Dove-Myer Robinson Park is attractive, overlooking Mechanics Bay and Judges Bay in Parnell. Māori called the area Taurarua, and it was included in the land provided by Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei to establish Auckland in September 1840.
The park is beautiful, and a meandering path, the 2.7km Te Ara o Taurarua / Judges Bay Path takes you from the entrances on Gladstone Road through the Parnell Rose Gardens, a scattering of pōhutukawa and other trees and then down a steep slope to Judges Bay. A highlight is a giant pōhutukawa tree, the second largest in NZ at over 50 metres wide.
The park is named after Dove-Myer Robinson, who was mayor of Auckland for 18 years. The most noticeable feature is the Parnell Rose Gardens at the southwest end of the park on Gladstone Road. It is best to start at this end for a walk through the park, with parking either on the road or through the stone entrance at Judges Bay Road and Gladstone Road and next to the gardens. The gardens are significant, with around 5,000 rose bushes. The smaller Nancy Steen Garden, dating to the late 1890s, honours her interest in the roses brought by European settlers. December is a perfect time to visit when pōhutukawas that line some of the paths through the Rose Gardens are also flowering.
Exiting the Rose Gardens, you will see a larger car park next to an Arts and Crafts house named Kohanga, built in 1905. Today, it houses a cafe, but it was initially built for Emily Gillies, the widow of Robert Gillies. It is believed to have been designed by Charles Le Neve Arnold, the architect of Auckland Grammar School. The house and property are part of what became the park around 1915.
Continuing north past the cafe and across the car park takes you into a grassed area with pōhutukawa trees. You can’t immediately spot the giant tree because it is shrouded in foliage and resembles a group of trees, but it is directly in front of you. Walk into the foliage to discover and explore this astonishing tree! The oldest manuka tree in Auckland is less obvious, but this odd-looking manuka is also at the north end of the cafe car park.
Beyond the tree are good views of Downtown and the Port of Auckland. The path to Judges Bay also runs along the giant tree's north slide. Other park features include the Netherlands War Memorial, the Signals sculpture, and the Dove-Myer Robinson Lookout Shelter.
Access to the park is on Gladstone Road, a 5-minute drive from Downtown. It is also only a few minutes walk from the start of Tamaki Drive and an easy add-on to a trip around Auckland City’s eastern bays. From there, you can walk through Judges Bay Reserve to cute Stephens Chapel, Point Resolution Park, and across the bridge back to Tamaki Drive.
