Grafton is a suburb of Auckland City, New Zealand. Once known as ‘Grafton Heights,’ it signifies its history as a well-known suburb in Auckland’s early decades.
The suburb is named after the Duke of Grafton, patron of the first governor of New Zealand, William Hobson.
Many historic structures are distinguished by the suburb, many of which have remained mostly unchanged since the early decades of the 20th century. Although the suburbs have narrowed with the highway and arterial roads’ development in the middle of the 20th century, the remaining smaller suburbs have a relatively coherent structure.
At the 2018 New Zealand census, Grafton had a population of 1,686 with 558 households.
Notable Landmarks
The Grafton Bridge is a bridge across Grafton Gully in Auckland. Constructed of reinforced concrete in 1910, it connects the Auckland CBD and the Karangahape Road to Grafton. When the bridge was built, it featured the largest reinforced concrete arch in the world.
The Auckland Domain is a large park in Grafton and is the oldest park in the city and one of the largest at 75 hectares. The park spans the actual eruption crater and much of the surrounding tuff ring of the Pukekawa volcano.
The Auckland War Memorial Museum is the first museum in New Zealand. Established in 1852 in a two-room farmhouse in the central Auckland suburb of Grafton, the Museum tells New Zealand’s story, its presence in the Pacific and its people.
The Museum is a war memorial that houses one of the top three heritage libraries in New Zealand.
Local Schools
St Peter’s College (Te Kura Teitei o Hāto Petera) is a Catholic secondary school for boys in Grafton. With a roll of more than 1,300, the school is one of the largest Catholic schools in New Zealand.