Parnell, Auckland

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We went to the oldest suburb of New Zealand Parnell Village. It was named after Samuel Duncan Parnell. It dates back from the European settlement in 1841. Being the oldest suburb in New Zealand Parnell village is quite impressive. It has ritzy, layback and friendly feel to it. In both side of Parnell Road there are boutique clothes shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, art galleries and quality craft shops. Many of the wooden houses alongside the road have been converted to shops, restaurants and bars. You will also find many small alleys which converted to shops and cafes.

The village is not far from Downtown Auckland. We walked back to our hotel which took us about forty five minutes. There are Link Bus stop at Parnell Road every ten minutes to Downtown Auckland.

Also you will find the oldest Catholic church of Saint John the Baptist, the wooden church was founded by the first Bishop of Auckland, Jean Baptiste Francois Pompallier, and designed by Edward Mahoney in 1861.

A diez minutos del centro puedes encontrar galerías , cafés y tiendas en un barrio con mucha clase y muy tranquilo . También puedes ver las casas , pintadas de blanco y con un estilo muy tradicional , la catedral de St Mary's in Holy Trinity , el museo Auckland War Memorial y el famoso Jardín de rosas desde el que hay unas buenas vistas de la bahía de Auckland
Ten minutes from downtown you can find galleries, cafes and shops in a district with class and very quiet. Also check out the houses, painted white with a very traditional style, the Cathedral of St Mary's in Holy Trinity, Auckland War Memorial Museum and the famous Rose Garden from which there are good views of the bay of Auckland

Inside the renovated Saatchi & Saatchi building is a nice little café.
The Strand Café,

Just to go into this building is worth your time.
There are several business resident here, and the dining area / foyet area in the very middle of the building is so perfect for meeting people and just taking in the ambience.

Parnell sits up on a hill overlooking Auckland city and harbour. It is Auckland’s oldest suburb. The Auckland Domain backs into Parnell as there are some wonderful old Victorian homes here. Bishop Selwyn made an early decision that Parnell was where he wanted the focus of the Church of England to be based in Auckland and chose the site for a future cathedral in 1842. He also established St Barnabas Church, Ste Stephen’s School (which was initially for Maori girls), St Stephens Chapel, Church Grammar School, Cathedral Library, Bishopscourt and the first St Mary’s Church.

During the 1870’s a railway bridge went over Parnell Road and a tunnel through Parnell Hill and there were tramcars running up Parnell Road in the early 1900’s.In the 1870s a railway system saw a bridge over Parnell Road and a tunnel through Parnell Hill. Tramcars ran up Parnell Road in the early 1900s. When Tamaki Drive was cut out of the foreshore, Parnell was then severed from the open harbour. Since this time, much of the old buildings and homes have been refurbished and restored and a unique olde world shopping centre ‘Parnell Village’ has been created up Parnell Road making it a prime tourist and residential area.

This building is a replacement for the original Jubilee Institute for the Blind which burned down in 1897. Built between 1907 and 1909, the institute was originally established as an old boarding house in Parnell before the more permanent school was built on this site in 1891 with money set up to celebrate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria. In 1926 additions were added for adult accommodation, a shop, workshops and a women’s dormitory. The building now an Auckland City community centre and library.

St Stephens Chapel overlooks Judges Bay and was one of the first Gothic Revival churches commissioned by Bishop Selwyn. Again designed by Frederick Thatcher, it features the same characteristic board and batten exterior walls, shingle roof and exposed internal truss work as does Bishopcourt. The chapel was built in 1857 and has a Greek Cross plan. It was originally built for the signing of the Constitution of the United Church of England and Ireland in New Zealand.

The library of Bishop Selwyn was the first part to be built of the Bishopscourt complex in 1861. The designer Frederick Thatcher incorporated a Gothic Revival style which was chosen by the Bishop himself as being appropriate for ecclesiastical buildings. The Library and the Belfry front onto St Stephens Ave.