Back to the CBD! (Central Business District)

JANUARY 8th 2014

Blockhouse Bay - Parnell (via Britomart)

Dear Diary,

So I've been crazy busy running all over Tamaki Makaurau!! I said goodbye to Rhiann and the crew out at Blockhouse Bay. We went to www.maxx.co.nz to work out the answer to my last challenge question. Did you know that you can go onto their journey planner site and type in where you are and where you want to go, and explore the options and prices before you even leave home!

We discovered that it would cost $1.10 for me and $1.90 for my supervisor to bus from BHB to New Lynn (which is kind of a hub for the West if you live in any of the smaller suburbs like Glen Eden, Titirangi, or Laingholm). I wanted to catch the train, but it looks like they are completing some upgrades, so I'd need to take another bus instead. To go from New Lynn to Britomart (the big transport hub in the CBD) we would pay $2.60 for me, and $4.50 for my adult. 

I bet if you are really sharp you could figure out how much my supervisor and I paid altogether!

The journey planner can help you to make an itinerary. You can even use the free internet at the library if you don't have access at home. It's a lot of fun to plan and take an adventure around Auckland!

Mini came down from Parnell to collect me. We had a quick look in the Maritime Museum before heading up to her library. The Museum is such a cool place to visit! Did you know admission is free if you can show your library card or an Auckland proof of address! I mean how neat is that? Maybe you could plan a bus trip into the city and spend the day at the Museum? (Visiting a museum is a challenge on the Ancient Civilisations page so I can get that one stamped off now. Cool!)

Inside Voyager Maritime Museum -
if you dream about competing in the America's Cup one day
this could be the place for you!

I'm here at Parnell Library!

So, Happy New Year everyone! Far out Parnell library is a blast from the past! I walk in expecting everyone to be wearing formal Victorian dress (like the kind they have in Auckland Museum) but thankfully everyone was really modern and the past met the future in a cool kind of way!

I arrived at the Jubilee Building where the library is and not long after met some cool kids who were reading awesome graphic novels like Twisted Journeys, Percy Jackson and Asterix! Mini also showed me a few graphic novels that I had not seen before so I was stoked with that and they have plenty available! The lovely librarians Emily, Laura and Mini showed me some D2E challenge books that I could read! Sweet!

Me with the friendly Parnell librarians
- I can't see any Victorian clothes here phew!

I saw some fantastic completed challenges for D2E hung up in the library as well. There were lots of drawings and something I really liked was the way the kids had coloured the flags of the world. Mini let me colour one too - I felt quite proud when I seen it hanging up there!

Can you see my one? I coloured in South Africa.

Mini tells me that Parnell is Auckland's oldest suburb. Europeans settled here as early as 1841! I was being a bit smart and said that's as old as my mum! Lol! (Sorry mum, you know I love you! xx)

After learning about BHB I thought I'd look at a bit of history here too. There are lots of Maori Pa around this area and the oral histories are very rich indeed! Tales of settlement and battles over the ownership of the land abound. 

One of the stories tells that in around 1750 the Ngati Whatua from Riverhead took possession of the area following a clash with the Waiohua. Full on! Anyway if you have a Nanny or a Koro out there that you want to ask, you can always leave me a comment on the link below.

Parnell was named after Pakeha settler Samuel Duncan Parnell who was the guy credited with establishing the eight hour working day in New Zealand. But there are a few other stories about its naming so I might try to order a few books on it and see if I can uncover the truth. Most of the libraries Mini tells me, have a stack of local history books that can be borrowed for 24hrs or used in the library as reference books.

Everyone at the library said that I had to visit the Auckland War Memorial Museum - it's massive and sits on top of a big hill looking like a majestic Greek building! There is some cool stuff in there ,like a giant moa, a real stuffed elephant, sharks, polar bears and maybe you might find their Huia birds too? There are cannons and medals, even bomber planes!! If you get the chance you've got to check it out!

Man I am dwarfed by those huge pillars!!
Oh, and what is that dormant volcano in the  Waitemata Harbour in the background there?

Me at the entrance!

Here I am below the Gallipoli inscription,
I am sure there is a National Day that is something to do with this?

I also visited Kinder House - which is one of the many historic houses around Parnell. I heard some people talking about how it was haunted! It's been on 'Ghost Hunt' - a New Zealand paranormal show! Oooooooooooooooooooo! Spooky!

It's sometimes known as the 'Headmaster's House'. It was built in 1857 and commissioned by the Bishop G.A. Selwyn. It was designed by Frederick Thatcher. He designed a lot of Anglican buildings. The stone used to build this house came from a nearby quarry at Mt Eden, Maungawhau. A lot of the volcanic cones around Auckland were mined for building. If you drive around the older parts of Auckland there are many stone walls.

So anyway, getting back to the story, John Kinder, the painter, photographer, teacher and reverend lived here with his wife. I wonder if he got freaked out too!!

Kinder House

On the corner of Parnell and St Stephen's Road is the huge Holy Trinity Cathedral. Wow! It's impressive! The old building that I am standing in front of is St Mary's church built 1886. It's the largest wooden Gothic Church in the world!! Wowsers! They have a cool mini maze out the back!

St Mary's 1886

Holy Trinity Batman! I'm dwarfed by the splendour once again!!

I decided against swimming at the Parnell Baths which I'm told have the most awesome water area for smaller kids  - so I went for a look at the Olympic Pools. An Olympic sized swimming pool in Newmarket not far from Parnell. I didn't swim (because I am cardboard and was a bit worried about the results) - but I watched Mini and plenty of other very fit people swimming laps!

Olympic Pools

I went to the Rose Gardens too which are a big attraction here. There are plenty of paths to ramble around on, a great place to just come and relax, maybe have a picnic? The roses are amazing, the fragrances are aromatic. They also have a variety of old plants and lots of very big exotic trees that were planted by the settlers. 

I met some lovely people there who were just sitting enjoying their books so I went and said, 'Hi!' and had my picture taken with them!

Me with some fellow readers enjoying the Rose Gardens!

I went for a walk to the Parnell shops and found some really good icecream - as you've seen by the beautiful blue sky in my pics, it was fairly hot! 

Checking out Parnell shops. I think Dr Who might appear soon!

So I hope you enjoyed learning a few things about wonderful Parnell! Thank-you so much to Mini and the team at Parnell Library. I think I'll need to go and chill out with a few good books for a while, before I hear about my next assignment!

My challenge questions this time...Hmmm! I hope you have got your 'thinking cap' on like me!

- Thinking about Museum's what do you call a person who stuffs/preserves the form of dead animals?

- How much do you have to pay to get into the Voyager Maritime Museum if you live in Auckland and have proof of your residence?

and thinking about the Auckland War Memorial Museum, what special national day celebrates peace in the present and the sacrifice and achievements of all New Zealand Soldiers? When does that fall?

Oh, I'm feeling really brainy today after all of my touring around Parnell, so what about this one?

There is a centennial celebration coming up next year related to the Auckland War Memorial Museum can you find out what it is?