Epsom is an exclusive, affluent suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in the centre of the Auckland isthmus between Mount Eden and One Tree Hill, south of Newmarket, and five km south of the city centre. Named after the town in England noted for its horse-racing, Epsom also has a race track. The Alexandra Park Raceway lies in the eastern quarter of Epsom where it is located next to the Epsom Showgrounds. The broad, flat pastureland here at the intersection of Greenlane and Manukau Roads was used for sporting events from the 1850s onwards but the two venues were only formally established around 1900. The Alexandra Raceway was named after the then Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra). The Epsom Showgrounds are the location of the annual Auckland Royal Easter Show.

The major road running through Epsom is the Manukau Road. The Manukau Road linked Auckland with the Port of Onehunga and was one of the main routes south out of Auckland in the 19th century (the other being the adjacent Great South Road) The link with the Port of Onehunga meant it became the route for horse buses in the mid 19th century followed by Horse Trams and eventually Electric Trams after 1902. This resulted in a large number of suburban houses and villa residences being built along the route of the Manukau Road.

Several large Country House residences were built in the area during the mid to late 19th century, surrounded by large estates and smaller working farms. As these were progressively subdivided towards the end of the 19th century the landscape changed dramatically leading one major landowner Dr John Logan Campbell to gift a large portion of his estate to the city as Cornwall Park

Epsom is fortunate to be situated between adjacent areas with numerous and large public parks. To the south are Cornwall Park and the One Tree Hill Domain To the west is Mt Eden with the Mount Eden Domain, Meville Park and Windmill Park To the east is the volcanic cone of Mount Saint John. There are several small public reserves located in Epsom itself, the most notable of which is the Marivare Reserve at the intersection of Manukau and Ranfurly Roads - this contains a War Memorial in the form of an arch made of Volcanic rock.

*source: Wikipedia