Parnell Rose Gardens , Auckland Overview

The Parnell Rose Garden, which also goes by the name of Dove-Myer Robinson Park, is an exquisite park with a widely famous rose garden inside it. It is named after Dove-Myer Robinson, who held the record for the longest serving Mayor of Auckland, holding office for a full term of 18 years. Popularly known for some of the roses being personally tended to by internationally renowned rose horticulturalists, the park is also home to the ‘white garden’ where weddings occasionally take place.

Every November, the park hosts the Parnell Festival of Roses which includes live music along with stalls showcasing New Zealand’s crafts and food culture, all set amongst beautifully arranged beds of roses. Along with being a popularly loved function space, visitors enjoy the park’s beauty all year round with its relaxing garden areas and facilities available to the public at all hours.

Roses and Best Time to Visit

Placed in Auckland’s oldest neighborhood, the garden offers a mix of over 5000 roses ranging from the oldest to the most recent varieties available. The garden is also home to the oldest manuka tree and the largest pohutukawa tree in Auckland. The flowers are in full bloom during the November, when the annual Parnell Festival of Roses is held, and they last till the month of March. Their pre-bloom period during the month of October is also peak time for visitors to flock the park.

Timings and Entry

The Dove-Myer Robinson Park remains open 24 hours of the day and is available for public access without any entry fee. The garden has restroom and parking facilities along with pram and wheelchair access. Visitors are free to host barbeques with their friends and family in the park, which is a very commonly seen occurrence at the site. The park also has drinking fountains available for the visitors, and is in close proximity to local market places, eateries and cafes.

Parnell Festival of Roses

The Parnell Festival of Roses will be held on the 19th of November 2019 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This year will mark the 25th year of the festival being held in Parnell. Hosted by the Waitematā Local Board and the Auckland Council, the event has been known to gather the entire community within the festivities. The festival too, like the park, does not have an entry fee and hosts various stalls and shows like The Bug Wrangler, Trash Puppets, Canine Cuddles, Fairy Claire and more.

The festival also offers tours and talks to those who attend the event. Live music will be performed on the stage, including swing, jazz, classical and more. The event has evolved from a two-day event to a one-day event, resulting in wide participation from the community in and around the locality. The entertainers at the festival have become more representative because of the inclusivity of different communities and cultures.

How To Reach Parnell Rose Gardens

The Dove-Myer Robinson Park is located at 85-87 Gladstone Road in the posh town of Parnell, Auckland. Bus-INN is the only bus line that stops near the park, and Train- STH and Train- West are the most convenient routes to take if travelling by train to reach the park. The closest stations are Gladstone Rd. and Cleveland and 75 Gladstone Rd. at a walking distance of 1 minute and 4 minutes respectively.

There are two other alternatives to the stations mentioned above. Gladstone Rd. and Balfour is only at a distance of 274 meters from the park and takes 4 minutes to reach on foot. The other station available is The Strand and Gladstone which lies at a distance of 837 meters, which is an 11-minute walk. The Hop-On-Hop-Off bus also passes by the park, making it another convenient bus line for the visitors to travel by.