Western Springs

Western Springs
Willows in Western Springs Park, looking east.
Basic information
Local authority	Auckland Council
Surrounds
North	Westmere
Northeast	Herne Bay
East	Grey Lynn
Southeast	Kingsland
South	Morningside
Southwest	Waterview
West	Point Chevalier
Northwest	Point Chevalier

Western Springs
A view of the lake in Western Springs Park.
Type	Public park
Location	Auckland, New Zealand
Area	64 acres (0.26 km2)
Created	1980s (1980s)
Operated by	Auckland Council
Status	Open year round

Western Springs is a residential suburb and park in the west of the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located four kilometres to the west of the city centre. The park is situated to the north of State Highway 16 and the residential suburb is located southeast of the park on the opposite side of State Highway 16.

The suburb is dominated by the large park (featuring a lake with a variety of birdlife), within which are situated Auckland Zoo, Western Springs Stadium and M.O.T.A.T. (the Museum of Transport and Technology). The park is the location of the annual Pasifika Festival, one of Auckland's most popular public events.

Across the road from the Zoo is the school of Western Springs College, with a student population of around 1476.

The Māori valued Waiorea (Western Springs) for the clean, clear spring water and the eels that lived in the stream. After colonisation, the area was part of a block of land farmed by a Scottish settler called William Motion.

The area was called Western Springs to differentiate it from the Springs in the Auckland Domain to the east of town. The main source of the water that feeds the Lake at Western Springs is rain falling on the slopes of the far off volcanoes of Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta, Mount Albert and Maungawhau / Mount Eden. It then runs underground for several miles through the lava flows, and emerges from the ground at a constant rate that is well filtered from the miles of scoria rocks.

As the city of Auckland grew it found that well water was not sufficient. In the 1860s a pipe from the Domain Springs was constructed but in 1874 the city bought William Motions' mill and 120 acres (486,000 m²) of land including the spring. In 1875, the swampy ground was made into a 15-acre (6ha) artificial lake 6 feet in depth and capable of holding 22 million gallons of water. The scale of this back-breaking work is revealed by the fact that Mr. Blewdon and his men removed 20,000 cartloads of spoil from the site and used 7,850 cubic yards of earth to construct the embankment which was 40 feet wide at the base and 9 feet wide at the crest. They also excavated the 25 feet deep Engine Pond and dug a 60 foot long tunnel between the lake and the Engine House.