Nestled on the edge of Auckland's beautiful Waitemata Harbour is the Chelsea Sugar Works, a beloved and iconic landmark of the city. Painted in a warm Tuscan pink the buildings stand out proudly amongst the surrounding bush. Opened in 1884 it was built on a site perfect for it's needs due to sufficient flat land, access to fresh water from the adjoining Duck Creek, and a sheltered deep water anchorage on the shoreline, for tankers.
By 1886 the sugar works was humming and more than half the population of the suburb of Birkenhead were workers who lived in cottages provided by the company. The company also provided them with a church, a primary school and a store. Sadly all the early cottages are gone but the more solid brick houses, built for staff in 1908, remain and are under heritage protection.
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| Heritage protected workers houses dating from 1908 |
The 36.7 hectares surrounding the sugar works is now an historic reserve called the Chelsea Estate Heritage Park. It is a beautiful and popular place to stroll along cool, green, bush tracks, past freshwater lakes and beautifully groomed open spaces all the while catching stunning views of the Harbour Bridge and Auckland city. The bush contains many native species of trees including kauri, kowhai and pohutukawa where a wide variety of birds can be spotted. You may be lucky enough to catch sight of piwakawaka (fantail), a kereru (wood pigeon) or a tui but there are many other birds inhabiting the bush there as well. On the ponds you will find gulls, terns, shags, kingfishers, mallards and pukeko amongst other birds. Native fish live in the lakes although they will be hard to spot.
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The actual sugar work precinct goes by the name Chelsea Bay and is still fully operational, processing and refining the raw sugar delivered by sea to its wharf. Guided tours of the factory can be booked (at the moment they are not operational due to covid), there is a cookery school on site, an interactive zone which is interesting and very popular with children, a playground and picnic area and a superb bakery and eatery offering a dazzling display of cakes and savouries at very reasonable prices. The views from the cafe are sensational.
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| View of down town Auckland and the harbour bridge from the cafe |
Recently my son visited from the UK and I treated him and myself to high tea (known as afternoon tea in the UK) at the cafe. Oh my, it was something else. A three tiered cake stand plus groaning with cakes and savouries, all delicious served with a glass of champagne and a pot of tea. I have to say it defeated us but the grandchildren were very happy to get our left overs later in the day.
I highly recommend a visit to the Chelsea Estate. Take one or more of the walks around the estate and then reward yourself with a coffee and sweet treat in the cafe. If it is a special occasion book a high tea.
Note: The cafe is very popular and can be extremely busy on weekends although they do provide a coffee cart at weekends for take away coffee.
chelsea.co.nz 100 Colonial Rd, Chatswood, Auckland
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