Hammonds Highbury Heritage Walk

heritage walk-36-182

This self-guided heritage walk explores the history of Highbury Village, beginning at Zion Hill Church and finishing at All Saints Church. It highlights the area's development from the late 19th century through to the Art Deco commercial boom of the 1920s and 30s. The little village remains true to its roots. Since its development in 1923 there's always been a butcher, a baker (and now a candlestick maker), fish shop, general goods store, land agent, shoe shop, drapery, and photographer around Highbury Corner. It's here that the four original roads of Birkenhead meet up. The walk finishes at All Saints Church - formerly Forester's Hall the social centre of the Village!

45min loop track

To complete the walk use the map above to find 15 plaques at heritage locations around the village. Each plaque has a brief summary of key information. To find more detailed information read below to find the relevant plaque. The QR Codes on each plaque bring you back to this page.

Plaque No.	Location/Name	Key Historical Facts
1.	Zion Hill Church	Zion Hill Church, named after Mt Zion, was Highbury's first church, founded in 1880 on land donated by pioneer Mr. Creamer. The original structure was designed by W.F. Hammond. The opening of the Chelsea Sugar Works in 1884 brought an influx of settlers, necessitating expansion. The current Gothic-style church, designed in 1885, was built in 1888. The original 1880 building survives as part of the church hall. Notably, early Council meetings were held in the old church, timed with the full moon due to the lack of street lights.
2. & 3	Hammond Place & Hammond House	Hammond Place is named after William Francis Hammond, an architect, surveyor, and map maker who moved to Birkenhead in 1897. He was influential in the area's development and owned the substantial thirty-acre property, Raven Hill. Hammond married Annabella Findlay Alston in 1879. Crucially, Hammond was partly responsible for naming the district: Highbury is named after his parents’ house in London. His in-laws, the Forghams, lived nearby in Highbury Cottage, leading the name to spread across the area. William Francis Hammond was a key architect and surveyor in the area, migrating to Birkenhead in 1897. After his first wife died, he married Annabella Findlay Alston (daughter of the Forghams) in 1879. Hammond was wealthy, owning the Raven Hill property. He was responsible for the name 'Highbury'. It originated from his parents' house in Highgate, London, also called Highbury. When Annabella's parents moved to the area, their house opposite Zion Hill Church was called Highbury Cottage. This name then spread, eventually being adopted by the entire area and the local shopping mall.
4.	Payne's Building	The substantial two-level Payne's Building, now known as Oborn’s Buildings, was erected at Highbury Corner in 1927-28. It was built for local businessman and Borough Council member W.H. Payne, a land agent credited with recognizing Highbury’s potential as a commercial hub. The site was part of land originally owned by Annabelle Hammond. After being subdivided, W.H. Payne purchased the lot in 1917. The building gained its current name when an arcade was added in 1963, possibly after a shoe shop owner named Oborn. This prominent building remains essential to the Highbury centre.
5. 6. & 7.	Highbury Corner 1910 & 1928	Highbury Corner developed into the commercial heart of the village after the roads were sealed in the 1920s. Previously, in 1913, it was largely fields, home to the Council Chambers, Taylor’s farm, and the grand Shepherd Homestead. As the meeting point for all traffic before the bypass, it was crucial to the area. By 1927, visitors recognized it as Birkenhead’s emerging shopping center, a development largely credited to the foresight of W.H. Payne. The corner, where the Shepherd Homestead once sat, has served as the village's commercial hub for over 80 years.
8.	Highbury Buildings	The Highbury Buildings at 14-20 Mokoia Road, a simple 1930s retail block, were built in 1934, likely overseen by W.H. Payne. The site was historically part of a farm owned by William Francis Hammond. After owner Henry Medland Shepherd died in 1927, the land was offered to the Council for a Town Hall, but the proposal lapsed. By 1939, the building housed the first Highbury Post Office (est. 1935) and various shops. In 1949, draper J.S. Yarnton took up business, and the family-run Yarntons still occupies a large part of the building today.
9.	Birkenhead Primary School	Numerous petitions led to land being purchased for Birkenhead Primary School in 1913 and 1914. However, construction was delayed until 1919 due to a lack of funds and the intervention of the First World War. Though the original school buildings have been replaced, the historic lychgate and fence remain. The lychgate is a modern nod to a British tradition, originally erected at church entrances as shelter during funeral ceremonies, though here it likely served as a simple shelter from inclement weather.
10.	Nell Fisher Reserve	The Nell Fisher Reserve, named for the Council’s first paid librarian, is a cornerstone of Birkenhead history. This corner originally housed the first Borough Council Chambers and the area's first garage. The prominent War Memorial, designed by Frank Finch and crafted in 1927 in an elegant Art Deco style, honours those lost in war. Finch designed it with grey granite, representing strength, and four polished red granite columns signifying civic virtues. The site later hosted the first dedicated Birkenhead Library, opened in 1968. Today, a new library stands behind the redeveloped civic reserve.
11.	St Andrews Church	The idea for St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church emerged in 1908, with land secured in 1909 for £100. Construction of the wooden church followed the laying of the foundation stone in November 1914. The first service was held on December 13, 1914. Designed to seat 200 adults, the building originally stood on Crescent Road. In 1928, the entire church was relocated to its current site on Hinemoa Street. After a vote in 1932, it was named after Saint Andrew, the Patron Saint of Scotland, and remains a highly active part of the Birkenhead community today.
12.	All Saints Church	All Saints Church was originally the Foresters Lodge Hall, a community social centre built from native Kauri. Anglican services began there in 1908, and the church purchased the hall for £325 in 1911. The building underwent enlargements and was re-dedicated in 1913. In 1923, the entire structure was moved to its current site on Hinemoa Street. It was split in two: the upper floor became the church, and the lower portion became the Parish Hall (still called the Foresters Hall). The non-religious stained glass depicts an oak leaf, referencing the original hall's link to Sherwood Forest.
13.	Highbury Cash Store	The Highbury Cash Store, or S. Roberts ‘General Provider,’ was the area's first general store, established in 1913 on Hauraki Street (now Hinemoa Street). It was built to serve the growing commercial centre, despite an earlier S. Roberts store near the wharf. As a substantial double-level building, it was one of the first two commercial structures in Highbury, anticipating a large local market. Its upright façade proudly displayed the name "Highbury Cash Store." Its presence helped kickstart the commercial boom, and the building remains largely unchanged today, now operating as the Mulan Malaysian Restaurant.
14.	Hawkins Store	Hawkins Store, built in 1920 at 245 Hinemoa Street, is one of Highbury's earliest commercial buildings, featuring an early simple Art Deco style. It is named for renowned nurseryman Henry Hawkins, who successfully grew various fruits like apples and pears in Birkenhead's tough clay soil. His success was critical as the Birkenhead Borough was known as the 'fruit bowl of Auckland', with all local produce being boated across the harbour to the city. Hawkins defied common knowledge to prove the area's agricultural potential before the Harbour Bridge opened in 1959.
15.	Frederick Morris Block	The Frederick Morris Block was the first block of shops erected at Highbury Corner, built by F. Morris in 1923. Located on Birkenhead Ave and Hinemoa Street, it originally comprised eight single-level shops with a simple plastered masonry façade and defining plain parapets. This construction helped establish Highbury as a commercial centre in the 1920s. It originally housed numerous small businesses, from grocers to hardware shops. Builder Frederick Morris had a civic career, serving on the Mt Eden Borough Council before moving to Birkenhead, where he served on the Borough Council from 1930 until his death in 1934.