in the 1880s there was concern that the domestic water supplies for the area were being contaminated by the adjacent symonds street cemetery; the newton gully was created by a stream which drains into the western springs area to the east. the possibility of well water being contaminated by decomposing matter and embalming chemicals (arsenic in particular) was quite a worry, leading to the eventual closure of the cemetery and the opening of a new facility at waikumete in west auckland.