Symonds Street Cemetery, Historic cemetery in central Auckland, New Zealand
Symonds Street Cemetery is a burial ground in central Auckland that covers about 5.8 hectares on the western slope of Grafton Gully. The site contains over 1200 known graves and numerous monuments, including stone crosses, obelisks, and elaborate tombs from different periods.
The cemetery was established in 1842 and served as Auckland's main burial ground until 1886, when operations moved to the newer Waikumete Cemetery. This shift reflected the city's growth and the need for additional burial space.
The cemetery was originally divided into separate sections for Anglican, Catholic, Jewish, Presbyterian, and Wesleyan communities, reflecting the religious diversity of colonial Auckland. These different areas remain visible today, each with their own character and style of monuments.
The grounds offer five different walking trails for visitors to explore at their own pace, including the Hobson Walk, Rose Trail, and Bishop Selwyn's Path nature trail. Each route guides you through different sections of the cemetery with varying levels of detail.
In the 1960s, construction of the Auckland Southern Motorway required relocating over 4100 bodies to memorial sites within the cemetery grounds. This large-scale removal permanently altered the cemetery's layout and remains a little-known chapter in its history.
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