New Zealand Memorial Park Project
When the National War Memorial was first built in 1932 it commanded a dominant position overlooking the city and would have been highly visible from most areas of the capital. At that time there was a proposal to create a boulevard to link the memorial to Courtenay Place. Unfortunately this never eventuated and, while still highly visible, the memorial has become isolated in a semi-industrial zone as the city has grown up around it.
In 2005, the Ministry acquired land on Buckle Street, across the road from the National War Memorial, to create a New Zealand Memorial Park. The park will join the adjacent National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior as a major focal point for New Zealanders to commemorate sacrifice during time of war.
On 24 April, 2007, the Government announced new funding of $10.9 million for the park’s construction. The aim is to complete the redevelopment of the National War Memorial precinct.
This will not only improve the setting of the National War Memorial but would strengthen the heritage value of the entire area. The park will not be purely an open space. The design will allow for the construction of memorials, particularly from countries with which New Zealand has a close relationship.
It is expected that the New Zealand Memorial Park will be completed in 2008.
Concept Brief for Design of Memorial Park
The following documents are available for download:
- Concept brief (pdf)
- Memorial Park overview (pdf)
- Aerial Map 1 (pdf)
- Aerial Map 2 (pdf)
- Photo montage (pdf)
- Architect's drawing 1 (jpg)
- Architect's drawing 2 (jpg)
- Historic image (jpg)
Or, you can download all these documents as a Zip file (4.7mbs)