Perched on a hill above Auckland is the Auckland Domain with its green space, the Auckland War Memorial Museum and views out across Auckland and the harbour. After my walk through the harbour, I walked up to the Domain and took some time to soak up the sunshine on a park bench before I headed up to the museum. Unfortunately I was only able to explore the outside of the museum on this trip.

The Domain contains the explosion crater and tuff ring of the Pukekawa volcano. In fact, the museum sits on one edge of the crater. The Auckland Museum dates back to 1852 when the history and artifacts of the Auckland region of Maori and European origin were gathered together in a building in central Auckland.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum dates to 1929 when the current building was opened to house both the Auckland Museum collection and a memorial to fallen New Zealanders who served in the armed forces. New Zealand lost 18,166 people in World War I out of a population of about a million, the highest per head commitment of any nation. Almost a third of those who died have no known grave. The War Memorial in the Auckland Domain honors their ultimate sacrifice.

Title quote: Pericles, quote carved above the entrance to the Auckland Museum