Gribblehirst Park

This park is the feature of one of my standard routes for my morning runs. This morning I was looking around for something to take a picture of and noticed this Compass Table, and information board. As well as taking the picture, I have searched out some more information and have learned quite a bit.

The park was formed on land donated in 1928 to the Mount Albert Borough Council by landowners William and James Gribble and their brother-in-law Samuel Hirst. The Gribbles' father, also James Gribble, was a young copper miner from Camborne, in the coppermining district of Cornwall, England who arrived in New Zealand in 1849 after a period working in South Australian copper mines. He purchased the swampy lands of Sandringham on both sides of Sandringham Road in 1855 and created a 100 acre farm; the "Cabbage Tree Swamp" estate.

The land that the park is situated on was formed by lava flows from the Three Kings eruption of almost 30,000 years ago, with later lava flows from the Owairaka eruption helping to create sunken water filled areas. These areas created a large swamp, named Cabbage Tree Swamp because of the large number of Cabbage Trees around it. Although sport was played on some of the land from the end of the 19th century, that could only be in the summer due to the land becoming a number of lakes in the winter. One of the largest lake areas was where Eden Park now stands, and recently hosted the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Drainage of the swampy areas and removal of rocks and boulders was carried out between 1928 and 1931 by unemployment relief workers during the Great Depression, and the park was formally opened on 28 March 1931.

There is forest regrowth in the park, which is typical of lava forest containing local species titoki, mahoe and karaka. Some exotic species are also found in this regrowth forest, which has regrown since early European settlers cleared the land. The remnant area is notable for insect species which are native to this particular area.