The history of agricultural farming at Cornwall Park spans many generations. This rich history begins with the early cultivation of the land by Māori, followed by Sir John's ventures into livestock farming and the establishment of the Olive Grove. Additionally, Fong Ming Quong made significant early contributions to Chinese market gardening in the area. Let's take a closer look at some of Cornwall Park's farming history and the agricultural techniques that have shaped it over time.

Māori cultivation

Long before Cornwall Park became the urban oasis we know today, the land was cultivated by Māori. The gardens of Maungakiekie were rich in crops like kūmara, gourds and taro. They may have fed up to 5,000 people living on Maungakiekie. These gardens, known as Te Tahuri's gardens, were tended by Te Tahuri, the daughter-in-law of the Waiohua tribe chief Hua Kaiwaka and a renowned horticulturist.

The volcanic rocks of Maungakiekie may have had a significant effect on these gardens. When planted in the soil surrounding crops, the rocks created a glass house effect, storing heat and extending the growing season by up to a month.

Te Tahuri's gardens were so renowned they live on today in a whakatauki: kohi āwheto i te māra a Te Tahuri gather the kūmara leaf-eating caterpillars from the gardens of Te Tahuri.

One Tree Hill Estate

In 1853, Sir John Logan Campbell and William Brown purchased a farm known as Mt Prospect from Thomas Henry, an Irish merchant, who originally bought the land from Māori in 1844. Campbell soon renamed it One Tree Hill Estate (Later renamed Cornwall Park in 1901). Thomas Henry had already begun converting the area into pasture for livestock, and the sale included a variety of animals- cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens, as well as dairy and farming equipment.

Over the next twenty years, Campbell and Brown enhanced the farm's productivity by introducing new agricultural practices, such as the use of English clover seed and the importation of livestock breeds like English bulls and Cheviot rams. During this period, they also cultivated crops, including potatoes. Due to the success of their business, this allowed them to spend considerable time in Europe while delegating the estate's management to James and Robert Farmer. Despite facing challenges like droughts, they implemented solutions, including installing a well to access the Onehunga spring and planting cover crops to ensure the farm's sustainability.

By the 1890s, One Tree Hill Estate had evolved into a suburban supply farm, producing a variety of goods such as cattle, sheep, wool, and root vegetables. This farm played an essential role in supplying the local community of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland with mutton, beef, and potatoes. Before the rise of automobiles, the estate also provided hay and oats to support horses used for transportation. The paddocks on the Onehunga side of the park served as resting spots for these horses, complete with food and water provisions.

Olive Grove

In the 1870s, Sir John embarked on an ambitious venture inspired by his experiences with olive groves in Greece. Fascinated by the idea of cultivating olives, he ordered 5,000 olive seedlings from Adelaide, Australia. He planted them on his One Tree Hill estate. His dream was to establish a profitable olive grove in New Zealand, but the climate posed a significant challenge.

Sir John utilised the quincunx planting pattern (like a five on a dice); this was not just a European technique but also deeply rooted in Māori agricultural traditions. For centuries, Māori utilised this method to cultivate crops such as kūmara and taro. This organised planting arrangement allowed for efficient use of space and resources.

The Olive Grove is one of the few visible remnants of Sir John's ambitious agricultural experiments. Prior to the olive trees, he planted 11,000 grapevines in the hopes of producing wine. Unfortunately, neither venture succeeded as planned. The vines failed and the olive trees were not well-suited to the local conditions, resulting in a poor yield and low-quality fruit, making the project unprofitable.

Market Gardening

Between 1892 and 1899, Fong Ming Quong leased 22 acres of land from Sir John for £30 a year. This land, which is now home to the Cornwall Park Cricket Club, became the largest market garden in Epsom at that time.

Fong Ming Quong was part of a significant wave of Chinese market gardeners who adapted their traditional farming methods to New Zealand's unique conditions. Using the lunar calendar to time their planting and employing crop rotation techniques, they were able to produce a substantial portion of Aotearoa, New Zealand's green vegetables.

Chinese market gardeners were adept at transforming even the most challenging patches of land into productive gardens. They carefully worked the soil and added manures like horse, pig, and fish to make it rich. Watering their plants, a lot was crucial for their success. To protect their crops from strong winds, they built windbreaks using thistle stalks or Mānuka branches. To keep rabbits away, they put vertical stone slabs into the ground to strengthen their fences. In low areas, they dug ditches to manage water for draining and watering their plants. In wetter fields, they used water treadmills to move extra water into street drains, keeping their crops healthy.

Their contributions were crucial during times of need, such as World War I and II, when they supplied up to 80% of the nation's green vegetables.

Since 1920, the Cornwall Park Trust has elected to operate the land directly. Today, Cornwall Park continues to operate as a working farm with approximately 600 sheep and 60 cows right in the heart of Auckland. Read more about our farm today here.