There was a time when there were several contenders wanting to take over land at the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road, the reserve we now know as Pigeon Park. Here’s how proposals surfaced…
Auckland’s First Public Cemetery
In 1841 land on the extreme fringes of the fledgling Auckland town was designated (1) as burial grounds. It comprised bush and tree-covered slopes either side of Symonds Street, soon divided-up, (2) Anglican on the Grafton Gully side with Catholic and other Protestant burials on the western side. The Jewish community was also granted land for burials, about an acre (.4 of a hectare) on the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road which opened in November 1843. (3) The Present Pigeon Park.
New Rules for an Expanding City
Auckland grew quickly, with settlement popular towards the South around Karangahape Road, Newton and Eden Terrace. The cemeteries were no longer “out of town” but rapidly being surrounded by the new suburbs… so the City Council framed, and had passed, the Auckland Burial Ground Act 1885 which would curtail further burials. So from March 1886 this measure (4) prevented further burials in the interests of public health and sanitation, limiting them to those who already owned plots or who were joining blood relatives previously interred. The Council provided alternative burial grounds at Waikumete. (5)
This meant that the greater part of the acre on the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road, the area allocated to, and administered by, the Jewish community would not be required. The Cemeteries Act restricted its further use to reserve or parkland.
Corner of Symonds St and Karangahape Rd – undated
In anticipation of the Act, part of the land that would be “surplus to requirements” at the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road was given by the Jewish congregation to the Council to round off the intersection (6) and at the same time the Jewish community, funded by L.D. Nathan, planted trees to enhance the remaining vacant land adjacent to the graveyard. (7)
Beautifying the area: L. D. Nathan planted trees on the corner site
In 1889 the City Council used part of the land to house a 20,000 gallon (7,500 l) water tank. (8) It was connected by a pipeline to the Auckland waterfront so saltwater could be pumped uptown and stored for street cleaning, flushing the sewers and settling the dusty streets in summer.
Others Like the Look of the Land
The vacant land, in 1890, looked attractive to the Auckland Fire Brigade as a site for its new headquarters. (9) Fire Chief John Hughes wanted a station up-town to replace the old Albert Street headquarters and with the Symonds Street site he perhaps envisaged combining the City, Newton and Khyber Pass stations, resulting in the big savings he was promising. But the Council said it had no intention to move the Albert Street fire station. (10)
By 1900 another use for the “vacant” land was considered when Council announced a proposal to construct saltwater baths for public use. (11) Advocates pointed out the pipeline was already in place to supply the baths direct from the harbour.
A Law to Restrict Use
In 1908 the Council was keen to legislate to confirm the absolute closure of the cemeteries (time allowed for next-of-kin burials had run out), to vest the surplus land next to the Jewish Cemetery in Council and to ensure the area could only be used for saltwater baths, a water reservoir and as a public reserve. (12) The Jewish community concurred: it would, accordingly, give up the land.
Another Contender: St John
Enter the St John Ambulance Association. Its officers had also eyed up the site at the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road as ideal for its Headquarters. No doubt the new Grafton Bridge, under construction, was a factor: it gave ready access to and from the hospital and then Symonds Street gave a direct route to both downtown and to southern suburbs, while Karangahape Road was a good flat run along the ridge to the West. St John had stationed Ashford Litters at key points in Central Auckland and the inner suburbs (13) … and was now seeking a base for its operations and administration.
The Auckland Centre of St. John Ambulance Association wrote to the City Council in July 1908 (14) saying “we wish to build and equip an efficient ambulance station with skilled men constantly in attendance. The Centre has £583, and with further annual collections, we hope to have the funds to enable us to build a station suitable to requirements, if a site was granted free of charge. We are requesting Council to provide the land, and a possible location is a portion of the site taken at the Jewish Cemetery”.
Within days, it was pointed out to St John officials that the proposed law would severely limit the use to which the land could be put… and an ambulance headquarters did not fit. (15) Undaunted, St John officers wrote to Council again asking for serious consideration, and, to enable progress, suggested an amendment to the Bill which “would allow the Council to grant St John a lease of part of the Jewish Cemetery for a peppercorn rental in order to build an Ambulance Station”. The City Council did not say “no” outright, in fact it asked for more details about the size of the land envisaged and its positioning within the vacant area. St John’s chances, thus, looked promising. (16)
But when the Association stated that a building 100ft (30m) by 50ft (15m) would be required, together with space at the side, matters cooled. (17) One Councillor said he had no idea St John would need so much land while the City Engineer stated that if this much space was taken up it would destroy the site for the proposed swimming baths.
Undeterred, St John said it could probably manage in a smaller building if Council could agree with its proposal to include provision in the Bill. (18) But prolonged considerations extended beyond the passing of the Act in Parliament and the Council advised St John officials in September 1908 that, as it had now passed into law, no further action could be taken. (19)
Town Planners’ Vision
A grand plan for a new Civic Centre surfaced in 1925, suggesting that, “…despite the Town Hall having being built in the wrong place…”, civic amenities should be moved to new premises to be constructed uptown near Symonds Street, incorporating vacant land adjacent to the Jewish Cemetery. Enthusiastic planners envisaged municipal offices, an art gallery, a new town hall and gardens. (20) The city centre would move uptown, but their dreams failed to materialise.
Symonds Street/Karangahape Road corner 1919: Winkelmann
The Council Backs Down
In 1928 there was major controversy between the City Council and the Jewish community when Councillors debated whether they had reneged on earlier undertakings given when the legislation was being drafted in 1908. After several reversed decisions, Council ultimately agreed that the congregation could construct a building on the site as a memorial to the fallen in World War One. (21) But the Depression and World War Two intervened and eventually a building was erected to mark the centennial of the first Jewish religious ceremony held in Auckland. (22)
So, neither the Fire Brigade, St John Ambulance nor the eager town planners were given the land that they sought at the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road. The saltwater tanks have long gone. The saltwater baths were, instead, built downtown, known as the Tepid Baths opened in 1914 – and still popular to this day. (23)
There’s a plaque adjacent to the park to remind visitors of the Jewish connection and, true to the Act of Parliament passed nearly 120 years ago, the area remains a public reserve.
The land remains a reserve
These days it’s open parkland known as Pigeon Park enhanced by Greer Twiss’s sculpture.
RCC January 2026/June 2026
References:
1 Heritage New Zealand website, Historic Place Category 1 #7753
2 Ibid
3 “Jewish Cemetery; a Distinct Community” website – https://ssc.stqry.app › story
4 Auckland Burial Grounds Act 1885. VICTORIA. No. 27
5 Gazette Notice 18 September 1883
6 New Zealand Herald 13 June 1884
7 New Zealand Herald 16 September 1884
8 New Zealand Herald 21 December 1889
9 Auckland Star 8 August 1890
10 Auckland Star 22 August 1890
11 New Zealand Herald 14 February 1908
12 Auckland Star 15 June 1908
13 Auckland Star 4 July 1908
14 New Zealand Herald 3 July 1908
15 Auckland Star 17 July 1908
16 Ibid
17 New Zealand Herald 17 July 1908
18 Auckland Ster 28 August 1908
19 Auckland Star 25 September 1908
20 New Zealand Herald 9 June 1926
21 New Zealand Herald 4 May 1928
22 “Jewish Cemetery; a Distinct Community” website – https://ssc.stqry.app › story
23 Heritage New Zealand website, Historic Place Category 2 #7377
Newspaper articles accessed via Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers
Websites accessed December 2025
Historic photographs from the collections at Auckland Libraries
