now to be developed into the artificial surface field area) commenced in 1929. Up to 800 “relief Opus International Consultants Ltd workers” were used to drain a number of local areas including Morningside Reserve in 1933. Takapuna Civil Tennis courts and croquet lawns were formed in the NE corner of the reserve and the upper Level 1, 12 - 14 Northcroft St, Takapuna field area were completed by 1935. The field was initially used for hockey but shortly PO Box 33 1527, Takapuna, North afterwards used for Mt Albert Rugby League games. The Council renamed Morningside Shore City 0740 New Zealand Reserve as Fowlds Park after Sir George Fowlds, who was knighted in 1928 and died in 1934,
TO David Barker – Auckland Council just before the opening of the park in 1935. t: +64 9 488 4570 COPY Trent Taylor – Auckland Council, Project f: +64 9 488 4571 w: www.opus.co.nz Manager By 1940 three playing field areas had been developed, including the upper football field. This approximately 85m x 65m area forms the SE part of the site. The NW part of the site, at that FROM Tracy Talbot – Team Leader Parks and Recreation time was largely untouched by quarry and other earthworks activities. It was undulating and appeared to be strewn with rock boulders. In the 1960s the NW part of the site was re-levelled, DATE 3 April 2014 the upper field lengthened to the NW and two hard-paved netball courts established, making FILE 1-95496.00 an overall area of about 160m x 65m. NW of the site club rooms and car park were also SUBJECT Fowlds Park - Site History constructed. Little land use change has occurred at Fowlds Park since this time.
g:\tlas\auckland council\auckland council bids\fowlds park\site history.docx History of Fowlds Park 1
The area of the park was a NZ Government Asylum reserve until 1892 when there was a land swap between the Asylum authorities and the School Commissioners who administered education reserves in the Auckland area. The 11ha reserve at this time was strewn in basalt boulders and overgrown with gorse and blackberry. Part of the land was leased to a local cattle farmer called E G Sandall for cattle grazing. The land at this time was known as “Morningside Reserve”.
Morningside Reserve is therefore essentially Crown Land, however in 1911 the Mt Albert Borough Council sought transfer of the land to its jurisdiction. George Fowlds, Minister of Education at that time, interceded with the Lands Commissioner who administered the former education endowment reserves in the district, to achieve this transfer. However Mr Fowlds became an independent MP in early 1912 and the transfer was not formalised. The Mt Albert Borough Council, later Mt Albert City, then Auckland City Council, and then Auckland Council have maintained and administered the reserve since 1912.
The Mt Albert Borough Council hoped to develop the reserve as a recreational park, but in the meantime extended Mr Sandall’s grazing lease at least until 1927. The Council through its Mt Albert Domain Board also permitted quarrying on part of the land area by J E Martin and Co from 1913. At the same time, part of the reserve was used as a rubbish tip. This tip was closed in the mid to late 1920s following the 1922 typhoid outbreak and on-going concerns about the sanitary conditions of the tip area. The quarrying and landfilling at that time had occurred on parts of Fowlds Park located outside the site of the proposed artificial field area ie to the NW and SW of the site.
The Council had prepared a redevelopment plan for the reserve in 1927 (which was never realised). Soil and spoil from nearby Auckland quarries were imported to the reserve from 1926 and rock excavation for the upper football field ( later known as the “No 3 field” – and
1 Sources of text include the Mt Albert Historical Society Inc. Newsletter 1 of July 2006; Wikipedia (as at 26/04/2014); Timesp anner blog “A walk through Fowlds Park, Mt Albert” 16/7/2010; Sir George Grey Special Photo Collections, Auckland Libraries Ref 4-4477, 4483 and 4487; Auckland Council GIS Viewer for 1940, 1959 and 2010 photos.