Western Park, Auckland

Western Park
A boardwalk passes through the upper part of the park.
Type	Public park
Location	Auckland, New Zealand
Created	1879 (1879)
Operated by	Auckland Council
Status	Open year round, 24 hours

Western Park is a midsized public park located in the suburb of Freemans Bay, west of the CBD of Auckland, New Zealand.

It is situated in two merging gullies which run downhill to the sea (now several kilometres away due to land reclamation) from what was once called Te Rimu Tahi ridge (the 'lone Rimu tree ridge' in Maori). Originally, the Tuna Mau stream used to run through the park's area. The location makes the southern parts of the park rather steep, so that it is accessed by boardwalk stairs descending from Hopetoun Street or steep paths from Ponsonby Road, while the main entry is from Beresford Street West or lower Howe Street.

The park has several walkways, public toilets, a children's playground and a small performance space blended into the scenery.

The park dates back to the late-19th century, and is considered one of the city's most distinguished open spaces. It may be considered Auckland's oldest Municipal park as the Auckland Domain was created by Central Government. The original parcel of land set aside in 1871 consisted of a coffin-shaped wedge going from Ponsonby Road down to Beresford Street, with access to the park being gained from a very narrow frontage on Ponsonby Road. This was land on each side of the stream, which in pre-European times had been called Tuna-Mau by the local Māori, meaning 'the trapping of eels'. The stream was one of several which emptied into Freeman Bay, now reclaimed as Victoria Park.

In 1873, the City Council decided to call for a new park design, and declared that the sum of ten guineas/pounds (then quite a sum) would be awarded as prize money to the creator of the winning design. Out of 11 different concepts that were submitted, the 'Lily of the Valley' design of Hammond and Blackmore was chosen for the new "City Park". Western Park, as it was eventually called, was soon finished, at a cost of £200 and in 1874 the City Parks Committee did note that "upwards of 1100 deciduous and coniferous trees of the choicest kind [were] to be planted in the park."

The grounds were laid out in accordance with the lay of the land; with paths winding down the hill from Ponsonby Road to a small flat area at the bottom of the site. The top of the park enjoyed views of the Waitemata Harbour and the city while the lower area could be used for activities. The park's expansive planting scheme of trees made it an arboretum, a popular and fairly new concept at the time. Many of the specimen trees were gifts of prominent citizens, in particular Sir George Grey and Sir Maurice O'Rorke (Speaker of the House). The park was vested with the City Council in 1875 and in 1879 the Auckland Star reported the city following the example of 'the civilised world' with the official opening on November 17.