Bay Bridge Carpool Lane

The story of Grafton Bridge goes back to the first decade of Auckland's settlement, when colonial New Zealand was hardly established and the advantages of the future city's fine harbourside location were just being realised. But the town grew fast from its earliest days, and in 1847 its first major hospital opened.

To aid patient recovery, Auckland Hospital was sited adjacent to the Government Domain. New Zealand's first governor William Hobson had decreed that this large green space would serve as a sport and recreational base for the population of traders and their families who were settling what would soon become the colony's most important commercial centre.

Auckland’s Early Development

Auckland developed around its waterfront, a series of small bays separated by steep cliffs where the north/south ridges of the volcanic isthmus touched the harbour. Many of these points of land restricted the town’s growth and were soon removed, the material used to reclaim the shallow bays and so provide the working space needed for the busy port.