Our central city’s civic space has been successfully upgraded with more greenery and modern conveniences, making it perfect for both events and everyday use.
Aotea Square is a 1.3ha civic square in the heart of the Auckland’s central business district. Its name is derived from Motu Aotea, the Maori name for Great Barrier Island.
It was officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson at the intersection of Grey’s Ave and Queen Street. The square is strategically framed by key civic and cultural facilities such and the Town Hall and Aotea Centre, and was used for open-air concerts, gatherings, markets and political rallies.
The whole of Aotea Square (Town Hall site plus Aotea Square plus foot of Greys Ave) is a scheduled Maori Heritage Site known as Horotiu in the Auckland Council District Plan (Auckland City Central Section). The scheduled site surrounds of Auckland Town Hall partially overlap the square, which meant that a buffer area had to be respected in the new redevelopment designs. There are a number other interesting heritage and cultural items in the square, such as the Waharoa and bronze statues of Sir Dove Myer-Robinson, George Eden and Lord Auckland.
In October 2010, a major redevelopment of Aotea Square was completed. Changes included stronger connections with the street network and surrounding facilities, more green space and trees, greater amenity and expression of arts, and developing a sense of place. This redevelopment was very successful, bringing our central civic space to life once again.