Swan Arch, Henderson

Swan Arch, Henderson

Near the Edmonton Road end of Central Park Drive, Henderson, there is a small reserve, some of it below road level: Swan Arch Reserve. A plaque gives the following story:

In 1898 solicitor Henry Charles Swan purchased land here. Around 1901, reputedly telling friends he was embarking on a solo voyage around the world, he sailed his yacht Awatea to this former tributary of Henderson Creek. Swan lived aboard his yacht for the next 30 years. Between 1901 and 1931 Swan built this brick arch, as well as two cellars to store fruit from his orchard and to house his book collection.

LocalHistoryOnline has a 1933 picture by Frank Morris of the arch including the watercourse (“Man in dinghy by Swan’s Arch, Henderson”):