Greenlane

History

From the 1840s until the 1890s Greenlane was noted for its rich pasture land which supported both dairy herds and grain crops. Initially large country houses and farms dotted the landscape but from the 1890s onwards suburban development spread southwards from Newmarket across the fields of Epsom. Dr John Logan Campbell gifted part of his One Tree Hill farm to the city as a public park in 1901, coinciding with a visit from the Duke of Cornwall, after whom the park was named. Since the early 1990s there has been a considerable amount of property development, with clutches of townhouses built among the traditional tracts of villas and bungalows in some parts of Greenlane. The broad, flat pastureland here at the intersection of Green Lane and Manukau Roads was used for sporting events from the 1850s onwards but the Alexandra Park Raceway and Auckland Showgrounds were only formally established around 1900. The Alexandra Park Raceway was named after the Duchess of Cornwall (later Queen Alexandra), and specialises in trotting races. The showgrounds have been the site of many trade exhibitions and agricultural shows, especially the annual Auckland Royal Easter Show and from 2022 the Lantern Festival makes its home here. Adjacent to Alexandra Park was the Auckland Electric Tram Company tram depot. Established in 1902, the tram company had storage sheds and an administrative office block built here, as it was halfway between Auckland and Onehunga. The system was torn out in 1956 but the sheds remained here until the late 1970s when they were replaced by an office park. The administrative block survives as a restaurant. The Greenlane shops were developed in conjunction with the tram line in the early 20th century, servicing the needs of the local community and visitors to the…

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,616
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  17,106
• Tui

  Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae (J.F.Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  14,792
• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  13,798
• Kelp Gull

  Larus dominicanus M.H.K.Lichtenstein, 1823 · Aves
  12,089
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  11,203
• Silver-eye

  Zosterops lateralis (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  10,875
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  10,604

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2011-07-01
  5 km NNW of Tamaki, New Zealand
• M 4 — 2007-03-13
  26 km NNW of Coromandel, New Zealand
• M 3.8 — 2007-02-21
  31 km NE of Murrays Bay, New Zealand
• M 4.5 — 2007-02-21
  30 km NE of Murrays Bay, New Zealand