Anzac Avenue, Auckland
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| Length | 0.6 km (0.37 mi) |
|---|---|
| Location | Auckland CBD, New Zealand |
| Postal code | 1010 |
| North end | Beach Road |
| South end | Symonds Street |
Anzac Avenue is a street in Auckland, New Zealand's most populous city. It was constructed between 1914 and 1919 to link Beach Road to Symonds Street, and was named as a memorial to the troops who died in the Gallipoli campaign.[1]
Anzac Avenue and neighbouring Beach Road follow the shape of the original shoreline of the Auckland waterfront, leading from Symonds Street towards the Point Britomart headland, passing alongside Official Bay and Mechanics Bay. Land reclamations of the harbour began in the 1860s, changing the landscape.[2][3] Anzac Avenue was originally the location of Te Hororoa Pā, a name which name refers to an incident where part of the pā site slipped into the ocean.[2] In the 1740s, the Waiōhua settlement at Te Hororoa was one of the final to fall during Waiohua's defeat to Ngāti Whātua.[4]
Anzac Avenue, which started construction in 1914,[1] followed the route of Jermyn Street, but was renamed in 1916 to form a memorial to those who had died at Gallipoli, overriding a recommendation to call it Jellicoe Street.[5] There was an objection to the renaming, because the previous name honoured Captain John Jermyn Symonds, an early resident of the street and figure in the early history of Auckland.[6] A commemoration of the construction of the road was held in 1918, where the Governor-General, Arthur Foljambe, planted two pūriri trees at the corner of Anzac Avenue and Waterloo Quadrant, and a score of trees were planted by others.[7] The road was described as busy in 1919 even before it was fully completed.[8] A tramline along Anzac Avenue was opened in February 1921.[9]
