Anawhata Reserve
The Anawhata Reserve in West Auckland spans seven hectares of steep coastal forest in various stages of regeneration.
![Kowhai flowers](/content/auckland/en/science/about-the-faculty/university-reserves/anawhata-reserve/_jcr_content/leftpar/imagecomponent_1626065454/image.img.480.low.jpg/1553133476004.jpg)
Anawhata was gifted to the University of Auckland in 1966, by a group of prestigious alumni including John Andrews, Frederick Meiklejohn, Percy Parr, Muriel Schmidt and internationally renowned botanist Lucy Cranwell (1907-2000).
The group purchased the property in 1926 when they were still at university. Because most of the group were members of the University of Auckland Field Club, Anawhata soon became a site for research and study. Lucy Cranwell went on to conduct much of her research there.
Anawhata Reserve is home to a rare locally endemic kowhai species (Sophora microphylla var. fulvida). Many other local endemic plant species are also found at the site.
This reserve has been the site of in-depth botanical and algal studies.
For more information about visiting or conducting research in the reserve, please email reserves@auckland.ac.nz.