#10. Hampton Park (Church Cone)

Date visited: 2 February 2021

Elevation: 35m

Volcanic history

Hampton Park, a small scoria cone, is one of four volcanoes in this area that appear to have erupted in a line. Of the four, it is the only one remaining today. The others are Mātanginui/Greenmount, Te Puke o Taramainuku/Ōtara Hill, and Styak’s Swamp.

St. John’s Church, which sits on the crest of the tuff ring and still operates as a church today, was built from basalt rocks from the eruption.

Our visit

In the olden days, before Te Irirangi Drive connected East Auckland to South, you’d have to drive past St. John’s Church to get to East Tamaki. I spent a number of my formative years in East Tamaki, so I’d go past the little church all the time but until this day, had never been up to have a proper look around. I also had no idea about the existence of the Hampton Homestead behind the church grounds.

The kids were very excited by this time to see an actual volcano after the three rather unimpressive non-volcanoes we’d visited that morning.

St. John’s is such a lovely wee building that it even has its own website. It was built in 1859 by a bloke called Gideon Smales, at least the older part of it. I couldn’t find any information on the church’s website itself, but I understand from talking to locals that it suffered a fire, possibly in the 1960s, after which a new bit, the Davis Vestry, was added on.

The whole place is tinged with tragedy, actually, as we found out later on.

Beyond the church, there’s a small garden and wall of remembrance. The stairs in the picture below lead to a tree lined ridge aptly named Church Avenue, which takes you on an ambling walk to the Hampton Park Homestead.

Even though this was, objectively, a beautiful spot, it felt a bit gloomy and dark, like you kind of wanted to GTFO.

I later learnt that two of the Smales children died on Church Avenue in horse-riding accidents – Gideon Jr., aged 12 in 1860, and Felicia, aged 30, in 1880. No wonder it felt grim.

At the end of the ever-so-slightly creepy but outwardly pleasant Church Avenue, there was a farm gate, beyond which you could just get a glimpse of the Hampton Park Homestead, which I believe is still used as a private residence.

Despite its somewhat sad past and the general eerie-ness of the ridge, this really is a lovely place. We even saw a hare hopping up the driveway to the homestead.

Directions and facilities

St. John’s Church and the Hampton Park Homestead are located at 328 East Tamaki Road. There is no official parking but you are able to park on the road without too much hassle. There’s a pedestrian entrance to one side of the driveway. Be advised though, there are no toilets.

Happy adventuring,