity, the Devil is named Satan, and sometimes Lucifer. He is a fallen angel who rebelled against God. He is often identified as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, whose persuasions led to original sin and the need for Jesus Christ's redemption...

, very similar to the Epstein

Jacob Epstein

Sir Jacob Epstein KBE was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter...

sculpture of the same subject on Coventry Cathedral

Coventry Cathedral

Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....

(finished 1962).

The front part of the church, built in the 1990s to the design of Professor Richard Toy

Richard Toy

Richard Horton Beauclerc Toy, OBE was a former New Zealand architect renowned for his church architecture.Toy was born in Ignace, Ontario, Canada in 1911. His family moved to New Zealand in 1923...

and John Sinclair, recalls the new Coventry Cathedral

Coventry Cathedral

built after World War II. It features large stained-glass windows, illuminated by the sunlight at certain times of the day. Māori motifs and symbols appear in the newer part of the building, which awaits a large spire to finish the composition.

Next to this building stands the smaller wooden Gothic St Mary's. This dates from 1885 and served as the pro-cathedral after the demolition of the earlier St Mary's and until the building of the current cathedral. Designed by B.W Mountfort, it stood on the other side of Parnell Road until the 1980s.

Across the road, on St Stephens Avenue near the intersection with Parnell Road, stands Bishopscourt or Selwyn Court, the residence of the Anglican Bishop of Auckland. This wooden gothic house, designed by Frederick Thatcher

Frederick Thatcher

Rev. Frederick Thatcher was an English and New Zealand architect and clergyman.He was born at Hastings to a long-established Sussex family. He was one of the earliest associates of the Institute of British Architects, being admitted in 1836.He emigrated to New Zealand in 1843, working in New...

, has a chapel and an octagonal turret. Bishop Selwyn

George Augustus Selwyn

George Augustus Selwyn was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand from 1841 to 1858. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was Primate of New Zealand from 1858 to 1868. He was Bishop of Lichfield from 1868 to 1878...

and his wife moved here in May 1865.

In this area stand two houses of the same period as Bishopscourt, both open to the public: Kinder House

Kinder House and Ewelme Cottage

Kinder House and Ewelme Cottage are two historic and reputedly haunted houses on Ayr Street, in the suburb of Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand. Because of the claimed hauntings, the two historic homes were visited by a team of paranormal investigators in 2005 and featured on Ghost Hunt, a New Zealand...

, the residence of the Rev. John Kinder; and Ewelme Cottage

Kinder House and Ewelme Cottage

. At the end of St Stephens Avenue one finds the Parnell Rose Gardens, Judges Bay and the Parnell Swimming Pool.

During the early 1970s the suburb became rather dilapidated. Les Harvey, a local businessman, created "Parnell Village" and revitalised the area as a week-end tourist shopping-destination. This involved Parnell re-inventing itself as a set of "Ye Olde Worlde Shoppes". As many other Victorian buildings underwent demolition in Auckland at the time, period materials became available cheaply, and the buildings of Parnell village emerged altered, extended and tarted up in a somewhat fanciful but fun ersatz Victorian style

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

. Much of this restyling remains in evidence within Parnell Village and within the Parnell Road shopping area, under the ongoing ownership of the Harvey family's company, City Construction.

Along the upper part of Parnell Road stand a number of these houses, most of them now used by law firms, accountancy firms, shops, and a few restaurants.

The lower part of Parnell has a larger concentration of Edwardian retail buildings, including a number of fashionable boutiques, nightclubs and bars. The streets to each side of Parnell Road remain mainly residential in character, with some townhouses and apartments, especially towards St Georges Bay Road.

At the bottom of Parnell Rise runs Beach Road, so called because it ran round the beach-front of the now-reclaimed Mechanics Bay

Mechanics Bay

Mechanics Bay is the name of a former bay on the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland City, New Zealand. It is also the name used to describe the area of the former bay that is now mainly occupied by commercial and port facilities...

and Official Bay. St Georges Bay disappeared at the same time. Here stands the former Auckland Railway Station

Auckland railway station

Auckland Railway Station is the former main railway station of Auckland, New Zealand, and is located on the eastern edge of the Auckland CBD near Mechanics Bay...

, an impressive brick 1930s structure, designed by Gummer and Ford

Gummer and Ford

Gummer and Ford was an architectural firm founded in 1923 in Auckland, New Zealand by William John Gummer and C. Reginald Ford. It was among the country's best-regarded architectural firm of the first half of the 20th century, designing numerous iconic buildings, including the former National Art...

. The City Fathers relocated the Railway Station here from the bottom of Queen Street to become the centrepiece for the new downtown business area of Auckland. The plan did not prove successful; the station building has ceased to operate as a station and the Britomart Transport Centre

Britomart Transport Centre

Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...

has taken over the earlier location. This has started to prove a great success.

Education

Parnell lies within easy reach of two universities (University of Auckland

University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...

and Auckland University of Technology

Auckland University of Technology

The Auckland University of Technology is a university in New Zealand. It was formed on 1 January 2000 when the Auckland Institute of Technology was granted university status. Its primary campus is on Wellesley Street in Auckland's Central business district...

) and of some significant State secondary schools: Auckland Grammar School

Auckland Grammar School

Auckland Grammar School is a state secondary school for years 9 to 13 boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It had a roll of 2,483 in 2008, including a number of boarders who live in nearby Tibbs' House, making it one of the largest schools in New Zealand...

, Epsom Girls Grammar School, St Peter's College

St Peter's College, Auckland

St Peter's College is a Catholic college for year 7 to 13 boys . The school, located in Auckland, is one of the largest Catholic schools in New Zealand and is an integrated school under an integration agreement entered into by the Catholic Bishop of Auckland and the Government of New Zealand in...

and Baradene College of the Sacred Heart

Baradene College of the Sacred Heart

Baradene College of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic high school for girls aged between 11 to 18 located in Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand.Established 1909, Baradene celebrated its 100th year in 2009....

.

Other private educational institutions located in Parnell include ACG Parnell College (a secondary school), Euroasia

Euroasia

Euroasia is a New Zealand-based provider of European and Asian language training, cross cultural consulting and translation services.In 2007, Euroasia was recognised by National Business Review as the third most exciting company in education, for their unique contribution to the education...

and Kaplan International Colleges.

Parnell District School, which caters for Year 1-8 students is the second oldest school in Auckland.

Parks

Parnell plays host to several beautiful parks. Besides the main park known as The Rose Gardens, there are several other parks scattered around the area. Fraser Park also know by locals as "Mike Robinson Park", is located at the beginning of Parnell when coming from the CBD.

From 1921 to 2002, Carlaw Park

Carlaw Park

Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.-History:The stadium's grandstands and terraces were built in 1916, and it became the home of rugby league in Auckland from 1921...

, which is located in Parnell, was the home of rugby league football in Auckland.

Mayors

The following served as Mayors of the Borough of Parnell until its incorporation into Auckland City:

1877 - 1877 Henry Matthew Nation
1877 - 1878 J.W. Melton
1878 - 1879 William Coleman
1879 - 1880 J.W. Robinson
1880 - 1881 J. Friar Clark
1881 - 1883 Robert Walker
1883 - 1885 D.H. McKenzie
1885 - 1887 Jonathan Winks
1887 - 1888 Seymour Thorne George
1888 - 1891 H.B. Sealy
1891 - 1892 Seymour Thorne George
1892 - 1894 John McCabe
1894 - 1895 George S. Kissling
1895 - 1896 Spencer Von Sturmer
1896 - 1897 Joseph Thornes
1897 - 1898 N.W. Pollard
1898 - 1903 Hugh Campbell
1903 - 1906 John Fitt
1906 - 1909 George W. Basley
1909 - 1913 Richard Stevenson Briggs

Electorate

Parnell forms part of the Epsom Electorate

Epsom (New Zealand electorate)

Epsom is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Epsom is Rodney Hide MP of the ACT Party. He has held this position since 2005.-Population centres:...

for Parliamentary

Parliament of New Zealand

The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...

representation, and of the Hobson Ward for council representation within Auckland City

Auckland City

Auckland City was the city and local authority covering the Auckland isthmus and most of the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, in the North Island of New Zealand. On 1 November 2010 it was amalgamated into the wider Auckland Region under the authority of the new Auckland Council...

. Parnell represents approximately 20% of the population in each of these. The Member of Parliament for Epsom, Rodney Hide

Rodney Hide

Rodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of...

, represents ACT New Zealand. Hide won re-election in the 2008 general election

New Zealand general election, 2008

The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...

. The city councillors for the Hobson Ward all stood on the Citizens and Ratepayers Now

Citizens and Ratepayers Now

Citizens & Ratepayers is an established right-leaning local body ticket in Auckland, New Zealand. The Citizens and Ratepayers Association was formed in 1937 with a view to control the Auckland City Council and prevent the left-leaning Labour Party from control...

ticket.

Prominent residents

One of Parnell's most prominent residents, Prime Minister

Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

(2008- ) John Key

John Key

John Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....

, lives in a NZ$9 million private mansion on St Stephen's Avenue..

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.