Grafton Gully

The Grafton Gully was formerly home to the Waipārūrū Stream, known to early European settlers as the Graveyard Spring.

[1] One of early Governors of New Zealand was Robert FitzRoy, whose grandfather was the third Duke of Grafton.

The suburb that developed next to the Government Domain and Hospital was called Grafton.

The gully is of the few areas in central Auckland that has not been claimed by buildings or for recreation (mostly due to the steepness of its sides), though prior to the construction of the motorway part of the gully was occupied by the Blandford Park sports facility until the mid-1960s.

[3] The Grafton Gully motorway project included two stages (with a third planned for when future traffic reaches trigger levels) and was built for NZ$68 million during 2001-2003.