Grafton Railway Station Place Name Report

On this page:

• 27 March 2009 Place Name Proposal Report
• 16 September 2009 Place Name Summary Report

This report is also available in PDF Grafton railway station place name report (pdf 2.72MB).

• Altered railway station name
• Grafton Railway Station or
• Khyber Pass Railway Station
• Adjacent to Central Auckland.

27 March 2009 Place Name Proposal Report

General Background

The submitter is Ontrack, who are relocating the Boston Road Railway Station from beneath the Auckland southern motorway to the intersection of Park Road and Khyber Pass Road, Auckland.

The proposal seeks to alter the place name of Boston Road Railway Station to Grafton Railway Station or Khyber Pass Railway Station. Ontrack is in the process of extensively remodelling the rail network within the larger Auckland city area, which will better manage transport flows in the future. The new site of the railway station will bring it closer to Auckland Domain, Auckland Hospital, Auckland University, and any future developments by AMP on the Lion Breweries site.

Ontrack has provided documentary evidence of consultation.

Support Grafton Railway Station proposal	Support Khyber Pass Railway Station proposal
Auckland City Council Transport Committee	Auckland Regional Transport Authority
Hobson Community Board	Department of Corrections (Mt Eden Prison)
Grafton Residents Association	Newmarket Business Association.

The submitter states that the proposed railway station names have been forwarded to Auckland Grammar School, St Peter's College, Auckland War Memorial Museum, University of Auckland School of Medical and Health Sciences, Campaign for Better Transport and Ngāti Whātua o Orakei for consultation; however, no responses have been received.

Alternative names which were considered during Ontrack's consultation were suggested by AMP and the Auckland District Health Board. Auckland City Council Transport Committee argue that naming the feature 'Grafton Railway Station' would be consistent with the practice to name a railway station after the suburb in which it is located. It is the view of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority that the name should provide specific information as to where the location of the station is within context to the adjacent area. They argue that 'Khyber Pass Station' will improve legibility and understanding of the public transport system, making communications and marketing more relevant to users. However, they consider that 'Grafton Railway Station' also fits the principles of their station naming policy, and while it is not their preferred name, it would be an acceptable alternative to 'Khyber Pass Railway Station'.

One other location in New Zealand, near the mouth of the Wainuiomata River, Wellington, is named Khyber Pass (refer to NZ Gazette 1948, p.939). The name Khyber Pass also appears in the New Zealand Place Names Database (Archived) as a recorded name, as follows:

The only other duplication is Khyber Pass Road, which is in the vicinity of the railway station.

The name Grafton has not been gazetted as official through the NZGB Act, however, it appears in the New Zealand Place Names Database (Archived) as a recorded name, as follows:

Duplication of the name Grafton is prevalent, but is predominately concentrated in the area of Auckland city:

Grafton Bridge	Auckland City
Grafton Road	Auckland City Wellington Gisborne Thames
Grafton Terrace	Auckland City
Grafton Street	Christchurch

While Ontrack advise that they have no preference for either name, Auckland City Council Transport Committee is of the view that the name of the railway station should be 'Grafton Railway Station', reflecting the name of the suburb where it is located. However, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority argue for 'Khyber Pass Railway Station', in that the name should provide specific information as to where the location of the station is within context to the adjacent area.

16 September 2009 Place Name Summary Report

At its previous meeting of 27 March 2009, the Board noted that the proposer, Ontrack has relocated the former Boston Railway Station from beneath the Auckland southern motorway to the intersection of Park Road and Khyber Pass Road, in the suburb of Grafton, Auckland. Media attention about the proposed name change has garnered interest from the local community and businesses. Ontrack proposed two names and advised no preference for either. Ontrack consulted a number of organisations and authorities within the vicinity and wider metropolitan Auckland. The two Auckland transport authorities have opposing views for the names. One supports Khyber Pass Railway Station and the other supports Grafton Railway Station, both advising valid reasons for their particular choice.

The Board noted that those who opted for Khyber Pass Railway Station could live with the option of Grafton Railway Station. The Board therefore accepted Grafton Railway Station as a proposal and proceeded to publicly notify for a three month period.

To give effect to the 'Protocols for Maori Place Names', the views of six iwi were sought;

Contact	Iwi	Location
Don Baker Chairperson	Te Rūnanga a Iwi o Ngāti Tamaterā	Paeroa
Waati Ngamane Chairperson	Ngāti Maru ki Hauraki Inc	Thames
Te Warena Taua Chairperson	Te Kawera a Maki Iwi Tribal Authority	Manukau
Naida Glavish Chairperson	Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua	Whangarei
Glen Tupuhi Chairperson	The Ngāti Paoa Trust Board	Pukekohe
Grant Hawke Chairperson	Ngāti Whātua o Ōrakei Māori Trust Board	Auckland

No response from iwi has been received.

Submissions received following public notification resulted in two objections for Grafton Station and five in support.

Objector	Grounds for Objection	Preference
Barbara Sturmfels 17 May 2009 (within notification period)	The station is on the outskirts of what most people consider the area known as Grafton People would consider that they are in Newmarket rather than Grafton, at that point of Khyber Pass Road Naming a station Grafton carries an implication that the station is well within the boundaries of the area commonly thought of as Grafton The Station is located midway along Khyber Pass Road and is where people would expect to find a station named Khyber Pass Road Khyber Pass Road is well known The station will gain rapid recognition and acceptance if named after the road Naming it Grafton may lead to bewilderment and disorientation as people not familiar with the rail network might reasonably expect it to be in a more central part of Grafton These reasons override the Board's preference for naming railway stations after geographical areas rather than street names is more practical particularly as it replaces Boston Road Station.	Khyber Pass Railway Station
Ken McLeod 10 August 2009 (within notification period)	The location itself can only just be considered to be part of what is commonly perceived to be Grafton People using the station will be travelling to and from activities in Newmarket The large nearby businesses list their addresses as Newmarket The station is tucked away in a corner of Grafton suburb not central The station is located along the middle of Khyber Pass Road therefore accurately describes the location of the station Giving the name Grafton could be misleading as it does not relate to the common perceptions of localities within Auckland city.	Khyber Pass Railway Station

 

Supporter	Grounds for Support	Preference
Alan Most 15 May 2009 (within notification period)	Naming it Grafton brings it into line with existing station names, Orakei, Remuera, Glen Innes, Otahuhu, Kingsland etc.	Grafton Railway Station
Jacqui Wilkinson 20 April 2009 outside notification period)	It will be servicing the residents, workers, and students of Grafton Visitors to the Hospital, Domain and Museum will benefit.	Grafton Railway Station
Alister M Martin Honorary Consul-General for Papua New Guinea 3 April 2009 (outside notification period)	Born, lived and currently working in Grafton Confirms Grafton's unique identity Recognition of the significance of this historical suburb Khyber Pass is a nondescript name Newmarket West is inappropriate.	Grafton Railway Station
John and Kathleen Shaw 1 April 2009 (outside notification period)	Born and bred central Aucklanders Achieves a better relationship with other transport services such as the Link Bus No confusion with bus stop names, Domain, War Memorial Museum and Hospital Oppose Newmarket West as the Newmarket Business Association attempting leverage to further Newmarket business The name Grafton represents important landmarks and services within the suburb of Grafton and brings them together.	Grafton Railway Station
Craig Gillett 19 May 2009 (within notification period)	It is normal to use the name of the Suburb in which the station sits Grafton facilities will be the main destination for passengers, they will be going to the Hospital, Medical School, Liggins Institute, Museum and Domain	Grafton Railway Station

Map

For a larger scale version of this map please refer to the pdf version of the Grafton railway station place name report (pdf 2.72MB).