Parnell rises again

Our earliest suburb has been both desired and ignored over the years. The re-launched business association hopes to usher in a new era of appreciation for the charming streets of Parnell. Sophie Bond and Kellie Blizard go roaming.
Even in an area of Auckland so rich with living history, Tom Davies is one of Parnell's more colourful long-time residents. He's lived in the suburb for more years than he can remember.
Growing up in Palmerston North, he used to watch the train rattle past, bound for Auckland, and wish he was on board. He made it out at 15 and, after knocking around the Big Smoke for a while, found a jewel in Parnell.
From his Stratford St home he leads us down a path and into La Cigale cafe, where the waitress knows his order. His coffee is stone-cold by the time he takes a sip because once he's opened the floodgates of his opinions on the folly of town-planners, councils and developers, there really is no stopping him.
He believes Parnell does not need more shops or another parking building. In his opinion, people need to be encouraged to come and live here.
"If we can keep Parnell alive with the energy of some of the rich and effective people, then the rest of Auckland may survive. If Parnell suffers further deterioration and gives way to short-term greed, then everything about this place is at great risk."
This blue-skied August morning, Parnell is looking its delightful best. The lemon tree in the garden of Hulme Court - built in 1843, Auckland's oldest home still on its original site - is laden. Cafes on the sunny side of the street are filling fast and small dogs are being walked up, down and across the strip.
Inside a pretty white villa at No327 is the new hub of the Parnell business association, known as Parnell Inc. Kristen George and Kelly O'Shannessey are the new faces of the association, charged with marketing Parnell and increasing support for local businesses.
A wall of their cosy office is covered in historic photos of the area. There's a box of Welsh rugby paraphernalia by the door: Parnell is the team's official home during the Rugby World Cup.
The women believe theirs is the only Auckland business association with a mainstreet presence and say the new premises will allow for easy drop-ins from tourists, shoppers and the 500 businesses it represents.
Marketing manager O'Shannessey has an e-commerce background and has lived and worked in the area for about 15 years. She says bringing more people to Parnell will be a key focus of her role.
"We think there are a lot of best-kept secrets in Parnell and it's time we started telling the story. Visitors should be able to come to us and we should know everything about Parnell."
"We are passionate about being local and supporting local, and this is what the hub is all about for our business members. We can easily connect local businesses as well as market their fantastic services and products to our visitors."
Mrs O'Shannessey is interested in using social media - Facebook, Twitter and Youtube - to promote deals and events. and keep business members linked in. There'll be a newsletter within a couple of months and the website will get a revamp.
"We're here to start making a difference and raising the suburb's profile," she says with enthusiasm.
Office manager George has also lived in the gentrified suburb for 15 years. "I'm really passionate about Parnell and I want to see people coming back. We have the most beautiful parks and going to work is like having a little bit of Italy every day."
The hub has been open for a month and the pair are thrilled with the feedback from locals. "We have quite a lot of the old Parnell ladies coming in and sharing their stories, and everyone loves the old photos," says Ms George. "You can tell everyone is really proud to live in Parnell."
Mrs O'Shannessey says Parnell has had a lot of competition over the past decade - "For example, the Viaduct and now the Britomart precinct. People have forgotten about the fabulous restaurants here. Parnell has been left off the map due to Newmarket and I think that has left a gap in Auckland in terms of places to go."
"We're more refined," says Ms George. "We don't have chain stores, we have beautiful boutiques and some of the businesses have been here for over 30 years."
Rendell McIntosh founded Parnell Heritage, the suburb's historical and conservation society in 2005 and, as well as living locally, has a book about Parnell's history on the go.
The Government bought what is now Parnell from Ngati Whatua in April 1841 and created the country's first suburb, he explains.
"Robert Tod purchased 1.2ha on September 1, 1841 and by the 4th he was advertising the village of Parnell. He divided his land into 36 allotments and started flicking them off. He was a property speculator."
Parnell was originally called Mechanic's Bay; many early residents staffed the local timber mill and brick factory. "Those existing one- or two-storey houses along Parnell Rd were for tradesmen and labourers. Further up the heights people could get a better view of the Hauraki Gulf and the grander homes were built.
"Unfortunately, over time, people havn't realised the importance of Parnell being the first New Zealand suburb and we've now lost a lot of our cultural heritage. We have lost some lovely heritage buildings that should have stayed as an architectural summary of the first suburb."
McIntosh has lived in Judge St for almost 25 years and watched his neighbourhood change from a mix of students, young families and elderly to something quite different. "During the 60s and 70s no one would come and live in Parnell, it was all down and out. It was known for a long time as a poor area. 'Poor but proud' was the motto."
"Les Harvey [see above] was the saviour of Parnell by rescuing those houses along Parnell Rd and turning them into shops. It still has the semblance of a village."
And as for the name, "Some people say it was after [Charles Stewart] Parnell the politician, or [Thomas] Parnell the poet, or the paymaster, or the [Samuel] Parnell who created the eight-hour working day. But it wasn't any of those people at all."
No amount of pleading will make him share what his extensive research has revealed. He's saving that for the publication of a book on Parnell which may be another couple of years away still. Sorry to leave you hanging.
He says it's "a tragedy" buildings such as Kilbryde and Rodean House have been lost forever but it's not all doom and gloom. He cites the restoration of Judges Bay: "It's the last inner-city beach that hasn't been reclaimed".
"The Heards building [formerly the Heards sweet factory] is now apartments. That's a good example of utilising the structure of a heritage building for a new purpose."
He's thankful for district plan change 163. Once finalised it will mean houses built before 1940 in what is now Parnell's residential 1 zone and parts of the residential 2 zone require resource consent before they can be demolished or removed.
After coffee,  Tom Davies takes us to St John the Baptist, the white wooden Catholic church on Parnell Rd. Next to it is a parking lot with multimillion-dollar views.
"Can you imagine what will happen if a developer buys this piece of dirt?" he says. "There'll be eight storeys of ugliness and Parnell will be finished."
He says the suburb offers a rare insight into Auckland's past. "Parnell underlines the great magic of Auckland and, if it goes, the rest will just become a series of faceless suburbs. People are denying their own heritage.
"When I first moved here we had a beautiful community and people looked after the place," he says with a sigh. "Did you know they've just closed the Parnell post office? There's no understanding of what holds communities together."
Saving Parnell
Les Harvey was a millionaire businessman and property developer who owned dozens of Auckland's historic buildings, including much of Parnell. Called an "eccentric visionary", he created Parnell Village in the 1970s, rebuilding old houses at the top of Parnell Rise into
a collection of boutiques and restaurants. He saw himself as a custodian and many of the parts used in his projects were salvaged from other demolished buildings.
Fresh views
Parnell Heritage's annual history competition for schoolchildren is now open. Entries of art, essays, audio or video are due September 2. For competition details and entry forms visit the Parnell Library or email gianlucaw@parnell.school.nz.
By numbers
At the time of the 2006 Census, 6519 people lived in Parnell.
It currently has: 33 restaurants, 23 cafes, 11 bars and 11 takeaway outlets; 14 art galleries, 20 clothing boutiques, 9 jewellery stores, 23 home-design shops, 28 beauty & health establishments, 11 gift stores and 16 service businesses such as drycleaners.