The Central Circle - Auckland Libraries

PAPATOETOE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
HERITAGE TRAIL No. 5: THE CENTRAL CIRCLE
Start this trail at the mural beside the fountain in Burnside Park on the corner of St George Street and
Wallace Road. There is parking behind the library nearby. ST GEORGE STREET was originally the
eastern portion of Station Road, but was renamed St George Street in 1930.
1. Burnside Park, formerly known as St George
Gardens, was officially renamed Burnside Park in
2004, to recognise the contribution that the
Burnside family had made to the development of
Papatoetoe over almost a century. The picnic
mural by Ron Van Dam was unveiled on 2
December 1995. This was the first mural in
Mainstreet Papatoetoe’s Old Papatoetoe mural trail
series.
2. Head eastward along St George Street towards
Carruth Road. The houses at nos 122, 124 and
126 on the northern side of St George Street are
early state houses which were built as semidetached double units. On the southern side of the street, note the old house at no. 113, tucked in behind
what was once the offices of the Friesian Association. The building has now reverted to use as a private
dwelling. The land in this area was once grazed by the dairy herds of early settler James Wallace’s model
farm.
LANDSCAPE ROAD was formed in 1921. It was named by Arthur Lipscombe after a street in Three Kings
where his wife had lived.
3. Almost opposite the end of Landscape Rd, between nos
126 and 134, was once the location of Bryett’s Store. This
was Papatoetoe’s second store, founded in 1908. George
Bryett bought the store from a Mr Worden in 1912, and sold it
to his cousin, Mrs Katie Thompson in 1924. Mrs Katie
Thompson, a large lady, owned a car with an adjustable
steering wheel that could be folded up to allow her to get in
and out more easily. The store had one of the first telephones
in the district with the number 4. The building burnt down in
1986, after which a service station was established on the
site (since closed). The interior of Bryett’s store is depicted in Worden’s Grain, Coal and Coke Store next to
a mural near the entrance of the Papatoetoe City mall.
his General Store, later Bryett’s store, ca 1914
(City of the Toetoe: A History of Papatoetoe)
4. The Landscape Park apartments were opened on the
site of the former Papatoetoe Baptist Church in 2005. The
first church was opened here on 3 February 1934. The
second church, opened on 28 March 1971, was
demolished in 2004. (Its replacement, the Manukau
Baptist Church, was opened on 22 March 2009 in a
converted commercial building in Lambie Drive.)
Relocation of the Baptist church to the rear of the site, 1970
(Trevor Penman)
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5. A short distance down Landscape Rd is the
Church of St George the Martyr (Anglican). The
original St George’s church was located further along
St George Street and shifted to Landscape Road in
1923. It became the church hall, named the Davis
Hall in honour of a former vicar, when the new church
was completed in 1961. The old church building now
houses the church offices.
St Georges Church, 13 August 1928
Photographer James D. Richardson
(Auckland Libraries, Sir George Grey Special Collection,
4-8806)
6. The former Papatoetoe Fire Station at 145 St George
Street was opened in 1959, replacing an earlier station
behind the Papatoetoe Town Hall. The three kauri trees in
front of the building were planted as a memorial to three
young fire brigade members who drowned in a boating
accident on the Firth of Thames in 1979. In 2004 the fire
station was closed and relocated to Lambie Drive. In 2006
Manukau City Council purchased the old building for
community use. It is now leased by Youthline.
New fire station opening day, 1959
(Papatoetoe Community Ex - Fire Fighters Charitable Trust Inc.)
7. The small grove of trees here were planted in memory of Mr Cyril J. Mahon, a former Mayor of
Papatoetoe (1953-59).
8. The original Catholic Church of the Holy Cross
was built here in 1925. The present church was
dedicated on 5 December 1971. The Holy Cross
Primary School was opened in March 1953.
9. CARRUTH ROAD, once known as Runciman’s
Lane, was named after the Carruth family who
bought land backing on to Runciman‘s farm in 1856.
John Carruth, who had came to New Zealand from
Scotland on the Bengal Merchant in 1839, died in
1861, leaving his wife to run the farm in "true pioneer
fashion" until her son Robert was old enough to take
over. One of the Carruth daughters, Mrs Eliza
Wallace, lived on the corner of Carruth Road and St
George Street until she was well into her nineties.
Her house was demolished to make way for the fire
station.
Catholic Church of the Holy Cross, Papatoetoe, 1962
(Papatoetoe Historical Society)
10. The intersection of St George Street and Carruth Road has medical associations. The house on the
corner was occupied for many years by a Dr Sharpe. Dr Valentine, a dapper dresser and skilful cricketer,
lived in the house on the St George Street side of the corner house (no. 197) and a dentist, Mr
Chamberlain, whose skills earned him the nickname ‘The Murderer’, was next door.
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11. Continue along St George Street towards the Great South Road. The first St George’s Anglican church
hall was originally located at 204 St George Street, opposite Dr Valentine‘s house. The church
was built there in 1909 on land donated by Hugo Friedlander, but was shifted to its present site in
Landscape Road in 1923. Well-known former New Zealand international cricketer Gary Troup and his
family now live on the site.
12. WILMAY AVENUE was named after two cousins, Winifred May Wills and Mabel Wyllie (Wilmay), who
lived in the Wills residence in Wilmay Avenue. The house still stands behind the kindergarten.
13. St Christopher’s Hospital and Residential Home in St George Street is on the site of the old
McCullough homestead which was named ‘Rouken Glen’ after an area of Glasgow, Scotland. Sam
McCullough was a farmer and builder.
14. The driveway opposite was the original entrance to
‘Otara’, a substantial bungalow built by Mrs Margaret
Goodfellow in 1914, complete with servants’ quarters
and stables. It was renamed ‘Dilkusha’, meaning
‘Heart’s Desire’ by a later owner. ‘Dilkusha’ is now
accessed via Scott Road.
15. Turn left into KINGSWOOD AVENUE. On the right
(around no. 7) was once the site of Mr Thomas Clow’s
engineering workshop where he made Daisy windmills.
‘Dilkusha’, 1989 (Jenny Clark)
16. You now come to the broad expanse of the Papatoetoe Recreation Ground. Its origin goes back to
1909 when the Papatoetoe and Surrounding Districts Progressive League bought a five-acre portion of the
Kolmar Estate for a community sports ground. The grounds were substantially enlarged over the years by
the Papatoetoe Town Board and Papatoetoe Borough Council. Cricket was the first sport played on the
‘Rec’, from 1910 onwards. At the time, players in the far north-west corner of the ground could not be seen
from the Great South Road because the dip was so bad. During the Depression years it took relief workers
18 months to level the grounds using wheelbarrows and shovels. The recreation ground became home to
a wide range of sports clubs over subsequent years, including bowls croquet, tennis, hockey, rugby and
soccer.
17. The Papatoetoe Sports Centre was formally
opened on 5 March 2011. This was built on the site of
the Papatoetoe District Cricket Club and Southern
District Hockey Club’s old pavilion, and now houses
Papatoetoe’s soccer, hockey, cricket, tennis and rugby
clubs (as well as the Papatoetoe Contract Bridge Club).
18. Cross the Recreation Ground and take the footpath
that leads along the left hand side of the swimming pool
complex to Sutton Crescent (alternatively, you can
detour via the Sports Centre). The Olympic size, openair Papatoetoe Centennial Swimming Pool was
opened in 1965. The indoor complex, including a
heated 25-metre lap pool and therapeutic learners’ and
toddlers’ pools, was added in 1997.
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Papatoetoe Recreation Ground 2011, with the
walkway to the Papatoetoe Centennial Swimming
Pool to the left and the Papatoetoe Sports Centre
middle background (Jenny Clark)
19. On the opposite side of Sutton Crescent is Hunters Plaza. This $52 million development with sixty
shops, banks, and department stores, was officially opened on 14 October 1991. Miss Louise Hunter,
daughter of James and Elizabeth Hunter of
Hunters Corner fame, did the honours.
20. Continue along Sutton Road past the back of
Hunters Plaza towards Kolmar Road. Where the
medical laboratory now stands on the corner of
Sutton Crescent and Kolmar Road were once
large gardens complete with duck ponds, a
stream and grazing for a few cows. The property
was once owned by the Forder family, who ran a
shoe importing business and shop in Otahuhu.
Construction of Hunters Plaza, November 1990
(Gordon Kirkbride)
21. KOLMAR ROAD was named after Kolmar in Alsace (then part of Germany) by the Friedlander brothers
in 1904.
22. In 1914 a gasometer was built at 127 Kolmar Road, a reminder of the days when coal gas provided the
energy for lighting, cooking and heating. It was demolished in 1970.
23. The Whitehaven Flats at 146 Kolmar Road were Papatoetoe Borough’s second block of pensioner
flats, opened on 4 November 1967.
24. Kolmar Lodge at no. 136 was once the home of
the Dreadon family. It has had several owners
including Dr Donald and Dr. Edgar. It has retained its
medical links and is now a rest home.
25. Kolmar Court at 124 Kolmar Road was formerly
the site of Robert Carruth’s family home. The
Carruths were an ‘old’ Papatoetoe family whose
association with the area dated back to 1856. Later
in life the invalided Elizabeth Carruth, spent many
hours sitting in the front window watching the world
go by. The house became Nurse Evelyn Signal‘s
‘Whare Noho’ Rest Home before it burnt down.
Dreadon homestead with a Moon car in the driveway,
ca 1925 (Papatoetoe Historical Society)
26. WESTON AVENUE, to the right, got its name from Ben Weston‘s farm which occupied 20 acres
between Kolmar and Rangitoto Roads. It was subdivided in 1929. The original homestead is at
no. 21 Margan Ave.
27. The Papatoetoe Christian Centre was opened as the Commonwealth Covenant Church in June 1961.
At the time, this was one of the denomination’s four churches in New Zealand.
28. OAKLAND AVENUE, to the left, was formed in 1952 when the Rev. E. Oakland Palgrave-Davy
subdivided his land In 1952. It was originally part of the Finlayson farm. The original farmhouse is at no. 89
Kolmar Road.
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29. The house at 87 Kolmar Road was built in 1922 for the McKenzie family. Mrs Vera McKenzie was
known for her cake decorating and her work as a piano teacher. Mr Jack McKenzie also the builder of the
third St Johns Presbyterian Church. The exterior of both this house and its neighbour at no. 89 were listed
as protected in the 2002 Manukau City district plan, as were the exteriors of the houses at nos 55 and 47
further along the road.
30. One of the many Daisy windmills built by Mr Thomas Clow used to occupy a site near the former Guide
hut off GUIDE PLACE. Guide Place provides access to the clubhouses of the Papatoetoe Girl Guides, St
George Scout Group, Manukau Radio Club; also to one corner of the Papatoetoe Recreation Ground.
31. The house on the corner of Wilmay Avenue and Kolmar Road was the home of Charlie Wallace, a
grandson of Archibald Wallace, who took over Bert Moe’s garage. This house is now accessed from
Wilmay Avenue, but is best glimpsed from Kolmar Road.
32. The former Bryant family house, ‘Tawera’, at 55 Kolmar Road, dates from 1912. It originally stood on a
ten-acre farmlet, and once boasted its own tennis courts. Like many of Papatoetoe’s grand old houses, the
original section has long been cut up, and the house is now partly obscured from view. Mrs Margaret
Young Bryant was the daughter of Archibald and Jessie Wallace. Doris Marion Bryant was an Auckland
tennis champion and a librarian during the 1940s, when the Papatoetoe Library was housed in a former
Army hut beside the Papatoetoe Town Hall.
33. PATON AVENUE was named after the Paton family. Thomas
Paton, one of Papatoetoe’s first settlers, bought allotment 37 which
was bounded by St George Street and the Great South Road for
£345 in 1851. The land was sold to the Friedlander brothers some
time before 1904.
34. The house at 47 Kolmar Road was one of five houses in the
vicinity built from hollow clay blocks in the early 1920s. It also has a
clay tile roof. (Note by way of architectural contrast the newly built
Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Temple a few paces away down
Wentworth Avenue. This was opened in March 2008.)
Paton homestead (Papatoetoe Historical Society)
35. The first Papatoetoe Methodist Church was erected by the congregation in a single day,
14 December 1912. The present church was dedicated on 12 May 1962. The floor of the original church is
preserved in the church lounge or worship centre.
A 4am start. Foundations had already been laid
and all in readiness, December 1912
Methodist Church built in one day
(Jubilee Souvenir booklet 1962)
6.50 pm. Interested spectators watch the
progress in the late afternoon while carpenters
push on with the finishing work, December 1912
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36. The large transitional villa situated at 6 Norfolk Place was originally the Forbes family farmhouse and
was later occupied by James McFarland who taught many local children at the St John’s Presbyterian
Church Sunday School. It is currently divided up into flats.
37. GLEN AVENUE was named by Vera McCullough after the McCullough family’s house ‘Rouken Glen‘.
38. No 36 Kolmar Road, opposite the end of Glen Avenue, has long-standing medical connections. The
house was originally built by Mr Smith the dentist and has at different times been occupied by Doctors
Jamieson, Gilberd, Plunket and Caffell. It is now used as a funeral home.
39. One of the first gas street lamps erected in Papatoetoe went up on the corner of Kolmar Road and ST
GEORGE STREET in 1914. Cows used to graze on the north-east corner of the intersection. The large
two-storey building on this corner was formerly the Papatoetoe Post Office, opened here on 14 October
1966. The Post Office was closed down in January 1990.
The remainder of this Heritage Trail takes you on a loop back past a few points of interest back to Burnside
Park. For more detail on this part of St George Street, see Papatoetoe Heritage Trial No. 1: South Side of
St George Street.
40. The Central Theatre in St George Street was opened on 12 September 1928. Built for Mr R. Corbett, it
was regarded at the time as one of Auckland’s finest suburban cinemas. Mr Maurice V. Tracey took it over
in 1932, and it was later managed by Mrs Freda Tracey. It was closed in May 1987, after which the building
was redeveloped for shops and offices. The clock above the building was made in Onehunga and originally
had a ship’s bell to strike the hours.
41. The Papatoetoe City Centre mall was officially
opened on 17 May 1972. The ‘Bottle-O’ mural by
Christine Trout was unveiled at the far end of the mall
on 2 March 1996. It shows Mr Roy McIndoe driving his
horses ‘Prince’ and ‘Tiger’ on his rounds. Between
1932 and 1968 Mr McIndoe collected bottles and scrap
metal for resale in Papatoetoe and surrounding areas.
Another mural by Christine Trout, depicting Bryett’s
store, can be seen around the corner.
Papatoetoe City Centre Mall, St George Street,
Papatoetoe, 1981 (Courtesy Fairfax Media)
42. Carry on across the car park behind the Central Theatre to Wallace
Road. The Papatoetoe War Memorial Library on the far side of
WALLACE ROAD was officially opened on 26 February 1979. Rolls of
honour from the two world wars can be seen inside the library to the left
of the front entrance. In the same area in a display case is the mayoral
regalia and chain of the former Papatoetoe City Council.
Mayor Bob White with Pattie Greenough, a former librarian at the opening
of the Papatoetoe Library, 26 February 1979 (NZ Herald)
WALLACE ROAD was formed in 1912 when Marcus Madill’s 112-acre
farm was subdivided. According to one account, the road was named
after Wallace Johnstone, the infant son of local man, Wilfred Johnstone,
who owned Clendon Park. Alternatively it may have taken its name from
the association of the area with the farmers John and James Wallace,
who bought a 251-acre plot of land in the vicinity in 1851.
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43. The Papatoetoe RSA clubrooms were officially opened on 9 March 1974. The clubrooms had
originally been located at the rear of the civic war memorial building in St George Street, next to the town
hall. The Wallace Road clubrooms were extended in 1999.
44. A Mr and Mrs Stoupe lived in a house on the south-east corner of Wallace Road and St George Street
between 1913 and 1943. The house was known for the very prominent orange tree growing on the front
lawn. The corner was known to locals as Stoupe’s Corner. Former Papatoetoe Mayoress Mrs Kitty White‘s
father, Mr Mawkes, had a bootmaker’s shop in the block of shops here, and the lane a short distance down
Wallace Road is named after the family. MAWKES LANE takes you back to Burnside Park.
Originally compiled by the late Robyn Irvine and revised by Jenny Clark and Bruce Ringer. Revised version January 2012 copyright ©
Papatoetoe Historical Society. This text may be freely reproduced for purposes of private study and
research and for educational purposes.
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