University of Auckland campus tour: the ClockTower, Albert Park and Grafton

The University of Auckland began in 1883 as Auckland University College, one of the colleges of the old federal University of New Zealand, and became an independent university in 1962. It is the largest university in the country, and its main campus is right in the middle of the largest city: on a ridge above Queen Street, wrapped around a Victorian park, ten minutes' walk from the harbour. This guide covers the City Campus and its landmarks, the medical campus at Grafton, and what the surrounding city offers students.

How the City Campus is laid out

The City Campus has no gates or boundary walls; it blends into the streets around it. Two roads give it its shape. Princes Street, lined with old trees and 19th-century merchants' houses, runs along the edge of Albert Park and holds the historic buildings. Symonds Street, a busy bus corridor one block east, is where most of the science and engineering buildings stand. The library, student quad and lecture theatres fill the space between the two.

The ClockTower

The ClockTower on Princes Street is the university's emblem. It is the centrepiece of the Old Arts Building, designed by Roy Lippincott, an American-born architect who had worked on the plans for Canberra, and completed in 1926. Its pale stone tower, a free and lacy version of Gothic, was controversial when new and is now one of Auckland's best-loved buildings.

Old Government House and the barracks wall

A few steps south, Old Government House stands in sloping gardens. It was built in 1856 as the residence of the governor, in the years when Auckland was the capital of the colony. Though it looks like stone, it is built of timber. Today it is used by the university, and its gardens, with some very large old trees, are a quiet place to sit.

Running through the grounds behind is a length of dark volcanic stone wall with loopholes for muskets. It is what remains of the Albert Barracks, the fortified military base that covered this ridge in the 1840s and 1850s. Albert Park itself was laid out on the barracks' site.

Libraries and the student quad

The General Library is the largest of the university's libraries. Beside it, the Kate Edger Information Commons provides several floors of computers and study space. It is named after Kate Edger, who in 1877 became the first woman in New Zealand to earn a university degree. The quad between them, with its cafés and student union offices, is the busiest spot on campus at lunchtime.

The business school, the marae and the fale

On Grafton Road, the Owen G. Glenn Building is a large, curving glass building that houses the business school.

Close by are two buildings that say a good deal about the university's place in the Pacific:

• Waipapa Marae is the university's marae, a Māori meeting ground, with a carved meeting house at its centre. It is used for welcomes, teaching and ceremonies.
• The Fale Pasifika is a great oval hall with a soaring roof, built in the manner of a traditional Samoan fale. It is a gathering place for Pacific students and communities.

Both are living cultural spaces and not tourist sights, so look from outside unless you are attending an event.

The Grafton Campus and the Domain

Medicine, nursing, pharmacy and the other health sciences are based at the Grafton Campus, about fifteen minutes' walk from the ClockTower, across a motorway gully. It sits opposite Auckland City Hospital, where much of the clinical teaching takes place.

Right beside it is the Auckland Domain, the city's oldest park, spread over the remains of an old volcano. Its hilltop is crowned by the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and its winter gardens and sports fields are well used by students.

Student life in the central city

Several halls of residence, mostly for first-year students, stand within a few minutes' walk of the City Campus, so it is possible to live, study and socialise without ever needing a car. After first year, many students flat in the inner suburbs or commute from across the city.

The city supplies the rest. Albert Park, with its fountain, flower beds and views of the Sky Tower, is the campus's front lawn. Queen Street is at the bottom of the hill, and beyond it are the waterfront and the ferry terminal, with boats to Devonport, Waiheke Island and the other islands of the Hauraki Gulf.

Seeing the campus for yourself

The grounds are open to everyone, and you can walk along Princes Street, through the gardens of Old Government House and across the quad at any time of day. The ClockTower's entrance hall is normally open during working hours. The university holds events for prospective students and offers campus tours; dates and booking arrangements change, so check its official website for current details.

Getting there and around

• On foot: from Queen Street, walk up through Albert Park; it is steep but takes only about ten minutes.
• By bus: Symonds Street is one of the busiest bus routes in the city, with services from most parts of Auckland.
• By train or ferry: the main downtown station and the ferry terminal are at the foot of Queen Street, about fifteen to twenty minutes' walk from campus.
• From the airport: Auckland Airport is about twenty kilometres south of the centre. Allow 45 minutes to an hour, more at peak times.
• By car: parking in the central city is limited and costly; public transport is easier.

Where families usually base themselves

• The central city: hotels and serviced apartments around Queen Street and the waterfront, all within walking distance of campus.
• Parnell: a neighbourhood of cafés and galleries east of the Domain, handy for Grafton.
• Ponsonby: west of the centre, known for its restaurants, a short bus ride away.

Tips for the day

• Start at the ClockTower, walk south past Old Government House and the barracks wall to the library, then on to the Owen G. Glenn Building, the marae and the fale.
• Add the Grafton Campus and the Domain if health sciences are of interest.
• Auckland's weather changes fast in any season; carry a light rain jacket.
• New Zealand's academic year runs from late summer to spring, roughly March to November, so the campus is quiet in December and January.
• Looking across the Tasman as well? See our guides to the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne.

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Cover photo: Uhooep, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons