One of Tāmaki Makaurau's historic treasures has reopened after its refurbishment as part of a major restoration plan.
The Sir John Logan Campbell memorial fountain on Manukau Rd, the original entrance to Cornwall Park, is the first stage to be completed of the Cornwall Park plan developed by Nelson Byrd Woltz in collaboration with Boffa Miskell in 2014. The aim is to restore the area as a grand entrance to the park, protecting and enhancing important heritage features and natural landscapes.
Campbell, an early pioneer settler, gifted the 172ha park to all New Zealanders in 1903. The fountain, funded by public subscription in appreciation of his generosity, was unveiled on May 24, 1906. The fountain had been restored in 1979, largely unsuccessfully, and has now been restored to an original water pattern, albeit with a reduced water consumption from its original 45,000-plus litres per hour.
The main part of the park is sited on the extinct volcano of Maungakiekie which was turned into a major pā site by Ngāti Awa in the late 1600s. The area fell into disuse and was acquired by Campbell and business partner William Brown in 1853. The vision of the overall plan is to enhance "the landscape in its many guises; a recreational and scenic space, a working farm, an ecological refuge and above all, a cultural-heritage landscape".
