The giant pōhutukawa in Dove-Myer Robinson Park (also known as the Parnell Rose Gardens) is reputed to be the second largest in NZ and is the largest in Auckland. From the outside, the tree looks like a small pōhutukawa forest, and it is not until you walk into the foliage surrounding the tree that you get a true sense of its scale. It is vast, with multiple large, heavy branches arching from the centre, hitting the ground, then rebounding into increasingly small branches. Extraordinary is an understatement!
The tree's providence is not clear, and firm evidence is limited. However, it was mostly likely planted between 1850 and 1860, although it may also have predated the first European occupation of Auckland. Similarly, there are several possibilities regarding who planted it, including Hon. William Swainson, Robert Gillies, and Sir John Logan Campbell. They were all former residents of the area at the right time.
Campbell is the most likely candidate, as Kilbryde was a house he built just west of the tree’s location. He is known to have planted several trees around the house, as seen in paintings of the area in the 1880s. Another painting in 1917 also shows a substantial tree in the correct location.
The house was demolished as part of the cliff to the north was removed to make way for the railway line through adjacent Judges Bay and Hobson Bay. But fortunately, the tree survived.
Incredibly, Auckland City proposed in the early 2020s to develop a large monument to the Erebus disaster victims that could have affected the tree. This led to a rahui, a public petition, and protests, ultimately leading to the cancellation of the project.
