Residents push to save historic spring

The spring that served Maori and the first European settlers. Picture / Paul Estcourt

Residents of the heritage buildings in Auckland's Parliament St are pushing for a wider heritage precinct before a number of important links, including unprotected trees and a freshwater spring, are destroyed by developers.

The history of the area stretches back to pre-European times when Maori tied up their canoes at what is now Beach Rd to drink the pure waters of Wai Ariki spring, which became the first water source for early settlers.

The proposed Parliament St heritage precinct contains several unprotected trees, including a jacaranda and pear tree, both planted about 1860.

Queen Victoria's second son, Alfred, reportedly swung on the pear tree as a young Duke of Edinburgh in 1869. The tree is now hidden behind a University of Auckland building in Eden Cres.

Ann Andrews, who lives in one of five historic apartment buildings in Parliament St, said residents wanted to preserve the remaining heritage before the area became a "concrete jungle".

"There are so few areas of grace and beauty in this city. We would like this to be a place that people come to visit and think about the history," she said.

The council could promote the area as a historical precinct, rather than just the buildings it contains, with public walkways, informative signs, lawns and protected trees.

The precinct would include Parliament St and be bounded by Eden Cres, Waterloo Quadrant and the Connaught Apartments.

It would include the rear of the High Court building on Parliament St, which was the site of New Zealand's first Parliament. The area is currently unprotected.

The proposed precinct is the temporary site of the University of Auckland law school and school of philosophy; some privately owned buildings; the 125-year-old Newman Hall owned by the Catholic Church; and the protected buildings on Parliament St. It has a mix of heritage and residential zoning.

The biggest threat to the area is the residential zoning, allowing for 15-storey developments on Waterloo Quadrant, rising to 24 storeys on Eden Cres.

A number of towers have sprung up on the fringes of the precinct and a 14-storey student block planned inside the proposed precinct on Eden Tce nearly proceeded last year.

Parliament St resident Petrus van der Schaaf said Auckland was about 100 years behind cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide when it came to preserving heritage: "Even Oamaru leaves us for dead."

The council had a duty to reverse its long-standing neglect of central city architectural heritage in light of the landmark ruling by Justice Patrick Keane stating the council could not ignore design issues, he said.

"We don't want any more wind tunnels, cheek-by-jowl high rises, or tacky prefab condos."

Residents are due to meet councillors tomorrow to discuss the precinct.