Takapuna's Golden Mile Walk

This walk passes by several historical interest points along what is known locally as Takapuna’s Golden Mile.

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Takapuna's Golden Mile Walk

Auckland, Takapuna, Auckland 0622, New Zealand

Created By: Auckland Council

Tour Information

This tour takes you down Takapuna’s Golden Mile. While a considerable amount of expensive development has happened along this stretch over recent decades, much of its historic architecture, flora, and geology has been preserved and makes for a fascinating landscape.

From the early days of European settlement, Takapuna and Milford Beaches were considered Pleasure Gardens: places for family day trips and picnics. The Devonport Steam Ferry Company provided regular service to North Shore via service to the Takapuna Wharf, where the boat ramp is today. People could also take the Takapuna Tramways & Ferry Company tram from Bayswater to Milford.

Wealthy businessmen built homes for their families on the beaches at Takapuna and Milford or overlooking Lake Pupuke. These were usually their second homes, where the family spent summer months entertaining and relaxing. Their townhouses were usually in the heart of the business district on Symonds Street or in Grafton. Many of these families grew so attached to their houses on the North Shore that they moved into them permanently. Families such as the Hursts, Alisons, Pierces, O’Neills, and Bretts have become established names in Takapuna, and are remembered in street names.

Terrain and Access: The first half of this tour follows paved roads, while the second half is along a paved promenade, uneven lava rocks, and open beach. The section beyond the pumping station is not accessible at high tide and those with mobility issues are advised not to continue beyond this point. Please respect the privacy of local residents and do not trespass on property outside the described route. The pathway in this area is not properly constructed so take care.

Starting Point: Begin at the Takapuna boat ramp at the end of The Promenade.

Parking: Nearby parking is available at the Takapuna boat ramp, along Alison Avenue, and along Earnoch Avenue.

Disclaimer: Neither Auckland Council nor private property owners accept any responsibility for any loss, damage, or injury to you or your property arising from use of this tour.

Copyright 2020 Auckland Council. Auckland Council holds all copyrights associated with this document. You may not copy or reproduce the content of any of these pages without permission from Auckland Council. Auckland Council has taken every care to ensure that the information contained in this leaflet is complete and accurate. Auckland Council accepts no responsibility arising from, or in connection with, your use of this walking tour and the information contained in it.


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What You'll See on the Tour

The cluster of magnificent pohutukawa trees hanging over Takapuna Beach is over 200 years old. The trees are part of the sacred grove referred to by Māori as Te Urutapu, which extends from here to Thorne Bay. Travellers passing the sacred ... Read more
The area on either side of Alison Avenue was once a four-acre section below Ewen William Alison’s Lochaber House. The paddock, next to the reef and ferry wharf, housed a dairy cow and was used to tether racehorses that were exercised alon... Read more
The plastered brick structure across the road, built in a stripped Classical style, was originally Takapuna's first telephone exchange. The subdividing of large estates in Takapuna in the 1910s to provide additional room for holiday homes a... Read more
Opened in 1914, the building across the road at the corner of Hurstmere and Earnoch was designed by the Ministry of Works under the Government Architect, John Campbell, in an Arts and Craft style. It was one of many community post offices b... Read more
The simple, double-gabled homestead up the driveway across the road was built in 1876 and was home to well-known Auckland businessman John Roberton. The family called the estate Earnoch after the area in Lanarkshire, Scotland, where their a... Read more
The huge, three-storey, Style Moderne concrete house across the street, now almost completely hidden behind the front hedge, was built by George Nicks as a replacement for his previous home across the road at 207 Hurstmere Road. Nicks had a... Read more
White Oaks stands on what was known as Nixieland because it was part of an extensive property owned by the Nicks family. In 1908, Mary Ann Nicks bought the land from Jessi Craig, wife of J. J. Craig. She had only a very simple beach cottage... Read more
Shortly after World War I, George Nicks built his family home in the fashionable English Cottage style, characterised by bold roof lines and large picture windows. Brown Gables was built with the finest timber from his mill, the exterior be... Read more
The homestead at left was built in 1860 for prominent Auckland businessman and mayor, William John Hurst. The house, called Hurstmere, originally stood on what was known simply as The Drive. It is built of pit sawn heart kauri using handmad... Read more
Looking down Minnehaha and O’Neills Avenues, you can see oak trees protruding over the road. The trees were thought to have been planted in the 1860s by William Hurst to frame his house. The effect of the two trees now large enough to mee... Read more
When 70-year-old Captain John Alexander Algie returned from a trip to his ancestral Scotland in 1924, he brought back a new wife, Penelope, and a passion for all things Scottish. Having decided to spend the rest of his years on the Shore, h... Read more
This simple cottage made of heart kauri was built around 1886 by Auckland businessman George Patrick Pierce. The land was bought with riparian rights, which means the buyers owned all of the land to the high tide mark on the shoreline. This... Read more
The circular apartment building peering out above the trees across the road was built in 1968 and was the first apartment tower in New Zealand to have 360° views. It took two years to build and is 11 storeys high with 12 apartments. Named ... Read more
Anglican Clergyman Reverend Edward Houchen bought 10 acres of land and built his family a simple double gabled house in the late 1880s. He called it Porthcurnow after Porthcurno in Lands End in southern England, where the family used to hol... Read more
This large body of water is the Hauraki Gulf, which begins in the south at the Firth of Thames and exits into the Pacific Ocean in the north and northeast between the Coromandel Peninsula, Great Barrier Island, Little Barrier Island, and Ca... Read more
Lake Pupuke is in reality two surviving craters of an ancient volcano that began erupting over 40,000 years ago. During the early eruptions, massive amounts of lava flowed out of lava plumes and drained into Hauraki Gulf. Subsequent eruptio... Read more
Built in early 1926, the concrete pumping station on Black Rock was once the northernmost crude sewage outfall along North Shore. In the 1930s, this station could hold 360,000 gallons of sewage in its tanks and regularly discharged those ta... Read more
Designed in 1984 by Swan Railley Paterson, the large house with mirrored glass is a remarkable example of late Modernist architecture that parodies buildings of the 1980s while making clever references to its environment. With its hull-like... Read more
Portrait photographer Clifton Firth, his wife, and their three children moved into this bach, one of the original cottages in Thorne Bay, in the 1920s. At the time, Milford Beach was covered with these types of houses. Most were rustic, bas... Read more
Architect Dr. Mike Austin was hired by Win Chapple in 1967 to design a house on Thorne Bay. The brief stated that the house was to be straightforward and not show ostentatious or obvious displays of wealth. It also had to fit in with the ex... Read more
The walls and chair have the castle theme of Algie’s Castle but with more of an edge of fantasy compared to the traditional baronial look of Merkesworth up on the hill. The crenellated walls along the shorefront with their cathedral windo... Read more
Thorne Bay was originally named Minnehaha Bay after the holiday home that William Thorne, Esq., built on the shore in the 1880s. Thorne was the son of early Auckland settlers and served two years in the Māori Wars before becoming a well-re... Read more
Just offshore can be seen Rangitoto Island, the tallest and most prominent feature of Hauraki Gulf. The island is in fact the youngest volcano in the Auckland Volcanic Field, having erupted several times over a short period around 1350. It ... Read more
About 100,000 years ago the sea level was much lower and kauri, pohutukawa, and mixed broadleaf trees covered the coast. Around this time, the volcano that created Lake Pupuke erupted for the last time, covering the forest in lava. The lava... Read more
The signs before you provide some additional information on the Fossil Forest and the plant and animal life that now inhabits it. Take some time to read through the signs and enjoy the landscape.

 

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