North Shore Heritage Thematic Review Report ... - Auckland Council

Fig. 27. Buchanan‟s horse drawn bread delivery in Devonport c1930s, North Shore Libraries D TR 0003.
4.4 Tourism
As a marine suburb with three beautiful beaches, Devonport was always an attractive destination, and
guest accommodation developed to service the influx of visitors.
The Flagstaff Hotel (1864) and the Masonic Hotel (1866) were the earliest of the Devonport
accommodation houses. The Masonic Hotel advertised its facilities as follows:
Families and gentlemen seeking a temporary retirement from the turmoil of commercial life,
will here find attractions unequalled within so short a distance of the city: while to invalids
it offers especial advantages. 55
The opening of the Esplanade Hotel, in 1901, and later the Ventnor Hotel, in 1920, provided more holiday
accommodation and facilities for day visitors also continued to flourish.
From the earliest times a number of attractions sprang up to service and attract tourists.
The Alison Strawberry Gardens on Beach Road were well patronised and Stark and Quick‟s Bear Gardens
on Queen‟s Parade provided entertainment for a brief period. The latter attraction, originally known as
Victoria Gardens, was intended as a private zoo and gardens, but it is uncertain whether it ever contained
the circus bears that gave rise to its more popular „Bear Gardens‟ name. It opened briefly for less than a
year before closing in 1883. Tearooms, such as Ford‟s Tearooms on King Edward Parade and others in
Victoria Road were also popular.
55 Daily Southern Cross, 10 February1866, p4.
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