Eden Terrace

Suburb:	Eden Terrace
City:	Auckland
Island:	North Island
Surrounded by - to the north - to the north-east - to the east - to the south - to the south-west - to the west - to the north-west	Auckland CBD Grafton Newmarket Mount Eden Kingsland Arch Hill Newton

Eden Terrace is an Auckland suburb.

Eden Terrace is under the local governance of the Auckland City Council. According to the 2001 census, Eden Terrace has a population of 1413.

History of Eden Terrace

Eden Terrace is notable for being the location of several buildings:Mt Eden Prison, The C.A.C Shot tower and Henderson & Pollard's Timber factory.

Mount Eden Prison is the country's best known prison. This building was built in the castle style between 1882 and 1917 and is constructed out of the local basalt rock, one of the very few buildings built in this uncompromising material. Built with prison labour this formidable building was designed by P.F.M. Burrows and is very similar in appearance to Dartmoor & Holloway prisons in England.

The prison is close to two important Auckland boys' schools, St Peter's College and Auckland Grammar School. The buildings of these two schools are on the slopes of Mt Eden close above the prison. Some of the Grammar playing fields are in the former quarries of the prison.

The Colonial Ammunition Company closed in 1982 after 97 years of ammunition production. In 1885 Major John Whitney and his sons set up their ammunition factory on ten acres of land on the northern slopes of Mount Eden. They chose this location because it was close to the Mount Eden railway station but there was little other development in the area. The shot tower was built in 1916 to produce lead shot by dropping molten lead down the 35 metre tower into water. It is the only twentieth century shot tower in Australasia and is protected by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust who have given it a Category 1 rating.

Henderson & Pollard's factory was also situated here for the same reasons, little development in the area and proximity to the railway. One of New Zealand's major producers of finished timber products for the building trade the H & P factory expanded over the years, gradually buying out the neighbouring houses until they eventually took up a large proportion of the area [2.88 hectares] During the latter part of the 20th century constant complaints about excessive noise, air pollution and changing zoning rules resulted in the company relocating. The land has recently been redeveloped as housing including the conversion of a number of the H & P industrial buildings into apartment complexes.

External links

* [http://www.historic.org.nz/Register/ListingDetail.asp?RID=87 New Zealand Historic Places Trust information on the C.A.C. Shot Tower]

References

*"Colonial Architecture In New Zealand". John Stacpoole. A.H & A.W Reed 1976
*"The Changing Face Of Mount Eden". Faye M. Angelo. Mount Eden Borough Council 1989.