Jellicoe Park (1 Park Gardens)

This park was an area of green grassland when the Fencibles arrived in 1847, having reverted to grass after the original kumara patch planted by local Māori had been abandoned under threat of Ngāpuhi raids in the early 1820s. The Fencibles were only called into action once: in 1851, a force from Ngāti Paoa landed near Parnell to extract utu for an insult their rangatira had received in an Auckland shop. The Fencibles marched out from Onehunga and the war party retreated without a shot being fired.

In 1860, amid perceived threats of a Māori invasion from the Waikato, a number of blockhouses (military fortifications) were built around Auckland. The timber blockhouse would have been occupied by twelve Fencible soldiers and six guns. The building was later used as a school, Borough Council Chambers, and as a private residence. Early tenants were allowed to graze sheep on the property.

Immediately after World War I, Onehunga Borough Council proposed developing the 5.5-acre Blockhouse Domain (set aside for military purposes in the previous century) as a war memorial park. Over 460 men from Onehunga took part in the First World War. The local business community also supported the war effort, including the Onehunga Woollen Mills in Neilson Street. As well as making soldiers’ uniforms, they organised social events during the war. A social gathering was held in the large warehouse at the mill in September 1915, attended by over 200 people. The mill also organised an annual ball and an annual picnic day.

Although the Borough Council was unable to raise the funds to fully realise its ambitions, Governor-General Lord Jellicoe was invited to open his namesake park on 26 May 1923. The arch of remembrance was unveiled on 20 October 1929. The blockhouse, one of the last of its type, was restored in the 1960s and is now used by the Onehunga Fencible and Historical Society for its meetings. The park also includes a Fencible cottage and the Laishley House, formerly the manse of a congregationalist minister.

Feel free to explore Jellicoe Park. When you are finished, return to Grey Street and begin walking east, crossing Selwyn Street and continuing along the south side of the road.