One Tree Hill Domain Playground

One Tree Hill Domain Playground sits inside Cornwall Park in Epsom, Auckland, at the base of Maungakiekie, and it is one of the biggest family playgrounds in the city for primary school aged children and toddlers alike. A 30 metre flying fox is the standout for older kids, while a push along train on its own loop track and a sand pit keep younger visitors busy.

Equipment

Alongside the flying fox and train, the playground has a Roctopus, a multi rider swing that lets several children ride together from any direction, a rope climbing structure, and a carousel with a spring rocker and spring toy for the youngest visitors. A liberty swing gives children who use a wheelchair the same swinging experience as their friends. Electric barbecues and picnic tables sit close by, and the surface underfoot is bark.

Access and Inclusion

The liberty swing makes this one of Auckland's more genuinely inclusive playgrounds, built for wheelchair users rather than retrofitted. The site is unfenced, so families with toddlers should keep half an eye on the wider parkland. On street parking runs along the park boundary, and Auckland Council's smokefree policy applies across the whole domain.

History and Cultural

Maungakiekie, the volcanic cone above the playground, is considered the most extensively developed Maori pa site in Tamaki Makaurau, one of the largest pre European fortifications anywhere. Its terraces, known as Nga Whakairo a Titahi, were built by Ngati Awa chief Titahi in the 17th century, and the name means the hill of the kiekie vine. Since the 2014 Treaty settlement the maunga has been owned by the Nga Mana Whenua o Tamaki Makaurau collective of 13 iwi and hapu, co-governed by the Tupuna Maunga Authority.

Practical Info

Good tree shade covers the play equipment, seating and picnic tables, useful on hot Auckland days. The playground has been open since before 2015 and sits within the wider Cornwall Park reserve, entered from Manukau Road, Epsom.