This cluster of Phoenix palms is alongside the Winter Gardens section of the Auckland Domain, which also houses the Auckland War Memorial Museum (opened 28 November 1929). The original plan was for them to be planted in a double avenue in front of the War Memorial Museum, along with some deodar cedars. The Auckland City Council actually had the palms growing from 1926, but during mid 1929 a public controversy erupted over the planting plans, with some parties still believing the palms would be well suited to the architecture of the museum, whereas others favoured the planting of native trees (pohutukawa and puriri) [1]. Ultimately, the palms were not planted in front of the museum, but to the west by the Winter Gardens. There are other Phoenix palms in the Auckland Domain (by a bandstand), but this group is a distinct cluster making a significant sight on the way to the War Memorial Museum (Lloyd, M., 2023).
Acknowledgement: Thanks to John Adam for his unpublished paper.

Reference:
1. John Adam, 1996, ‘The tree of knowledge in the garden of … New Zealand’, paper presented to the annual conference of the Society of Architectural Historians of Australia and New Zealand, University of Auckland.