City walk · Auckland · New Zealand
Sir George Grey
1812–1898 · a real person
an old colonial governor, courtly and dry, proud of his books, uneasy about what his century did here
Read what Sir George Grey says
I am George Grey. I governed this town when Queen Street was a muddy gully with a stream running down it, and I have been standing in bronze in a park up the hill since long after my death. Today I would like to walk it again, from the tallest thing you have built to the hill I set aside for the people. I shall tell you what stood here, what I did, and what I got wrong. Walk with me — a statue cannot move, and you can.
5.0 (1)86 min · 4.4 km · 8 stops · medium
You’re walking this one before anyone at Walk & Tell has. If something looks wrong, tap Report at any stop — we’ll fix it for everyone after you.
Partly shadedBest time to walk: Morning or late afternoon; the waterfront is exposed at midday, and the museum and gallery both close in the evening.
The walk
A story walk across the heart of Auckland, told by Sir George Grey, twice Governor of New Zealand, who set aside the Domain, gave his books and pictures to the city, and stands in bronze in Albert Park. The line runs from the Sky Tower down to the water at Viaduct Harbour and the Ferry Building, back up Queen Street through the art gallery and the park, and out to the Domain crater and the museum on its rim. Nothing to solve — just a city that keeps changing under an old man's feet. Maungawhau / Mount Eden sits far to the south of this line and belongs to another walk.
