Western Springs is a residential suburb in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located four kilometres to the west of the city centre, Auckland CBD. The park is situated to the north of State Highway 16 and the residential suburb is located southeast of the park on the opposite side of State Highway 16.
The suburb is dominated by Western Springs Reserve, also known as Western Springs Lakeside Te Wai Ōrea, which features a lake with a variety of birdlife. Auckland Zoo, Western Springs Stadium and M.O.T.A.T. (the Museum of Transport and Technology) are situated around the park. The park is the location of the annual Pasifika Festival, one of Auckland's most popular public events. Across the road from the zoo is the school of Western Springs College, with a student population of around .
History
Historically, Māori valued the wetlands they named Te Wai Ōrea, meaning 'the waters of eels', for the clean, clear spring water and ōrea or New Zealand long fin eels that lived in the stream.
A traditional Māori story involves Ruarangi, a chief of the supernatural Patupaiarehe people, escaping a siege on Owairaka / Mount Albert through lava tunnels and emerging at Te Wai Ōrea.
During a battle fought in the area, Kawharu, a Manukau Māori warrior chief, fought local iwi at a ridge site overlooking Te Wai Ōrea named Te Raeokawharu (Kawharu’s brow), where Surrey Crescent is situated today.
In 1830-40, during the Māori musket wars, Ngati Tahinga, Waiohua and Te Taou lived in the wider area, which was named Te Rehu.
After European colonisation, the area became part of a block of land farmed by William Motion, a Scottish settler. Colonists named the area Western Springs to differentiate it from the springs in Pukekawa / Auckland Domain to the east of the town.
The main source of the water that feeds the lake at Western Springs is rain falling on the slopes of the volcanoes Te Tātua a Riukiuta, Ōwairaka / Mount Albert and Maungawhau / Mount Eden. The water runs underground for several miles through the lava flows, and emerges from the ground at a constant rate that is well filtered by the miles of scoria rocks.
As the city of Auckland grew, it found that well water was not sufficient. In the 1860s a pipe from the Domain Springs was constructed, however a more permanent solution was needed for the growing need for water. In 1874, the council tasked Australian civil engineer Edward Orpen Moriarty with the task of supplying Auckland with water from Western Springs. In 1874 the city bought William Motion's mill and 120 acres (486,000 m2) of land including the spring. In 1875, the swampy ground was made into a 15-acre (6ha) artificial lake 6 feet in depth and capable of holding 22 million gallons of water. The scale of this work is revealed by the fact that Mr. Blewdon and his men removed 20,000 cartloads of spoil from the site and used 7,850 cubic yards of earth to construct the embankment which was wide at the base and wide at the crest. They also excavated the deep Engine Pond and dug a long tunnel between the lake and the Engine House.
A pumphouse, which opened in 1877, was designed by City Engineer William Errington and built of brick. It was fitted with a steam engine, known as a beam engine, which is still in working order having been restored. The engine pumped water up to the two new reservoirs; one on the corner of Ponsonby Road and Karangahape Road and the other in the block bordered by Khyber Pass Road, Symonds Street, Mount Eden Road and Burleigh Street from where the water was gravity fed down to the city.
The cost of maintaining the pump was high however and by the end of the 19th century, Auckland's growth required a much greater and more reliable source of freshwater. This coincided with pressure to safeguard the remaining native forests of the Waitākere Ranges to the west of the city. Auckland City purchased land and built large reservoirs in this secluded area, thus safeguarding both the water quality and the flora & fauna of the area. The height of the reservoirs above sea level meant pumping was kept to a minimum as the water could be gravity fed down to town. The pumphouse ceased being used in 1936 after the Waitākere Ranges dams became operational.