Royal Oak, New Zealand
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| Suburb: | Royal Oak |
| City: | Auckland |
| Island: | North Island |
| Surrounded by - to the north |
Epsom (3.0 km) One Tree Hill (1.7 km) |
Royal Oak is a small suburb in New Zealand's largest city of Auckland. It is situated between the suburbs of Epsom (north) and Onehunga (south).
Royal Oak is under the local governance of the Auckland City Council and according to the 2001 census has a population of 5052.
[edit] History
It is named after the Royal Oak hotel that was located on the Royal Oak Roundabout. In 1909 the hotel lost its licence to sell alcohol. For many years it was a pharmacy before being used as the premises of Barfoot & Thompson Real Estate Agency. Royal Oak refers to the tree Charles II hid up during the Battle of Worcester to avoid capture.
In the middle of the Royal Oak Roundabout was once located the Seddon Memorial built in the early 1900s in memory of the popular Prime Minister Richard John Seddon (1845 - 1906). It was in the form of a Gothic Market Cross and was a combined tram shelter, gas lamp standard and drinking fountain. It was removed in 1947. The Royal Oak roundabout served five converging roads but one has been closed off in recent years.
Royal Oak was once home to Boyd Zoo, the earliest Zoological Garden in New Zealand. It held a lion, flamingos and other exotic animals. It closed after the lion one day escaped, running down Queenstown Road, before being recaptured by the zoo-keeper's son. The animals were given to the newly established Auckland Zoo at Western Springs in the 1920s.
The Boyd Zoo site was later built on as a temporary hospital for American Marines in 1942, before being converted into Manukau Intermediate School (now renamed to Royal Oak Intermediate School).
