Table of Contents
Newspaper Articles
1965
TDN, JANUARY 7, 1965
BROOKLANDS BOWL MUCH IMPROVED
The Bowl of Brooklands Soundshell, has been described on many occasions, as “a jewel in the natural setting”. While one must agree that it would be impossible to improve on the natural beauty surrounding the shell, visitors who have not attended the bowl recently, are due for a pleasant surprise, when they attend the opening ceremony of the Festival of the Pines today.
This day sees the opening not only of the festival, but also of the new look woodlands stage, which have been completely redesigned and enlarged.
Throughout past months, preparations for this year’s events have been underway and for many weeks, a band of keen volunteers have hacked and hewed their way, until now, when the results of their work will be seen by the general public.
The new-look permanent staging blends harmoniously into the natural backdrop, which is the bowl’s most attractive feature. It is only when one sees the extensions that one realises just how extensive and far reaching they are and can appreciate the skill and care which has brought about this transformation, which enhances the beauty of the setting.
INTEGRAL
The main effect of these alterations is to blend all the stages into an integral part of the main structure.
The six stages now combine to provide more space and greater fluidity of action than producers have previously had at their disposal.
All temporary fittings have been eliminated and all the fixtures and staging are now a permanent feature.
The organises have reintroduced the water curtain which is fitted to the front of the stage and is capable of producing 170 jets to a height of 15 feet.
This curtain makes an effective “drape” capable of being lit in many colours, which helps to make even the intervals and enthralling part of the evenings entertainment.
Sound equipment, comprising 30 speakers in three positions, and six sound channels with stereophonic installation, ensures that all artists will be heard even by those sitting farthest away from the stage.
CABLING
Hundreds of yards of cabling have been laid and permanent fuse boxes and lights installed. This means that in future, there will be no need to re-lay and re-wire fixtures for each production. They will be an integral part of the stage fittings.
The seating arrangements have now been finalised. Wooden seats (with backs) are capable of seating some 4000 people, while the total seating capacity, using the grass slopes, is in the region of 16,000.
There will be ample car parking facilities in the area, convenient parking space for 4000 cars being readily available.
During the festival it is expected that more than 1500 performers and staff will be engaged at one time or another; this gives an indication of the immensity of the task which faces the organisers.
TDN, JANUARY 7, 1965
FRIENDS OF FESTIVAL
“Greater support for the Friends of the Festival campaign will assure us of greater interest in influential circles”, the secretary of the Bowl of Brooklands Trust, Mr. T. B. Jackson, said at New Plymouth yesterday.
Mr. Jackson commented that the purpose of the campaign was to enlist financial support from those unable to devote time and labour to further future bowl development projects.
He said, though much had been accomplished in past months, there were still major projects to be launched.
Among these were the construction of better vehicle access, the terracing of the grounds, building of better staffing facilities and the provision of permanent technical installations.
MAKESHIFT
Mr. Jackson pointed out that throughout past years technicians and producers had to make do with make- shift gear and improvised facilities.
These were slowly being replaced by permanent equipment and general amenities, all of which tend to increase the comfort and enjoyment of the bowl’s patrons and at the same time enable the organisers to produce more ambitious productions efficiently.
“The trust is now in a position where it can safely reckon on a margin of profit from its Festival of the Pines programmes, but this margin is quite inadequate to meet the tremendous outlay of capital still required for development”, he said.
Mr. Jackson said that from the Friends of the Festival this year the trust had received gross receipts of approximately £800. Out of this sum they could count on £500 only, which could be regarded as net proceeds available for capital expenditure.
TDN, JANUARY 14, 1965
CONCEIVED IDEA OF BROOKLANDS ZOO
The man who conceived the idea and was largely responsible for the planning of the children’s zoo at present being built by New Plymouth Jaycee at the Brooklands Park entrance, Mr Ronald Alan Brooker, died suddenly yesterday. He was 37.
Mr. Brooker, a hardware merchant at Fitzroy, had been an active Jaycee member for some years. Coming to New Plymouth from Paeroa two and a half years ago, he was named the city’s best all-round Jaycee member two years ago.
He was president of the New Plymouth chapter last year, and was also a member of the Fitzroy Businessmen’s Association.
Stamps were of great interest to Mr. Brooker. He possessed an extensive collection and was president of the Taranaki Philatelic Society for the past year and a half.
He was an honorary member of the Fitzroy Surf Club.
At Paeroa for eight years, he was secretary of the Thames Valley Rugby Union for some years and a keen member of the Paeroa Athletic Association.
Mr. Brooker leaves a wife and two children.
TH, JANUARY 21, 1965
WORK ON ZOO CAGE TO RESUME
The construction of the 100ft-long cage, the first stage of the New Plymouth Jaycees’ children’s zoo project, is expected to be completed by January 30, the Jaycee president, Mr S. James, said today.
Work on the cages, situated near the entrance to Brooklands Park, will resume on Saturday and continue through next week, Mr James said.
When the cage is completed they would seek advice on the setting up of perches and other additions for the birds.
They had already received a large number of birds, mostly budgerigars, and they hoped other types of bird would become available, Mr James said.
“The monkeys are available whenever we want them, but we are waiting until the city council takes a hand in the project before we get them,” Mr James said.
Sufficient funds to cover the estimated £1700 for the first stage of the project had been raised with a small surplus. They would not be starting on the second stage of the zoo for about a year. This involves the building of another cage behind the first, or two smaller ones.
They had received a good response to the appeal for funds for the zoo project rather than wreaths as a tribute to the late Mr R. Brooker, a former Jaycee president, who died last week.
The money was being kept in a separate fund and would be used to build some addition to the zoo honouring the work that. Mr Brooker put into the project, Mr James added.
SUNDAY EXPRESS, JANUARY 31, 1965
A PLEASANT SURPRISE IN STORE FOR BOWL VISITORS
The bowl of Brooklands soundshell has been described on many occasions as “a jewel in a natural setting.”
While one must agree that it would be impossible to improve on the natural beauty surrounding the shell, visitors who have not attended the bowl recently are due for a pleasant surprise when they attend the Festival of the Pines this year.
This festival sees the opening of the new-look woodlands stages, which have been completely redesigned and enlarged.
Throughout past months, preparations for this year’s events have been under way and for many weeks, a band of keen volunteers have hacked and hewed their way, until now, when the result of their work will be seen by the general public.
NEW LOOK
The new-look permanent staging blends harmoniously into the natural backdrop, which is the bowl’s most attractive feature.
It is only when one sees the extensions that one realises just how extensive and far reaching they are and can appreciate the skill and care which have brought about this transformation, which enhances the beauty of the setting.
INTEGRAL
The main effect of these alterations is to blend all the stages into an integral part of the main structure.
The six stages now combine to provide more space and great fluidity of action than producers have previously had at their disposal.
All temporary fittings have been eliminated and all the fixtures and staging are now a permanent feature.
The organisers have reintroduced the water curtain which is fitted to the front of the stage and is capable of producing 170 feet.
This curtain makes an effective “drape” capable of being lit in many colours, which helps to make even the intervals an enthralling part of the evening’s entertainment.
Sound equipment, comprising 30 speakers in three positions, and six sound channels with stereophonic installation, ensures that all the artists will be heard even by those sitting farthest away from the stage.
CABLING
Hundreds of yards of cabling have been laid and permanent fuse boxes and lights installed. This means that in future, there will be no need to re-lay and re-wire fixtures for each production. They will be an integral part of the stage fittings.
The seating arrangements have now been finalised.
Wooden seats (with backs) are capable of seating some 4000 people, while the total seating capacity, using the grass slopes, is in the region of 16,000.
There will be ample car parking facilities in the area, convenient parking space for 4000 cars being readily available.
During the festival, it is expected that more than 1500 performers and staff will be engaged at one time or another; this gives an indication of the immensity of the task which faces the organisers.
TH, FEBRUARY 17, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
MORE PARKING SPACE
A plan to provide additional parking at the top of Brooklands Drive, New Plymouth, giving access to Brookalnds Park, Brooklands Bowl and the Children’s Zoo, has been prepared by the superintendent of parks and reserves in New Plymouth, Mr J. W. Goodwin.
The plan allows parking for 22 cars on a loop drive around the hilltop opposite the Gables, 11 cars in front of the zoo and 17 cars between the Gables and Brooklands Cottage.
In a statement accompanying the plan, which was placed before last night’s meeting of the Pukekura Park Committee, Mr Goodwin said the parking should be adequate for ordinary purposes. It was undesirable to cater for any but official cars for a major function at the Bowl.
SPACIOUS
The proposed loop could be built below the present drive level in an attempt to create a spacious effect and improve the view, Mr Goodwin said.
The centre island should be laid out attractively with trees and shrubs in an informal arrangement. To turn the whole area into a car park would create an “eyesore” and present drainage and traffic problems.
Mr Goodwin recommended that:
- Approval be sought for this or a similar layout and for the preparation of estimates.
- Power telephone cables be laid underground and new well-designed lamp standards be erected in the area and preferably from Brooklands Rd corner.
- The main gate entrance to Brooklands Bowl be redesigned along with all other entrances leading off the central area—a rustic theme had been suggested.
- Plant borders be arranged and parking bays sealed at the main entrance.
- Kerbing be laid and a 20ft wide surface be formed along the shoulder of the hill with a larger sealed surface in front of the Bowl entrance.
Later development could involve the construction of inner kerbs and the widening of carriage ways, Mr Goodwin said.
RUSTIC
If a rustic theme was pursued for the entrances at the top of Brooklands Drive, it would be desirable to erect a post and rail fence along the full length of the drive and design ticket boxes and all entrances in similar materials, Mr Goodwin said.
Another plan for the redesigning of Brooklands Park which included the filling of several walks and sowing them in grass and forming new flower bed layouts, was also considered by the committee.
Members expressed their approval of the plans and also approved of a suggestion to invite further layout and entrance designs to be placed before the committee.
The matter was held over until a later meeting when Mr Goodwin, who was absent from last night’s meeting, would be present.
DECISION ON PINES POSTPONED
A decision on whether a third block of pine trees should be cut down in Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, was postponed by the Park Committee at its meeting last night.
The superintendent of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said in a report that the committee might consider the desirability of removing the trees known as “Block C” on the east side of the lake. The block comprised 19 pine trees and four macrocarpas.
The assistant superintendent, Mr A. Jellyman, said considerable thinning of native and exotic trees near the racecourse boundary might also be carried out.
The sooner they felled the pines the better, Mr A. F. Sandford, said. He was amazed to see how quickly and “nicely” spaces replenished themselves in the park, he added.
GUIDE
More and more inquiries were being received for a guide to Pukekura Park and it seemed there was a definite demand for the committee’s proposed direction map, Mr Goodwin said. An increasing number of inquiries were being received for information about the park and what might be seen and at what time, Mr Goodwin said.
The secretary, Mr N. H. Guscott said a coloured brochure should be printed every year. The biggest failing of brochures was that they were given out many years after they were printed.
The chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said he would make further inquiries about the question of preparing a direction map and brochure.
FINANCE
In his report, Mr Goodwin said the January boat takings reached a record £377 1s 6d. In December they totalled £146 0s 6d.
The fernery takings in January were a record £274 1s while in the same month booklet sales totalled £6 12s and donations £4 14s. In December the takings were £83 15s, donations £1 10s and booklet sales £3 6s.
Fountain donations totalled £3 7s 7d in December and £8 11s 7d in January.
The committee received two cheques from the Taranaki Cricket Association for £150 14s 5d and £145 12s 8d as its 15 per cent share of the gates for the Central Districts-Auckland and Central Districts-Pakistan matches respectively.
The National Band of New Zealand, which performed at the park in January had not yet paid the committee. It appeared they were more “mercenary” in their outlook, Mr Saxton commented.
TDN, MARCH 1, 1965
CITY MAYOR OPENS ZOO
With pic
The Brooklands zoo, a Jaycee project at the main entrance to Brooklands Park, New Plymouth was opened on Saturday by the mayor of New Plymouth, Mr. A. G. Honnor.
The key to the zoo and documents concerning ownership rights were handed over by the New Plymouth Jaycee president, Mr. R. S. James, to Mr. Honnor, who also received two books, one governing the care of budgerigars and the other illustrating birds of the world.
Mr. James said the value of the zoo was about £2000 and the Jaycees had put in about 2000 man-hours on the project.
He said the zoo contained a variety of British and other birds and two monkeys.
A gift of birds from the Blenheim zoo is expected in the future, said Mr. James.
The tapes holding the commemorative plaque were cut by Mrs. R. Brooker, whose late husband, as president of the New Plymouth Jaycee chapter, was intimately connected with the project.
When opening the zoo, Mr. Honnor said he thought it would help the young people by being a source of enjoyment and by helping them with their education in acquainting them with foreign birds and the countries they come from.
TH, MARCH 16, 1965
NO MORE MONKEYS YET FOR THE ZOO
No more monkeys would be introduced to the Brooklands Zoo for some time, the president of the New Plymouth Jaycee, Mr R. S. James, said today.
The Jaycee intended to “sit back, see how things settle down” and watch the public’s reaction to the zoo before doing anything further, Mr James said.
The parks and reserves committee reported to last night’s meeting of the New Plymouth City Council that a letter had been received from the Jaycees, advising that they were having difficulty in stocking the Brooklands Zoo with monkeys.
It appeared that while the zoo remained under private control, the Department of Agriculture’s refusal to permit the introduction of female monkeys would continue, but if the council declared itself to be the responsible authority then mixed sexes could be permitted, the report stated.
The council decided to instruct the superintendent of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, to apply to the department “at an opportune time” for the introduction of more monkeys of both sexes and to advise the department at the same time that the council was now the authority responsible for the zoo.
It would only be a matter of going through the technicalities to get two female monkeys now, Mr James said today.
The Jaycees would probably look into the question at a later date. The monkeys would not mate until next year anyway. Mr James said he was extremely pleased with the local response as far as the stocking of the zoo with birds was concerned. The available cages were now fully stocked with many types of valuable birds.
TDN, MARCH 17, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PARK MAY ISSUE BROCHURE
The Pukekura Park Committee will investigate the cost of producing a high-class colour brochure publicizing the park and its facilities, the committee decided at New Plymouth last night.
Members felt that the cyclostyled sheets handed to visitors at present from the New Plymouth public relations office were a reflection on the city, and it was suggested that it was a civic responsibility to advertise the facilities of the town.
It was suggested that the brochures should not be issued free to visitors and tourists, but should be subject to a small charge.
ROPE DONATED TO PARK
A donation of £40 worth of rope for use on the boats in Pukekura Park, New Plymouth was acknowledged by members of the Pukekura Park Committee at a meeting at New Plymouth last night.
The meeting was told by the superintendent of parks and reserves, Mr. J. W. Goodwin that the rope had been given by Mr. R. J. Rutherford, Belt Road, New Plymouth. He told the meeting the rope had been used as an anchor line for trawlers and was very pliable and durable.
Mr. Goodwin said the rope was sufficient to enable the entire Pukekura Park boat fleet to be roped.
TDN, MARCH 24, 1965
VALUABLE ORCHID COLLECTION FOR PARK
New Zealand’s best and possibly most valuable collection of cymbidium orchids has been given to the Pukekura Park Committee, New Plymouth, by Mr. F. Parker, 368 Devon Street West, New Plymouth.
The orchids have been given to the park on the understanding that the site in which they are placed be called the “Agnes Mary Parker Memorial Garden” in memory of Mr. Parker’s late wife.
It is understood the orchids are worth several thousand pounds.
Mr. Parker has been growing orchids at New Plymouth since 1935. Cymhidium is the main species which he grows, and most of these and other types are award-winning plants.
There are four classes of award for show orchids. They are: Distinction (for colour), highly commended, award of merit and first class certificate, which is the highest award in the world.
Only two first-class certificates have ever been awarded in Australasia. Both varieties of plant are in Mr. Parker’s collection.
Natives of Burma and India, the cymbidium orchids are a ground-growing species and therefore one of the easiest to cultivate outside their natural habitat.
Mr. Parker said yesterday that he buys eight to 10 new types of plant each year, usually from Australia.
“The biggest orchid show in the world is held each year in the Sydney town hall,”Mr. Parker said.
Buying the orchids as second-year bulbs, Mr. Parker cultivates them for the three to four years they require before flowering.
From years of trials it had been discovered that orchids grown in New Zealand required a lot of sun and heat from January to March in order to ripen the preceder bulbs.
If the bulbs did not ripen sufficiently, the plant would produce no flowers, Mr. Parker stated.
“The plants need at least 75 per cent. sunshine, but are getting 100 per cent. At present,” he said.
Mature plants flowered from December to Easter, when it was safe to place them in the open. During this time summer rains ensured a vigorous root action and the growth of preceder bulbs, which were placed in the dry about April, Mr. Parker said.
It is understood that a special garden will be built at Pukekura Park to house the orchids.
Mr. G. Fuller, who was awarded the Kew diploma while studying orchids in England, has been engaged to care for the memorial collection.
TH, MARCH 24, 1965
SPECIAL GLASSHOUSE FOR PARK ORCHIDS
RENOVATIONS and additions to one of the Pukekura Park glasshouses are planned to accommodate the large collection of cymbidium orchids which Mr Fred Parker, of New Plymouth, is donating to the Pukekura Park Committee.
The collection, probably the best of its type in New Zealand, will be a memorial to Mr Parker’s wife, the late Mrs Agnes Mary Parker.
A highly qualified botanist, Mr George Fuller, will arrive from England in about a fortnight and will look after the collection.
Mr Fuller learned his trade at Duncan and Davies Ltd, New Plymouth. He worked for an Auckland grower and then went to England and studied orchids with Sanders and Co., one of the largest growing firms in England. Later, he worked at Kew Botanical Gardens and was awarded the Kew Diploma.
The collection, estimated to be worth several thousand pounds, will be housed in the eastern chamber of the Pukekura Park glasshouses where ferns are now on display.
NEW STANDS
Mr Parker said yesterday the ferns would be cleared out and new stands with concrete bases put in. A feature would be pyramid-type stands in the centre.
The house could be extended towards the propagation house.
Mr Parker said the two highest awards in the orchid world were the award of merit and the first class certificate. Only two first class certificates had been awarded in Australasia and two varieties of the plants with these awards featured in the collection. About 100 to 150 plants were representatives of plants with the award of merit.
Excavation work has been done and it is expected the work on the glasshouse will take about three months.
The plants will be transferred to Pukekura Park after most of them have finished flowering about the end of November. When they are in full bloom this year, Mr Parker plans to have them on display at his Devon St West home for about two months.
TH, APRIL 9, 1965
PRAISE FOR ORCHID COLLECTION
The Agnes Mary Parker Memorial orchid collection compared very favourably with any public collection in the world, the man who has been engaged to look after the orchids, Mr George Fuller, said in New Plymouth today.
The collection was donated to the Pukekura Park Committee last month by Mr F. Parker, New Plymouth. It will be housed in a glasshouse being prepared at the park.
Mr Fuller, who has had a life-long association with orchids, arrived in New Plymouth last night. He begins duties next week. In 1946 he worked for Duncan and Davies Ltd before moving to England. He also worked in Sweden and Malta before returning to New Zealand in December.
Pukekura Park was very fortunate to get such a good orchid collection, Mr Fuller said. Very few gardens had a collection to compare with it, because it had so many valuable hybrids.
Even Kew Botanical Gardens, where he worked, did not have such a collection, as it concentrated on the wild orchid types.
Mr Fuller hopes to make a detailed study of New Zealand orchids. Botanically they were very interesting and he hoped to hunt up some rare types. It was also probable that a number of of native New Zealand types had not been discovered yet, he said.
TH, APRIL 28, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PUKEKURA PARK RENTALS OF £171
The 15 per cent rentals from gate takings at Pukekura Park last financial year amounted to £171 1s 3d the park committee was told at its monthly meeting last night.
The best rental was £142 4s 5dc, for the night Peter Snell ran on the sportsground.
The committee’s chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said it was one of the best seasons experienced for rentals.
Applications granted for use of the sportsground were: Taranaki Rugby Football League, during the winter season; New Plymouth Combined Hockey Club, on Thursday evenings for practice.
The committee declined the use of the ground on the morning of May 30 for the Taranaki Canine Obedience Club’s ribbon trial, unless the club can make satisfactory arrangements with the Waterside Rugby League Club which already has permission to train on Sunday mornings.
TH, JULY 21, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
ROAD ACCESS TO BOWL
A proposed one-way sealed road giving access to the Brooklands Bowl stage and seating from Coronation Avenue was approved subject to a confirming inspection, by the Pukekura Park Committee at New Plymouth last night.
The road is to be constructed down through the bush, from the present footpath entrance at the race course.
It will branch into two—one road going to a parking space behind the stage for performers, the other curving around to be a bus turn-about behind the refreshment booths.
City Council buses from the central city area will use the road to leave passengers in the bowl.
Work on the road should begin in September or October, Mr R. J. Burkitt, who was submitting the scheme to the committee, told the meeting.
Mr Burkitt said that many people had told him they would go to the bowl if they could get down to it easily. Sealing, bitumen and metal are to be donated, he said.
Much of the bush which was to be removed for the road would be trees which were nearing the end of their life, said Mr J. W. Goodwin, superintendent of parks and reserves.
The road and vehicles on it, would not be seen by the audience, Mr Burkitt assured the committee.
TH, AUGUST 8, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
ACCESS ROAD TO BOWL APPROVED
FINAL approval was given at the monthly meeting of the Pukekura Park Committee last night to a proposed one-way road giving access to the Brooklands Bowl stage and seating from Coronation Avenue.
The approval is subject to two conditions: that the road in the immediate vicinity of the Bowl be approved by Mr J. W. Goodwin (the New Plymouth City Council’s superintendent of parks and reserves), and that no trees be unnecessarily damaged.
The road is to be built through the bush, down from the present footpath entrance at the racecourse.
Work is expected to begin in September or October.
A three-colour souvenir brochure guide to Pukekura Park and Brooklands Bowl is to be designed and put on sale for park visitors. The guide will contain a map of the park and the Bowl and other relevant information.
Mr Goodwin said such a guide was needed, as groundsmen were continually being asked for directions.
Twenty thousand brochures will be printed as soon as the design has been completed.
A deputation of elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, organisers of the recent exhibition gridiron football match, was received by the committee to discuss the committee’s rental.
The two deputation members asked the committee to consider waiving some of the costs of presenting the event. All profits from the game and from any future game go to the New Plymouth branch of the Crippled Children Association.
The committee decided to allow the organisers a reduction of £5 on the rental.
SOIL FOR WICKET
The committee decided to confer with the Taranaki Cricket Association on the possibility of procuring a Papatoetoe soil with a water-retaining capacity, to improve further the standard of the main wicket at the park.
The head groundsman, Mr R. Trass, reported that the wicket was quite sound although there was a slight breakdown in the top playing soil. An expert on wicket preparation from Auckland had inspected the wicket, and his recommendation was to import the Papatoetoe soil, because no comparable soil existed in Taranaki. In previous years a Plimmerton soil had been used to produce the wickets required. This was no longer available.
TH, SEPTEMBER 22, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
TO IMPROVE WICKET AT PARK
The Pukekura Park Committee will contribute £25 towards the cost of procuring a special Papatoetoe soil with a water retaining capacity, to improve further the standard of the main wicket at the park.
This was decided at the committee’s monthly meeting in New Plymouth last night.
In previous years a Plimmerton soil has been used to produce the wickets required.
The cost of transporting the Papatoetoe soil by rail, plus the cost of the soil itself, will be about £45 to £50. This will be enough for eight tons-about a two-year supply.
The committee chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said the Taranaki Cricket Association was willing to contribute £12 towards the cost of obtaining the soil.
Mr A. F. Sandford said the last load of soil for the wicket was paid for by the committee. This cost £63. He did not believe the committee in its present financial position should pay for the provision of the new soil.
Mr J. W. Goodwin, the Plymouth City Council’s superintendent of parks and reserves, said the wicket for the coming season had already been topdressed. However, the Papatoetoe soil could be stored.
The resignation of Mr N. H. Guscott, the committee’s secretary, was received. Mr Saxton said Mr Guscott was “the complete and thorough secretary.”
PHOTO NEWS, SEPTEMBER 1965
ARBOR DAY PLANTING
With pics
This year’s arbor day planting took place at Brooklands Park, at the entrance and frontage of the children’s zoo. Numbers of interested citizens seem to be dwindling, leaving just the older people who are genuinely interested in what is being done to beautify our city. And looking round the places planted in previous Arbor Day ceremonies, the results are clearly visible, with tidy footpaths, and colourful shrubs making otherwise drab areas into corners of beauty.
TH, OCTOBER 20, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
FIREWORKS A DANGER IN PARK
LIGHTED fireworks had been thrown at Pukekura Park patrons by irresponsible children, the superintendent of parks and reserves in New Plymouth, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said in his report to the monthly meeting of the Pukekura Park Committee in New Plymouth last night.
This practice was causing many elderly patrons to become alarmed.
Fireworks were also being thrown at the ducks on the main lake at Pukekura Park, causing blindness among the duck population there.
“The biggest danger,” said Mr Goodwin, “is from the likelihood of fires being caused in the park. With only an inch and a half of rain recorded in the park over the last month the threat of fire from lighted fireworks is especially bad.”
Mr Goodwin said many complaints had been received about children throwing fireworks about in the park, but catching the offenders was very difficult.
STAINTON DELL
The whole of the top end of the valley near the entrance to the fernery at Pukekura Park would be named the Stainton Dell, after Mr P. E. Stainton, it was decided after a suggestion by the only life member of the committee, Mr F. Parker. Mr Parker said Mr Stainton had often remarked on the beauty of this particular part of the park. It would be very fitting to name it after him, he said.
An extensive plan of the walks and features of Pukekura Park had been prepared by Mr I. C. McDowell, the horticultural assistant to the parks attendant, for approval as a guide to be displayed to park patrons. It was decided by the committee that two of these plans be displayed in glass cases, one in Brooklands Park and the other near the ticket box at the fountain lake entrance. Smaller prints would be used in brochures of the park.
A deputation from the Taranaki Cricket Association was invited to the meeting to clear up several matters involving the lease of the ground for sporting fixtures.
The secretary of the association, Mr B. Bellringer, was given the right to decide whether or not cricket should have priority over other sports on Pukekura Park on Saturdays.
The committee reserved the right to set aside one or two Saturdays in the year for special fixtures.
The committee granted the Cricket Association half the total cost of £50 which was needed to resoil the Pukekura Park cricket wicket. Permission was also
granted by the committee for the Taranaki Cricket Association to erect a Taranaki representative honours board in the pavilion at the park.
TH, NOVEMBER 13, 1965
THE GABLES OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
With pic
The Gables as it is now—on a site off Brooklands Drive. The octagonal Dispensary now contains displays of the property of Doctor and Mrs Wilson, and will be opened to the public next week. The position of the Dispensary door has been slightly changed. The rest of the building is occupied by tenants.
TH, NOVEMBER 17, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PARK LAKE SILTING PROBLEM
The top end of the main lake at Pukekura Park was silting up so badly that mud was appearing above the waterline, the curator of the park, Mr J. W. Goodwin, reported to the monthly meeting of the Pukekura Park Committee in New Plymouth last night.
The mud had been building up for years from silt brought down into the lake by streams, which were fed by water from housing developments in the area. The appearance of the lake was being spoiled and the smell was offensive, he added.
The chairman of the committee, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said today that a considerable sum had been spent on using dragline and other methods to get rid of the silt. But the draglines had done more damage than good because they had to be worked in the native bush. Now, the silt was “as bad as ever.”
At last night’s meeting Mr A. Brodie asked if the lake could be drained completely, but Mr Goodwin said the level could be reduced by only six feet. The lake had not been completely drained since the 1890s when a search was made after a murder.
Mr Brodie suggested the best alternative would be large-scale sluicing.
The committee decided to seek the help of city council engineering staff in getting rid of the silt.
TH, DECEMBER 15, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PLANTS STOLEN
“Plants and cuttings taken from the park seemed to be stolen, not by children or those who couldn’t afford them, but by well-to-do people with big gardens of their own,” the chairman of the Pukekura Park committee, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said at a meeting of the committee in New Plymouth last night.
“They have an irresistible temptation to help themselves,” Mr Saxton said.
“Only people who know the value of plants take them,” said the secretary, Mr W. J. Connor.
Mr T. C. Davies said his company had a similar problem with vandals.
“We get broken glass, cut polythene and fire hoses —almost anything which can be damaged,” he said.
METAL BOAT FOR PARK
A 12 foot aluminium boat is to be bought, for hire by visitors to Pukekura Park. The superintendent of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said the boat would be given a trial and if satisfactory more of the present wooden boats could be replaced with the aluminium type.
PUBLIC SUPPORT PRAISED
“The support we have received from the public this year has been magnificent,” the chairman of the Bowl of Brooklands Trust, Mr D. V. Sutherland, told last night’s meeting of the Pukekura Park Committee in New Plymouth.
“The Bowl has come of age,” Mr Sutherland, a member of the park committee, said. “I am quite sure it is going to become one of the city’s major attractions.”
The new access road was being rolled and graded and it was hoped to have it sealed within 10 days.
Installation of a telephone system would make the staging of productions easier as backstage workers and lighting technicians were some distance from the control centre.
The new cafeteria had been roofed last weekend and the building should be completed before the Festival of the Pines. The work was being done on a voluntary basis by the Highlands Intermediate School Parent-Teacher Association.
BUILDINGS TO BE PAINTED
The kiosk, pavilion and other buildings at Pukekura Park are to be painted next year, it was decided at the monthly meeting of the Pukekura Park Committee in New Plymouth last night.
Total cost of the scheme would be about £657, of which the kiosk would cost £176, Mr A. F. Sanford reported. Both the kiosk and the pavilion will be painted in their present colours. Selective tenders are to be called for the work.
BROKEN BOTTLES IN PARK
The finding of broken bottles in Moyes detour at Pukekura Park was reported to a meeting of the Pukekura Park committee in New Plymouth last night by Mr D. V. Sutherland.
“The tops of the bottles were screwed into the path with the jagged edges upwards,” Mr Sutherland said. “The bases were also left with the edges up, and were half hidden by leaves. They were deliberately put there like that,” he said.
“It makes me shudder to think what could have happened to the young harriers who use the path for
training.
“I felt sick just looking at them,” he added.
1966
TH, FEBRUARY 22, 1966
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
“New Plymouth is a little embarrassed with the number of parks and reserves it has. The best of the parks is Pukekura, and I think it is most important that every effort be exerted to see that it is kept at its best,” said Mr D. V. Sutherland, at last night’s Pukekura Park committee’s monthly meeting.
His comment followed a report by the park curator, Mr J. W. Goodwin, on a labour shortage at the park.
Mr Goodwin said the main park appeared to be suffering, possibly through the greater amount of sunlight which now entered it. There was a deterioration in the fernery and this had prompted him to bring before the committee the matter of extra labour to maintain the park’s standard.
“We have either to reassess the work to be done or employ more staff,” said Mr Goodwin.
The committee decided to make a recommendation to the parks and reserves committee of the New Plymouth City Council for an increase in subsidy coverage to enable the employment of another man at the park.
The committee decided that the Brooklands nurseries will be opened to the public for a trial period.
Mr J. W. Goodwin, curator of Pukekura Park was authorised to open the nurseries “as he saw fit.”
Mr D. V. Sutherland was elected deputy chairman of the committee.
DANGER OF CYCLING IN PARK
Letters pointing out the danger of school pupils cycling through Pukekura Park are to be sent to the schools whose pupils use the park on their way to or from school.
This was decided at the monthly meeting of the Pukekura Park committee in New Plymouth last night following reports of incidents by Mr A. B. Scanlan.
Mr Scanlan said the cycling was a lesser form of vandalism, but still a nuisance. He was surprised at the number of children who were astounded when he had told them cycling was forbidden.
The committee’s chairman Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said he had had experience of children not taking any notice at all when told cycling was forbidden.
“I’ve got to be pretty slick or they’ll ride me down,” he said.
“If we have the power to prosecute, lets prosecute,” said Mr T. L. Davies. “Prosecution is a great deterrent.”
The park’s curator, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said the public must assist.
“We have had a fairly good response, generally, when we have contacted the schools concerned after any incidents of cycling,” he added.
WORK IN PUKEKURA FERNERY
Proposals to close a portion of the fernery at Pukekura Park were made at the monthly meeting of the Pukekura Park committee in New Plymouth last night.
Mr F. Parker suggested closing two of the four houses in the fernery over a period of two months, say June and July.
“This would give us time to overhaul the fernery and to prepare for the spring display,” he said.
Mr Parker said he had worked in the fernery during the winter months and the staff had no chance to do things properly because the public were going through the various departments continuously.
The committee’s chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said
Pukekura Park’s prestige depended on its horticulture and the matter was one which should be discussed by the horticultural sub-committee. The matter was referred to the committee.
TH, MARCH 22, 1966
AVIARY EXTENSION
Extension to the Brooklands Aviary was agreed to in principle by the New Plymouth City Council last night.
The Superintendent of parks and reserves, Mr. J. W. Goodwin, was authorised to visit zoos and other aviaries in order to prepare a report on the best methods of development.
The move follows an offer by Mr. Larson, Uruti, of peafowl, seven varieties of peasants, pigeons and other birds.
Mr Goodwin said the gift would require further development of the Aviary. Consideration should be given to providing free-flight areas and separate and well planned pens for the monkeys and the introduction of other birds and animals.
TH, MARCH 22, 1966
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
GLASSHOUSES TO CLOSE FOR WINTER
THE Pukekura Park fernery and glasshouses will be closed from the end of May until the beginning of the August holidays, with the exception of Queen’s Birthday weekend, it was decided at the monthly meeting of the Pukekura Park committee in New Plymouth last night.
The decision followed a recommendation from the horticultural sub-committee, which had been asked at the last meeting to investigate a proposal to close the fernery and glass-houses during a period of little patronage.
The sub-committee’s original proposal was that the displays should be closed to the public on weekends from Easter to the schools’ May holidays, and completely closed from Queen’s Birthday weekend to the August holidays.
During discussion on the original recommendation, the committee’s chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, asked the park’s curator, Mr J. W. Goodwin, what effect the closing would have on the staffing position and on the work done if the resolution was carried.
“I imagine the staff would be released for other duties, and costs reduced,” said Mr Saxton.
Mr Goodwin replied the position would be much the same as before, with, perhaps, more wages to be paid than previously.
Mr Saxton then said he couldn’t see why the resolution should be passed. “If it’s not going to save any money and we give a lesser public service, I can’t see the point of closing the fernery and glass-houses.”
OVERHAUL
Mr F. Parker said it was necessary to have a period of overhaul on the displays, and time for preparing the summer spring shows.
“The most difficult conditions in New Zealand exist in Pukekura Park in winter for the growing of plants for the shows,” he said.
“I couldn’t run a show like that all the year round—and I have the most favourable conditions.”
“Shutting the place down for a period will give the staff opportunity to open up the season with a really good show.
We’ll get more patronage that way than if we stay open all the time.”
The committee also decided to close down the boating service on the main lake from Easter until Labour Day with the exception of Queen’s Birthday weekend, and the May and August holidays.
Mr G. Blake was appointed secretary of the Pukekura Park committee at last night’s meeting.
KIOSK TO CLOSE ON WET DAYS
The lessee of the Pukekura Park tea kiosk, Mrs L. J. Mancer, has been granted permission to close the kiosk on days when the weather is such that patronage would not justify remaining open, for a trial period of four months, beginning next month.
Permission was granted by the Pukekura Park committee at its monthly meeting in New Plymouth last night.
Mrs Mancer wrote to the committee asking that a proviso be inserted in her agreement, enabling her to close on days of really adverse weather, when it was not economical or sensible to open up the kiosk.
Mrs Mancer wanted a decision on the matter before renewing her present lease which expires on July 31.
Last night, she was invited to the meeting to discuss the matter. The discussion was taken in committee.
Mrs Mancer will again meet the committee at its June meeting, to discuss whether or not the arrangement was satisfactory to her and to the public. She will also inform the committee whether she is agreeable to taking on the lease for another two-year period.
TURF SLICER CONSIDERED
The Pukekura Park curator, Mr J. W. Goodwin, is to investigate the possibility of purchasing a turf slicer for use on the cricket wicket at Pukekura Park.
Mr Goodwin approached last night’s meeting of the
Pukekura Park committee, with the suggestion of purchasing a turf slicer for bonding of new soil on the wicket.
Mr Goodwin said an electrically-operated machine cost in the vicinity of £75, and a petrol-operated slicer much the same.
The committee chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton asked whether there were any other grounds that the machine could be used on.
“It doesn’t seem economical to get one just for one ground.”
Mr Goodwin said the Pukekura Park wicket would be the only ground on which the machine would be used.
“Can’t some arrangement be made to enable cricket clubs to hire the machine” Mr Saxton asked.
Mr. Goodwin replied that the cricket clubs already shared a slicer.
“How is it that we have had such good wickets in the past without a slicer” asked Mr A. B. Scanlan.
Mr Goodwin was instructed to investigate the matter further, and the possibility of hiring out the machine if it was purchased.
CYCLING IN THE PARK
The New Plymouth City Council will be asked by the Pukekura Park committee for policing of the park so that people unlawfully cycling in it can be prosecuted.
The matter was raised by the town clerk, Mr W. J. Connor, who had been asked at the last meeting to investigate the legal situation about prosecution of offenders.
Mr Connor said the city council’s inspectors had power to put forward charges. They would hand the cases over to the police for prosecution.
TH, APRIL 7, 1966
ZOO CURATOR’S ADVICE SOUGHT
The New Plymouth Jaycee has invited the curator of the Auckland Zoo, Mr D. Wood, to address a meeting of the chapter sometime this month.
“We’re going ahead with another stage of the Brooklands Zoo and before doing any planning we felt we wanted an expert opinion,” the chairman of the chapter’s community service committee, Mr A. Squire, said today.
The chapter is to ask Mr Wood for suggestions as to the various types of cages which would be used in the project.
TH, APRIL 27, 1966
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PARK ACCOUNT IN THE RED
A debit balance of £1972 16s 7d was shown on the Pukekura Park Committee’s statement of receipts and payments between April 1, 1965, and March 31 of this year.
April 1 last year showed a credit balance of £980 8s 10d.
These figures were given to the committee meeting in New Plymouth last night.
The accounts showed that a major part of the debit came from £1768 4s 9d spent on the development of the orchid project. Last financial year £10,402 17s 2d was paid out in salaries and wages to employees. The annual grant to the committee from the city council was £9664, not enough to pay the wages and salaries.
Last year a new tractor cost the committee more than £500. General maintenance of the park was £409 up on the previous year’s figures.
The matter was deferred until the next meeting, when adjustments would have been made.
TH, MAY 2, 1966
FREE FLIGHT AVIARY URGED
A free flight aviary would be the best type of cage for birds at the Brooklands Zoo in New Plymouth, the curator of the Auckland Zoo, Mr D. Wood, said in New Plymouth today.
Mr Wood arrived today to advise the New Plymouth Jaycees in the best methods of extending the present zoo at Brooklands. He discussed possible problems with the Jaycee president, Mr K. Fletcher, the chairman of the Jaycee’s Community Service Commission, Mr A. Squire, and the superintendent of the New Plymouth parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin.
Mr Wood recommended a free flight cage for the birds at the zoo, but the cage should not be too small.
There had to be enough room to plant a small tree in the cage. A suitable size would be about 80ft long, 25ft high and 25ft wide, he said. The trees planted in the cage had to be of a type not attacked by the birds. Parakeets and parrots could be very destructive.
Because of their variety of colour and type, finches would be the best type of bird to stock the cage with, said Mr Wood.
“The birds must be able to live together. If the wrong kinds are introduced to the cage there would be a fight for territory,” he said.
RATS
Mr Wood said in further buildings at the zoo some provision should be made to keep rats out. A layer of wire mesh had to be laid under the concrete floor, as rats could eat their way through concrete.
“It takes them years to do it, but they’ll eventually get through. They are attracted by bird feed, and they’ll eat young birds too, of course.”
When building more aviaries the Jaycees had to be sure the maximum amount of sun would penetrate the cages, said Mr Wood.
“Sunlight should be the deciding factor.”
KIWIS
Mr Fletcher said the Jaycees were interested in obtaining kiwis for the zoo.
“Kiwis are fairly hard to get,” said Mr Wood. “Those we have at the Auckland zoo do not belong to us. They are the property of the Internal Affairs Department and we can only borrow them. I understand they allow only injured kiwis to be held in captivity, in other words those which can’t fend for themselves. These are few and far between, I’m afraid.”
Mr Wood returns to Auckland tomorrow.
TDN, MAY 25, 1966
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PUKEKURA PARK BOARD SEEKS GREATER GRANT
In an effort to solve its financial difficulties, the Pukekura Park Committee decided last night to ask the New Plymouth City Council to increase its grant by £1000 more than last year.
The committee decided that £1768 of last year’s development costs should be met out of bequest funds and the acting secretary, Mr. W. J. Connor, said another £1000 would meet the rest of the deficit and enable the committee to break even in its accounts this year.
The committee will also point out to the council’s parks and reserves department that removal of silt from the main lake is necessary, but that no funds are available to do this work.
“We go on year after year and do very little development work other than out of bequest funds,” said the chairman, Mr. D. F. C. Saxton. “Meanwhile, wages go up and up.
“How we are going to get our heads above water. I don’t know.”
Even if £1760 of the deficit was taken out of bequest funds the committee still would start the financial year with a debit of about £200.
Mr. T. C. Davies: Even without capital expenditure the picture will be no rosier this year.
Mr. A. F. Sandford: I have been on the committee for many years and we have always seemed to struggle through.
Mr. A. B. Scanlan: If we did this for three years we would clean up the bequest money.
Mr. Saxton said that based on the present estimates the committee would be left with a deficit of £1000 at the end of the year. The committee’s finances were going steadily downhill.
SUSTENANCE
“We should try to get some sustenance from the council before contemplating using bequest funds,” said Mr. A. Brodie. His suggestion that the committee ask the council to meet the year’s anticipated deficit lapsed for want of a seconder.
Mr. Sandford suggested the committee should absorb the deficit out of bequest funds and spend as little as possible during the present year.
The committee passed a motion by Mr. Davies that it apply to the council to have its annual grant increased by £1000 to over £10,000.
The question of seeking council assistance to implement a programme for removing silt from the main lake arose when a report from the city engineer, Mr. N. G. Harris, was considered. He recommended the expenditure of £1250 on the removal of silt by sluicing it and taking it hydraulically to the Huatoki Stream.
Sluicing was cheaper and caused less damage to paths than removing silt with a dragline.
The report said £400 of the suggested expenditure would be for replacing a scour line through the embankment.
It would be necessary to install a special hydrant clear of the carriageway in Victoria Road. The lake would be drained and the water led to the working faces in fire hoses
The material, which was mostly organic, would be led by a temporary flume and discharged into the stream below the fountain lake. The velocity of the receiving stream would be adequate to transport the material to the Huatoki Stream.
Mr. Brodie said the matter was a major one and should be referred to the council.
“It is a matter of importance to the people of New Plymouth,” said Mr. Davies.
Mr. Saxton suggested the problem be referred to the parks and reserves department.
“The work obviously should be done, but we haven’t the funds,” he said.
CLAMP ON CYCLING IN PARK
Urgency is to be given to the problem of children riding cycles in Pukekura Park, following the adoption of a resolution by the park committee last night.
Mr. A. B. Scanlan told the meeting the committee had failed by normal diplomatic channels to prevent children riding in the park. His attention had been drawn recently to the fact that children had ridden horses around the main lake.
TH, JUNE 22, 1966
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PINES MAY BE REPLACED BY BUSH
The Pukekura Park Committee is considering removing the pines around the Brooklands Zoo area and replacing them with a block of native bush.
A decision on this question was deferred at last night’s meeting of the Pukekura Park Committee. The matter is to be discussed by the committee’s July meeting.
The area was recently inspected by the committee. As pines have a short life, the committee have to decide whether it is better to uproot the trees now or within 30 years’ time.
If the pines are removed they will probably be replaced by a block of native bush of some type. This will link with the Brooklands Park area and the existing native bush area in Brooklands Rd.
TH, JULY 12, 1966
PLANNING NEW ZOO CAGES
The New Plymouth Jaycee plans to build two new cages at Brooklands Zoo.
The chapter president, Mr K. Fletcher, said today that the city council’s decision on the project was expected shortly. The plans were to be handed to the superintendent of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, afternoon.
The design of the cages was revolutionary, Mr Fletcher said. The first would house peafowl and the second would be for finches.
The peafowl cage design featured an inverted, modified hyperbolic roof, mounted over a concrete base 30ft square. The structure would be 12ft high with the roof lowered to 9ft in the centre. The walls would be of concrete blocks with steel piping supporting heavy wire-netting.
At first four peafowl would be housed but another two would be purchased from a Feilding breeder.
The second cage would be semi-cylindrical, 100ft long, 33ft wide and 24ft high. Doorways would be protected by strings of heavy beads, which would keep the birds inside and provide free access for the public, he added.
The zoo project is being handled by the chapter’s community service committee, chaired by Mr A. Squire. The cages were designed by a Jaycee member, Mr K. Burton-Batty, a New Plymouth civil engineer.
TH, JULY 21, 1966
SLUICING MAIN LAKE
SHIFTING MUD
With pic
Pukekura Park workmen using two fire brigade high pressure hoses continued the sluicing of silt from the bottom of the upper arms of the Pukekura Park main lake today.
The sluicing began on Friday, a week after the general level of the main lake had been lowered several feet to reveal thick accumulations of mud.
The work was being carried out on the recommendation of the New Plymouth City Council engineer, Mr N. G. Harris, who submitted a report to the Pukekura Park Committee about the state of the lake in May. He recommended sluicing, as opposed to the use of a drag-line, which would have damaged Park plants and paths.
Mr Harris estimated the cost of the work to be £1250.
The sluicing method was found to be very successful o far, the superintendent of New Plymouth parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said today. He was confident the method would be effective in removing the worst of the silt from the lake bed.
It was the intention of the workmen to lower the main lake level as the bed was sluiced down.
The lake would eventually be drained completely.
The main lake at Pukekura Park had not been drained since 1956, and then it was not drained completely, said Mr Goodwin.
The present work would take about a fortnight, Mr Goodwin estimated. It depended a lot on the weather, as strong winds made sluicing impossible.
The fountain lake at Pukekura Park would have to be drained as well, he said, but for a weekend only. “We want the fountain lake to be out of action for as short a time as possible,” he added.
TH, SEPTEMBER 13, 1966
DRAINING PARK LAKES
Draining of the fountain lake at Pukekura Park for the final sluicing to remove mud began today and the main lake would be drained tomorrow, the superintendent of New Plymouth’s parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said today. The work would take about two weeks, during which the fountain would not operate at weekends, he added.
TH, SEPTEMBER 22, 1966
NEW PARK SECRETARY
Miss L. M. Mischewski has been appointed secretary of the Pukekura Park Committee.
Miss Mischewski is the secretary to the New Plymouth City Council’s director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin.
Since the retirement of Mr N. Guscott as secretary of the committee last year, the town clerk, Mr W. J. Connor, has been the committee’s acting secretary.
TH, SEPTEMBER 23, 1966
RARE TREE FOR PARK
With pic
In a small ceremony, under a warm sun at Pukekura Park yesterday, a rare tree was planted, to commemorate the 44 years Mr P. V. E. Stainton spent as a member of the park committee.
The tree, a Himalayan blue cypress, Chamaecyparis Cashmiriana, is one of three of its kind in New Zealand, and the only one in New Plymouth.
Although slow-growing, it could eventually reach a height of 40 feet.
It was planted in Percy Stainton Dell.
The tree was donated by a well-known authority Mr F. Parker, who said it had been grafted.
Mr Stainton served on the committee, most of the time as secretary, for 44 years until he retired about two years ago.
He is at present a patient in the Westown Hospital, New Plymouth.
The tree was planted by Mr Stainton’s wife, assisted by his daughter, Mrs M. B. Nevile.
About a dozen people attended the ceremony.
TH, OCTOBER 6, 1966
PARK IDEAL AS ‘NATURE TRAIL’
Pukekura Park would be ideal for the introduction of a “nature trail” educational system, the deputy director of parks and reserves in New Plymouth, Mr A. D. Jellyman, said today.
He returned to New Plymouth yesterday from a six – month study trip to Britain on a British Council bursary.
He examined all aspects of park administration and activities, and spent about a month visiting parks on the Continent.
In New Zealand, parks were developed for passive and active sports—but there was a tendency to neglect their educational value, Mr Jellyman said.
Nature trails were well established in the U.S. and Canada, and were now developing in England.
Pegs were placed at points in parks-much like an 18-hole golf course—and booklets compiled giving detailed instruction on all forms of plant, animal and bird life surrounding each plant.
The system encouraged a greater observance of nature, increased the value of parklands and people’s respect for them, Mr Jellyman said.
Pukekura Park had extensive material for a nature trail. Possibly intermediate and secondary schools could be taken along such a trail twice yearly, he suggested.
A lot more enterprise could be shown in designing and building playing equipment and areas in New Zealand parks. A lot of equipment was merely functional. It could cater more for children’s world of fantasy.
More sand pits and climbing equipment could be introduced. Adventure playgrounds were popular in the large cities of Britain, and it had been proved there that a child did not climb beyond its ability.
There was a trend towards giving children greater opportunities for expression in play areas rather than merely supply conventional equipment.
Mr Jellyman said his tour had demonstrated that suitably landscaped areas in parks were the ideal place for sculpture. More encouragement should be given towards the use of sculpture as complementary features of parks.
The most impressive site overseas was the Keukenhof national display gardens near Amsterdam where the principal tulip growers of Holland had their “showcase” plots on a 70-acre parkland site.
Mr Jellyman said he took intensive notes on his trip and would compile the information at home.
TH, OCTOBER 17, 1966
WORK AT ZOO SITE
New Plymouth Jaycees surveyed the Brooklands Zoo site over the weekend in preparation for the erection of a cage for peafowl.
The Jaycees hoped to have the cage completed before Christmas, said the president, Mr E. K. Fletcher, and they would work on it almost every weekend.
Next year the Jaycees plan to build a big free-flight cage and a cage for small animals.
TH, OCTOBER 19, 1966
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
BIRDS SHOT IN PARK
“It’s no use appealing to this sort of person. They have no sense of honour or honesty whatsoever,” the acting chairman of the Pukekura Park Committee, Mr D. V. Sutherland, said at the monthly meeting in New Plymouth last night, during discussion of vandalism in the park.
It had been reported to the meeting that two tuis had been found shot dead with air rifle pellets in the park. Two youths with air rifles had also been seen in the park by the curator, Mr G. Fuller.
The director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said he had found several blackbirds shot dead just outside the park recently. In the past he had examined other dead birds in the park and found even .22 calibre bullets in them.
“The only thing we can do is make park staff aware of their powers to apprehend such vandals,” said Mr Sutherland.
Mr Goodwin suggested the possibility of introducing patrol dogs into the park. They would be controlled by park staff and would deter any vandals in the area.
OTHER MATTERS
Other matters dealt with by the committee were:
A dead eucalyptus tree which had become a danger in List St would be removed. The tree had been attacked by tortoise beetle and now leaned towards a house in the street, said Mr Goodwin.
Applications for the lease of the Pukekura Park sportsground for 1966-67 from the Taranaki Cricket Association and the New Plymouth Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club were approved.
SLUICING OF LAKE A SUCCESS
The sluicing of the main lake in Pukekura Park to remove silt had been a very successful operation, the acting chairman of the Pukekura Park Committee, Mr D. V. Sutherland, told the monthly meeting in New Plymouth last night.
“A smelly problem has been solved and it will probably cost nowhere near as much to repeat the job in the future now that it has been done,” he said.
Accumulated organic matter on the lake bed had been removed and the lake refilled, said the director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin.
TH, NOVEMBER 23, 1966
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PUKEKURA PARK CLOSED TO CARS
The Pukekura Park main entrance gates will be closed to cars on Sundays and statutory holidays because of the danger traffic presents to pedestrians, the Pukekura Park Committee decided at its monthly meeting held in New Plymouth last night.
“The lack of consideration by some motorists is forcing us into this position,” the director, Mr J. Goodwin, told the meeting. “We get a lot of vehicles blocking access even for service vehicles.”
“It is a pity because permitting parking in the park gives the public, especially elderly people, an opportunity to view the fountain,” he said.
“Closing the gates will penalise these people, but the present situation is bad.” Mr Goodwin said that during the peak of the summer season more than 500 cars use the parking area each day. The entrance to it, from the main gates, is one-way and there is no way of widening it except by destroying part of the terraces.
CHAOTIC
“The situation is absolutely chaotic on Sundays. We have got to do something about it now because of the danger to small children,” Mr T. Davies said. “With cars coming and going at such a rate, one of the children could be run over.”
“It has become the practice for people to park their cars anywhere without any thought or consideration,” Mr Goodwin said.
“People should be encouraged to use all entrances of the park as there is parking around the lower part of Fillis and Gilbert Sts and Victoria Rd,” Mr D. V. Sutherland said.
“The Bowl of Brooklands can be used as a parking area and there is a pleasant walk through to Pukekura Park,” he said.
SUGGESTED
Mr A. B. Scanlan suggested that the grassed area adjoining the entrance to the sportsground could be levelled and elevated to form a car park.
This was rejected on the grounds that it would not provide enough parking and would not eliminate the traffic hazard.
The meeting decided to close the gates on Sundays and statutory holidays and any other days which the director, Mr J. Goodwin, recommended in a report to be presented at the next meeting of the committee.
PLANS FOR WATERFALL AT PARK
Plans for a waterfall will be formulated, the Pukekura Park Committee decided at its monthly meeting held in New Plymouth last night.
The committee decided to invite plans for beautifying existing falls of water between the main lake and the fountain and the lower lake and the Gilbert St entrance.
“We have a potential there that we have not exploited. Even if it is too expensive for us to go ahead with right now, at least we can make a start with plans,” Mr D. F. C. Saxton, chairman, said.
“It may be possible to introduce boulders into the fall from the main lake to beautify it, then the other fall could be developed later into another feature,” said Mr A. F. Sandford.
The committee decided to install locality maps at the ticket box by the fountain and in the showcase at the entrance to Brooklands Bowl.
TH, DECEMBER 12, 1966
COLOURED LIGHTS FOR PARK
New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park is to be brightened for the holidays.
Members of the New Plymouth Electricity Department will shortly carry out maintenance work on the fountain and the erection of coloured lights around the main and bottom lakes.
About 280 to 300 coloured lights will be set around the main lake and in the vicinity of the bottom lake, 12 500-watt floodlights with coloured filters and 12 fluorescent strips will be erected.
The lights are expected to be installed by December 16.
The parks and reserves department are concentrating on clearing long grass and paths, repainting and repairing seats and replanting flower beds throughout
the park.
TH, DECEMBER 21, 1966
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PARK GATES TO BE CLOSED ON SUNDAYS
A scheme for closing the main gates of Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, would be irksome for some, but other entrances of the park would be used more often and people would see more of the park, said the director of Parks and Reserves in New Plymouth, Mr J. W. Goodwin, at the Pukekura Park Committee’s monthly meeting last night.
Mr Goodwin presented a full report on the closing of the park’s main gates and made recommendations on closing times. The complete closing of the main gates on Sundays and a few statutory holidays affected only a few park staff and service vehicles, but during the whole busy traffic period there would be considerable inconvenience.
Park staff cars and a considerable number of service vehicles would be affected. Weddings and special visits would be upset and there would be parking congestion in Fillis St.
BUSY
One of the difficulties was that there could be no half- way measures. It was not possible to recall people or remove cars in reasonable time once they had gained entry, said Mr Goodwin.
He recommended the closing of the car park on all statutory holidays (the gates locked, all Sundays from Labour weekend to Easter (locked), and all Saturdays in the same period.
During the summer holidays he recommended the gates be unlocked, but only half open. They should be closed to all but service vehicles and possibly weddings.
BUSY
Mr Goodwin asked the committee to consider the admission of buses, elderly people, convalescents, and staff cars on weekdays during this period.
It could be arranged for staff at the park kiosks to open the gates for such special cases. It would be necessary to erect an explanatory notice and to secure the folding gate in a half-closed position.
Athletic and cricket clubs and the kiosk lessees all had keys to the gates.
“It would be a bit tough to close the gates completely during working days,” said Mr Goodwin.
“I think people will co operate generally with the closing times,” he added.
“It should be as simple as possible,” said Mrs A. N. Gale. “What about a sign prohibiting the entry of all but service vehicles.”
This would have to be policed by staff members, said Mr Goodwin.
“How about parking on the sports ground when it is dry or not being used for sport,” suggested Mr A. B. Scanlan,
“This would need controlling,” ‘said the chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, It had been tried once, said Mr Goodwin. But people could not be left to do it by themselves. Oil also leaked on the grass and there was a lot of rubbish to clean up.
The committee approved the scheme recommended by Mr Goodwin. It will be put into use on a trial basis.
1967
TH, FEBRUARY 9, 1967
ORCHIDS DONATED
Mr F. Parker, New Plymouth, has given a third donation of orchids from his collection to Pukekura Park. Last night the park committee accepted his offer to give his collection of cattleya orchids —more than 100 specimens.
Mr Parker said the orchids would be flowering within three months.
The park director, Mr. J. W. Goodwin, said the orchids were a valuable addition and would add considerably to the coming autumn display.
TH, MARCH 1, 1967
TREES MAY POSE PROBLEM
Some of Pukekura Park’s beautiful trees may pose a problem to cricket officials staging the first cricket test between Australia and New Zealand which begins at the park on Friday.
On clear, sunny days shadows from the tall trees on the western bank extend across the wicket in late afternoons. This could force an appeal against the light.
As the long range weather forecast is for fine, but cloudy weather, the problem may not arise.
An approach was made to the chairman of the Pukekura Park Committee, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, to have the trees topped, but as the suggestion involved a major change in the skyline on the top of the western terrace Mr Saxton felt he could not authorise the work without the assent of the full Pukekura Park committee. Owing to the absence from New Plymouth of the Director of Parks and Reserves and the chairwoman of the Parks and Reserves Committee it would not be possible to hold a meeting of the committee in time to take the action sought by the Cricket Association.
One of the two match managers Mr B. Hutchinson, said today a early meeting would be held with the team managers to discuss the possibility of an earlier start each day.
TH, MARCH 4, 1967
PRAISE FOR PUKEKURA PARK
New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, scene of the first cricket test between Australia and New Zealand, was praised by the Australian team manager, Mr F. J. Bryant, today.
“My command of the English language is not good enough to describe how excellent this ground is,” he said today.
“I couldn’t imagine ground like this in the world. Peter Burge and Norman O’Neill, who have travelled extensively, have never seen anything like this.
“The outfield is perfect and the wicket excellent.”
Mr Bryant said the facilities were good and the public reaction on the first day favourable.
The New Zealand manager, Mr M. E. Chapple, said the ground was very good and the wicket in perfect order although a little slow. “We have nothing to complain about.”
Mr Chapple said the sight screens were excellent.
‘PERFECT’
The Evening Post cricket writer Robert Fox: There could be no more perfect surroundings for cricket than at Pukekura Park.
He added: “They areidyllic surroundings, the ground being backed by a beautiful native reserve and lake.”
Fox said the intensive preparation of the wicket had left a hard and true surface.
Sports editor of The Dominion, A. R. Veysey, wrote: “For its first test Pukekura Park was a breathtaking sight in its tree-girt amphitheatre.
“The playing area was perfection, and the pitch true but not without personality. Both P. I. Philpott and J. Gleeson were getting significantly more turn at the end of the day.”
New Zealand Herald cricket writer, D. J. Cameron, described the ground as “a perfect cricket setting and an ideal batting pitch.”
TH, MARCH 9, 1967
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
SUNDAY SPORT IN THE PARK
“It looks as though you and I, Mr Goodwin will have to consider each application for Sunday sport on its merits-bearing in mind the opinions of the committee members,” said the Pukekura Park Committee’s chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton at the committee’s meeting last night.
He was summarising a discussion which aimed to form a committee policy over applications for Sunday sport at the park.
Mr J. W. Goodwin is the New Plymouth City Council’s director of parks and reserves.
Opening the discussion, Mr Saxton said the committee had noted a trend in public opinion in recent years. Because of this the committee had allowed sports bodies to play occasional Sunday matches of a representative or North Taranaki-South Taranaki nature.
Mr F. Parker said he did not object to Sunday sport at the park if it was not in church hours.
“Sometimes it might have to be, mightn’t it?” asked Mrs A. N. Gale.
Mr A. Brodie said it should be “open slather in the afternoons, and if they want to play in the mornings this should be given special consideration.”
“If they want organised sport, let them have it.” suggested Mrs Gale. People could go to church at other times than Sunday mornings.
“I think we ought to respect the opinions of a big proportion of the public who would object to seeing a rollicking game of football on their way to church,” said Mr Brodie.
“Pukekura Park is something of a sanctum in this, and it would be a pity to desecrate the sanctity of a Sunday morning. After all, we are a Christian country.”
Mrs Gale asked if there was a difference between people playing football in an orderly manner and people chasing and killing ducks in the park. “Satan finds work for idle hands.” she added.
Mrs Gale said potential vandals might be encouraged to watch the football.
A few minutes later the committee granted a Waterside Rugby League Club application for use of the sportsground, with facilities for practices on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings.
Mr Goodwin said Rugby League practices had been held at the park on Sunday mornings for as long as he could remember.
Mrs Gale (laughing): Desecration, Mr Bodie!
OPOSSUMS BECOMING A MENACE
“From reports I have heard, opossums are becoming a pretty serious menace,” said the Pukekura. Park Committee’s chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, at the committee’s meeting last night.
The city council’s director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said there must be thousands of opossums in Pukekura and Brooklands Parks.
Some trees in Brooklands Park had received a severe setback through opossums eating away foliage as it appeared, said Mr Goodwin.
“The matter has got to be tackled, but it is a question of how best to tackle it,” he added.
“Some neighbours of the parks have helped us by catching opossums in cage traps.”
Mr F. Parker suggested closing Pukekura Park for a weekend and laying poison.
“You could catch them all in one go, if you set the right sort of poison,” he said.
The committee asked Mr Goodwin to investigate the position and take what measures he decided were best.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF GLASSHOUSE
Glasshouses of different types will be considered by a Pukekura Park Committee sub – committee comprising Mr F. Parker, Mr A. Brodie, Mr T. C. Davies and the New Plymouth City Council’s director of Parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin.
The sub-committee was appointed at last night’s meeting of the park committee.
The committee considered glasshouse plans drawn up by Mr Parker and Mr A. F. Sandford.
The cost of such a glasshouse if erected in the park would be about £1746, Mr Parker estimated. “I think we would have to call tenders for it.” he said.
Mr Davies contended a different type of glasshouse could be built more cheaply.
A building incorporating PVC instead of glass would also have lower maintenance costs, he said.
TH, MARCH 21, 1967
NP TREES MAY BE PROTECTED
SUNDAY EXPRESS, APRIL 9, 1967
BOWL DEVELOPMENT
TH, APRIL 13, 1967
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
SUNDAY SPORT AT PARK TO BE DEBATED
Does the Pukekura Park Committee favour Sunday sport on its grounds? This question will be debated by the next full meeting of the committee.
The decision was made at last night’s committee meeting after a discussion of a letter sent by the chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, refusing an application by the Waterside Rugby League Club to stage regular schoolboys’ league matches on the sportsground on Sunday afternoons.
The application was declined because of the excessive wear and tear on the ground these matches would cause.
In his letter declining the application, Mr Saxton, who was acting with emergency powers to give an early decision, gave three reasons for the refusal:
- The matches would provide undue stress on the ground and in the opinion of the director, Mr J. W. Goodwin, would be excessive usage.
- The committee felt public opinion would not favour the playing of football competitions in the park on Sunday afternoons.
- An alternative site could probably be made available.
ENDORSED
At last night’s meeting the committee endorsed the chairman’s action in refusing the application because of possible damage to the ground. But four of the six members present (excluding the chairman) did not agree that sport should not be staged in the park on Sunday afternoons.
Because of this difference of opinion it was decided the full committee should debate the principle of Sunday sport.
Mrs A. N. Gale said that apart from considerations of protecting the ground, she would be quite happy to see Sunday sport played there.
Mr A. F. Sandford: Playing football doesn’t hurt anybody. We’ve got to provide these things for young people.
Mr A. B. Scanlan: If the ground is in a suitable condition, I see no harm in schoolboy sport.
Mr F. L. Parker: I’m not against them playing on Sunday.
Mr A. Brodie: I’d prefer to preserve the tranquillity of the park. I wouldn’t like to see senior football played there. I’m not averse to youngsters playing there, but would prefer another place to be used.
VANDALISM
“I think senior football is more likely to attract vandalism than act as a deterrent. A crowd attracts a crowd and the less savoury types congregate,” said Mr Brodie.
Mr M. G. Maxwell: I’m strongly opposed to football on Sunday in the park. We all know it’s a noisy game and it would be an offence to many.
In his letter Mr Saxton said Pukekura Park had a unique atmosphere not shared by other sportsgrounds in New Plymouth and experience had shown many people visit the park on Sunday afternoons to enjoy its particular environment of beauty and serenity.
ALTERNATIVE
At last night’s meeting Mr Goodwin confirmed that an alternative ground for the schoolboys’ league competition could be arranged.
The committee granted the Taranaki Rugby Football League permission to use the ground for Saturday play from May 1 to August 31 and for a coaching school on April 29 and 30.
Permission was also given to the New Plymouth Combined Hockey Club to use the park for training on Thursday nights from May 1 to August 31.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST OPOSSUMS
Six opossum cage traps will be bought by the Pukekura Park Committee to combat increasing numbers of the pests.
The director, Mr J. W. Goodwin, told last night’s committee meeting that it was desirable that concerted action be taken to destroy the pests.
Poisoning was the most efficient method of dealing with the pest but was not desirable because of the easy access of the public to the park.
It was possible neighbours to the park might co-operate in setting the traps, said Mr Goodwin.
“Local citizens are already doing a good job in protecting their own properties, which keeps the opossums out of the park too.
“If traps are placed in private gardens where opossums are attracted to roses and lemon trees, it draws them out of the bush and they are trapped more easily. It also means a watch is kept on the traps.”
PARK PAYS ITS WAY
The Pukekura Park Committee’s balance sheet for the year ended March 31 shows a surplus of £168.
“This is the most satisfactory annual balance sheet we’ve seen,” said Mr A. F. Sandford at last night’s committee meeting. “We’re in the clear instead of in the red.”
Expenditure totalled £14,073 (compared with £15,556 last year) and revenue £14,241, including £10,664 from general rates.
The committee will receive £701 from the Taranaki Cricket Association as its 15 per cent share of the gate takings at the first cricket test match between Australia and New Zealand played at the park in March.
TH, APRIL 18, 1967
PARKS AND RESERVES MEETING EXTRACT
Brooklands Nursery, new growing-on house – £1800. Brooklands Zoo, purchase of birds equivalent to sales—no action. Brooklands Gables further replacement of decayed timbers—£1000. Brooklands Bowl, painting etc, as previously agreed —no action.
Truby King Dell, realignment of ground with new road levels and controlled outlet to settling pond — no action.
Marsland Hill Domain, fencing new building and entrance, planting of Robe St frontage – £150.
Central Park, possible alterations for street widening —no action. Hempton Rose Garden, possible fence—no action.
Pukekura Park, new roller (£250), possible glasshouse development and extension of water effects, £2000 bequest funds. Painting office, ladies’ and men’s pavilion £335.
TH, MAY 11, 1967
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
COMPLAINTS OVER TREES IN PARK
A report on the removal of trees on Pukekura Park’s western fringe is to be prepared by the director, Mr J. W. Goodwin, for the Pukekura Park committee.
At last night’s monthly meeting in New Plymouth, members discussed the removal of trees after letters from two Brooklands Rd residents requested the removal and topping of trees shading their properties.
The chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said this had been a perennial issue and would continue to be. In a big planted park like Pukekura, the trees got bigger and taller and a lot of people did not like getting a reduction of sunlight. In some cases, they had built homes knowing the trees. were there. It was a very difficult issue, not confined only to New Plymouth.
A RISK
Generally speaking if people built alongside a park, they took the risk of losing sunlight.
Mr Goodwin said the two houses concerned had been built about 25 years ago, and the trees were between 35 and 40 years old.
Mr A. B. Scanlan said he was in favour of a report being prepared, but said he could not see how trees which gave shelter could give shelter without shading.
Mr T. C. Davies said shelter could still be achieved from further back in the park, but stressed a progressive dropping of the roadside plantation and not “wholesale slaughter.”
Mr M. G. Maxwell said six or seven chains of trees on the western fringe were sick with a disease.
The committee authorised its chairman and the director to investigate, with power to act, a request from the Pukekura Free Kindergarten Association for use of a small portion of adjacent park land in Fillis St as an extension to the kindergarten’s existing play area.
CRICKET RENTAL REDUCED
The Taranaki Cricket Association will pay only £35 of its £65 rental for use of the Pukekura Park cricket oval last season, following representations to the park committee at its monthly meeting in New Plymouth last night.
The association applied to the committee for a reduction in rental following the restricted use of the ground the association had last season because of the test match held in March, and in view of 15 per cent (£702/13/6) share the committee had of the test match takings.
The association’s secretary, Mr B. Bellringer, attended the meeting.
Mr Bellringer said the association played games during only three months of the four and a half available.
HOCKEY
Permission was granted to the Taranaki Hockey Association to use the sports ground and facilities on August 3 for an Australia versus New Zealand representative match.
The New Plymouth Old Boys’ Hockey Club was granted use of the ground and facilities on Tuesdays from May 1 to August 31.
TH, JUNE 6, 1967
KIBBY DONATION
£10,000 gift to New Plymouth
A New Plymouth businessman has made a gift to the city of money and assets that could amount to about £10,000.
Announcing this today, the Mayor, Mr A. G. Honnor, said that the gift by Mr George Kibby was for developing a begonia house in Pukekura Park.
“Already some thought has been given to having a building that will conform to the present glasshouse area, and be of credit to the city,” said Mr Honnor.
“On behalf of the city I wish to thank Mr Kibby for his most welcome gift, and all steps will be taken to have this project completed as early as possible.”
Mr Kibby told a Herald reporter that he and his late wife had agreed to make such a gift to the city some time ago.
Asked why a begonia house was specified, Mr Kibby said: “Begonia growing is my main hobby. I have about 260 growing at home.”
TH, JUNE 16, 1967
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
PARK TREES WILL BE REPLACED
In New Plymouth last night the Pukekura Park Committee discussed complaints from residents that trees bordering the park were keeping the sun from their properties.
The committee decided to arrange for the progressive removal of all the lawsoniana trees on the south boundary and to replace them with suitable ornamentals.
On the western boundary, it will remove all the inner rows of trees and replant now. When these are established, it will remove the outer row and replace with lower growing trees as far as No. 77A Brooklands Rd.
TH, JULY 1, 1967
NEW ZOO ENCLOSURE OPENED
With pic
TIMID BUT CURIOUS, Blackie, the six-month-old fallow deer, explored his new permanent residence at the New Plymouth Children’s Zoo today. Blackie has been staying on the Kent Rd farm of Mr G. A. Gibson while his £100 enclosure was erected. He was found in the Wanganui district by a Waitara Jaycee and passed on to the New Plymouth chapter for their zoo project at Brooklands Park. It is undecided whether Blackie will have a mate, and it appears he might have to share his new home with some turkeys and guineafowl. The little girl is Brenda Squire (3). The men are Jaycee members who were working on the project today.
TH, JULY 14, 1967
WATERFALLS FOR PUKEKURA PARK?
The development of waterfalls, fountains, rock formations and special lighting effect is being investigated for New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
One suggestion is that water be pumped to the top of the hill by the park kiosk, or to Cannon Hill behind the sports pavilion, to cascade down the hillside.
The Pukekura Park Committee chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said today that parks and reserves staff had been asked for a preliminary report-if possible in time for the committee’s next meeting on August 9.
“I have visualised the greater use of water effects in the parks for many years,” said Mr Saxton.
He thought that careful planning could give the park a distinctive character. He personally favoured the use of natural – looking effects only.
Obvious places for development were between the Brooklands, Main and the Fountain Lakes, and between the Fountain Lake and Gilbert St.
At the committee’s meeting on Tuesday night several people showed colour slides of projects involving water effects in many countries.
“Our planning could’ also consider a more natural looking rock base for the existing fountain, and further associated lighting and water effects,” he said.
Mr Saxton said these developments would be costly, but he added that public support for worthwhile projects could lead to financial support by way of donations.
The director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said that the ideas would be put forward for the committee to select possible developments as a basis for planning.
“We want to do something really worthwhile to add to the attractions of the park.” he said. He agreed with Mr Saxton that emphasis could be placed on natural-looking features.
“Just a group of rocks with a balanced proportion of selected plants, and possibly associated lighting, can be a thing of great beauty,” Mr Goodwin added.
TH, AUGUST 10, 1967
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
SEEKING PARK WATER BEAUTY
Pukekura Park staff members are interested in a scheme to use water to enhance the beauty of the park.
Last night’s park committee meeting in New Plymouth decided the staff should consider suggestions more fully and report to the September meeting of the committee.
“I feel this is something we can do a great deal with, and I hope that before I give up my connection with the park we will be able to get somewhere with the project,” said the chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton.
Mr J. W. Goodwin, director of parks and reserves, said he had received many suggestions from the staff.
Mr A. D. Jellyman, assistant director of parks and reserves, told the committee that in the development of the area between the main lake and the fountain lake, he envisaged some placid water with reflections and other spots with waterfalls and activity, using material already available in the park.
Mr G. M. Fuller, assistant curator at the park, said the area known as the hatchery lawn between the two lakes could be improved to bring a continuity of water flow to the fountain lake, with lawns to the edge of the water. The hatching shed could be developed in the form of a Maori whare, he added.
TH, SEPTEMBER 9, 1967
VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR BOWL
A call for volunteers to help with maintenance work at New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands was made today by the Bowl of Brooklands Trust secretary, Mr B. P. Connell.
“We can use as many as we can get tomorrow,” Mr Connell said. “Weather permitting there’s painting and digging to be done. Everybody is welcome. There’s a job for everyone.”
Mr Connell said the few volunteer workers who had provided the nucleus of labour for the development of the Bowl since it first began had a heavy programme of work to complete before the 1968 Festival of the Pines.
Between now and the first performance on January 4 these workers and any other volunteers would be spending most of their Sundays at the Bowl. Later on they would be working on Saturdays and in the evenings.
To save on costs the “dozen or so” workers were assisting with the construction of the $5500 amenities block which is under construction behind the soundshell.
When contractors had finished on the block it would have to be painted. The existing cafeteria could then be cleaned out to make provision for wardrobes to enable properties to be moved to the bowl from the present city storage.
“That will save us $6 a week,” Mr Connell said.
The soundshell also had to be painted and three shades of blue, from dark to light, had been selected. The lake had to be cleaned out and the front tidied up.
“We are now not going to reclaim and shift the seating forwards,” Mr Connell said. “To do this we had hoped to put a roadway behind the seating but we think it might be a bit ambitious at this stage.”
The trust also planned to widen the entrance to the racecourse from Coronation Avenue to provide for four lane traffic. The walking track from the racecourse to the Bowl also had to be repaired.
Ticket boxes for the dell and racecourse entrances also had to be built to replace the original boxes which were built 10 years ago. They had rotted away.
“We will replace them with temporary boxes as we hope eventually to put in solid ones,” he said.
A new car park in Brooklands Drive had to be grassed and fenced and trees had to be planted in the Bowl under the trust’s beautification scheme.
The New Plymouth Lions Club had also undertaken to provide a permanent fence in concrete blocks and gate at the main entrance.
“This will replace the present wire netting and rubbish and will tie in with the present gateway to Brooklands Park,” Mr Connell said.
Other work includes painting the sound towers and we still have to make the flats for the next festival.
“Although the sets won’t be tremendous they still have to be done for the performances we are putting on. And it all involves a lot of man hours,” he added.
TH, SEPTEMBER 14, 1965
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
WATER EFFECTS IN THE PARK
Water effects for Pukekura Park could include water pumped to the top of Canon Hill to cascade down in a waterfall; a continuity of water movement naturally developed between the main lake and Fountain Lake with attractive pools, and a series of miniature illuminated sprays round the main fountain.
Water effects in general were discussed at the monthly meeting of the Pukekura Park committee in New Plymouth last night.
Potential plans and reports were presented to the committee by the director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin; the assistant director, Mr A. D. Jellyman; the curator of Pukekura Park, Mr G. M. Fuller, and Mr I. C. McDowell, a landscape architect and horticulture assistant employed by the New Plymouth City Council to help advise and assist with planning the water effects.
The chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said it was important to plan these effects now, even though it may be some time before they could be completed.
“We have to cut down on expenditure, the same as everyone else, but some of the preliminary work can be done by existing staff, and perhaps some philanthropic citizen may come to light with some funds that will enable us to complete any scheme we decide on,” he said.
LILY PONDS
Stainton Dell, above the fernery, is an ideal spot for re-development, Mr Goodwin said, with the two lily ponds and attractive rivulet. This area could be developed by using some of the elements of a Japanese garden.
Mr Fuller said: “The old hatchery shed, already destined for major repair, could be transformed more authentically into what it already half looks like-a Maori whare. Perhaps a group of enthusiasts on Maori culture would take this up as a serious project.”
Development of the area between the two lakes would involve no major upheaval or expense, and most of the work could be carried out by the present staff, he said.
Mr Jellyman thought that one area with considerable potential is the stream running from the outlet of the Fountain Lake, through the playing area towards Gilbert Street. He envisaged a fall of water by extending the sluice race from the Fountain lake with another overflow outlet, and boulders in the stream bed below to give the atmosphere of a mountain stream.
Mr McDowell supplied maps and drawings to illustrate the many ideas put forward.
The committee will study the reports and maps before the next monthly meeting, when it will be decided what work can be started.
ORCHIDS
The propagation and sale of orchids was discussed.
Mr F. L. Parker, a member of the horticulture committee, said that surplus stocks had already piled up in the orchid house, and any sale would provide much needed finance for the park.
The committee decided to sell the surplus stock through either wholesale or retail channels, but not to set up a retail shop in the park.
Mr Goodwin made several suggestions in his report for cutting down on expenditure. He suggested it may be necessary to close down the fountain over the summer to save power costs and maintenance. The committee decided to keep the fountain going, if possible.
Vandals had again been active over the past month and the kiosk was broken into twice, money was stolen from one of the boat attendants, and glasshouses had been smashed. Mr Goodwin said it was impossible to police the park 24 hours a day and they could ill-afford the cost of vandalism.
TH, OCTOBER 6, 1967
UNVEILING OF PLAQUE
A commemorative plaque to mark the donation of the Parker orchid collection will be unveiled at Pukekura Park on Sunday afternoon.
Several hundred orchids were donated to the city about a year ago by Mr Fred Parker, a life member of the Pukekura Park committee.
TH, OCTOBER 9, 1967
ORCHID COLLECTION COMMEMORATES DONOR’S WIFE
A wonderful collection and a gift which could be ranked among the best New Plymouth had ever received, the mayor, Mr A. G. Honnor, said yesterday of Mr F. L. Parker’s donation of orchids to the city.
Mr Honnor was speaking at the official opening of the orchid display and the unveiling of the commemorative plaque to Mr Parker’s wife, Mrs Agnes Mary Parker, at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth.
The orchids donated are worth thousands of dollars and make up almost the entire collection displayed at the park.
Mr Parker said that in making the donation he was fulfilling a promise made to his wife before she died. To assist in maintaining the collection he has also given an endowment of $2000.
Mr Honnor thanked Mr Parker for the endowment, which he said was particularly appreciated.
“I am sure this collection of orchids will be something the citizens of New Plymouth will be proud of for many years to come,” Mr Honnor said.
The chairman of the Pukekura Park committee, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, paid tribute to the service Mr Parker had given. He said Mr Parker had been associated with Pukekura Park since the early 1920s and was one of the two life members on the park committee.
Most of the collection is on display in the glasshouses which contain the orchids and ferns at Pukekura Park.
TH, OCTOBER 12, 1967
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
REPAIRS TO PARK FOUNTAIN
To continue operating the Pukekura Park fountain in its present condition was detracting from the fountain, the director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, told the park committee in New Plymouth last night.
A rough estimate of the cost of repairing the fountain was $300. All the lights were not functioning properly and this was detrimental to the town and the parks and reserves department. The staff were trying to locate a leak in the electrical system, he said.
Discussion was taken in committee, after which he chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxon, said remedial measures were being taken to enable fountain to function satisfactorily.
It would be put into commission again when existing faults were located and remedied, he added.
Other features of the meeting were:
The fernery and display house will be open at the weekend from now until Easter. The boats will operate at these times. This decision followed a suggestion by Mr A. B. Scanlan that the committee was inviting vandalism by not opening park facilities on Sunday afternoons.
A request from the Taranaki Cricket Association for use of the sportsground was agreed to in principle, subject to discussions with the association on rental and other matters.
The resignation of Mr A. F. Sandford from the committee was accepted with regret. Tribute to his nine years’ service was paid by Mr Saxton and members.
TREE PROBLEM
The Pukekura Park Committee is to ask the New Plymouth City Council to seek legal advice on the committee’s responsibility for trees affecting neighbouring properties.
The committee’s monthly meeting in New Plymouth last night considered a request from two Brooklands Rd residents, Mr D. P. Reston and Mr R. G. Whittaker, to have park trees near their property trimmed.
They asked that the work be done by park staff and offered to pay a reasonable sum for the work.
The request held extraordinary consequences for park and reserve authorities throughout New Zealand, said the chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton. A precedent could be created for other people wanting trees in neighbouring reserves removed.
The request to the committee quoted Section 26A of the Fencing Act 1908:
“The party who owns the land on which the trees which are detrimental to adjoining land are growing may be called upon to remove them, the cost of so doing to be borne by the adjoining owner.”
It was very important to know where the committee stood legally, Mr Saxton said.
“A legal opinion isn’t worth a tin of fish,” said Mr A. Brodie. “It would just be a lot of ifs and buts. We should deal with each case as it comes along.”
Mr M. G. Maxwell agreed with Mr Brodie. He said he had inspected the trees which should be removed.
They were of no value to the park.
The cost of a solicitor would probably be twice as much as that of removing the trees, said the director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin.
The committee decided to deal with the trees as soon as this is convenient.
TH, DECEMBER 9, 1967
TRANSFORMATION AT PARK
A Nativity scene, coloured lights and a Father Christmas figure will soon transform the hatchery lawn above the main lake at Pukekura Park.
The display has been organised by the New Plymouth Lions Club and will begin on Monday, December 18.
Selected Christmas music will be played each night for a fortnight.
For the old and crippled, the Lions Club will provide a roster system to take them by car to the lake.
The park fountain will play from 8 o’clock to 9.30 each night.
The project was organised after Mr J. Swainson, Devon St West, announced he could no longer continue the Christmas illuminations in his garden.
Mr Swainson’s illuminations have attracted large crowds every Christmas since their inception in 1952.
Today Mr Swainson (77), said that during the past three years the preparation of the illuminations had become too difficult for one person to manage—the trees in the garden had grown to a height of about 16ft. In recent years the Lions Club has helped Mr Swainson with his illuminations.
TH, DECEMBER 14, 1967
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
DESIGN APPROVED
A preliminary design for a new begonia house at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, was approved by the park committee last night.
The estimated cost would be $12,000 without heating, the committee’s monthly meeting was told.
The superintendent of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said the design was submitted by an Auckland firm of architects, L. J. Fisher and Co. Ltd. Three other firms asked to submit designs had not done so.
Mr Goodwin produced preliminary drawings. After inspecting these, the committee approved the design.
The house, which would be built beside the present begonia house, would be 40ft square and the glazed roof would taper to a dome in the centre, Mr Goodwin said. The architects would employ local tradesmen and materials in the construction of the house.
Other matters considered by the committee were:
A donation of $400 by Mr P. E. Stainton for the preparation and maintenance of a first-class cricket pitch at the park would best be used to buy equipment such as a roller or a pitch cover frame, said Mr Goodwin.
The committee decided that Mr Goodwin should provide alternatives for using the money. These will be referred to Mr Stainton, to whom a letter of appreciation will be sent.
The fault which caused the closing of the park fountain had been located and repaired by the city council electricity department, Mr Goodwin said. The fountain would play three times daily during the holidays.
The Taranaki Cricket Association will pay a ground rental of $130.
The committee decided to buy another aluminium rowing boat for the main lake. The boat will cost $158.
Two locality maps of the park had been painted and only needed framing before being erected, Mr D. V. Sutherland reported.
It was likely they would be in use before the New Year.
TH, DECEMBER 20, 1967
NATIVITY SCENE IN PARK
With pic
Last night I had the most pleasant Christmas assignment possible-I was told to “cover” the Nativity scene at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
It wasn’t hard work; just a stroll along the park paths in the warmth of the evening, listening to Christmas carol recordings drifting through the illuminated bush and watching the families enjoying the atmosphere of the park.
Groups of people sat watching the park fountain as it threw up its quick-changing rainbow.
At the head of the fountain lake a long string of coloured bulbs spread over a huge tree; then a bit further around the Nativity scene came into view. Spotlights sprayed soft light into the bush and a couple of trees were lit up with green fluorescent light.
WHITE FIGURES
At the top of the dell the Nativity scene was set in the verandah of the ponga house … stark white foam plastic figures bathed in white light. Tin carol singers stood around here and there and Santa Claus looked on, a static red and white figure.
From a couple of speaker boxes hidden in the trees boomed Mario Lanza-“Noel, Noel . . .”
The quality of the recordings and the sound system was excellent. It was backed by the splash of a small illuminated waterfall to one side of the scene.
Up at the main lake strings of coloured bulbs reflected in the dark water and the carol recordings spread their sound to the furthest extremity. A car filled with elderly folk was parked at the lakeside.
A member of the New Plymouth Lions Club, who organised the nativity display and recordings, stood back on the lawn in the fountain lake dell and surveyed the scene critically.
“I hope the weather holds,” he murmured.
I hope it does, too. Unfortunately the display isn’t one of those all-weather things.
“Assignment Nativity scene” ended with a stroll back through the park. I didn’t feel overworked …
1968
TH, JANUARY 11, 1968
PUKEKURA PARK VISITORS
Pukekura Park attracted about the same number of visitors over the Christmas- New Year holiday period as last year, the park’s curator, Mr George Fuller, said in New Plymouth today.
The average attendance figures at the fernery and boat lake over a ten-day period were slightly down on last year’s figures. During the period, 320 visitors used the boats compared with 350 last season. One hundred and fifteen visitors passed through the fernery, compared with 120 during the same period last year.
Boats have been in use daily since the school holidays began and will continue to operate each day until the end of the holidays.
The fernery was also open daily, said Mr Fuller.
The New Plymouth Lions Club’s Nativity tableau, which was erected on December 18 and dismantled on New Year’s Eve, attracted a large number of people during the evenings. Both the tableau and surrounding trees in their fountain lake setting were lit at night.
“Apart from one or two disturbances on the boats, and broken beer bottles in the paddling pool, there has been little trouble,” Mr Fuller said.
TH, FEBRUARY 6, 1968
BROOKLANDS MONKEY DIES
Joe, the rhesus monkey at New Plymouth’s Brooklands zoo, has died.
The middle-to-old age monkey died of a cancerous abscess in his right kidney between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. yesterday.
Joe and bonnet monkey, Willie, have shared the same “flat” at the zoo since it opened three years ago.
The pair have been a popular attraction, but Joe, because of its more friendly nature, attracted a greater share of the interest.
At 5.30 p.m. yesterday Joe was seen by Mr. J. W. Goodwin, director of the New Plymouth City Council’s parks and reserves department.
“He was looking his normal self,” Mr Goodwin said today. “But he has been off-colour from time to time over the past 18 months.”
Two visitors to the zoo notice Joe lying face down in the gravel. They notified the parks and reserves departments deputy director, Mr. A. D. Jellyman. The zoo’s caretaker was also notified and a veterinarian was called.
Joe has been treated for internal complaints before but there was never any indication of this type of trouble, which is a long term infection, Mr Goodwin said.
The monkey was on loan to the city from the Wellington City Council. Mr Goodwin said he would be notifying the Department of Agriculture and the Wellington Zoo of Joe’s death.
“We will make an effort to replace him. But we may have to wait. And if in the meantime Willie frets we may have to send him back to the zoo,” Mr Goodwin said, adding that he would be having discussions with the zoo’s director.
TH, FEBRUARY 13, 1968
ANOTHER MONKEY
A second rhesus monkey has been offered to New Plymouth by the Wellington Zoo to replace Joe, a rhesus, who died last week from a cancerous abscess.
A Press Association message from Wellington today said a replacement would be sent shortly, but the director of New Plymouth’s parks and reserves department, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said today he had received no official advice.
Mr Goodwin said he had written to the zoo informing them of Joe’s death and the cause, and asking them for their advice.
The zoo’s director said it would be impracticable for Wellington to take back the sole remaining monkey at New Plymouth.
“Monkeys are very cruel and will not accept a stranger in their midst,” he said.
TH, APRIL 11, 1968
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
Fountain’s playing hours
EXTENSION WANTED
The Pukekura Park fountain will play every night from next Tuesday until a decision is made on a request for a variation and extension of playing hours.
The request was made at last night’s meeting of the park committee in New Plymouth by the tourist promotion officer, Mr B. P. Connell, who suggested special displays during the off-season when the fountain is not usually in use.
He said about 80 tours would visit New Plymouth between April and December, involving approximately 2400 people. This was the off-season. During the tour season 3000 people visited New Plymouth in four months. This showed there was a definite need for the fountain to play throughout the year.
His office estimated that last year visitors spent at least $1¼ million in New Plymouth, he said.
50 P.C. RISE
The 1967-68 season showed a 50% increase in the number of coach tour parties visiting New Plymouth, and a further 50% increase was expected for the 1968-69 season.
Mr Connell suggested ending the morning playing of the fountain during the school holidays in December and January, and the afternoon playing in the August school holidays. Instead, the fountain could play every night.
The director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W, Goodwin, said this would increase maintenance costs, but the main problem would be turning the fountain on and off at certain times.
Mr D. V. Sutherland said that if a tour party of 50 or 60 were in town, then they should be shown everything, including the fountain.
He said the tourist promotion officer should be able to turn the fountain on, or someone should be authorised to do this. “Otherwise, we could find out beforehand whether tour parties wanted to see the fountain.”
TIME SWITCH
Mr A. B. Scanlan suggested a time switch at the home of Mr G. M. Fuller, the park curator, so that the fountain could be switched on and off when necessary.
The chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, said that would put too much burden on Mr Fuller.
The meeting approved his motion that Mr Connell and Mr Goodwin discuss the problem to see what arrangements can be made, and that meanwhile the fountain play every night from next Tuesday.
SEEKS SLOT MACHINE AT PARK
Mr A. Brodie wants a 20c slot machine installed near the Pukekura Park fountain for visitors who wish to see it playing outside the usual hours.
His motion suggesting this was carried by the park committee in New Plymouth last night.
The cost of the machine and its installation is to be investigated.
TH, APRIL 26, 1968
FUTURE OF PUKEKURA PARK
The future development of Pukekura Park was the subject of a special meeting of the Pukekura Park Committee in New Plymouth on Wednesday night.
Extensive reports from the deputy director of parks and reserves, New Plymouth, Mr A. D. Jellyman, the curator of Pukekura Park, Mr G. M. Fuller, and a parks and reserves technical assistant, Christchurch, Mr C. I. McDowell, were discussed.
The deputy chairman, Mr D. V. Sutherland, said that in the absence of the chairman. Mr D. F. C. Saxton, no definite decisions could be reached on the recommendations in the reports. He asked the members to give their views briefly on the suggested improvements.
Finance would be the main factor in regulating the amount of development in the park, and the improvements would have to be done gradually, he said.
Mr Sutherland moved that a special committee of the director and three executive officers draft out a plan for the developments of Pukekura Park as they came up.
The motion was seconded by Mr A. B. Scanlan, and carried.
Mr Scanlan said they were the best possible reports “at a time when we have very little money to start on redeveloping.”
It was agreed that two projects could be started -the landscaping of an area around the hatchery lawn between the main lake and the fountain lake, and the development of the Rogan St entrance.
“These are the two most important things to be considered at the moment,” Mr Sutherland said.
Mrs A. N. Gale moved that the committee meet bimonthly, instead of monthly, for the rest of the year, “as much of the material discussed at meetings could be sorted out by the director.”
Mr Sutherland said that if any urgent matters came up between meetings, the committee could be called.
The director of parks and reserves, Mr G. W. Goodwin, said bi-monthly meetings had been held in the past, and had worked out very well. The motion was seconded by Mr Scanlan and carried.
TH, MAY 3, 1968
IDEAS FOR PUKEKURA PARK
Provision of a water wheel, a hydraulic ram, animated tableaux and a garden for the blind …these suggestions for the development of Pukekura Park were included in reports presented recently to the Pukekura Park Committee.
The reports were compiled by the deputy director of the city council’s Parks and reserves, Mr A. D. Jellyman; the Park’s curator, Mr G. M. Fuller; and the Parks and reserves technical assistant, Mr C. I. McDowell.
Here are some of their suggestions:
MR JELLYMAN
Expansion of the Pukekura and Brooklands Parks areas’ to include all the racecourse area is envisaged by Mr Jellyman.
“I would like to see a far wider use of the racecourse,” he says. If a permanent riding school (based on the paddocks now used for Jumping events) were established, the public could hire horses and traverse the upper reaches of the Park.
Considerable spectator interest could be aroused if a sport such as polo were played at the racecourse. Model aeroplane clubs could use the centre of the racecourse.
PONY TRAIL
Mr Jellyman suggests a pony trail, traversing the Brooklands bush through the “Maranui” area to Welbourn Park.
All public entrances to Pukekura Park should be conspicuous, appealingly landscaped, and tell people where the various points of interest are and how to reach them.
Picnic areas, including tables and seats and barbecue-incinerators. should be established.
Water flow from the lake could be harnessed to operate a hydraulic ram which would create something with perpetual movement and historical interest.
A curtain-type waterfall could be sited on Hughes Walk, on the bank near the weeping elm and rubber tree.
ALPINES
The two upper arms of the Stainton Dell area should ultimately be the home of a very fine collection of woodland and moisture-loving plants. If the area on the right of the fernery entrance were reconstructed to double its size and renovated, it would be an ideal site for a collection of Mt Egmont alpine plants.
A “nature trail” system, if adopted, could be of immense benefit to schools.
Selected pieces of play equipment would make the Brooklands Zoo more attractive to children. The area in front of “The Gables” would make an ideal site for a model village and ultimately the rest of the house could accommodate aquariums.
The area just inside the Brooklands Park gates could be effectively developed into a garden for blind people, featuring scented flowers and foliage plants.
Brooklands Park could be a very suitable venue for outdoor exhibitions of sculpture and arts and crafts.
MR FULLER
The children’s play area is surrounded by areas which hold great potential, says Mr Fuller. He suggests the provision of artificial “animals,” as at Kowhai Park, Wanganui.
The outlet from the fountain lake lends itself to the provision of a water fall which would be visible from the children’s playground if a vista were opened and pathways formed.
Three very fine vistas radiating from the fountain could be opened. The existing vista of the mountain
from the kiosk area should be retained.
CHRISTMAS
A stream cutting across and down one side of the hatchery lawn area would provide a perfect setting for the recently-introduced Christmas feature.
The sunken lawn near the kiosk is within the view of practically everyone who visits the Park and should be developed as a feature of special character.
The fernery has an unsuitable site and is adversely affected by the evergreen trees nearby. The future of the trees could be weighed against the undoubted worth of the fernery.
During the presence of the nativity scene at the Park, the fernery and the kiosk could be opened nightly.
From the Christmas holidays to the end of February, the fernery could be illuminated. “We must ‘sell’ our fernery more effectively and not expect people to hunt so intensively in unfamiliar surroundings. or oblige them to pass closely to what can only be described as a rather sinister-looking toilet,” says Mr Fuller.
MR McDOWELL
Eventually a restaurant providing evening entertainment including a tourist souvenir shop could be built says Mr McDowell.
A suitable site for an exhibition hall might be at the southern end of the racecourse. He suggests the same area for the establishment of a transport and technology museum.
More covered shelters, vandal-proof if possible, could be built within the Park.
WHARE
An A-frame building with ample porch would provide shelter at the head of the hatchery lawn. The two main barge boards could be carved and surmounted with a figure to emulate a whare.
Toilet facilities need urgent reconstruction, he says.
The open lakes need urgent bank fortifications to prevent undermining of tree ferns and loss of shady circumferential walks and reflections.
Animated tableaux could be considered in areas such as the ferneries lawn.
If a low retaining wall along one side of the kiosk dell incorporated an open shelter with picnic tables, people could look out on to a water wheel which would make ideal use of the water in this area.
MUSIC
The synchronisation of the main fountain effects with music seems an admirable suggestion. Besides supplementary jets of water, another consideration would be natural gas flares at water level. If these were not feasible here, they might be installed to light the hatchery lawn.
Below the fountain lake, incorporation of river boulders (after vegetation was cleared) would make a delightful watercourse to the waterfall. Bridges could be designed to spring or leap over the water in Japanese fashion.
Assistance in designing features, especially those of architectural merit, should be sought. Competitions
might be held to obtain the best possible solution for a particular feature.
Additional key staff might include an entertainment and recreation supervisor (for exhibitions, competitions, displays, dances, bands, circuses, sports etc.), a Park ranger (to guide on nature or pony trails and police the Park) and a play leader alternating with Pukekura Park and other play centres within the city.
TH, JUNE 13, 1968
PUKEKURA COMMITTEE MEETING PARK
SLOT METER FOR FOUNTAIN
The fountain in the Pukekura Park lake is to be operated by a slot meter at times other than the scheduled timetable for playing hours.
A meeting of the Pukekura Park committee in New Plymouth last night authorised the director of parks and reserves in New Plymouth, Mr J. W. Goodwin, to go ahead with the installation of a slot meter.
The meter would be operated by a 20c coin which would give a 15-minute playing of the fountain. Mr Goodwin said he had tried to get a meter operated by a 50c piece for a 30-minute playing but this had not been possible.
The 20c machine would bring in less than the operating cost, but would compare with the donations received at present.
At the moment, the fountain is operated automatically at specified times.
Mr Goodwin said the meter would not operate as did a parking meter. The machine could not be “loaded” as was a parking meter. The whole 15 minutes would have to run out before another coin could be inserted for a further 15-minute playing.
The acting chairman, Mr D. V. Sutherland, said the $50 cost of the meter was not a big outlay.
“It will satisfy the demand of touring parties and do it more economically than letting the fountain play at times whether people are there or not,” he said.
NEW TOILETS FOR PARK
The preparation of plans for men’s and women’s toilets at Brooklands Park, estimated to cost $900, was authorised by the Pukekura Park committee at its meeting in New Plymouth last night.
The director of parks and reserves in New Plymouth, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said the proposed single building would replace “two tin sheds” which served as toilets at the moment.
The siting of the toilets will be decided when the committee inspects both Pukekura Park and Brooklands Park on June 29.
Mr Goodwin was authorised to inquire into the costs, type and availability of a self-propelled roller for the park cricket wicket. He was also authorised to obtain a load of Papatoetoe soil for the wicket from Auckland.
NO SUNDAY LEAGUE ON PARK
Permission for the Taranaki Rugby Football League to hold the second day’s play of a sponsored tournament at Pukekura Park on Sunday, July 21, was regrettably refused by the Pukekura Park committee at its meeting in New Plymouth last night.
The committee previously passed a resolution that no competition contact sport was to be played at the park on a Sunday.
Last night, the acting chairman, Mr D. V. Sutherland, said although he was against any form of football played at the park on a Sunday, he thought in this case if the majority of the committee were in favour, permission should be granted. “The tournament is a national one and the first day’s play would be at the park,” he said.
Mrs A. N. Gale said it was a pity that the cases could not be looked at on their merits. “The first day will be played at the park and it seems regrettable that they will have to find another ground to play the second day.”
Mr A. Brodie said the original resolution against contact sport at the park on a Sunday was passed by a full committee and the answer to the league should be no.
Last night, four members, including the chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, were absent.
“It seems a pity that we have not got a full committee here tonight,” Mr Sutherland said.
The committee decided to inform the league that the facilities at the park would be available to players, if the ground at the racecourse was used.
TH, AUGUST 15, 1968
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
TREES DARKEN HOUSES
The Pukekura Park committee last night received a letter from Mrs B. M. Belavskis, 1 Somerset St, New Plymouth asking that a line of lawsoniana trees at the entrance to Brooklands Park be thinned or pruned.
“About 20 feet adjacent to the house are six rows of lawsoniana trees which rise to a tremendous height and prevent any light or sun whatever from reaching the house during the entire winter,” she said.
The chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, told last night’s committee meeting that the problem of the trees shading the property was a recurring one.
“It has come up every two or three years since I have been on this committee, and I have been here 21 years,” he said.
The superintendent of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, told the committee the trees had been pruned and thinned in the past at the request of the tenants in the house.
It was decided that the trees would be removed eventually, and if Mrs Belavski could not wait until that time she would have to pay to have them removed and disposed of.
$21,400 GRANT
The New Plymouth City Council made a grant of $21,400 to the Pukekura Park committee for maintenance, management and improvements to the park for the year ending March 31, 1969.
The committee was advised of the grant in a letter from the town clerk, Mr W. J. Connor, at a meeting last night.
The grant will be payable in quarterly instalments.
TH, SEPTEMBER 13, 1968
WATER GOING UP
20 Cents a spout nowadays
With pics
It won’t be coins in the fountain but a coin for the fountain at Pukekura Park from now on.
For 20 cents visitors will be able to make the fountain play themselves.
Today the Herald put the first coin in the bright red coin-box and set the fountain going. There was a whirr from the engine-house and as the first trickle came out of the fountain several ducks perched on the fountain slipped into the water and swam off.
Three visitors from the South Island, Mrs K. Suter of Christchurch and her two sisters, Misses R. and M. Shrimpton from Dunedin, were on the spot to see the fountain playing.
TH, SEPTEMBER 16, 1968
FOUNTAIN’S FREE DISPLAY CONTINUING
Between 15 and 20 people paid 20c each on Saturday for a 15-minute display by the Pukekura Park fountain, said the park curator, Mr G. M. Fuller, in New Plymouth today.
A fault later developed in the mechanism and yesterday’s displays were limited, said Mr Fuller. The fault was being investigated today.
Since the coin box was installed on Friday the takings had totalled about $3.
He emphasised that the usual programme of free displays was continuing. At present these are given from 7 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. From October 1 the times will change to 2.30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
TH, OCTOBER 10, 1968
PUKEKURA PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
USED 100 TIMES
The Pukekura Park fountain slot machine had been used 100 times since it was installed a little over three weeks ago, the chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, told the Pukekura Park Committee in New Plymouth last night.
The slot machine was installed for use outside the fountain’s normal playing hours. The cost of a 15-minute display is 20c.
Debris put into the slot had prevented the fountain playing several times, said the assistant director of parks and reserves, Mr A. D. Jellyman.
Mr Jellyman told the meeting that plans for the new begonia house were complete and excavation of the site was almost finished.
It was hoped to begin building immediately after Easter next year.
The committee deferred a decision on a Vintage Car Club of New Zealand application for the use of the sports ground and pavilion on Saturday, March 28, 1970. It felt the date was too far ahead.
TH, OCTOBER 30, 1968
STREAMLINING THE CITY’S ADMINISTRATION
One of the first acts of New Plymouth’s new city council has been to recast the organisation and working of several of its committees. In general these changes should lead to more efficient administration.
Perhaps the most important single step last night was the decision to terminate the existence of the Pukekura Park Committee and to merge its activities with those of the council’s own parks and reserves committee. It is obvious that in many ways the administration of these two committees has overlapped. The Pukekura Park Committee had responsibility for the running of the Pukekura reserve; the parks and reserves committee for the remainder of New Plymouth’s parks. Yet paradoxically the Pukekura committee was administering city council funds and supervising the work of council employees. Furthermore, it had several city council representatives among its membership.
In this sense, then, it was no more than a logical step to go all the way and make the administration of Pukekura Park the direct responsibility of the council itself. It is to be regretted that with the change has come the resignation of the Pukekura Park Committee’s long-serving chairman, Mr D. F. C. Saxton, who has ably guided the committee for 20 years. His knowledge of the park must be greatly missed.
While there is now no longer an autonomous Pukekura Park Committee, it is important to realise that there will still be four citizens’ representatives on the council’s parks and reserves committee. In addition to Pukekura Park affairs, these members naturally will also have a voice in the administration of all the other city parks, whose committees at present have no citizens’ representatives.
TH, OCTOBER 31, 1968
MAYOR QUERIES BEQUEST VIEW
The Mayor of New Plymouth, Mr D. V. Sutherland, cannot accept that possible future bequests to Pukekura Park could be adversely affected in any way by administrative changes.
The Mayor said this today when he was asked to comment on a statement by Mr Fred Parker that the change this week to direct city council control of the park would “cost the park dearly in bequests as the park will lose its identity.”
Mr Sutherland said that before the administrative changes were recommended, he personally discussed them with Mr D. F. C. Saxton (Pukekura Park Committee chairman), Mr M. G. Maxwell and Mr Parker. He was unable to contact the fourth citizens’ representative on the committee, Mr Alex Brodie.
“There was no indication during my discussions with each member that the suggested new administration was not completely acceptable.
WELCOMED
“It was particularly welcomed by Mr Parker, who indicated that he had reached the stage of not being particularly interested in committee meetings but was certainly interested in continuing to be associated with the development of Pukekura Park.
“The question of bequests for Pukekura Park, which have made possible so many of its prominent features, was also discussed with the three citizens’ representatives,” said Mr Sutherland.
“Surely our park has always belonged to the people of this city. As the city councillors are the elected representatives of the people, I cannot accept that possible future bequests could be adversely affected in any way.”
Mr Sutherland said that Mr George Kibby’s gift of money for a carillon was a recent example of a gift to the people of the city through the city council.
Magnificent past bequests included reserves such as Burgess Park, the Bowl of Brooklands and Barrett Domain, he said.
Mr Parker said today he understood the council intended to retain the Pukekura Park Committee but would merge its financial activities with the parks and reserves committee.
“I will go on doing the work for Pukekura Park as I always have done but I am not going to be mixed up with parks and reserves” he added.
Mr Saxton confirmed that Mr Sutherland discussed the proposed merger of the two committees with him shortly before the council made its decision.
WITHOUT DEMUR
“I accept the council’s decision without demur,” he said. “I only hope that in the future there will be substantial donations to the park, as there have been in past years, and that continuity of policy in major development will be assured.”
Asked why he had resigned from the parks and reserves committee of which he has been the only non-council member since the committee’s inception about 15 years ago, Mr Saxton replied:
“I have resigned because, under the circumstances, I think it is in the best interests of all concerned that I do.”
Mr Brodie said that when he received an invitation to join the parks and reserves committee he would inform the council of his decision.
Mr Maxwell said his interests “specifically were Pukekura Park.” He had not yet made his decision.
TH, NOVEMBER 2, 1968
HEART OF A GARDEN CITY
SUNDAY EXPRESS, DECEMBER 15, 1968
PROGRESS AT THE BOWL
Preparations at the Bowl of Brooklands for the forth- coming Festival of the Pines are well under way.
“There has been a fantastic response to voluntary work during the year, with an average of about twenty workers arriving each weekend armed with hammers, saws and concreting tools,”
Mr B. P. Connell, the Tourist Promotional Officer said this week.
The first performance is the Allison Durbin Show, on December 28. Before this date, all electrical equipment from the now demolished hut, must be installed in its new position.
New “on stage” electrical supply facilities have been constructed by voluntary work, as have the 200 sets, erected mainly for staff purposes.
TOWERS STRENGTHENED
The sound towers have been strengthened for this season, to ensure the excellent sound production we have enjoyed in the past.
Tenders are to be called by the City Council early in the New Year, for the building of new columns, to be ready for the 1970 Festival.
Over the next few years, Mr Baden Winchcombe, the Sound Director, will replace the assembly control equipment. The many thousands of people who have huddled themselves comfortably under rugs on the bank, owe him a debt of gratitude for the wonderful acoustics he has directed to such a large auditorium.
The lighting, which casts glorious reflections on to the water (remember Swan Lake?) and shows the ducks swimming unconcernedly in front of the stage, has been installed, and the Bowl will be illuminated over the Christmas period.
New lighting standards too, have been placed at the back of the auditorium, for easier movement during the interval. Maybe there will not be so many lost looking children trying to identify their parents on the bank!
CAR SERVICE
A Senior Citizen and Invalid car service will operate as previously, from the racecourse, and Brooklands Rd.
Where the ducks have waddled up and down and eroded the bank opposite the stage, about four feet of the lake has been reclaimed, concreted and grassed, giving room in front of the seating.
As in the past, an area behind the seating will allow for about twelve invalid cars to park during performances. Application for these must be made to the Public Relations Office.
Festival material, in the form of posters and programmes, will be distributed locally by the Public Relation office.
TH, DECEMBER 20, 1968
NATIVITY SCENE IN PUKEKURA
A nativity scene featuring recorded carol music will be staged at Pukekura Park by the New Plymouth Lions Club this Christmas.
The chairman of the club committee organising the scene said it would be similar to that in the park last Christmas. The centre of the scene will be on the lawn above the fountain lake.
It would begin on Monday and play each night between 7.30 p.m. and 9 p.m. until December 31. The club would provide a service to take elderly people by car through the park to hear the carol recordings.
1969
TH, MARCH 18, 1969
OLD BATHING SHED DEMOLISHED
With pic
The former Bathing shed at Pukekura Park, thought to be about 80 years old, was demolished this week. It is believed to have been built at the edge of the main lake shortly after the lake was created in 1878. In 1931, when the present tea house was begun, it was moved back to where it has stood ever since on the path from the tea house to the park fernery.
TH, MARCH 20, 1969
PARK FEATURES
There are numerous features of interest to be found throughout Pukekura and Brooklands Parks, says the weekly report of the New Plymouth Parks and Reserves Department.
Many of the horticultural subjects are of a smaller, more insignificant nature when compared to the flamboyant begonia display in the glasshouses and the bold splashes of colour obtained in bedding displays.
Adjacent to the main gates of Pukekura Park the blue flowered clerodendron ugandense can be seen in full flower. This small shrub is called the butterfly bush because of the striking resemblance of the four petals on each flower and the anthers to a butterfly in fight. In the car park near the sports pavilion the pink flowers of the Norfolk Island Hibiscus can be seen. These flowers are little over an inch wide and are to be seen in profusion over the slender upright tree.
As you walk from the kiosk towards the Fernery Lawn you will find the pure white form of the Anemone hupehensis in flower. This plant is often called the Japanese anemone and this white form is probably the best of the various varieties available. Opposite the entrance to the glasshouses an uncommon annual from Mexico can be seen. The foliage is a glaucous green and above this bright yellow poppy shaped flowers are produced. This is Hunnemania Mexicana variety sunlite
Wherever you go in Pukekura Park the haunting smell of the fragrant ginger Hedychium gardnerianum will be near you. One particularly striking colony can be seen at the head of the Hatchery Lawn, the area where the Nativity scene was featured at Christmas time.
In the zoo gardens Brooklands Park, several plants of particular interest can be seen. Behind the main flights, various Colchicums are in flower. The flowers are pushed through the soil without leaves making a striking contrast. The flowers are mostly in pinkish to mauve tonings and most varieties growing are forms of Colchicum speciosum.
TH, APRIL 18, 1969
GIANT TREE STILL GROWING
Burstall visit to NP (with photo)
Seven years ago a foester, Mr. S. W. Burstall (Rotorua) inspected New Plymouth’s giant spreading Spanish chestnut in Brooklands Park and thought it was dying.
Today he was delighted to find it in perfect condition. And after measuring its spread, found it is still growing quite vigorously.
This is the largest canopy I have ever measured” he said. The diameter of the spread averages 139ft.
RIVAL
The nearest rival to New Plymouth’s chestnut was one tear Ohaupo – but this one, previously some 10ft smaller in spread, recently suffered from storm damage.
Only one encroaching tree is preventing the Brookland’s chestnut from obtaining an ideal spread “Should it be cut down?” queried a Taranaki Herald photographer.
The park curator, Mr George Fuller, was quick to point out that the offending tree is also unique as New Zealand’s largest known species of Magnolia soulangeana (30ft tall).
Mr Fuller said that the massive chestnut had responded to feeding with artificial fertiliser. Its earlier setback was apparently due to a food shortage with the fallen leaves being swept away each autumn, thereby depriving the tree of its natural food from leaf mould.
For 18 years Mr Burstall has been recording measurements and facts on rare and historic trees throughout the country for the Forestry Department.
New Plymouth has several unique trees and Mr Burstall added two more to his list today, both at Brooklands.
They were a karaka, which was 4ft thicker in circumference at 4ft from the ground than the previous largest one of 16ft he had measured near Taupo, and a macrocarpa near the main entrance. With a diameter of 104in, it has the “highest volume” of trunk timber he has ever seen.
New Plymouth’s growing climate seemed ideal for a greater use of Japanese cedar. The city had the largest concentration of kauris of any area outside the usual traditional kauri – growing areas, from Tauranga northwards, he said.
Mr Burstall, who ended his three-day visit to Taranaki this afternoon, said he had been most impressed by “the wonderful exploitation” of pohutukawas in Hawera. The type of tree used in streets and parks was as good as any in the country.
TH, APRIL 22, 1969
REVISION BOOSTS ATTENDANCE
A revision of Pukekura Park fernery charges had resulted in a 20% increase in attendances over the same period in 1968, the director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, told the New Plymouth City Council last night.
The adjustment from January to 10c a person followed a downward trend in attendance since the doubling of charges in 1966 to 1s per child and 2s per adult.
Total attendance that year dropped to 12,096, the lowest for many years, and then to 11,821 in 1967. It improved slightly last year to 12,093.
Mr Goodwin said the trend following the revised charges in January should result in about 14,500 visitors this year.
During the last 10 years the highest total was 20,012 in 1960.
TH, APRIL 22, 1969
WATERFALL COSTS
Estimated costs of the construction of a waterfall near the north – west corner of the upper lake in Pukekura Park are being sought by the New Plymouth City Council.
The council last night asked its director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, to prepare the estimates, including the cost of water reticulation, for the falls planned near Hughes Walk.
The chairman of the parks and reserves and Pukekura Park committee, Mrs A. N. Gale, said that if the costs were acceptable the next step would be to find finance. This could come from requesting a grant in the 1969-70 estimates, from bequest funds “or from some other means,” about which she declined to elaborate.
The council also agreed that:
- The next stage of development of water effects should be near the lawn between the fountain lake and the children’s play ground.
- When the two stages are completed, consideration be given to proposals requested from Mr Goodwin for development in the Gilbert St area.
- Mr Goodwin report on providing waterwheels and other innovations, which could be carried out as smaller projects independent of the other proposals.
TH, APRIL 22, 1969
GIFT OF ORCHIDS
Mrs A. N. Page (Auckland) had donated orchids worth an estimated $350 to New Plymouth, reported the director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, to the city council last night.
The collection of 27 cymbidiums, mainly miniature types, and seven other uncommon species were mostly varieties not available commercially in New Zealand, he said.
TH, MAY 7, 1969
CONDUCTED PARK TOUR
Be at the sports pavilion near the fountain in Pukekura Park at 1.30 on Saturday afternoon to take part in a conducted tour of the park.
The curator, Mr George Fuller, and helpers will be there to take groups round the park, including Brooklands. They will point out special trees such as the big karaka and kohekohe at Brooklands, probably the biggest anywhere.
Autumn colour is a feature of the park now and the tour will take in the best specimens.
TDN, MAY 20, 1969
GABLES TO BE RENOVATED
New Plymouth’s historic Gables in Brooklands Park is to be renovated and restored at a cost of $4000.
The New Plymouth City Council last night decided to restore the building, but deferred a decision on where funds for the project would come from.
A report from the parks and reserves committee, urging restoration, was adopted in part. The report said the costs could be met from surpluses in the council’s milk fund, but this was not accepted.
Mr A. L. Herdman, chairman of the works committee, said the source of funds should be properly debated.
“On the eve of the council’s estimates meeting I feel that the matter has been improperly handled,” he said.
OTHER CALLS
Mr S. M. White said there were “a hundred and one” other things which needed attention of funds from the milk fund.
Mrs A. N. Gale, chairman of the parks and reserves committee, asked if Mr Herdman’s opinions queried whether the Gables was to be restored in the near or distant future.
“If it is to be delayed into the far future, the renovations might be far more costly,” she said,
The decision was taken after consideration of a report on renovations, prepared by a New Plymouth architect, Mr T. W. Boon.
“It is vital to halt the rapid deterioration of the exterior fabric,” Mr Boon’s report said,
MAIN CAUSES
The two main causes for the poor state of the exterior were inadequate and poorly executed flashings, gutters and downpipes, which had allowed continual ingress of water, and the junction between wall beams and weatherboards which was up to half an inch wide.
“Normally, with a building of this type and age, we have to assess repair work to last, say, 10 or even 20 years. But we must assume in this case that we require the building to last for all time,” Mr Boon said.
He described the causes of deterioration as “abuse and neglect” for a building which supposedly was being preserved. He said the estimate was only a “gestmate.”
“The committee must recognise the element of the unknown in this type of work,” he said.
TH, JULY 7, 1969
KIBBY HOUSE ALMOST COMPLETE
With pic
The new begonia house at Pukekura Park, which is expected to be completed at the end of the month. The park’s curator, Mr G. Fuller, said today it embodied many interesting features, one of which was the use of a steel superstructure with aluminium glazing bars.
No wood was used on the upper construction. He said it was important to have all available light as the winter sunshine did not come over the trees on its adjoining northern side.
There would also be reduced maintenance costs as aluminium did not require painting. The new begonia house would be three times larger in area than the old house it replaced.
A feature of the old house retained was the tunnel entrance.
A New Plymouth businessman, Mr George Kibby, and his late wife Mabel donated money and assets to a value of $20,000 for the erection of the building.
TH, JULY 23, 1969
DONATION FOR PARK WATERFALL
The New Zealand Insurance Co. is to donate $1700 towards the cost of a waterfall feature planned for Pukekura Park in New Plymouth.
The Mayor, Mr D. V. Sutherland, said today he received word from the company that it would increase its original donation by $500. The company originally offered the New Plymouth City Council $1200.
The waterfall, at the foot of the main lake in the park on the western side, would cost a little over $3000, said Mr Sutherland. The balance would come from park bequest funds.
He said he was delighted with the company’s donation.
Plans of the proposed waterfall were sent to the company’s board of directors in Auckland, who discussed them yesterday and decided to increase the donation.
Mr Sutherland said the initial work and preparation for the waterfall had begun.
TH, JULY 30, 1969
PROPOSED WATERFALL
With sketch
A SKETCH of the Proposed water feature which the New Plymouth City Council is to build in Pukekura Park, New Plymouth.
The project will cost a little over $3000, $1700 of which is being donated by the New Zealand Insurance Company. The feature will be installed at the western end of the main lake and will consist of water cascading over rock formations. The cascades will be highlighted from behind by coloured lighting. Work on the project has begun.
TH, AUGUST 4, 1969
WORK AT PUKEKURA PARK
In last month’s article from this office it was indicated that a survey of development work in Pukekura Park and Brooklands would be presented. The planning of the projects is not new and in fact preparatory work dates back many years in some cases.
It must always be remembered that Pukekura Park presents a natural and informal atmosphere and any new attraction or addition to the park must harmonise with the existing pattern. There is really no place for formal or artificial design in the Park.
The fountain in the lower lake is of course one of the major attractions and because of the unique setting, is considered by many tourists to be without equal anywhere.
BALCONY
The staff have now completed a new viewing position for this beautiful feature and this offers a completely new concept of the lake and fountain.
The balcony from where this view is obtained is reached from Victoria Road. Travelling south up the Victoria Road hill from Gilbert Street you can park your car just beyond the crest of the hill short of the park curator’s residence. Follow the newly formed path into the park for only a few yards then turn right and you step on to the new terrace which will present the viewer with a delightful “new look” at the lower lake and fountain.
Bear in mind you are a long way from the slot machine so cannot activate the fountain from there.
It is necessary to take advantage of this balcony view through the canopy of bush during the regular display periods.
The beauty of the fountain from this elevated position in the bush must be seen to be appreciated. We know park lovers will be delighted with this addition.
WATERFALL
The second new feature is the proposed and approved waterfall situated on Hughes Walk at the north-west corner of the main lake.
This will be seen to advantage from the area at the foot of Cannon Hill in the vicinity of the band stand. The sight and sound of moving water is always an attraction and the desirability of developing additional water displays in the Park is a subject that has been discussed by the committee for many years.
Various plans have been submitted. Some have been rejected while others have been deferred, but this particular plan prepared and designed by our own landscape architect, Mr Ian McDowell, under supervision of the Parks Director, Mr Jack Goodwin, has been approved and work has in fact commenced.
It has already been reported that the bulk of the finance for this $3000 project has been provided by the NZ Insurance Company. Additional donations of materials and finance from park lovers will, we believe, make it possible to complete this project without drawing on bequest funds.
In any case we are delighted to have stage 1 of the water display plans under construction.
SOUND COLUMNS
Another construction job, but in this instance nearing completion, is the new sound columns at the Bowl of Brooklands. These are being erected in exactly the same positions as before and no doubt many bowl supporters will wonder why they have not been resited.
There is of course a very valid technical reason why the columns have to be sited in this position and every major outdoor theatre dependent on amplified sound is faced with the same technical problem.
The Hollywood Bowl is another example where sound columns similar in shape and size are positioned to the sides and forward of the stage area.
However, the bowl has always been renowned for the excellence of the sound system and bowl technicians are confident the towers with their mammoth 24ft horns and new speaker units will provide patrons with a quality of reproduction never equalled before.
The Kibby Memorial Begonia House is now in the final stages of construction and is surely a magnificent addition to the park’s complex of glass houses. This new building can be reached from either the Horton walk or the normal entrance to the glass houses from Stainton Dell.
Without doubt this is going to provide the park with a floral display during the begonia season which must still further enhance the reputation of Pukekura Park as a tourist attraction.
With this building completed access to the new balcony will be provided. Mr Fred Parker will be assisting with the design of this work and when completed views down into the glass houses below and access to the Agnes Parker Memorial Orchid House will be provided.
Mr Parker has continued to add many more orchids to the collection he originally contributed. The collection now assembled in the Agnes Parker House must surely be one of the most extensive and valuable collections of cymbidium orchids in New Zealand.
Finally we must remind citizens of the continued development in the Brooklands Zoo and the Gables area.
A spacious car park is now available for visitors to this area and the felling of pine trees on the south-west boundary of Brooklands has opened up a very delightful view of the mountain.
These pines will be replaced by lower growing permanent natives and an extensive planting programme has been arranged for Arbor Day, which
is Saturday, at 10 a.m.
TDN, AUGUST 11, 1969
ARBOR DAY CEREMONY DRAWS 100
The Arbor Day ceremony at the area behind the Brooklands Zoo, New Plymouth, attracted about 100 people on Saturday.
The Mayor, Mr D. V. Sutherland, welcomed the crowd and planted the first tree.
The district scout commissioner for New Plymouth East, Mr E. T. Collins, commended the city council on its work in transplanting trees to the Robe Street site and spoke about projects on conservation planned by local scouts and guides.
The crowd were taken on a new walk leading down into the valley from the zoo. The walk will eventually return to the Brooklands main walk near the historic puriri tree.
TH, SEPTEMBER 9, 1969
WATERFALL UPDATE
With pic
THE $3000 illuminated water feature for New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park could be completed for the coming summer holiday period, the Mayor, Mr D. V. Sutherland, said today. In the photograph above, the park curator, Mr G. Fuller (right) and a parks and reserves department staff member, Mr V. Swan, work on excavations for the water feature, which is being constructed at the north-west end of the main park lake.
TH, NOVEMBER 9, 1969
WATERFALL UPDATE
With pic
Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, will have a spectacular new feature by the time of the Queen’s visit in March, park officials hope. It is this water feature, at present under construction near the north-west edge of the park’s main lake.
Fully illuminated, with water cascading 35ft in four drops when finished, the waterfall is one of the largest construction projects in the park. Designed by Mr Ian McDowell, the New Plymouth City Council parks and reserves department’s landscape architect, it will include about 100 tons of river boulders donated by Conroc.
The water will tumble into a pool and then be pumped back up to the top of the fall. The city council electricity department will install coloured lighting within the fall for special effects at night.
The photograph shows, from left, Mr McDowell, Mr V. Swan and the Pukekura Park curator, Mr G. Fuller, guiding a large rock into wet cement. A crane is being used to lift the rocks into place.
SUNDAY EXPRESS, DECEMBER 14, 1969
PARK TO BE CITY’S CHRISTMAS FEATURE
Pukekura Park this year is sure to be the feature of the city’s Christmas scene with a widespread lighting and display programme having been evolved by the New Plymouth City Council Electricity Department.
With this will be the Nativity scene which has been such a popular and appreciated attraction over recent years in the Hatchery Lawn area below the main lake. The display this year will again be sponsored by the New Plymouth Lions Club, but the preparation and manning will be in the capable hands of the combined denominational Youth for Youth Committee.
The presentation will be basically the same as in previous years, but with the addition this year of a programme of live entertainment by the young people of carols and Christmas songs interspersed with recorded music.
The Nativity scene is being set up today and is scheduled to open tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. It will be a feature of the park every night until January 2.
The full lighting programme is expected to come on in various stages during the week, and it is hoped that the first stages will be ready tomorrow to coincide with the opening of the Nativity scene.
Once the full plan is in operation, Pukekura Park will be transformed into a fairy wonderland through which visitors may make a tour by following the lighting.
Those entering at the main gates will be greeted by a massive Christmas tree, which is a huge rimu tree on the top of the terraces overlooking the sports ground, lit up by coloured lights. From there the trail leads to the fountain with its magnificent displays of colour ever-changing as the visitor skirts the lake to the Hatchery Lawn and the Nativity scene with its backdrop of lighted trees and the waterfall.
Lighting around the main lake will comprise a continuous string of coloured lights which will lead off along the track to the main featured area, the Stainton Dell, Fernery and Begonia House area.
The trees will glow with a mass of coloured lights against a background of floodlit bush. The little lake at the head of the dell and the lily lake beyond that will also be fully lit.
Probably about next weekend the Fernery and Begonia House will be fully lit with coloured lights and open for visitors to continue their tour through a wonderland of delicately illuminated ferns and caves.
TH, DECEMBER 29, 1969
CAPACITY CROWD AT PARK
Christmas Lights Show
The number of visitors to the illuminated displays at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, over the weekend was about the maximum that could be accommodated, Mr G. M. Fuller, the park curator, said today.
On Saturday night the number visiting the fernery was estimated at 1400 an hour and last night the total reached 1200 an hour. The crowd was very co-operative, tidy and orderly, despite the large number of children who sometimes had to wait in long queues.
Because of the large numbers, park staff had been directing the sightseers through the glasshouses. “A one directional flow eases congestion and people see more,” Mr Fuller said.
Folk singers from the interdenominational group, “Youth for Youth,” would appear at the Nativity Scene until January 2.
Although no charge was made, a donation box had been placed in the greenhouse to assist park developments, he said.
Mr.J. W. Goodwin, director of parks and reserves, said people were using the main entrance to the park and leaving their cars well up Pendarves St. It would probably be quicker to use side entrances.
1970
TH, JANUARY 28, 1970
BEGONIAS ON SHOW TONIGHT
With pic
Final preparations for opening of the George and Mabel Kibby Begonia House in Pukekura Park tonight are made in New Plymouth today by Mr Garry Carradus and Miss Ailsa McCrone.
Mr Kibby has given £20,000 for the construction of the begonia house.
TH, JULY 11, 1970
THERE’S SO MUCH TO SEE AT THE ZOO
With pics
Been to the Brooklands Zoo lately?
There are two new arrivals – a pair of inseparable fallow deer, who were a gift from the Wanganui City Council deer park.
And Wally, the lonely Wallaby, is expected to have company of his own kind in the future.
At present, he shares his cage with pheasants and chickens.
However, the New Plymouth Jaycees have come to his rescue.
They have a project under way to build a large cage where Wally and his Wallaby mates can scamper.
Lonely, but too mean to share his cage, is Willy the bonnet monkey.
He occasionally hides his head in a sack, but comes out for a breath of fresh air and a yawn.
There’s Bambi.
He’s always waiting for a little girl with spinach in her hand to feed him.
“Bambi, a favourite of children, is always happy to sniff and nuzzle children’s fingers sticking through the wire cage.
Not so lonely for birds, but hungry for attention, is Pete the Peacock.
He’s a show-off.
He often jumps to the top of his cage to attract attention.
After all, who’s the most beautiful to look at, a monkey or a peacock?
Watch out! He’s after your feet! This is a warning that Daffy the Paradise Duck is in the vicinity.
Daffy runs the grounds of the zoo.
He also runs after people.
And if you decide to visit the zoo it’s at the top end of the Brooklands Park, New Plymouth, just near the Bowl of Brooklands.
The zoo is run by the city council parks and reserves department, after being initiated by the New Plymouth Jaycee Chapter.
Take the kids with you—Or just go alone.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 7, 1970
ZOO DOVECOTE DEDICATED
With pic
The president of New Plymouth Jaycee, Mr John Brocket (foreground) dedicated the memorial dovecote to former Jaycee president, Mr R. Brooker, at the Brooklands Zoo. New Plymouth, on Saturday.
A memorial plaque was unveiled by Mrs M. Brooker, Hamilton (right).
Mr Brooker was president of New Plymouth Jaycee in 1964 and originated the idea for the Brooklands Children’s Zoo. In 1965 the chapter handed the zoo over to the City Council.
At Saturday’s ceremony, Mr Brocket officially handed over the wallaby pen (background) to Mrs A. N. Gale, chairman of the city council Parks and Reserves Committee.
Mr Brocket said a 150ft by 50ft by 40ft free flight bird cage that the public could walk through was planned for the future. The chapter also hoped to buy a 60-year-old tortoise for the zoo.
SUNDAY EXPRESS, SEPTEMBER 20, 1970
WATERFALL UPDATE
With pic
The sparkling beauty of Pukekura Park’s new waterfall, when it comes into operation sometime during the coming summer, will make all the hard work and little crises connected with its construction seem well worth while. The massive stone being edged into place in this picture provided just one of the small, but quickly overcome problems associated with the construction. On the first try the boulder took exception to its position and rolled down into the excavation at the base of the waterfall.
Its retrieval was accomplished only after some heavy work with a tractor and chain and some colourful linguistic urging from the sidelines.
TH, OCTOBER 17, 1970
WATERFALL TESTED
With pic
A YEAR’S WORK was tested for the first time yesterday when water was pumped over the Pukekura Park waterfall. The 35ft high waterfall is the park’s newest feature and has been designed and built by park staff. It has been constructed from about 100 tons of river boulders and involves a series of falls dropping down the face of a bank at the north eastern end of the main Pukekura Park lake.
The park curator, Mr George Fuller, said today the lighting features of the waterfall had yet to be installed. However, the official opening would be held on Wednesday afternoon.
He said the fall worked surprisingly well at its first try and only a few minor adjustments were required. About 40,000 gallons of water poured down the fall every hour.
It was pumped from a lake at the foot of the fall. Part of the base of the fall was built from hewn stone taken from the vault of the old New Plymouth Post Office.
The work was partly financed by a donation from the New Zealand Insurance Co. The boulders were donated by Conroc Ltd.
TH, OCTOBER 22, 1970
UNIQUE NEW ATTRACTION
WATERFALL OPENING
With pic
A 100-ton bank of boulders became a unique new attraction in New Plymouth yesterday when the Pukekura Park waterfall was officially switched on.
About 40 people attended the opening which was conducted by the Mayor, Mr D. V. Sutherland, and the chairman of directors of the New Zealand Insurance Co., Mr A. G. Wilson (Auckland).
Mr E. Lane (Auckland), NZI manager for New Zealand, was also present. Mr Sutherland outlined the history of the project and thanked the insurance company for its generous aid before he unveiled a plaque.
The man-made 35ft-high waterfall was unique in New Zealand, he said. Mr Wilson, who earlier described the waterfall as magnificent and a great concept, said his company decided to aid the project to commemorate the opening of its new building in the city in 1968.
He then handed a cheque for $1700 to Mr Sutherland. By pressing a switch Mr Wilson activated the water supply.
The opening ended on a comic note when the three men mainly responsible for the feature’s construction were given a ducking. They were Mr G. M. Fuller, park curator, Mr C. I. McDowell, who landscaped the fall, and Mr G. Carradus, a parks and reserves department employee.
Afternoon tea was then held at the park kiosk. The waterfall will operate at similar times to the park fountain.
1971
TH, APRIL 13, 1971
TRYING TO SAVE TREE
With pic
The huge chestnut tree in Brooklands Park, New Plymouth, is still infested with Borer.
The curator of Pukekura Park, Mr G. M. Fuller, said today the new Plymouth City Council had been treating the 125-year-old tree with insecticide almost weekly since the tree was fumigated last winter.
Mr fuller said it was thought the insects came from a dead tree in the area, and the council would keep on treating it until the Borer died.
It was not possible to know if the tree was reaching the end of its lifespan, because it was about the oldest in the country and there was nothing to compare it with.
SUNDAY EXPRESS, FEBRUARY 21, 1971
TWO COLOURS OR JUST ONE
With pic
(To the Editor)
Sir .- I noticed The Gables is being painted all white. In England this style of house always has the upright narrow timbers in black, Wouldn’t The Gables look better in black and white instead of the monotonous dull white?
“BLACK AND WHITE”
New Plymouth, February 9.
The architect concerned with the reconstruction and repainting of The Gables, Mr T. W. Boon, said that in his initial report he suggested the two-colour scheme which this type of construction seemed to warrant, but an examination of numerous contemporary photographs of the original building when it was the old Colonial Hospital, and situated on Mangorei Road, shows that it was painted then in a plain, light colour.
In the interests of preserving a piece of old New Zealand, rather than an English idea, it was decided to follow the scheme used on the original. However, Mr Boon points out that the painting is not yet finished, and feels that the completed job will provide a most satisfying picture.— Editor.
TH, AUGUST 14, 1971
TREE TIME AT ZOO
With pic
Children in gumboots too big for them and parents with spades and shovels went to Brooklands Zoo, New Plymouth, today.
More than 100 people attended the Arbor Day ceremony and saw the Mayor, Mr D. V. Sutherland, plant the first of more than 350 trees—a rare Rhodoleia Championii shrub from Hong Kong.
Today was the third Arbor Day ceremony at the zoo.
The director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said two major types of planting would be done.
The first was a collection of climbers from all over the world, which would be placed alongside the fences around the zoo, and the other was a number of trees from the north of New Zealand, some of which were only found in places like the Three Kings Islands.
The guest speaker, Mr Rob Hair, a member of the Taranaki Scenic Reserves Board and former curator at Pukeiti, said Taranaki must be one of the best places in the world for planting trees.
TH, DECEMBER 22, 1971
PARK LIGHTS ON EVERY NIGHT SOON
The Christmas lighting in Pukekura Park would not be switched on every night until the holiday season began on Friday, the engineer-manager of the New Plymouth City Council’s electricity department, Mr P. B. Priest, said today.
There had not been a great deal of interest before the holiday season in previous years and staff had to be on duty to supervise the lights, he said.
The lights were first switched on last Thursday, in conjunction with a carols by candlelight evening. They were also on on Saturday and Sunday and on Monday night there was unscheduled showing for elderly people who were shown around the park by the New Plymouth Lions Club.
The lights will be on tonight and Friday night and each night after that until further notice.
1972
SUNDAY EXPRESS, MARCH 5, 1972
PRESERVING OUR NATIONAL HERITAGE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
History takes us back as far as documents exist, with archeaology reaching beyond that point to trace the unwritten history buried in the debris of former habitation. For many, the delving into the past is little more than a personal hobby, but what they find, bring forth and preserve, becomes the riches of a country in its future.
However, among those with an interest in the relics of bygone days, there are some whose labours are directed entirely towards the uncovering and preservation of the all too few remaining relics of our national heritage for the sake of future generations. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust is concerned with the whole period of human life in this country, and its works depend both on archaeological excavation and on research into documented evidence.
The Historic Places Trust Act came into force on April 1, 1955, establishing the Trust and giving it wide responsibilities. These are to acquire, preserve and manage historic places and make them accessible to the public, and to assist local bodies, voluntary societies and private individuals to do likewise; to compile records, erect plaques and notices; to promote archaeological research and to ensure the safe custody of Maori artefacts and chattels of historic interest.
With pic
Typical of the examples of our national heritage which the Historic Places Trust is concerned with preserving is The Gables, New Plymouth’s former Old Colonial Hospital. Although not owned or administered by The Trust, large contributions have been made towards its renovation, and a notice board telling something of the building’s historical significance was erected by the Trust in July 1961. It has been found by the Trust that most local bodies can be relied upon for the fullest co-operation in preservation work such as this.
INTERPRETED
These responsibilities are to be interpreted in a broad sense. The Act specifically charges the Trust with the preservation, marking and recording of places and objects which are of national or local historic interest, or of archaeological, scientific, educational, architectural, literary or other special national or local interest.
The central purpose of the Trust is to preserve such significant links with our heritage as now remain to us, links both with the Maori pre-history and with the historic era since Europeans landed here. The Trust has helped to record and mark sites of the first European landings, of early European settlement of mission stations and trading settlements, and of the tragic clash of arms between the two races.
REMAINING
It has preserved some of the earliest buildings remaining in existence, such as the elegant mission house at Waimate in the north, the primitive hut of a settler at Waimate in the south, and the old stone Vicarage at Henui in New Plymouth. It has supported the preservtion and restoration of churches, cob cottages, Maori meeting houses and buildings of distinctive design and architecture in all parts of the country. It has stimulated other organisations to preserve rather than destroy such symbols of our heritage from the past.
The bronze plaques of the Trust, marking sites of Maori and European significance, and its distinctive notice boards, are to be seen in town and country, while its recommendations and advice are to be found in the background of many a move towards preservation which is made by other bodies and organisations. Added to this is the number of leaflets and booklets which the Trust publishes on places of historic importance.
COMPULSORY
Wide though its responsibilities are, the Trust has no compulsory powers. It cannot enforce preservation of sites, buildings or chattels it does not own, and has no right of acquisition by compulsory purchase. Though it may encourage local bodies to exercise such powers as they possess through the Town and Country Planning Act, it depends for its successful operation mainly on the willing support of those who endorse its aims.
Finance for the Trust comes from an annual Government grant, from the subscriptions of associate members, and from admission fees to buildings under Trust control. The Trust hopes that in time it will, like its counterparts overseas, be the beneficiary of endowments from its supporters and from those who wish to ensure that a particular building of historic value is preserved.
APPOINTED
Members of the Trust include an appointed chairman (currently Mr W. J. Scott), permanent heads of the departments of state directly concerned with the subject matter of the Act, persons appointed on the nomination of various learned and like-minded bodies, and three others elected by associate members. The Trust has a small staff and is greatly assisted by officers of the Ministry of Works and of the Department of Lands and Survey.
As far as Taranaki is concerned, the Trust is represented here by the Taranaki Regional Committtee, whose members are in part elected by the associate members, and in part appointed by the Trust. Like those of the Trust, the purposes and functions of the Regional Committee are many.
TANGIBLE
The Taranaki Regional Committee was first formed in 1957, and since that time considerable tangible evidence of its work has been seen, together with an infinitely greater amount which is not seen. Of the former, evidence may be seen in the attractive bronze plaques marking the sites of the battles of Waireka and Mahoetahi, the Stratford end of the Whakaahurangi Track between North and South Taranaki, and on the old stone vicarage by the Henui. Descriptive notice boards have also been erected at The Gables, Richmond Cottage and on the site of the old Manaia Blockhouse.
In the latter category the committee works very closely with Lands and Survey, Ministry of Works, Local Bodies, Scenic Reserves Board, National Park Board, the Maori community, and numerous other bodies and individuals on all things historical.
OPINIONS
The committee is frequently called upon to give opinions and to make recommendations on various schemes which are planned by these bodies, which may concern historical sites or relics.
The steadily increasing evidence of the Trust’s activity through its plaques, notice boards, leaflets, newsletters and booklets, and the properties which it owns or helps to maintain, has led to the enrolment of a number of associate members. These associate members are the life-blood of the Trust, and at only $2 per year, or $50 life membership, this is one of the most effective ways possible for the individual to play his part in preserving our national heritage.
Corporate associate membership is also offered schools, youth organisations, historical, archaeological and similar voluntary societies at $2 per year, and for business firms and public bodies, the membership is $10 per year.
TDN, MAY 1, 1972
PUKEKURA PARTY
New Plymouth horticulturists got out among the birds and bees and the flowers and trees on Saturday. They spent a pleasant afternoon in Pukekura Park guided by the park curator, Mr George Fuller (centre foreground).
???, OCTOBER 3, 1972
PROUD OF ORCHIDS
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The curator of Pukekura Park, in New Plymouth, Mr George Fuller, shows today the two orchid plants from the park collection which were awarded highly commended certificates at the New Zealand Orchid Society’s mini-conference in Auckland. He took a number of orchids from the collection and from a private grower’s collection when he went to speak at the weekend conference. The prize orchids are (lower) an Odontoglossum Pelworth crossed Odontioda Cheer and an Odontoglossum Panise.
SUNDAY EXPRESS, DECEMBER 17, 1972
MASSIVE REDEVELOPMENT AT BROOKLANDS BOWL
The first steps of a massive redevelopment programme in New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands were taken this month was the installation of a $12,000 lighting control system.
The new controls are currently being hooked up by Bowl staff and lighting director. Mr Caleb Wyatt, says they will be working for the first festival 73 programme on December 28.
The arrival of the expensive new system last week marked a significant move in the history of the Bowl. Earlier this year the then public relations officer, Mr B. P. Connell, warned that $60,000 had to be spent on the Bowl to replace and update worn-out gear; shortly afterwards the Bowl trust approved an immediate $25,000 programme over the next four years.
The installation of the lighting controls is the start of that programme.
It will see the upgrading of the Bowl lighting, for years acclaimed as one of the most spectacular of any outdoor theatre in the world, as well as much needed improvements to the Bowl sound system.
The sound system has been held in similarly high regard in the past but its “miracles” have been achieved only through the technical brilliance of sound director, Mr Baden Winchcombe, and his staff with little thanks to the obsolete gear they have had to work with.
Mr Winchcombe said part of his intended upgrading would do something about the regular complaint that the sound was too loud at the front of the Bowl and not loud enough at the back.
It was intended that two extra sound columns would be built further back and to each side of the amphitheatre and these would help to involve the entire audience as well as obviate the need to give the system volume in order to cater for those at the back.
Mr Winchcombe currently has two major items of equipment on order. One, a multi track recording machine, has already arrived in the country and is waiting for customs clearance. The other is expected to arrive in a few months. It is a reverberator plate to improve the acoustics in the soundshell during major productions.
Mr Winchcombe said the recording machine was the first such sophisticated recording equipment obtained by the Bowl. Costing about $5000 it would greatly assist in the cutting of records from the Bowl performances.
We faced tremendous problems in providing adequate sound facilities for the type of performances given today. To give you some idea of the cost involved the sound system in the new Christchurch town hall cost $40,000 and that’s merely for an intdoor venue.
Another improvement which will be brought in at the Bowl this festival is a series of monitor speakers which will enable Bowl staff working behind the scenes to at least listen to the performances even if they cannot see them.
The lighting control panel brought up from Lower Hutt last week is considered by Mr Wyatt to be the biggest thing yet for Taranaki. A similar type of complex could be found in large theatres in the main centres but there was nothing like it in New Plymouth.
The equipment being installed at present incorporates a control desk which will handle up to 60 channels, compared to only 18 on the old dimmer board in use at the Bowl for the past 14 years. The new system will handle 300 kilowatts, compared with 32 kilowatts in the past.
It will eliminate the problems faced by the dimmer operator who previously “flew blind” in the electrical room beside the soundshell as he followed the instructions by Mr Wyatt sitting in the control box on the audience side of the lake. The new panel will be in the control box.
Some danger was faced by the staff using the old gear. On one occasion the dimmer board blew up and almost injured an operator nearby. Mr. Wyatt said the old dimmer came from the Christchurch dump and after 14 years of further use he felt they should go back there.
The solid-state, transistorised controls on the new panel will enable the operator to pre-set lighting changes three stages ahead. This will take care of all the lights connected with the sound shell and stage and others in the background trees will be handled by a further console to be built by the Bowl staff in due course.
The technicians have been working on a patch panel with 230 plugs which will make the Bowls lighting equipment fully versatile. Any extra or special lighting can be plugged into the system at a moment’s notice.
The further improvement to the amphitheatre will be the proposed reconstruction of the sound shell. It will involve re-roofing, redesigning the front section, new cladding, perhaps new flooring and the installation of a concealed lighting bridge (catwalk) above the stage.
The changes wrought by this extensive programme, which will be partially financed by trust income and partly by grants from the New Plymouth City council, will in the main be subtle ones as far as the audience is concerned. The biggest difference will be seen by the people who staff the place voluntarily and who have been working under the pressure of ageing facilities for some years.
TDN, DECEMBER 19, 1972
ATTEMPT TO SAVE CHESTNUT TREE
With pic
Remedial measures are to be taken to prevent further deterioration of the Brooklands Park chestnut tree, the New Plymouth City Council decided last night.
Following investigations by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, the tree will be quarantined by enclosing it with a concrete beam barrier, and the diseased tree will be treated with a chemical.
1973
TH, JANUARY 9, 1973
50 NOT OUT; STILL ROLLING
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And unbeaten half century was achieved on New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park today.
The 50 came up on the cricket pitch, but not with the use of a bat or ball.
“Old Gertie,” the parks and reserves department’s Fordson tractor, celebrated her golden anniversary of service at the park with a few leisurely rolls up and down the wicket.
There was no celebration and no special high octane birthday present. But “Gertie” didn’t mind. She trudged along at her usual two to three mph, preparing the wicket for Taranaki’s next defence of the Hawke cup, which begins on Saturday.
She has had a few days off sick and only rests about once every five to six years.
The superintendence of parks and reserves, Mr. J. W. Goodwin, said “Gertie” was too valuable to be used for any task other than rolling the wicket.
“Her flat steel wheels make her ideal for this and many international cricketers can be thankful for her service,” he said.
SUNDAY TIMES, APRIL 1, 1973
FLYING START ON CAGE
With pic
Ask a New Plymouth Jaycee any question you like about building, and as long as he has put in his stint on the new free flight cage at the Brooklands Zoo, he’ll be able to converse on the subject with all the assurance of a veteran builder.
During the last few weeks small bands of enthusiasts have been gathered together to take advantage of summer evenings to make a flying start on the cage. As yet there is not much to see, at least, not for the inexperienced eye to see, but to date there have been about 250 man hours put in at the site and something like 14 yards of concrete carted, poured and tamped down into the foundations.
Foundations. Now there’s a subject to warm the larynx of any Jaycee. In their search for solid ground, they dug, and they kept digging until some of the wits among them were talking about joining the miner’s union or about what they might say to the Tibetans when they eventually ended up in their mining territory. Ask a Jaycee where the lion’s share of the 14 yards of concrete have gone and he’ll take you and show you a hole that looks something like a miniature Grand Canyon.
Now that this major problem has been solved, work is going along very nicely. Much of the concrete wall basing is in and the first of the shrubs and trees which will decorate the cage’s interior have been planted. Best news of all is that the public have been showing a lot of interest in the project.
Jaycees working on the job have been most interested in the numbers of people who have been visiting the zoo while they have been there, and who have come across to the work site to offer a few words of encouragement.
The builders have also been delighted over the generosity of some commercial firms in helping this project. The boxing was carried out professionally by H. P. F. Snowden Construction Ltd, and Steel Benders and Suppliers Ltd and Fletcher Steel who were approached for the purchase of the reinforcing steel, donated the material. Then, to top off the generosity, the Golden Bay Cement Company included a welcome cheque for $75 with their cement supplies.
SUNDAY EXPRESS, JANUARY 28, 1973
BIG JAYCEE PROJECT NEARING COMPLETION
With pic
It all began back in the early months of 1964 with investigatory letters to the Auckland and Wellington Zoos on the feasibility of establishing a monkey house in New Plymouth.
By the summer of the same year the New Plymouth Jaycees’ most ambitious project, the establishment of a children’s zoo adjoining the entrance to Brooklands Park, was well on the way to being a reality. Jaycees who had already put hundreds of hours into the planning and financing were up to their ears in timber, concrete blocks, piping and wire netting as the first block of ten cages to house two monkeys and a variety of birds began to take shape.
The spring of this year, almost nine years after the first blocks were put in place, and at least ten years since the birth of the concept of providing a family attraction of this type for the city, will see the completion of Jaycee involvement in the scheme when the $7500 free flight cage is opened.
The free flight cage represents a relatively new concept in bird display, of which the best known example is probably the futuristic structure at the London Zoo designed by Anthony Armstrong-Jones. It is a cage which the visitor shares with the birds, unhindered by barriers of netting or a single-direction view of the inhabitants. Entry and exit is made through a system of double doors.
The new cage is presently being built by Jaycee volunteers along the western side of the zoo area, adjoining the wallaby and kea houses. It is to be 96 feet long, 40 feet wide and 14 feet high and will have an interior landscaped by the Parks and Reserves Department.
The cost of the project is considerable, estimated at not far short of $7500, with the costliest item being the chain mesh netting. Over the past two years the Jaycees have allocated $1000 a year to the project from the annual MardiGras and Lime Drive, and this, plus proceeds from other financing schemes recently, such as the Union Travel Fiji Holiday raffle, has allowed a start to be made on construction.
Further fund-raising schemes have been planned for the current year, with the major effort being a “Dine Out” scheme which is to be launched early in February. The Zoo Convenor, Mr Barry Sefton, said that the co-operation and assistance given by many local firms in the supplying of materials and advisory services has been of considerable help in getting construction under way so early in the year.
Added to this, he said, the City Council’s involvement with the scheme has made the ten-year period of the project a model of mutual co-operation, especially on the part of the Parks and Reserves staff who have done such a magnificent job in landscaping and looking after the zoo area.
Over the years too, the public interest in the zoo has underlined the worth of the project to the community, and much of the finance raised for the periodic additions to the zoo has come from public donations. Mr Sefton said that any further donations towards the free flight cage would be welcomed, and could be made to the New Plymouth Jaycees through P.O. Box 284. New Plymouth.
Jaycee membership stands at over fifty at the present time and already a large proportion of them have put in some hours during the summer evenings or on weekends on preparing the foundations for the cage. As with all previous stages in the building of the zoo, most of the work will be done by voluntary labour, although some of the more specialised tasks will be carried out by contractors.
When it is opened the free flight cage will offer public access during limited hours when an attendant will be on hand.
The Superintendent of Parks and Reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said that the intention is to stock the cage with a variety of bird species which will be of particular interest to visitors for their rarity, colour or nesting habits. There are many factors which require careful consideration in selecting birds for such a cage as this, among them being a choice of birds which will not fight among themselves, or which will not soil or destroy foliage.
Mr Goodwin said that thought has been given to including smaller flights within the large cage in which specific birds, or communities of birds may be housed. These could be birds which are subject to the problems already mentioned, or which have characteristics better seen by visitors in the more limited areas.
At this stage Mr Goodwin has some ideas on the types of birds which he would like, but the final selection will, of course, be subject to their availability in New Zealand.
For the beauty of their plumage it is hoped to be able to get some Grenadier Weavers and some Napoleon Weavers. At their peak the weavers are brilliantly coloured—the Grenadiers in red and black and the Napoleons in yellow and black—gradually fading away to a dull house-sparrow brown in the off season. In addition their fantastically woven nests are a feature in themselves.
Other species which could feature for their plumage are the Crested and Brazilian Cardinals, the Whydahs with their long flowing tails, the Tanagers and several species of small, colourful and very active Finches.
Mr Goodwin would like to be able to get a feature bird too, such as a Toucan, and some rare and colourful types of duck such as Mandarins or American Wood Ducks to live in a small pool in one of the limited flights.
MANY MORE INHABITANTS
On the opening day of the Brooklands Zoo on February 27, 1965, the cages held two monkeys, a bonnet and a rhesus obtained from the Wellington Zoo, and approximately 130 birds, including two golden pheasants, one peacock, pigeons, rosella parakeets, quail, canaries, doves, finches and budgerigars.
The growth of the zoo since then is seen in the increased variety of birds and animals to be seen there today. Among the most popular with the children are the deer, wallabies, keas, a tortoise and the goats.
TH, AUGUST 18, 1973
BUILDING WALL FOR BIRDCAGE
About 20 volunteers were expected for the New Plymouth Jaycee working bee today to build the back wall of the planned free flight birdcage at Brooklands Zoo.
The foundations of the cage had been completed and it was hoped the cage would be ready by the end of October, said Mr V. R. Brownson, Jaycee president. The wall would protect the cage from the wind.
TDN, AUGUST 21, 1973
NEW FEATURES FOR PUKEKURA PARK
With pic
An old waterwheel and a glow-worm grotto are among features of new waterworks to be installed in New Plymouth’ Pukekura Park.
Work will start as soon as labour is available, the New Plymouth City Council decided last night.
Envisaged is a walk behind the wheel with a glow-worm grotto and original lighting effects.
A series of rock effects, variation of waterfalls and reflecting pools below the fountain lake will also be given natural lighting effects.
The area to be developed is below the children’s playing ground by the Gilbert St entrance to the park.
An extensive search had been made for a water wheel and several were found, all of which required considerable reconstruction, the director of parks and reserves, Mr J. W. Goodwin, reported.
The wheel selected was associated with the dairy industry and had considerable historic interest.
However, it was far too large for both the position and the flow of water through the kiosk dell.
A site was chosen that would give views from the bridge above and either side of the ravine to the planned waterfall and wheel.
Mr Goodwin said someone interested in the dairy industry or Taranaki history may be prepared to assist with the project.
It was hoped all the new effects would be completed in time for the Pukekura Park foundation anniversary in 1975.
Mrs A. N. Gale said the committee had been trying to improve the Gilbert St entrance for some time.
Developments would be financed from present money and department labour used when available.
She said good use of bequest money could be made for the feature. Costing has yet to be taken out.
TDN, DECEMBER 18, 1973
GIANT CHESTNUT DYING
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The old Spanish Chestnut tree in New Plymouth’s Brooklands Park “will ultimately be totally lost,” according to a scientist who has been studying the effects of a fungus discase in the tree.
Dr J. B. Taylor has informed the city council’s parks and reserves committee that he has inspected the tree again to study the effects of the fungus on it and surrounding trees.
The committee told the council last night that evidence from Dr Taylor’s inspection indicated that the infection was extending to the peripheral branches of the chestnut, but with their present vigour they could continue to grow for some years.
There was no sign of infection where infected material from the chestnut contacted nearby trees and there was every evidence to show these trees would resist the fungus.
“Dr Taylor suggests that investigations have gone as far as they can at this stage, and that the tree will ultimately be totally lost,” the council was told.
The Brooklands Park chestnut is the best-known specimen of its type growing in New Zealand. The spread of its branches covers nearly half an acre.
Planted in 1846, the tree in its heyday reached a height of 70 ft with a trunk diameter of about eight feet.
1974
TH, MARCH 27, 1974
WATER WHEEL FOR PARK
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Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, will soon be well prepared for any energy crisis. Installation of the park’s 12 foot diameter, 6 foot wide water wheel between the Gilbert St walk and the children’s playground is well underway, the Parker curator, Mr G. M. Fuller, said today.
The wheel will be equipped to generate electricity, as well as giving continuity to the water effects in the park. New Plymouth Boys’ High School cadet battalion did preliminary clearing but there was still tons of accumulated rubbish to be shifted before concrete foundations could be placed, he said.
The wheel was salvaged from the Omata dairy factory where it was used as a sort of motive power until the 1930s. The wood had rotted away, but the cast iron parts were still in good condition. The wheel and associated landscaping should be completed by next year, in time for the park’s centenary, Mr Fuller said.
A dam would be built to control the flow of water. Continuity of water effect through the park from the Bowl of Brooklands lake, the main lake, waterfalls and outflow would be enhanced by the wheel, which would be floodlit on special occasions. The whole area would be landscaped and beautified.
This area of the park was neglected and this project should “perk” it up considerably, Mr Fuller said.
TH, MARCH 30, 1974
PREPARED FOR SNAKE BITES
Precautions to deal with snake bites have been taken at Taranaki Base Hospital in case reports of a snake in a New Plymouth park are true.
Snake bite serum from Australia will be available at the hospital and it is understood the staff have been instructed in treating bites.
A search of Pukekura Park is likely tomorrow or on Monday. An officer from the wildlife division of the Department of Internal Affairs is due in the city tomorrow to assess the situation and lead the search if he thinks it is necessary.
The precautions follow positive identification of a snakeskin found in the park earlier this year as that of a venomous Australian red bellied black snake. Police inquiries have established that the skin was probably dropped in the park by a prankster, but further investigations are likely.
Another skin was unearthed in the park by a dog in 1971.
In 1972 a New Plymouth woman received an anonymous letter from Sydney, claiming the writer liberated several black snakes in the park after bringing them from Australia.
Mr J. Moreland, the curator of fish and reptiles at the National Museum, Wellington, said yesterday the latest skin was identified in Australia.
The snake usually grew to about 5ft long and the maximum was 6ft. The snake would bite only when cornered. Its bite induced severe illness, haemorrhaging and shock, but was not normally fatal.
The snake was fond of water and swamps and preyed on mice, other small mammals and reptiles and birds, he said.
TH, APRIL 2, 1974
WATER WHEEL
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THE CURATOR of Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, Mr G. M. Fuller, with a discarded wheel of dubious vintage. Several items ranging from an old chamberpot, several ink wells and numerous bottles have been dug out of the excavations for the water wheel between the Gilbert St walk and the children’s playground. “It looks as though we have unearthed an old rubbish tip”, Mr Fuller said today.
TDN, APRIL 5, 1974
FREE-FLIGHT CAGE UPDATE
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The last section of the walk-through bird cages at the Brooklands Zoo, New Plymouth, near completion.
When finished, the brickwork in the foreground will be used to house various species of pheasant.
The cages are being built jointly by the New Plymouth chapter of Jaycees and the city council department of parks and reserves.
Mr B. Sefton, the Jaycees’ project organiser, said the aviary should be completed in about a month.
Special doors will be constructed into the cages so zoo visitors can walk through and see the birds close-up.
The project was started in January last year and was originally quoted at $7500.
Mr Sefton said the cost of the aviary will be a lot higher now. But the money had been saved through orders for building material being made in advance of the project.
The aviary is 30 metres long, 13 metres wide and 4 metres high.
The president of the New Plymouth Jaycees, Mr D. S. Brownson, said the response shown by local business firms to the project has been “tremendous,” and a lot of the materials used had been supplied at cut prices.
SUNDAY EXPRESS, APRIL 7, 1974
NEW BEAUTY SPOT IN THE MAKING
WATER WHEEL PROGRESS
With pic
Somebody’s rubbish tip it may have been at some time, but the Pukekura Park gully near the Fillis Street entrance, where work is proceeding on the water wheel site, is already offering a broad hint of just how attractive it is going to be in the future.
At the present time work is proceeding on those parts of the construction which will be below water level when the pond is formed. This includes the concrete pillars which will support the water wheel, a dam to control the water level and a crib wall around the pond.
With the completion of the crib wall the gradient will be established for a public walkway down from near the Fillis Street entrance. The walkway is to be made as easy as possible so that most members of the public will be able to enjoy it.
From the entrance, the walk will continue around behind the water wheel, built up with some old, hand hewn stone, and will then climb the opposite side of the gully and emerge near the children’s playing area.
Even without using the walkway, there will be a magnificent view from the top of the gully and from the present bridge. The Park Curator, Mr G Fuller, said that work on the site has been planned so that as little disturbance as possible will be made to the natural surroundings.
The use of cranes has been avoided, and even such materials as ready-mixed concrete and concrete blocks has been chuted down to the work site. It has meant a lot more hard work and considerably more time involvement, Mr Fuller said, but it has meant that the minimum damage has been done to banks and trees.
By retaining the canopy of bush and some very attractive ponga trees growing in the gully, the beauty will be there right from the start. Mr Fuller said that later on a vehicle park could be established to enable the elderly and invalid persons to view the water wheel.
There has been some criticism that the idea of the water wheel is too gimmicky for a park which is famed for its natural appearance, but surely, once the wheel is operating and the beautiful and restful setting is fully established, it will be seen to be quite in keeping.
Certainly no better place could be found for the preservation of a relic from the Taranaki industry of the past.
Mr Fuller noted that the water wheel will not appear in the gully overnight. In recent days the park staff have been taking advantage of the unusual spell of dry weather to get the foundations for the wheel established. Work from now on will proceed as time and weather permit, but the completed job is aimed for as a centennial feature next year.
TH, OCTOBER 2, 1974
GABLES TO BE OPEN TO VISITORS
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One of New Plymouth’s oldest buildings, The Gables, near Brooklands Park, will be opened to the public.
Three rooms of the 12-room former Colonial Hospital will open for two hours on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The present occupants of the house are New Plymouth’s public relations officer, Mr B. McPherson and his family.
He said today he had decided to open up the building because he believed the public had a right to see it, as it was gazetted as an historic place.
The Gables, which is even older than Richmond Cottage, is the last survivor of the four hospitals commissioned by Sir George Grey at Auckland, New Plymouth, Wanganui and Wellington, between 1846 and 1848.
Its original New Plymouth site on Mangorei Rd was intended to attract Maori patients.
In 1854 the Puketapu chief, Rawiri Waiaua, was brought to the hospital. He had been shot down by a tribal faction opposed to the sale of more Bell Block land to the pakehas.
Rawiri died in hospital, a fact that probably gave it a tapu protection during the Maori incendiarism of 1860-61.
In March 1903 the land was set aside as an educational reserve (becoming the site of the New Plymouth Girls’ High School) and it was decided to auction the building.
It was bought by Mr Newton King, and shifted to its present site.
In recent years the descendants of Dr Peter Wilson, the first surgeon, presented his instruments and Mrs Wilson’s jewellery for display within the building.
TH, OCTOBER 4, 1974
FREE FLIGHT CAGE FOR ZOO
With pics
The opening will be the climax to years of planning and work by the New Plymouth Jaycee Chapter, which has played a major part in developing the zoo.
It is believed to be the only one of its kind in the country, standing 15ft high and totalling 3840 sq, ft.
Work started last year, and many hours have been put in by Jaycee members on weekends and at night. In all, $4800 has been raised for materials from lime drives, mardi gras and dinners.
A revolving gate enables people to walk into the cage without the birds escaping.
The superintendent of the New Plymouth City Council’s parks and reserves department, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said the great advantage of a free flight cage was that the public did not have to look through wire to see birds in their natural environment.
Parks and reserves staff had planted the cage area with shrubs and grass so that the birds could nest and
feed.
Initially birds such as zebra doves and brush bronze pigeons would be liberated in the cage. Three pheasants had already been introduced so they could become accustomed to it before it was opened.
Mr Goodwin said it was planned to introduce parrots, Bourke parakeets and turquoisene parrots.
The difficulty is that some birds cannot be placed in the free flight cage because they might harm each other or destroy the vegetation. It was hoped that birds such as Cuban finches, grass finches, waxbills, Cape doves, cinnamon doves, weaver birds and whydahs would be introduced later.
Birds that were not suited, such as cockatoos and rosellas, would be housed in separate cages within the free flight enclosure.
Mr Goodwin said when fully stocked there would be about 10-12 ground birds and 25-30 flying birds. He said after a while they would become accustomed to people walking through.
“We want to maintain a very high standard at the zoo. There is no doubt that the educational and aesthetic value is great because of the huge numbers of people that visit the zoo every hour of the day.”
The whole Brooklands complex is the largest project ever undertaken by the Jaycee chapter. It was first mooted in 1959, and fund-raising began in 1962.
But upon the completion of the free flight cage Jaycee doesn’t plan to give up. The chapter’s next aim is to build a monkey enclosure in the zoo, and although plans for this are long term, the chapter has vowed to see the project through.
The chairman of the city council’s parks and reserves committee, Mrs A. N. Gale, said the cage was a welcome extension.
“The city is grateful for the work that has been put in, and it is good to have so much support for such a project,” she said.
The Mayor of New Plymouth, Mr D. V. Sutherland, will be welcoming guests at the opening ceremony tomorrow, and the president of New Plymouth Jaycee, Mr D. S. Brownson, will be handing the cage over to Mrs Gale.
TDN, OCTOBER 7, 1974
THE GABLES OPENED TO PUBLIC
Opening the former colonial hospital, the Gables, to the public was successful and well worth while, said New Plymouth’s Public relations officer, Mr Bryce McPherson, yesterday.
Three rooms of the historic building were opened to the public for the first time yesterday and about 100 people inspected the former hospital.
Although three rooms have been restored and a certain amount of period furniture installed, the building is at present Mr McPherson’s home.
He said yesterday an attempt would be made to open further rooms to the public.
A donation box would be provided and proceeds would be used for further restoration.
TH, OCTOBER 15, 1974
PHEASANTS CHASED FROM CAGE
Children have interfered with birds at the new free flight cage at the Brooklands Zoo, New Plymouth, and the gates are to remain locked unless an attendant is present.
Pheasants in the cage had been chased through the revolving gate into the park area, the superintendent of the New Plymouth City Council’s parks and reserves department, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said today
He had been asked for comment after complaints that visitors to the zoo had found the gates locked.
Work on completing entrances, exists and directional signs was expected to be completed fairly soon, and the gates would be adjusted to prevent similar occurrences.
No more valuable birds could be released until this work was finished.
Because of the necessity for an attendant, visiting hours had not been finalised, Mr Goodwin said.
Hours proposed were from 8.30 to 11.30 a.m. to 1.30 to 4 p.m. during the week. Weekend hours would possibly be from 9 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m
At the moment, an attendant is at the park from 7.45 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., but the gates are locked during lunch hours and morning and afternoon tea breaks.
1975
TH, FEBRUARY 27, 1975
WILL TURN AGAIN
With pic
Mr John Ancell (left), apprentice joiner, and Mr Murray gray, joinery foreman at Jones and Sandford Ltd. New Plymouth, work on the second side of the waterwheel for Pukekura Park, with the completed first side behind them.
This was a reconstruction of a waterwheel formerly used at the Omata dairy factory, and the shaft, circumferal cog and bearings had been salvaged. These were cast metal and in good order but the wooden sides and buckets of the original wheel had rotted, the joinery manager Mr Steffenson said.
The second side and 36 buckets for the wheel remained to be completed, but the wheel was expected to be ready in another week.
The wheel would be placed in the Pukekura Park Stream inside the Gilbert St entrance to Pukekura Park , The assistant director of the New Plymouth City Council parks and reserves department, Mr A. D. Jellyman, said.
The wheel would not be driven but would operate by using the steady flow of water in the stream, Mr Steffenson said.
TDN, JULY 30, 1975
BIRDS FOR THE ZOO
Twenty-four African wax birds will be bought for the free flight cage at New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo.
A $200 cheque for this purpose was last night presented to the superintendent of the city council’s parks and reserves department, Mr J. W. Goodwin, by the New Plymouth Jaycees.
Mr Goodwin said the birds were very colourful and would be an added attraction for the zoo.
TH, NOVEMBER 4, 1975
WATERWHEEL INSTALLATION
With pic
Workmen spent today assembling the prefabricated Pukekura Park waterwheel. The wheel is expected to be completed and going in about three weeks.
TH, DECEMBER 1, 1975
WHEEL IS TURNING
With pic
The Pukekura Park waterwheel underwent its first test run at the park in New Plymouth today. The wheel is completed and all that remains for park staff to do is to build protective shields around it.
The park curator, Mr G. M. Fuller, said today he hoped the wheel would be fully operational by the end of the week. Its first test run today went smoothly and although it was not run at full speed it appeared the wheel was ready for continual use, Mr Fuller said.
The wheel was obtained by the city council parks and reserves department from the Omata Dairy Company. Jones and Sandford Ltd reconstructed and upgraded the original parts.
Over the past few months parks and reserves department workers have placed the wheel in position and adjusted the flow of water.
Mr Fuller said the wheel had been built and sited as constructively and authentically as possible.
“We have purposely toned down all unnatural colours so they do not spoil the effect of the site.”
Each bucket on the wheel is capable of holding about 20 gallons of water although only a few pints in a couple of them is capable of turning the wheel at speed.
Mr Fuller said the wheel was “unbelievably powerful” and it was necessary to build protective walls to keep people away from it while it was turning.
The only way to slow the wheel while it was moving would be to raise the water level in the pond which would put pressure on the bottom of the wheel.
The wheel is capable of running a generator and ideas along this line are being considered, he said. The generator would be used for the lighting display around the wheel.
The Omata factory used the wheel until about the mid-1930s when it was abandoned for more modern methods. One story surrounding the wheel is that someone at the factory was killed when he fell on it while it was moving.
It is expected the wheel will be a feature of the park’s summer lighting scheme. The water flow to the right of the wheel is a stormwater bypass.
1976
TDN, MARCH 3, 1976
PUKEKURA PARK CENTENIAL
With pic
New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park marked its centennial on Saturday with the official handing over of the waterwheel.
The ceremony was conducted by Mr L. D. Hickford (Okato), chairman of the Taranaki County Council. The wheel and part of the construction cost were donated by the Omata Dairy Company.
Mrs A. N. Gale, chairman of the New Plymouth City Council’s parks and recreation committee, thanked the many groups who contributed to the waterwheel.
These donations, including one of $500 from the Taranaki County Council, meant that ratepayers had to pay only for its supervision. It was hoped that a plaque would be installed at the waterwheel.
A tree planting ceremony was also held at the park to mark the centennial.
TH, APRIL 19, 1976
TEA HOUSE TO BE RE-MODELLED
With pic
Pukekura Park Celebrates its Centennial in May and its tea kiosk could be remodelled soon after that occasion. Remodelling totalling $15,000 has been recommended for the kiosk by the council’s policy and resources committee.
The work involves revised layout for the kitchen and servery, a formica board type of walling and ceiling, covered with vinyl flooring, new cupboard and drawer units, stainless steel and formica benches and an automatic dishwasher.
SPECIAL FUND
The chairman of the council’s parks and recreation committee, Mrs A. N. Gale, has told the Policy Committee that her committee had $9000 in special funds for the work, and the lessee would provide a $1000 dishwasher.
Mrs Gale succeeded in persuading the Policy Committee to provide the other $5000 in the 1976-77 estimates.
She said it was hoped the work would be carried out in June and July, which was the off period for customers.
Last year the kiosk faced a minimum of $3000 it improvements to bring it up to Health department standards —with probably more money having to be spent in the following years, Mrs Gale said.
Because it had the $9000 special funds on hand, the parks committee thought full remodelling would be more economic, Mrs Gale said. This decision was based on a report from the council’s engineer’s department.
As 1976 was the was the park’s centennial year, the council gesture was appropriate, Mrs Gale said.
To celebrate the park’s centennial, a tree planting ceremony and the official opening of the waterwheel have been scheduled for May 1.
TH, MAY 1, 1976
PARK’S 100 YEARS
With pics
TH, JUNE 2, 1976
TREES COMING DOWN
With pics
Four large pine trees which have marked the Brooklands Drive entrance to New Plymouth’s Brooklands Park for almost a century are being removed by the city council’s parks and recreation department staff. Mr C. I. McDowell, the department’s senior technical assistant, said he believed the trees were at least 90 years old. They were reaching the end of their life. They were more than 32m high and would be replaced with new specimens.
TH, SEPTEMBER 7, 1976
TO TAKE CHARGE OF PARKS
Mr A. D. Jellyman (36), the New Plymouth City Council’s deputy director of parks and recreation, will become director in February, succeeding Mr J. W. Goodwin, who is to retire.
The appointment was announced yesterday by parks and recreation committee chairman Mrs A. N. Gale.
Mr Jellyman was the sole applicant for the position.
Mrs Gale said Mr Jellyman was extremely well qualified and prominent in parks and recreation circles. The fact that there were no other applicants was a tribute to his abilities.
Mr Jellyman, married with three children, served his apprenticeship with New Plymouth horticulturalists, Duncan and Davies Ltd from 1957-61. He became assistant superintendent of parks for the council in 1962.
In 1966 he was awarded a British Horticultural Council bursary and with city council assistance spent six months in Britain and Europe. On his return he became deputy director.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 11, 1976
ALAN JELLYMAN
HIS JOB, TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH LIVING IS A PLEASURE
with pic
“Our role is a little different from that of the home gardener,” said 36-year-old Alan Jellyman with a smile.
“Naturally enough, he wants quick results from the vegetables he’s planted this spring.
“We’ve got to take a somewhat longer view of things – like planning the planting of Rimus and kauris in Pukekura Park which will not reach maturity until long after we are dead.
For all that, Alan Jellyman—who this week was named New Plymouth’s new director of parks and recreation—is a man who can take either the long view or the short view.
This is particularly so when the subjects under discussion are horticulture and the environment, twin interests which are his life.
PLANTING
He is a man who does, in fact, plant spring vegetables and flowers each year in the garden of his home in Dorset Avenue, New Plymouth—and who also plans the planting of native giants which will serve the people of New Plymouth for centuries.
“I like to grow things,” he said, expressing with total simplicity one of the most important elements in his makeup.
Alan Jellyman, a married man with two daughters and a son, is currently the deputy director of parks and recreation in New Plymouth.
He will take up his new position on the retirement of the present director, Mr Jack Goodwin, next January.
He was born in Wanganui, one of 10 children—a domestic situation which had a significant influence on the eventual career he was to follow in life.
“Because we were such a large family, we had to be as self-sufficient as possible,” he said, “As a result my parents were great gardeners and there was always plenty of fresh vegetables—and flowers—in the house.
“Quite apart from the economic good sense of this, my parents derived a great deal of enjoyment out of gardening and something of this rubbed off on the children, myself included.
“We grew up to respect growing things and we developed some knowledge of them.
“As well, my father assisted in the maintenance of the grounds at Wanganui Collegiate School for a period and this too heightened the family’s interest in horticulture.”
Alan Jellyman got involved in the “growing business” as early as five years.
“I remember there was this dear old lady, a friend of the family, who used to take me for walks,” he said.
SHOW BENCH
“I was about five when she introduced me to a show bench of flowers—chrysanthemums, gladioli and daffodils—and I can remember even now being impressed by the colours and shapes of the flowers.
“I think those two people, my father and the family friend who took me for walks, had a lot to do with shaping my interest in horticulture,” he said.
Alan Jellyman received his secondary education at Wanganui Technical School and on leaving school he joined a seedman’s business in the town.
He possessed a somewhat vague but nonetheless determined ambition for a life in horticulture.
“I knew that I wanted to work with plants, but I was not quite sure how to go about it,” he said.
“I had been at the seed shop for about a year when it became obvious that the alternatives open to me were not far reaching.”
As it happened, fate stepped in in the person of the renowned New Plymouth horticulturist Victor Davies, who was then promoting sales for his company, Duncan and Davies Ltd, throughout New Zealand.
He had a talk to Alan Jellyman in Wanganui and as a result, in 1957, the latter joined Duncan and Davies in New Plymouth as an apprentice in horticulture and gardening.
During his apprenticeship, from 1957 to 1961, he spent six months with the Palmerston North City Council broadening his experience, particularly in the field of perennials and turf culture.
He managed Duncan and Davies Retail Ltd during 1961 and 1962 and then, at 22 years, he was appointed assistant curator at Pukekura Park.
Soon after Alan Jellyman completed his National Diploma in Horticulture and in 1966 he furthered his knowledge during a six months study tour of Britain and Europe under a British horticultural bursary.
On his return he was promoted to deputy director of parks and reserves (which has since been retitled parks and recreation).
When Alan Jellyman takes up his new position as director of parks and recreation in January he will occupy one of the most important local authority posts in the city.
KNOWLEDGE
In a physical sense, he and his staff of 56 people will have the responsibility of maintaining and extending an established situation of parks, reserves and sportsgrounds which collectively make New Plymouth one of the most attractive cities in New Zealand.
In an abstract and aesthetic sense, he and his staff have the responsibility to preserve and create a pleasant, satisfying—even beautiful environment for the citizens of New Plymouth, both for this generation and the countless generations to come.
There are currently some 390 hectares of parklands within the city and 260 hectares outside it (mostly in Burgess Park and the Lake Mangamahoe reserve).
Altogether, there are some 80 different reserves, parks and sportsgrounds throughout New Plymouth, ranging from the nationally known Pukekura Park and Brooklands to small areas of quiet and beauty, consisting of no more than a lawn or two and a few trees and shrubs.
Other, lesser known, areas of responsibility include the maintenance of the grounds at the New Plymouth airport and the Taranaki Crematorium, near New Plymouth, and afforestation schemes, principally at Lake Mangamahoe.
CHALLENGE
“One of the biggest challenges in this job is that you can’t stand still,” said Alan Jellyman.
“The environment is in a constant state of change, the population is growing, people’s needs are altering and the city itself is subtly shifting in character as the years go by.
“All these mean that the recreational facilities required by people are constantly changing, with always a demand for more and better facilities.
“As I see it, there are two major areas of responsibility in my new position,” said Alan Jellyman.
“The first is to provide an environment in which living is a pleasurable experience and the second is to provide, within that environmental framework, as great a range of recreational facilities as possible to suit as wide a cross-section of the community as possible.
“The provision of sportsgrounds for rugby, cricket, tennis and suchlike is an obvious responsibility—but just as important, perhaps more important, is the provision of facilities for the ‘silent majority’ of recreation seekers, who want only quiet, pleasant walks, or corners of horticultural calm and beauty to richly fill their leisure hours.
“It has to be remembered that not everybody wants to hit a golf ball about, that the provision of formal playing fields is not the end of providing recreational facilities.
“We have to look after those people who have no particular sporting commitment, but who respond to a pleasant and restful environment.”
Alan Jellyman believes that New Plymouth—a relatively small city in his view, extending some five miles along the coast and three miles inland—is already exceptionally well-endowed with recreational facilities.
“We have a great variety of facilities of all types, except in the provision of ‘sheet water’ for aquatic interests,” he said.
“And the latter will be rectified to some degree by the establishment of the 26-acre lake at Peringa Park on the Waiwakaiho River.”
Alan Jellyman believes that one area of development yet to be fully exploited in New Plymouth is the provision of nature walks along the banks of the several streams which criss-cross the city.
“These streams and the valleys which serve them give New Plymouth a particular character not to be found in any other New Zealand city of comparable size,” he said.
PLEASANT
“They offer a rich opportunity to create a network of walks, through a variety of terrain, right here within the city suburbs.
“Most of the land is already reserve land and the aim would be to establish thin strips of these reserves along the stream banks as walks from stream mouth to the city’s southern boundaries.
“The Henui River is a good example of the concept. It is possible for a walk to be established from the river’s mouth in the East End Reserve to Junction Road.
“These walks would not be highly developed; their natural aspects would be preserved.” He said.
He stressed realisation of the concept lay very much with the future, but there was no physical barrier to its achievement.
When it comes to private interests, Alan Jellyman believes in a busman’s holiday. He has devoted much of his leisure time in the past 10 years to the affairs of the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust, of which he is the present chairman
Pukeiti and his private garden, plus family interests and a great deal of reading occupy much of his spare time.
He sees his future career as a combination of two elements—his love of things that grow and his responsibility to provide for the recreational needs, in the broadest sense, of an expanding city.
He says there is an immense reward in taking an area of weeds and rubbish, cleaning it up and planting it, and returning years later to find it a place of beauty.
1977
TH, JANUARY 13, 1977
PARK CARE SLIPPING SAYS HORTICULTURALIST
Pukekura Park’s famed collection of orchids is slipping badly in quality through neglect, well-known New Plymouth horticulturist charged today.
“In fact, the whole damn park is slipping.” Mr Fred Parker told the Taranaki Herald.
Mr Parker, who some years ago donated a large number of orchids to what is now known as the Agnes Parker Memorial collection, said he was very concerned about the drop in quality of the plants.
The collection is one of the best in the Southern Hemisphere—certainly the best in New Zealand—and he is worried that through neglect this claim may not be able to be made in the future, he says.
He believes the problem is that Pukekura Park’s expert on orchids, Mr George Fuller, is unable to spend enough time looking after the plants. He should spend all his time tending the orchids, Mr Parker claimed.
“At the moment he’s doing too much other work in the park.”
Also contributing to this problem was a tendency by park staff to introduce additions to the orchid collection.
“Our local orchid society donated money recently so more plants could be bought—but what’s the use buying more when the staff can’t look after what’s already there?”
Mr Parker stressed that orchid propagation was an ongoing thing and it was essential that someone be trained now on the subject so he could replace Mr Fuller.
This wasn’t being done, said Mr Parker, and he was afraid that when Mr Fuller retired from his work the collection would deteriorate even further.
OTHER PROBLEMS
Mr Parker plans to approach the park administration soon to discuss this—and other—problems concerning Pukekura Park.
The rhododendron collection at the park was another thing that concerned him. These too had suffered through neglect. Many were covered with disease, and many of the plants needed a fairly severe pruning.
The director of parks and recreation in New Plymouth, Mr J. W. Goodwin, said today he was also concerned over the appearance of the orchid collection—but there was a reason for its slip in quality.
“If we had the staff and the money we would keep them in a spotless condition—but we haven’t, so we can’t,” he said.
Mr Goodwin said Mr Fuller had been successful in persuading more and more of the newer species to flower.
“It’s not purely by chance that he is bringing them into flower,” he said.
Mr Goodwin said it had been agreed when the collection was first started that when newer varieties became available they would supersede the older types.
This was also being done throughout New Zealand and park staff considered there was a danger the older varieties and species would be lost forever. This was the reason the collection at Pukekura Park was growing.
“I don’t think there is a climate where you can grow every orchid to perfection.” he said. “So what it really boils down to is the old saying, what you lose on the roundabout you gain on the rails.”
Mr Goodwin said park administration was well aware of the need to retain one orchid propagation expert. In recent years an apprentice was trained but his interest had swung away from orchids.
Two other apprentices were now expressing considerable interest in orchids, and one of them could be trained. The council was trying to find a suitable person from within the local staff.
“It’s a case of a chief, but not enough Indians,” was the response by the chairman of the city council’s parks and recreation committee, Mrs A. N. Gale.
She said the parks and recreation staff was not as large as it should be to manage the whole concern. This was noticed particularly in the flush of the growing season. “I think we could do with more staff. But at the moment it’s just a question of what can be done with what we’ve got,” she said.
Mrs Gale said that during estimates time, every department scratched for the best share of the financial cake. There was a need for money to be used on the essentials like water and sewerage – so, because parks and recreation could be classed as luxuries, they had to come second.
TH, APRIL 7, 1967
PUKEKURA ACTIVITY
With pic
THESE FIFTH formers from New Plymouth Boys’ High School are pictured upgrading the Maranui track in Pukekura Park as part of an outdoor activity week. A different group of students work on the track each day and they are gradually working towards the Bowl of Brooklands.
TH, APRIL 7, 1977
NPBHS STUDENTS UPGRADING MARANUI TRACK
With photo.
These fifth formers from New Plymouth Boys’ High School are pictured upgrading the Maranui track in Pukekura Park as part of an outdoor activity week. A different group of students work on the track each day and they are gradually working towards the Bowl of Brooklands.
TH, APRIL 27, 1977
RENOVATING THE POET’S BRIDGE
With pic
Workmen pictured during blast-cleaning of Poet’s Bridge in Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, today. The blasting is part of a $2000 renovation of the bridge which was built in 1884. The work includes strengthening, painting and redecking.
TDN, JULY 2, 1977
PARK GIANTS CHANGE SHAPE
With pics
Two of Brooklands Park’s grand old trees, a Spanish sweet chestnut tree and a puriri tree, have taken on a different form.
The chestnut tree, or Castanea Sativa, although dead, is still considered one of the major attractions in the park.
The tree, which was planted in 1846, has gradually died from a fungus root infection and has had most of the ends of its branches removed.
However, the parks and recreation department has still left the bole of the old tree Intact.
The deputy director of the department, Mr C. I. McDowell, said the department intend planting climbers around the chestnut.
The other grand figure in the park, the Puriri tree is, however, still alive. During a storm about a month ago, a branch snapped off and has had to be trimmed back to the trunk to allow it to heal.
To balance the tree, a second branch lower down has had to be trimmed to the trunk.
This tree is thought to be about 2000 years old, and was a known meeting place for the early Maoris.
MI McDowell said scars from their fires can still be seen at the base of the tree.
The main lawn at the park is also having work done on it because an unattractive grass has become mixed in with a very fine type of grass and this has had to be removed. The turf which is being removed is being used to repair the terraces at the Pukekura Park sports ground.
TDN, AUGUST 18, 1977
DEAD SPANISH CHESTNUT
With pic
The old tree is dead, but her offspring live on. The 130-year-old chestnut tree in Brooklands Park is thought to have died because of a root fungus. However, the Pukekura Park curator, Mr George Fuller, says a young tree has been donated which was grown from a seedling of the old tree. Branches have been trimmed on the old chestnut to reduce the danger of breaking off, but the major part of it will stay. Creepers will be planted around it to add to the attraction.
TH, SEPTEMBER 24, 1977
TERRACE REPAIRS
With pic
New Plymouth City Council parks and recreation department employee Mr N. D. Old working against a backdrop of repaired terraces in Pukekura Park yesterday.
The department’s assistant director, Mr C. I. McDowell, says several terrace sections (dark strips) have been resurfaced and the project should be completed this month. The department believes the problem of crumbling terraces has been caused by changing weather and a black beetle infestation. A spraying programme to eliminate the beetles will be carried out. The turf for resurfacing comes from the department’s turf nurseries. Climbing up and down the terrace faces is prohibited.
TH, NOVEMBER 28, 1977
SPECIAL DISPLAY PLANS
Special celebrations are planned for New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park this Christmas to mark the 50th anniversary of the fernery and display houses.
The director of the city council’s parks and recreation department, Mr A. D. Jellyman, said the main form of the celebrations would be to make the park as attractive as possible to family groups in the evening.
The Christmas lighting emphasis would be on the fernery and display houses, but it was also hoped to involve Taranaki organisations in providing entertainment.
The idea would be to encourage family groups to visit the park, possibly for a picnic tea and stay there for the evening.
He said proposals still had to be approved by the council’s parks and recreation committee, but it was hoped to have the water displays going all evening and boats available for hire.
The actual anniversary date was January 28 or 29 but celebrations would start at Christmas and run until the end of January.
The fernery and display houses would probably open at 6.30 p.m. and remain open until 9.30 p.m.
City council electricity department staff were working on the lighting display today and Mr Jellyman said his staff was busy preparing the park generally for the holiday season.
The department was also employing 15 people under the special employment scheme and they were involved in a number of development and maintenance schemes.
These included construction of a post and rail fence at the Bowl of Brooklands so stock could be used to keep the grass down, tree planting and beach tidying.
TH, DECEMBER 19, 1977
REPLACING BRIDGE
With pic
The footbridge by the water wheel at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, is being replaced. Mr Ken Stevenson (left) and Mr Warren Hill are pictured working on the bridge. Park curator Mr G. M. Fuller said the bridge was being replaced for the safety of the public, as the old bridge was becoming unsound. The new bridge comprises laminated pine beams. The design was chosen to fit in with the character of the water wheel. The bridge has been paid for by a bequest to the park by Mrs Eva Alice Wood. It should be completed by Christmas.
1978
TH, JANUARY 25, 1978
FERNERY PREPARED FOR JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS
This year the 28th of January marks the Pukekura Park fernery Golden Jubilee.
To celebrate this occasion the area has been specially floodlit by the electricity department and is a major feature of the park’s illuminations along with the waterfalls, fountain and waterwheel, says the weekly report of the New Plymouth city council parks and recreation department.
A carpet bedding scheme on a nearby lawn depicts the occasion with the figure 50 planted in ‘golden feather’ pyrethrum and two shades of grey-leaved echeverias spell out the lettering and ‘white comet’ begonias and the red and yellow-green leaved alternanthera fill in the background while blue carpet lobelia frames the whole bed.
In the series of glass houses, excavated from clay bank initially, are one of New Zealand’s most representative collections of native ferns. In the Agnes Parker Memorial House, orchids in flower are displayed in season from a very wide range of species the parks department cares for.
The Kibby Begonia House really is most impressive at this season with both tuberous rooted begonias and fibrous rooted begonias on display. There is a lovely range of colours and forms which include doubles, both plain petalled, camellia flowered also fimbriated or frilled and there are bicolours some of which have picotee edges.
The local league raised varieties rival and in some cases surpass the well known Blackmore and Langdon strain.
Some of the very large specimens of the hanging baskets are covered with flowers, a delight to look up at while cascades of other plants such as Tradescantia fluminensis and T.laekensis ‘Rainbow’ divide the display into groups. Other continental hybrid begonias include the compact single flowered flamboyant, each bloom with the boss of yellow stamens in the centre.
The large orange flowered Bertonii make a very floriferous display while smaller species include B.lloydii, B.dregei a small single white, B.sutherlandii which is pale orange with red stems, a parent of the Gloire de Lorraine types.
Begonia lacincata has a dark reverse to the bronzy coloured leaves that are spotted ruby red. The stitch leaf begonia B.Mazae and hollyhock, begonia B.martiana are worth looking for.
B.evasiana, an Asiatic species is known as a decorative motive on oriental Chinaware. B.guttata has leaves speckled like a trout. One of the cane types is represented by B.haagaena a hirsute-leaved species which will grow outside in New Plymouth.
The shot silk leaved begonia are popular was rich purple or silver shades like the variety Otto Foster which has small white flowers.
A Stanhopea orchid which flowers through the bottom of its container, a hanging basket, is one of the many fascinating plants on display.
This weekend at the new Plymouth Horticultural Society show a stand will reflect the unique collection and educational value of further unusual and rare plants that can be viewed through the seasons at Pukekura Park fernery.
Outside the Fernery or glasshouse entrance, the herbaceous border is bright with Liatris spicata, Meadowrue, Achilleas, sea holly, kangaroo paws, inulas, heleniums, twin flowers and others.
Bedding schemes feature Matricaria gold ball and dark leaved Iresine lindenii.
Another bed is rich with French marigold red and gold. Petunias rose of heaven and blue bedder are in the borders near the tea kiosk.
TH, JANUARY 30, 1978
PARK FESTIVE ATTRACTIONS WERE POPULAR
About 25,000 people are estimated to have toured the display houses at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park during a special month-long celebration to mark their 50th Jubilee which ended last night.
Park staff say as many as 100,000 people may have visited the park to enjoy the lighting display there and entertainment organised during January.
In a report to the parks and recreation committee meeting today the director for the parks and recreation department, Mr A. D. Jellyman, said the response to the display had been excellent.
Since its introduction on December 26 an average of 800 people had toured the houses with a peak of just under 2000 one weekend night.
Visitors had left an average of $20 a night in a specially constructed wishing well.
The hours of the lighting display in the houses and other parts of the park had to be extended to cope with public demand and there was a marked increase in the use of row boats which were available for extended hours.
Takings from the boats rose from $185 in December to $1579 to January 20.
Total takings from the park were $386.57 in the month to December 20 and $2446.77 to January 20. The fine weather and evening activity is credited for the increase.
The park display and festive lighting in New Plymouth streets were turned off for the last time last
night.
TDN, JANUARY 30, 1978
FERNERY JUBILEE PLANTING
With pic
The 50th jubilee of the Pukekura Park display houses was celebrated at New Plymouth on Saturday with the planting of a palm tree donated by a member of the former Pukekura Park Board, Mr F. Parker. The picture shows the chairman of the New Plymouth City Council’s parks and recreation committee, Mr B. S. E. Bellringer, addressing the gathering.
TH, MARCH 14, 1978
CRICKET MEN DOUBT PARK’S CLAIM TO TEST MATCHES
With pic
Cricket administrators doubt that New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park will be used as a venue for test cricket in the near future.
This is despite reported comments from England cricket team manager Mr Ken Barrington, that the grounds in New Plymouth, Napier and Nelson could be used for test matches.
On his team’s return to England this week, Mr Barrington is reported to have said Pukekura Park was one of the most beautiful grounds he had seen and could be used for test cricket when its wicket improved.
But administrators believe Napier’s McClean Park would be a better prospect for a test match because it has a better wicket, grandstand facilities and a bigger ground capacity.
There could be prospects of a test in a provincial centre next year, with Pakistan touring New Zealand and the likelihood of Wellington’s Basin reserve unavailable because it is to undergo a big facelift.
Secretary of the Central District’s Cricket Association Mr B. S. E. Bellringer, New Plymouth, said today it was gratifying to hear compliments about the park from people such as Mr Barrington and England captain Geoff Boycott, but it was unlikely a test would be held there.
STANDARD
He said the wicket was not yet up to the standard needed and the ground was disadvantaged by the lack of a grandstand.
“Napier has had two good wicket reports recently, has grandstand facilities and can draw on the population of both Napier and Hastings,” he said.
New Plymouth was venue in 1967 of the only test held outside the main centres, when New Zealand beat Australia in an unofficial test.
“Obviously Pukekura Park has a number of advantages with its beautiful setting and perfect spectator viewing,” Mr Bellringer said.
He said the ground could hold about 8000 spectators and with five fine days could get a gate of $30,000 to $40,000 which would be a good enough taking.
CAPACITY
A capacity crowd of about 8000 was the peak day attendance at the 1967 match, with about 4000 on the other days.
About $10,000 was taken at the gate. Prices have increased considerably since then.
Convener of the Central Districts selection panel Mr Laurie Denton, New Plymouth, said it was important to have grandstand facilities to ensure a good gate even if the weather was doubtful.
“I think it is more important that we get at least one first-class game here each year. It will do more for the game and the wicket is not yet up to the necessary standard for five-days cricket,” he said.
The director of the New Plymouth City Councils parks and recreation department, Mr A. D. Jellyman, said the compliments about the park were very heartening. However, the wicket had only been relayed two years ago and it took quite a while for a wicket to reach its peak.
“It takes a very good wicket to last for the six days of a test, he said.
TH, APRIL 11, 1978
LOW LEVELS HELP
With pic
New Plymouth’s parks and recreation department staff were making good use of unusually low lake levels at Pukekura Park to reinforce the bank of the park’s fountain lake. Pictured today installing protective logs along the lakeside are park workers Mr Chris Marshall (with hammer) and Mr Bill Karalus.
Mr G. Fuller, the park curator, said the water levels at the park were the lowest he could remember.
Staff had removed overflow boards on the fountain lake to lower the level further and allow the bank protection work to take place.
“We’ve dropped the water level about 75cm,” he said. “The work has been going on for about two weeks now, and another week will complete it.”
Mr Fuller said the banks of the lake had been breaking away for years because they were not protected from the outset.
The protection work was being done to prevent the erosion encroaching on to paths. Staff were placing the logs in position then backfilling. Replanting was also being carried out as the work progressed.
TH, JUNE 14, 1978
OLD FAITHFUL TO HAVE NEW HOME
With pic
Old No. 15, a 1923 Fordson tractor that has lovingly groomed New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park sportsground for 53 years, retired today and trundled out of the park gates to a new home.
The city’s parks and recreation department officially donated the tractor to the Taranaki Aviation, Transport and Technology Museum at a ceremony at the park.
With smiles as wide as the Fordson’s rear wheels, museum officials watched as she was driven out of the park towards their workshop for restoration and a future of loving care and proud display.
The tractor was purchased for Pukekura Park late in 1925.
She was a welcome acquisition, according to early editions of the Taranaki Herald.
One story read: “Mr Noble (a groundsman) began his duties on December 21 and has been mainly employed on the sportsground, learning to handle the new tractor.
“He and Mr Jans (another groundsman) have both been receiving instruction in the management of the machine, which was proving of much value and was certainly a great improvement on the old system of horse traction.
The January 6, 1926 edition of the Herald said: “Farmers are particularly interested in the new tractor in use on the sportsground. The horse is no longer used for drawing the mower, the tractor being able to do the work in about a third of the time.”
The Fordson’s steel wheels—which had no tread— were ideal for rolling the ground’s cricket wicket, and it was last used in 1967 to prepare the pitch for an international match.
Today at the presentation ceremony, council parks and recreation committee chairman Mr B. S. E. Bellringer said he was sad to see the Fordson go, but he was happy in the knowledge it was to be cared for by the museum.
Museum agriculture section leader Mr Gordon Parker—who drove the tractor away—assured park staff it would be restored to as near to new condition as possible.
“It will be a source of pleasure for our grandchildren, and other people for years to come,” he said.
“Was it Shakespeare or Tom Skinner that said a good servant deserves a good resting place,” Mr Parker added before he and the Fordson chugged out of the gates.
TH, AUGUST 18, 1978
MAPLE ON THE MOVE
With pic
A North American sugar maple tree is steadied by Brooklands Park groundsman Mr C. Marshall while it is uprooted for re-planting in another part of the park.
Pukekura Park curator Mr G. Fuller said in New Plymouth today the tree, which he estimated to be from 10 to 15 years old, would be re-planted with several other transplanted trees on a slope between the two parks.
The maple had been removed yesterday to give it more room to grow. It was the largest of its species in the two parks.
1979
TH, APRIL 30 1979
DESILTING MAIN LAKE
With pic
There wasn’t the normally tranquil view from Poets Bridge, Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, today as men and machinery lifted mud from the bottoms of the parks main lake. The work is being carried out because the bottom has silted up and the lake needs to be deepened again.
TH, JUNE 6, 1979
FITTING RETAINING WALL TO MAIN LAKE
With pic
The finishing touches to a retaining wall on the edge of the main lake at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park were made by city council workman Mr Les Silby today.
The lake has been lowered to enable silt to be taken from its bed and the lake edges and island surrounds have been retained with timber and backfilled in places.
TH, JULY 6, 1979
ROW BOATS
With pic
The row boats on the lake at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth will become operational on Saturday for the first time in three months.
Park boat operator Mr Neil Old, New Plymouth, tests out a few of the boats on the newly dredged lake today.
The boats were taken out of operation over Easter while the lake was drained and built up silt removed.
During that time the boats and the boat house underwent repairs.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 1, 1979
MONKEY CAGE ALMOST READY
With pic
The long saga of the monkey cage being built at Brooklands Zoo, New Plymouth, by the New Plymouth Jaycee Chapter is just about over.
Chapter members are to make their final “big burst” this weekend to try to put the finishing touches to the cage, which has been a major project for the chapter for some years now.
The project’s convener, Mr B. Sefton, said yesterday the cage was all but completed and only needed some final fittings.
Before the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries inspected the cage and issued a permit for it, it had to be completed, said Mr Sefton.
Seven monkeys are waiting in Britain for shipment to New Plymouth and Mr Sefton said the freighting of them could also not begin until the Ministry’s permit had been issued.
Although the monkeys would have to undergo about a month in quarantine in Auckland, it was hoped they would be here and on view to the public possibly by Christmas.
TDN, NOVEMBER 10, 1979
MONKEY HOUSE ALMOST READY
Monkeys are expected to have a swinging time in the Brooklands Children’s zoo by early next January—the New Plymouth Jaycees have almost completed a one-year project to build a home for the monkeys.
“All the construction is finished; — there’s only the painting to do,” said the projects convenor, Mr B. Sefton. “The project has tied in with the Year of the Child,” he said.
The home is to house seven new swinging immigrants.
“The monkeys will be bought from Great Britain,” the New Plymouth City Council’s director of parks and recreation, Mr A. D. Jellyman, said.
The monkeys are expected to arrive in Auckland next month and then be brought to New Plymouth after being quarantined.
TDN, NOVEMBER 28, 1979
PLANTING AROUND SPANISH CHESTNUT
With pic
The old and the new —in the shade of this ancient Spanish chestnut tree, fresh flower plants being planted by Mr D. V. Pascoe in Brooklands Park, New Plymouth, yesterday. In fact, the chestnut tree was declared dead in 1973 – 127 years after it was planted.
TDN, DECEMBER 19, 1979
MONKEYS LAND IN AUCKLAND
A colony of seven Capuchin monkeys destined for New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo is settling in at Auckland Zoo for the mandatory 30-day quarantine period.
Yesterday the New Plymouth City Council’s director of parks and recreation, Mr A. D. Jellyman, said success had crowned urgent efforts to find freight space for the animals for their flight from Britain.
He believed the airline concerned might have had “a pang of conscience” when it discovered that it had made an error in claiming that freight space between Sydney and Auckland on the earlier flight originally booked had not been confirmed.
“I believe all the monkeys are very active and very chirpy,” he said. “They are probably pleased to be out of their very confined cages after the 36-hour flight.”
The four females and three males were taken from the wild in Paraguay and shipped to a commercial animal agency in Rushton, Bedfordshire, England, about nine months ago.
They are small monkeys with a long, shaggy coat and a “top knot” on their heads which gives a fancied resemblance to Capuchin monks.
However, Mr Jellyman said he would not like to guarantee that they would provide no embarrassing moments for visitors to the Brooklands Zoo.
While he was visiting Chester Zoo in England recently, “a group of monkeys were handing out a nature lesson to some Girl Guides who were going through the zoo. The person in charge was trying to hustle them away, but the girls were insisting that they should stay.”
TDN, DECEMBER 28, 1979
SPEEDBOATS ON THE LAKE
With pic
Taking it tight on a corner is Mr G. Prichard, pictured at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, last night.
Mr Prichard’s boat, Think Big, was one of four on the lake in the park putting on a demonstration of power boat racing.
The boats belong to members of the New Plymouth Mini Power Boat Club, one of many organisations taking part in the summer time programme organised by the New Plymouth City Council.
1980
TDN, JANUARY 24, 1980
MONKEYS MAY BE ON SHOW TODAY
With photo
This pensive looking fellow is one of the colony of Capuchin monkeys which have finally arrived to Brooklands Zoo and which should be on public display today.
The zoo bought three males and four females and is possibly the only zoo apart from the Auckland and Wellington to have an established breeding colony of these animals. The Capuchin monkey, so-called because of the ring of black hair round its face which resembles the black cowl worn by Capuchin monks, was once used by travelling organ grinders to go around with a hat to collect money.
“The monkeys are extremely intelligent,” said zoo curator Mr Doughty. “They are fairly small and always moving about; and they keep themselves very clean.”
Having just spent nine months in the United Kingdom and one month in Auckland in quarantine the monkeys have settled in to their new home very well.
They had a good meal after arriving from Auckland last night, said Mr Doughty, “and they may have spent today examining their new surroundings.”
TDN, FEBRUARY 21, 1980
MONKEYS WIN HEARTS—AND COINS
The Brooklands Zoo’s public donations have increased since the arrival of its latest addition — a colony of monkeys.
The seven Capuchin monkeys have proved quite a novelty, inducing more people to go to the zoo.
Director of Parks and Reserves, Mr A. D. Jellyman, describes the monkeys as, “highly entertaining”.
“The extra money coming from donations reflects the high number of people who are attracted to the zoo because of the monkeys,” he said.
The monkeys originated in Paraguay and arrived in New Plymouth on January 22 after spending a month in quarantine at the Auckland Zoo.
The extra money will go towards costs of keeping the monkeys and off-setting expenses.
TDN, JUNE 24, 1980
NEW BORN CAPUCHIN
With pic
The new born Capuchin monkey at the Brooklands Zoo in New Plymouth will spend the next six months perched on its mother’s back.
The youngster was born on Wednesday evening and measures about 10cm. Mother and baby are both well, according to the zoo curator, Mr R. E. Doughty.
However he hasn’t be able to get close enough to the monkey to find out if it’s a boy or girl. He said the mother must have been pregnant before the monkeys took up residence at the zoo in January.
The baby is the first born at the zoo, and Mr Doughty is virtually certain two other females are pregnant.
He hopes to set up a successful breeding colony at the zoo. When a surplus is created they could be traded or exchanged for other animals.
For the moment, the baby monkey will feed from its mother with an increase in protein diet.
TH, DECEMBER 22, 1980
CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT
With pic
The chorus sings in the opening scene of the Christmas pageant at New Plymouth’s Brooklands Bowl on Saturday night.
The pageant, Joy to the World, was performed by a group of inter-denominational Christians.
More than 600 people attended and sang carols by candlelight.
More than 1000 people turned up for the carol singing at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, last night. The New Plymouth City Band provided the music.
1981
TH, DECEMBER 21, 1981
CAROLS IN PUKEKURA PARK
One of the largest crowds for many years attended the annual Christmas carols by candlelight in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park last night. More than 1000 people gathered at the park’s band rotunda where the New Plymouth City Band provided music for the singing.
1982
TH, JANUARY 28, 1982
TREES DESTROYED
With pic
A 35 metre tall pine tree has come down in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, destroying three native white pines in its fall.
City council parks and recreation department worker Mr Ian Berry said today that the pinus radiata fell about 4.15 p.m. on Sunday at the park green’s southeastern corner. Workers counted 95 rings in a tree branch cross-section, making the pine at least 95 years old.
Department director Mr A. D. Jellyman said the tree had shown instability for some time and that its destruction came as no surprise.
Most park pines had been planted following the park’s opening in 1876 and were in the 90 to 100-year age bracket. However, Mr Jellyman said the destroyed tree had been the only unstable pine the department was aware of.
“We are acutely aware of the aging process of trees in the park and there is continuous monitoring of older species of trees.”
He said the loss of the white pines had been inevitable.
“If we had felled the pine tree we would have lost them as well – that’s one of the things with big trees,” Mr Jellyman said.
No final decision had been made yet about how the 1.5m diameter main trunk would be disposed of and he said it could be left to rot. Department staff were now cleaning up the site and repairing a security fence damaged by the pine.
The tree’s loss provided park staff with a site to plant another tree species for the future.
“For every loss there is an ultimate benefit: the renewal of trees for the park,” Mr Jellyman said.
TH, MARCH 4, 1982
RENOVATING LIARDET STREET GATES
With pic
Wrought iron gates from New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park entrance get the treatment from sand-blaster Mr Dean Wiechen, in New Plymouth today. City council director of parks and recreation Mr Alan Jellyman said the work was being done by Geoff Way Ltd. The company was donating its time for the work and the council would meet the cost of materials. The gates were undergoing the major renovation as part of a programme to smarten the park’s entrance, he said.
TH, JUNE 8, 1982
FROTHY WATERFALL
With pic
The look on the face of New Plymouth parks and reserves employee Mr Reg Hayman reflects the annoyance and anger felt by staff at Pukekura Park today over this frothy waterfall problem.
Park curator Mr George Fuller said someone dumped detergent in the waterfall overnight, endangering fish, bird and plant life as well as the waterfall pumping system.
“This action is far more serious than it may appear,” said Mr Fuller.
“There is a real threat to aquatic life and a risk the pump motor will over-run and burn out.
“The cleaning-up operation is a difficult and costly one, undertaken at the expense of city ratepayers.”
Mr Fuller warned that the strongest possible action would be taken against offenders if they were caught.
TH, JUNE 29, 1982
FOUNTAIN PUMP SERVICED
With pic
Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, staff lan Berry (left) and Reg Hayman reinstalling the park’s fountain pump in New Plymouth yesterday. Park curator Mr George Fuller said the pump was taken out about two weeks ago for servicing and modifications. He said it should be back in operation in a day or two.
TH, SEPTEMBER 27, 1982
WESTERN HILLSIDE TREE FELLING
With pic
New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park echoed to the roar of chainsaws and the crash of falling timber as the first of 30 mature trees was toppled today.
The 27 pine and three macrocarpa trees are up to 80 years old but they have become unstable.
The trees on the western hillside of the park are being felled on the Shortland St walk by logging contractors Neville and Bill Day.
Park curator Mr George Fuller said once the unstable trees were removed a planting programme would get under way.
Long-life evergreen native trees had been chosen along with some pine species to retain the character of the park.
Mr Fuller warned the public to keep out of the area while the felling was being undertaken.
Barriers had been erected on access paths to the area and people ignoring them would be putting themselves at risk.
The work was very complicated as the very old trees were of unknown quality. Some leant in the wrong direction and care had to be taken to ensure they did not fall into the lake.
It was likely some could be partly rotten and many had large tops which could hang up on other trees creating further danger.
The felling work was expected to continue for two weeks, Mr Fuller said.
TDN, OCTOBER 1, 1982
WESTERN HILLSIDE TREE FELLING
With pic
Peace and tranquility should return to Pukekura Park next week.
At present, the park is resounding with the roar of chainsaws and crash of falling trees as contractors fell 30 trees from the western hillside of the park.
The 27 pine and three macrocarpa trees are eighty years old and have become unstable.
A recent meeting of the New Plymouth City Council Parks and Recreation Committee supported the removal of the trees, because a number had proved unstable in high winds at Easter.
Contractor, Mr Neville Day (shown above) of New Plymouth, said all felling would be completed today if good weather prevailed.
He said there had been no problem with the removal of the trees, nor had any unsuspecting person stumbled into the felling area,
The felled area will be planted with evergreen native trees once the 30 trees have been removed from the park.
TH, OCTOBER 2, 1982
LAST ACTS IN PINE SAGA
With pic
The demonic snarl of chainsaws is marking the removal of 30 trees from the western slopes of Pukekura Park, New Plymouth. This is one of the last acts in a long-range step-by-step scheme to remove aged pines prior to a replanting programme that should leave no permanent scars.
It is also a reminder of one of the greatest controversies that stirred the district more than half a century ago.
In establishing the park in 1876 quick shelter was required. The pinus radiata was the answer, as it was for so many farms and gardens.
The ridges and hills of Pukekura soon carried young pines bursting above scrub and furze to shelter treeferns, lakes and native trees below them. Through the years these pines, towering in massed formation, gave the park a unique character.
On both sides of the famous vista of lake, bridge and Egmont they were accepted as an essential part of the charm of the park.
As the years passed the pines were not always admired. As far back as 1916 a letter-writer deplored the cutting down of some pines and headed his letter “Pukekura Park, Its Doom!” The editor of the Herald was not impressed and added a footnote describing the pines as “sombre and uninteresting” and praised curator W. W. Smith’s native tree plantings.
Actually Mr Smith was very pleased to have the shelter of the pines at a time when most people despised the tree. He was one of the first to declare it would have an economic value for New Zealand in the future.
Mr Tom Horton came to the park as curator in mid-1924. He was unlucky both in the timing of events and in a misunderstanding of his policy.
By October of the same year the founder of the park, Mr R. C. Hughes, wrote a letter protesting against what he described as “wholesale destruction of pines” in a tree avenue leading from John (now Rogan) St to the tea rooms. He recalled that Sir Rider Haggard, English novelist and tree authority, had been loud in his praise in 1913 of the avenue of pines along the path (now called Hughes Walk) from the lower Carrington St (near the Gilbert St-Victoria Rd junction) to the main lake. He feared for this avenue in the light of the “present destructive tendency.”
STORM
But the real storm did not burst until seven years later. This was in 1931 and Mr Horton was out of luck. A new curator’s home had been built on the narrow ridge in Victoria Road, and in order to clear space for the home and garden several trees were cut down, some on the slope below the house.
Mr Horton was able to view a greater area of the park and some critics even made the outrageous suggestion that, with binoculars, he could see football games being played on the Sportsground, then the main rugby ground. Conversely, the view from the park showed the new house and the somewhat stark hillside below it.
The ferment required a spark and it came when the board secretary Mr P. E. Stainton, stated on August 21, 1931: “The board aimed at eliminating useless trees that have reached a senile state, and encouraging flowering plants that will induce native birds to live in the park.”
The board, he added, looking ahead eight to 10 years, had decided to take down 14 pines above the eastern terrace.
This was the signal for action, letters poured in and blood pressures rose. All felt involved, particularly as two years earlier the borough council had taken over financial responsibility for the park while leaving the board in charge of policy. Many people, aroused by the controversy, visited the park to see for themselves.
The upshot was a deputation to the park board. It numbered 28 and its announced aim was to protest against the “wholesale butchery of the great pine trees in the reserve.”
Mr Gordon M. Fraser was its leader and it included prominent citizens in Miss Clarice Douglas, a noted teacher and bird-lover, Mrs Monica Brewster (who years later gave the funds to establish the art gallery), historian W. H. Skinner, Dr George Home, Archdeacon F. G. Evans, Dr R. Brewster, Mr S. Crompton Smith, Mr E. Griffiths and Mr Ebenezer Maxwell from Rahotu.
All had their say, polite but firm. Mr Maxwell, a noted tree authority, made some telling points. “No one,” he said, “can say definitely what is the life of a pinus insignis (radiata). It is far from the case that the park’s pines are at the end of their lives. They are of unique interest from a forestry point of view. One tree in the park after 55 years is still growing. The stumps of trees cut down show they were still growing. Even with maturity trees will not necessarily die.”
Fifty-one years have passed since this meeting and the “great pines” are now greater, taller and still alive. The Carrington pine, planted on the park’s official opening day, is 106 years old. The oracle of Rahotu was right, many times over, but there was no crystal ball to help the board.
Meantime, the leader of the deputation, Mr Fraser, replied in print to a board opinion that it must plan for 100 or 150 years ahead. His letter ended: “The gratitude of the unborn public of AD 2081 is problematical but the hostility of 1931 is very much more widespread than, I believe, is realised by the board.”
When it replied nearly three weeks later the board compromised. The trees above the eastern terrace would not be cut and the earlier resolution rescinded.
Only dangerous, dead, dying or redundant trees would be removed and while not excluding exotic flora, the board intended to make Pukekura a standard collection of native flora.
REMOVAL
As the years have passed there has been a gradual removal of pines in favour of new plantings.
The chainsaw has been restrained while new growth has hidden old stumps. Pines have been planted here and on record is a photograph of Mr Horton standing beside the Carrington pine which he described as the “finest tree in the park.”
In a 1936 report he said: “I love and almost worship
the pines.”
In the course of a gradual transition the Pukekura tennis and croquet clubs were uprooted. For nealy 44 years they had occupied the Victoria Road frontage from Shortland St up to the back garden of the curator’s home before their tenure ended on March 31, 1952. The pavilion the tennis players shared with the croquet club was re-erected by the council south of Brooklands Park off Upjohn St. An increased number of hard courts was made available. The croquet club did not survive.
Where the clubs had operated for so long tree plantings followed to provide shelter in view of the ultimate removal of the pines west of the main lake.
Thirty years have passed and now the final scene in the “drama of the pines” is being played out, noisy but without controversy or rancour. Even so the departure of these tall pines will leave a gap—and a memory.
TH, OCTOBER 5, 1982
NEW PARK SKYLINE
With pics
The toppling of 30 huge trees on the western hillside of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park has changed the face of the park (above) and paved the way for a replanting programme.
The 27 mature pines and three macrocarpas (pictured below) were once a skyline feature of the hillside viewed from the park’s tea kiosk.
Now they have been felled native trees have been opened up to the sun and should establish themselves as new skyline features over the next few years, said park curator Mr George Fuller.
Kauri, totara and rimu trees are among those which have had their growth suppressed by the shading of the mature giants.
The felling meant growth should accelerate and the parks and recreation department would supplement them with plantings of native trees and some pine specimens to ensure the park’s character was retained, Mr Fuller said.
TDN, OCTOBER 15, 1982
A LOVE AFFAIR WITH NATURE
PROFILE – GEORGE FULLER
With photo
George Fuller would fight “tooth and nail” to preserve Pukekura Park in its present form.
It is this dogmatic determination that has often made the 53-year-old curator of the New Plymouth park awkward in the public’s eye.
As long as he is around, children won’t be allowed to bike within the park’s boundary and there definitely won’t be a road put through for vehicles. If cars cross that painted yellow line they have George to contend with, as would those few who happily pick flowers as they stroll along the walkways.
From removing a toilet bowl tied to the top of the bandstand (George still cannot work out how it got there) to cleaning out detergent mixed into the flowing water of a waterfall, George has fixed it all.
PRANKS
George has also had his laugh along with those who pull the pranks when a raft was anchored to the middle of the lake advertising a gala day. George rowed out and changed the date on the banner.
But it was a question of priorities when his wife was expecting and telephoned him at the park to say she was ready to go to hospital.
At the same time a “precious” white swan was caught in the main lake outflow and George managed to rescue it before driving home. He arrived wet but in time.
Discretion also comes into the job when he heard a lot of noise in the park one night and on investigation found a teenager having a shower in the waterfall.
It is not necessarily the mud on his shoes or the dirt under his fingernails that makes you aware of George’s greenfingers but rather his love affair with all that is nature.
Not that Pukekura Park is natural; it is almost totally artificial, according to George.
“People regard it as a piece of nature set aside for them. Since its inception it was totally devoid of trees I cannot think of one tree that has been in the park since the early days.”
George said the area was a derelict gully which did not have enough flat land to build on. In fact the area had been subdivided but the sections did not sell.
The area was a series of swamps with no playground as such. The only reason it was set aside was because the land was useless.
But this land, once thought of as unusable, has been made into one of the city’s most attractive features.
“It grows on the people who look after it.”
George’s work goes beyond just being a task done for a wage. He finds he doesn’t just lock up and go home at five but can be summoned to assist the feeding of a sick bird or to fix the fountain, or just about anything a man with extensive knowledge in horticulture and some knowledge on mechanics can do.
It is work he regards as fulfilling. He can do as much administrative or practical work as he wishes.
Nevertheless, Pukekura Park is not exactly the place you would expect to find a person who has trained at Kew Gardens in London and who has established nurseries in Sweden and Malta.
Born an Auckland lad, George took an agricultural course while attending Seddon Memorial Technical College in the heart of the city.
He has always grown up close to nature—living on an orchard where his neighbour was a “capable nurseryman”.
While at college he decided horticulture was his pursuit and started at the Palmers’ Nursery at Glen Eden. After a period of months he went to New Plymouth’s Duncan and Davies, spending 18 months there where he rubbed shoulders with orchid enthusiasts. He then decided to follow up his interest in orchids by making it a specialty.
With nowhere in New Zealand to study orchids George decided to head for England at the age of only 16.
After securing a job at Sanders (St Albans) Ltd, just north of London, George had to get to England with little more than five pounds.
TURMOIL
With the turmoil in Europe after the war many sailors were jumping ship when they arrived in the country. To maintain crew numbers inexperienced people were taken aboard and George got the lowest of positions on board an old tramp steamer as deckboy.
But as the steamer docked at various ports around New Zealand before leaving for England, more crew jumped ship and by the time it left New Zealand waters George had been promoted to assistant steward, looking after the captain and engineers quarters.
In Bluff one of his cabinmates decided to desert and sent a rather drunk mate on board to collect his gear and leave it at a railway station. Unfortunately, George’s few possessions were also collected and at the last minute a frantic George made a desperate search for them. Luckily they were recovered.
“It was a fluke I managed to track them down. I hardly had any possessions in the world and that was the lot of them. To lose them would have been a disaster.”
At a speed of 23 kilometres an hour, the steamer headed across the Pacific, in 28 days Panama was sighted and then the West Indies, Norfolk Virginia. New York, Boston and Montreal.
More than three months passed from the time George left New Zealand until he arrived in England and met up with relatives.
After working in London for a few months he was transferred to the company’s Belgium branch where he found life “lavish” after the war compared to England where rationing was still occurring.
Living in a cafe in Bruges (the Venice of the north) and working in enormous glasshouses, some 100ft long and 40ft wide, was a great experience. He then moved back to London and after a total of four years there, became a student at Kew Gardens.
Two years were spent there taking part in theoretical and practical activities and during this time George’s interest in photography was fostered. He sponsored his work by taking photos for other students at the gardens.
“I had to hunt all through London looking for a colour film, finding them one at a time.”
By now George had a longing for home so when a “wealthy Swede” asked him to establish a nursery in Sweden, George was dubious about accepting. Realising George’s predicament, the Swede sponsored George on a trip to New Zealand and Australia if he would sell some newspaper advertising.
So George, with his fiancee (who he met at the London nursery), came to New Zealand and was married in Auckland.
Wanting to do something different, George said they found an old buggy (complete with dust and rubbish) and arranged to have it cleaned up for their wedding. Unfortunately, the Queen happened to be in Auckland that Christmas and of all the coincidences, that same buggy was painted white to pass off as a sleigh and used to bring the Queen her presents.
So, on December 29, 1953, George and his wife to be, Doris, were taken to the church in a newly white-painted buggy, still slightly damp from its hurried paint job.
George’s advertising campaign, however, was a complete disaster, with nothing sold.
Rigid levies on importation of goods which were not vital made the advertising too expensive.
In Sweden George was flat broke and unable to speak the language. But, never to be defeated, he established a nursery and lived there six years and his two eldest sons were born there.
During his time in Sweden in a freak occurance the Baltic Sea froze, so you could literally walk to Denmark.
At this time George, along with hundreds of others, would go out in a type of sled and bore a hole to fish (Eskimo style).
The last time he did this a crack developed in the ice between himself and the coast. He just managed to get back to the coast before the ice drifted to the other side of the bay as an ice flow. Fortunately the ice stayed in one piece and those trapped on it merely got off at the other side of the bay and travelled some 20km to get home.
Endeavouring to return to New Zealand, George got a position in Malta establishing a nursery in a place where industries were urgently needed, where there was relatively cheap labour, as much sunshine as you could want, but no soil.
Apparently Malta has only about 15cm-50cm of soil on top of limestone rock.
Within four years George had established a nursery of about four hectares which was covered in polythene in the winter and shade cloth in the summer.
Once in New Zealand George renewed old acquaintances in New Plymouth which resulted in him getting a job as a gardener with the main purpose of establishing an orchid collection which was donated.
This was back in 1964 and now George finds his work just as satisfying now as then.
So much so. In fact he doesn’t have an enormous flower garden at his home (as you would expect), nor does he own a single orchid. His pleasure is gained from work in the park. He is also a committee member on the Taranaki Orchid Society.
“I am one of those silly blighters who has a vegetable and fruit garden.
“I don’t have to possess things to get appreciation out of them.
TH, NOVEMBER 18, 1982
FLOWER BEDS ADDED AROUND TEA HOUSE
With photo
New Plymouth City council labourers Mr Bill Karalus and Mr Dennis Thompson laying foundations for new flower beds around the Pukekura Park tea kiosk.
The work is part of a scheme to give the kiosk a greater outdoor seating area. The flower beds will be on the outskirts of an extended terrace adjacent to the dining area.
Tables under the trees will be replaced.
The project should be finished by Christmas.
The council’s Parks and Recreation department is developing an alternative pathway system which will separate the public from vehicles serving the kiosk, says department director Mr Alan jellyman.
The pasts will be finished as soon as time and resources allow.
The work is being done to revitalise the kiosk area and encourage more people to visit the park.
TH, NOVEMBER 20, 1982
YELLOW FIREBRICKS
With pic
New Plymouth City Council parks and recreation department worker Mr Colin Campbell is pictured putting the finishing touches to a yellow firebricks lining shrubberies on New Plymouth’s Brooklands Park driveway.
The bricks, made by the Karenna Company in Germany, were imported in 1967 to line the New Plymouth power station’s chimney stack.
When the chimney was finished in 1972, the then New Zealand Electricity Department gave the surplus bricks to the city council with the proviso that they be used in parks.
After 10 years in storage, they have been used to define the shrubberies and driveway, according to parks and recreation deputy director Mr lan McDowell.
TH, DECEMBER 18, 1982
NEW GARDEN NEAR KIOSK
With pic
New gardens near the tea kiosk in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park are nearing completion. Park groundsman Mr lan Berry (left) and Mr Nigel Smith shovel earth for one of the new gardens while finishing touches are added to a box planter by plasterer Mr Ron Smith and Mr Denis Thompson.
1983
TDN, FEBRUARY 3, 1983
WOODEN BOAT IN SERVICE
With pic
An old wooden boat was brought into service on Pukekura Park lake, New Plymouth, today.
The clinker-built boat was handcrafted in kauri wood and was very nicely shaped, Pukekura Park curator Mr George Fuller said.
He said he had bought the boat from Mr Harry Kruse, New Plymouth, after advertising for wooden boats, which are more durable than the aluminium and fiberglass boats now made.
Mr Kruse has had the boat for 25 years and does not know exactly how old it is.
“I should say it’s all of 50-years-old,” he said.
When he used the boat it was equipped with an engine, which has now been removed.
“We had really good fishing trips in that,” he said.
Mr Fuller said there had been rowboats on the lake since it was formed in 1879.
The park now had 12 boats for hire including an aluminium one and a fibreglass boat.
“We are still interested in increasing the number of wooden boats,” he said.
The boats received rough treatment from the people using them and wooden ones could stand up to the wear and tear better than the more modern boats.
They were no longer made because it was a very labour intensive and highly skilled job, he said.
TH, APRIL 9, 1983
NEW GATE FOR ZOO
With pic
New Plymouth City Council parks and recreation workmen (from left) Messrs Robert McCormack, George Read and Bernie Spranger installing new security gates at the main entrance to the Brooklands Zoo.
Construction of the high wire mesh gates, plus a ban on entry to the zoo from sunset to sunrise, have followed council concern about zoo security and incidents of irresponsible behaviour by some visitors which have led to animals deaths. The existing swing gates (foreground) will be retained.
TH, MAY 28, 1983
NEW PATH ON WESTERN HILLSIDE
With pic
Mr Reg Hayman moves earth to clear the way for a new path in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
He, Mr Ian Berry (background) and about six other New Plymouth City Council parks and recreation department workers have been working near the Shortland St entrance this month.
Council parks and recreation director Mr Alan Jellyman, said the council was restoring the site of felled pine trees. Work began in summer and was being finished off this month for Arbor Day plantings at the site on June 11.
Work included clearing a substantial amount of debris, branches and firewood. An earth promontory had been built by Vogeltown Walk allowing views up the Bowl of Brooklands and to the park kiosk and sea.
Mr Jellyman said the felling had been given the chance for the viewing headland. About 150 cu m of earth had been used to form it.
Public planting of the site would begin at 10am on Arbor Day. It would be the second generation of planting, as the previous planting there had been done between 1876 and 1880.
TH, JUNE 9, 1983
NEW LOOKOUT ON WESTERN HILLSIDE
With pic
PEP scheme worker Mrs Carol Whareaitu, New Plymouth, at work on a new vantage point being developed on the Victoria Rd side of Pukekura Park.
The redevelopment on the western side of Pukekura Park, where last year aging pine trees were felled, will be the main feature of the New Plymouth City Council’s Arbor Day ceremonies.
Council parks and recreation department director Mr Alan Jellyman said the aim of the planting was to provide the park with more autumn colour and to give it shelter from the westerly winds.
He said the trees felled last year were some of the first to be planted in the park. The restoration of the site marks the beginning of a second generation of planting.
This year’s Arbor Day ceremony will take place on the western hillside just below Shortland St. Four hundred trees will be planted.
TH, JULY 23, 1983
NEW GAS SUPPLY TO FERNERY
With pic
Staff at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, laying a new gas main to the display houses. Park curator Mr George Fuller (left) Messrs Ian Berry (centre) and Dennis Thompson feed the last coil of pipe in a new main from near the main entrance to the New Plymouth Racecourse to the display houses. Mr Fuller said a new water main had been run at the same time. The oil-fuelled heaters for the houses are being converted to gas which is considered a more economic fuel.
TH, SEPTEMBER 22, 1983
NEW TRACTOR SHED PROGRESS
With photo
Tractors and cricketers will benefit by this new garage being built at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park. The garage being built by Roebuck construction Co Ltd, is inspected by site foreman Mr. John Hope and park curator Mr George Fuller.
Deputy director of Parks and Recreation Mr Ian McDowell said excellent progress had been achieved and the building should be finished next month.
It would house the department’s two tractors which are now garaged in old buildings which have outlived their useful life.
There is a bonus, too, for cricketers. The roof of the new garage gives an excellent view of Pukekura Park wicket and it is intended that players can use it as a grandstand.
TH, NOVEMBER 22, 1983
CUTTING NEXT TO TEA HOUSE
With pic
An interesting new pathway from the Pukekura Park kiosk to Stainton Dell opens for public use today—and it will feature in this season’s Christmas lights display at the New Plymouth park.
Park curator Mr George Fuller said today construction of the new path was part of a general plan to update the area surrounding the kiosk.
“In the past we’ve had the situation where the entry to the dell and fernery area has looked like a back yard—which is what it was,” said Mr Fuller of the area at the rear of the kiosk.
“So we have re-routed the main pathway in the area.
INTERESTING
“We have provided the kiosk with the true backyard that the public cannot wander through, and we have built an interesting and exciting new entry to Stainton Dell.”
This was achieved by cutting through a large bank to create a totally new accessway. This involved realignment of other minor paths and rearrangement of plant material.
Mr Fuller said the public would now have much improved access to a most important section of Pukekura Park.
To highlight the new pathway, this year’s Christmas lights display would centre on the route from the kiosk to the Dell, he said. The park’s fernery and glasshouse area would also be part of the feature.
Mr Fuller said the project was a second stage of general updating of the region around the kiosk.
The next stage would be redevelopment of the area on the lake side of the kiosk. It was hoped to build a stage that would extend out over the water where people could rest and feed ducks.
“Hopefully the result will be a very leisurely scene there,” he said
1984
TH, JUNE 26, 1984
MORE CLINKER BUILT BOATS WANTED
With photo
Curator of new Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, Mr George Fuller, rows an old wooden boat on the park lake today.
However, more boats are needed to maintain the fleet at 14, says city council parks and reserves director Mr Alan Jellyman.
His department wants to buy wooden boats, preferably those which have been clinker built, to maintain a tradition which began many years ago.
He did not want to change to paddle-type boats or other similar activities.
Mr Jellyman said the fleet now had only 11 boats and some had “died natural deaths” and been removed from service.
Mr Fuller said it would be unsatisfactory to incorporate aluminium or lighter wooden boats into the fleet as they got too badly knocked about.
TH, JULY 24, 1984
NEW DRINKING FOUNTAIN
With pic
This drinking fountain and tap being used by Dauphia Mear (4½) New Plymouth, have been specially installed near the sports pavilion in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park to meet the needs of joggers and other park users.
Park curator Mr George Fuller said up to 100 members of the New Plymouth Joggers Club met there regularly at weekends and had asked if a tap for washing legs and a drinking fountain could be installed.
The club had donated most of the material for the work and was making regular donations towards park upkeep.
He said last year club money went towards the upgrading of some of the lesser known paths.
The large stone can be used to assist small children to reach the fountain and for older joggers who are not keen on bending over too far.
TH, SEPTEMBER 22, 1984
TEA HOUSE FLOWER BED CONSTRUCTION
With pic
As part of an ongoing project to create more leisurely surroundings at the kiosk in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, work planned for this summer includes patio enclosures, flower beds, and areas of paving.
Pictured in the foreground working on brick surrounds for flower beds are city council parks and recreation workers Mr Steve Treweek (left) and Mr Steven Douglas, both of New Plymouth.
The project started last year, with the construction of a wisteria enclosure and picnic tables on the city side of the kiosk.
Park curator Mr George Fuller said the emphasis this year would be on the lake side of the kiosk.
“We’ll be extending the same style of patio enclosure with flower beds and creating walls for people to sit on.”
Also included in the summer scheme will be an awning for the kiosk shop, a paved entrance ramp for the disabled, sealing of the vehicle area and installation of kerbing.
Next year’s final development will see decking constructed out over the water for a relaxation area.
“There’s no real facilities to sit down and appreciate the great view of Mt Egmont,” said Mr Fuller.
TH, OCTOBER 6, 1984
40 YEARS AT THE PARK FERNERY
With pic
Miss Iolanthe Small is one of those fortunate people who combine a life-long interest with their line of work— and she has been doing so for 40 years.
Miss Small, New Plymouth, is curator of the fernery and display houses at Pukekura Park.
Her colleagues in the New Plymouth City Council parks and recreation department threw a party for her at the park last night to mark her 40 dedicated years.
As a teenager straight from school, Miss Small joined the park staff as assistant to the then Superintendent Mr Tom Horton.
“I was really just the message girl,” she said. “But along with doing the messages, I used to help to dig and plant flower beds.”
At the same time, two sisters were looking after the glasshouses while the men were away fighting in World War II.
But the war ended in 1945, the servicemen returned home, the two sisters got married, and Miss Small took over the glasshouses.
“I was asked to carry on until they appointed somebody else—I’ve been carrying on for 40 years.”
INTEREST
However that suited Miss Small. From an early age, she had shown an interest in ferns.
“I couldn’t go wrong. My father had been a top daffodil grower and I followed along.”
Miss Small’s job involves plant propagation, planning seasonal displays, and sometimes showing visitors around the houses.
She has taken a lot of pride in building up the range of plants.
“I’ve always been really keen on ferns. Over the years, I’ve built up the collection of ferns and palms.”
One of the highlights of Miss Small’s 40 years came in 1966.
THRILL
“It was wonderful when Mr George Kibby came along and said to me ‘Miss Small, would you like a new begonia house?’
“It was a real thrill arranging displays in there for the very first time.”
Watching plants grow is what Miss Small enjoys most about her job.
“It’s also gratifying training young people in horticulture and I’m pleased to see more young women taking it up.”
Miss Small would not be drawn on how many more years the park would have her services.
TH, DECEMBER 4, 1984
ROSE GARDEN WOULD BE A FLORAL ATTRACTION
With pic
New Zealand’s most distinctive rose garden may be developed in New Plymouth possibly at Brooklands Park.
The North Taranaki District Rose Society has presented a plan for such a garden to the New Plymouth City Council, with a suggestion the council create the facility as an additional city floral attraction.
The council’s parks and recreation committee agreed with the principle of constructing a garden but discussion now seems certain to begin on where it should be sited.
The committee set up a sub-committee to further investigate possible locations for the garden.
That followed concern that it may not be desirable to lose a large, flat lawn in the park through the development.
Director of Parks and Recreation Mr Alan Jellyman reported to yesterday’s meeting that the society had approached him early this year about creation of a rose garden.
He had responded by asking the society to provide answers to a number of questions, including possible sites. It had replied with the view that there was only one site which could meet their ideals—Brooklands Park.
He added the society also proposed a garden plan should demonstrate the versatility of roses in all their forms as a display plant.
“Armed with a plan of Brooklands Park the society was invited to prepare a proposal which could be placed before the council for consideration, “Mr Jellyman said.
“It has now come forward with a distinctive concept and a case for such a development.”
Mr Jellyman said there was no doubt Brooklands Park was a passive area in which setting and colourful displays created the visitor attraction.
While his technical staff had some reservations about the society’s suggestion garden design, layout and location, all acknowledged the staff had gone to considerable trouble to prepare the concept and that such a garden would be compatible with Brooklands.
He said council now needed to address the question of the concept and whether it was willing to see the matter progress.
No detailed estimates had been prepared, but some nominal work had been undertaken on the basis of the plan submitted to give an order of costs.
Mr Jellyman said development cost would be between $60,000 and $65,000. A likely annual cost for staff and maintenance would be $20,000.
The rose society’s plan is for a garden curving across the present grassed area in Brooklands park between the old Newton King homestead fireplace and the large old Spanish Chestnut.
It would feature paved walkways and covered seating.
In a letter accompanying the plan, the society said an easily accessible public rose garden would be a great asset for New Plymouth.
“It would be an impressive drawcard for tourists and visitors, enhancing the Brooklands Bowl and Zoo facilities and complementing the formal Brooklands Park area.
“Taranaki is a garden province and is famous for its public and private gardens. This aspect can be developed for promotional purposes, and the proposed rose garden will significantly advance these features,” said the society.
UNIQUE
It added the design was unique in style and would be totally different to any other public rose garden in New Zealand.
New Plymouth also had the chance to utilise advances in improvements in rose varieties and landscaping techniques.
There were now many superior roses of a wide variety of type ideally suited for public plantings, the society said.
It estimated the garden would require about 3500 roses averaging $6 each.
1985
TH, JANUARY 28, 1985
DROWNING FIRST IN PARK LAKE FOR 100 YEARS*
A drowning in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park lake yesterday is believed to be the first in 100 years, according to park curator Mr George Fuller.
Mr Fuller said today the only other incident he knew of was the recorded suicide of a Mr Davis from Poet’s Bridge on the lake late last century. Mr Davis had donated money for the bridge.
A 16-year-old youth from Otara, Auckland, drowned in the lake yesterday after the large party he was with had hired 11 boats.
New Plymouth police said they could not release the youth’s name until his next of kin had been notified.
About 11.35am the park’s boating attendant Mr Peter McCutcheon, Bell Block, watched helplessly as the youth got into difficulties in the lake.
He had been dealing with other customers and was first alerted to the danger when he heard a woman in the water screaming for help.
“She was struggling to keep his head above the water but he kept on going under,” Mr McCutcheon said.
BOAT
He raced around the bank but could not reach the boat the youth had apparently come from. Unable to swim, he called out for help and a young man dived into the water.
The youth slipped under before he could be reached. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt.
Mr McCutcheon said other boats converged on the area and began searching for the youth. He informed Mr Fuller, who called the emergency services.
The youth was with a big group of visitors from Auckland.
“They hired 11 boats for the hour and were all having a lot of fun,” said Mr McCutcheon.
He did not see what happened but understood the youth went into the water for a dip and had been swimming between the various boats.
He got into difficulties when he unsuccessfully tried to climb back into his own boat, Mr McCutcheon said.
FIREMEN
Firemen, ambulancemen and people in other boats helped police search for the youth.
The search failed to find the youth and four members of the New Plymouth Underwater Club who were called in, found his body at 12.55pm about 50m from the tea kiosk and 12m from the eastern shore.
Mr Fuller said the boatman acted commendably.
“I have tremendous admiration for the way he handled the situation which was a very disturbing one.
“He did everything right, even to the point of being able to state within a couple of metres where he thought the body could be, and he was correct.”
DIFFICULTY
Mr Fuller said it would have been of little help for the boatman to be able to swim when someone was in difficulty at the top end of the lake.
He had been able to speak from the edge of the lake to people in the boat who were near the youth.
The party was a particularly happy, lively one of varying ages up to around 50, he said. The youth would have been the youngest member.
New Plymouth City council director of parks and recreation, Mr Alan Jellyman, said the lake depth varied from one metre at the southern end of the lake by the stream, to at least 4.5m nearer the kiosk.
He said the council had not considered erecting warning notices about diving in the lake.
*George Fuller’s statement about the history of drownings in the park was way off the mark. Firstly, James Davis did not commit suicide. Secondly, since 1885 11 people drowned in the park.
TH, JULY 4, 1985
CLINKER BOAT DONATED
With pic
Another boat was added to the Pukekura Park’s fleet today, when the Hatura, a kauri clinker, hit the water in the park’s main lake.
The 37-year-old boat was donated by yachtsman Mr Willie Wood, Omata (right) and eased into the water with a little help from park curator Mr George Fuller (second from right) and park staff.
The Hatura, named after a coastal ship that used to visit Port Taranaki, has been strengthened and repainted by park staff.
It was originally built in Auckland in 1948 and used on the Whangaroa Harbour for 20 years, by a Mr Stan Wood (no relation to Willie Wood).
It came to Taranaki with Mr Wood’s son, Allon, in 1967 and bought by Mr Willle Wood four years later.
TDN, AUGUST 8, 1985
CASCADE REVIVAL
With pics
Ever been photographed behind a cascade of water? It used to be quite the thing to do once in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park. And it may become commonplace again soon.
The New Plymouth City Council’s parks staff are restoring a former cascade (a finely controlled sheet of water) where many a photograph was taken earlier this century.
New river stones have been added to old ones in the revamped cascade, the flow of water to it has been increased and stepping stones are still to be added.
The director of the city’s parks and recreation department, Mr Alan Jellyman, said the cascade had continued to be an attractive fall of water over the years. But the decision to restore it to its former self was inspired by the recent publication of historian Brian Scanlan’s book “Taranaki People and Places”.
A picture of the cascade was carried in the book.
Mr Jellyman said it would extend the “sense of fantasy” in the park and “that is after all the role of the park”.
TH, OCTOBER 3, 1985
REPAIRS TO TERRACES
With pic
New Plymouth City Council parks and recreation staff Mr Richard Neale (left) and Mr Bert Clark laying turf at Pukekura Park yesterday.
The men are making rapid progress in a race with the weather.
Turf from Taranaki Base Hospital’s grounds in New Plymouth is being used to refurbish the crumbling banks at the park.
Many truckloads have arrived the last two days, thanks to a building programme under way at the hospital.
Though the New Plymouth City Council parks and recreation staff are very grateful they must now work very hard to lay the turf before it is rained on too heavily and spoilt.
Parks staff are working on the worst areas first, concentrating on the eastern terraces.
The vertical sides of the terraces are generally covered with a thick heel of grass but in places, water has seeped behind the grass layer and jeopardised the bank’s stability.
Parks staff have every hope that the present programme will be effective but they admit they could be working a little late in the year.
TH, NOVEMBER 12, 1985
NOTABLE TREES RECOGNISED
With pic
Nationwide registration of important trees is bringing early results in Taranaki. Historic or notable panels are being attached to some trees in Pukekura Park and Brooklands, New Plymouth, as illustrated.
The survey and registration is being conducted by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, acting through its district councils. The tree registration officer for Taranaki is Pukekura Park curator George Fuller, who supplies information and recommendations to the institute.
Notable trees are judged on size, rarity, uniqueness of location and general significance. Historic trees are those linked with Maori history or European settlement. Age, an important landmark, and association with a well-known public figure or national historic feature are also taken into account.
1986
TH, JANUARY 20, 1986
NEW MONKEYS FOR ZOO
With pic
Two of Wellington Zoo’s gibbon family of four who have just gone on display and are having a swinging time in their new home. The family of mother, father and two babies came from Perth Zoo several months ago and have been in quarantine since. They then had to live in the back of their new enclosure for a while while the front, with plants and a pool, was finished. They are where the eagles used to be.
TH, AUGUST 7, 1986
NEW GLASSHOUSE
With pic
Fragile flowers have a new home in New Plymouth. The city’s Pukekura Park now has a new glass enclosure the tiny and temperamental plants, pictured behind the park’s curator George Fuller.
Funded by money donated by the late Fred Parker of New Plymouth the 5m x 3m enclosure is in Kibby House.
Mr Fuller said the money was originally donated to ensure the preservation of a valuable orchid collection also given by Mr. Parker during the 1960s. “But now the collection is in no risk of becoming neglected, we have the permission of Mr Parker’s family to improve other facilities with the money,” he said.
It was difficult in the past to display plants needing special care, he said.
“As far as we’re concerned it’s a tremendous improvement. It’s in keeping with surroundings and means we can show fragile plants to the public.”
Next up for special care are filmy ferns, for which staff hope to create an exclusive area in one of the display houses.
TH, SEPTEMBER 8, 1986
BAND ROTUNDA MAKEOVER
With photo
New Plymouth Workman Keith Gillam takes on a space-age look as he blasts clean the bandstand in Pukekura Park.
The stand is 100 years old in March next year and will be featured as the centre of interest during park activities this summer.
It is also a protected structure, classified by the Historic Places Trust as worth preserving, said park curator George Fuller today.
The bandstand was built on its present site after workmen carved dirt from the nearby Cannon Hill during construction of a dam to create the main lake.
TH, NOVEMBER 18, 1986
LAND SALE PLANNED
Half a hectare of Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, may soon be sold following a city council decision last night.
The land, which fronts on to the top end of Gover St, has been left in trust for the New Plymouth City Council to preserve for the future.
The sale must be approved by Lands Minister Koro Wetere.
Part of the land is now a neighbouring resident’s back lawn, leased at a peppercorn rate. Another part of the section is being used by the Brooklands Zoo to grow food for the zoo’s animals. And another resident bordering on the land is using it as a garden plot.
Councillor Lynn Bublitz said use of the land could change, but the council could not predict this.
Parks and recreation department works manager Ian McDowell said it could take up to a year before it is known whether or not the land can be sold.
He said the land is a little bit out of the flow of things in the park.
“The money from the sale of the land can be well spent on projects in the park,” he said.
He said there are other areas of the reserve that should be sold but they are tucked away behind properties. Also they are being looked after by neighbouring residents which is doing park staff a service.
TH, NOVEMBER 21, 1986
POLICE CALL FOR HELP
New Plymouth Police are seeking public assistance in identifying a woman found lying unconscious in the Brooklands Park area of the city.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Pinkham said she was found at 10.30am by a jogger.
She is described as a European of medium-to-heavy build and appears to be in her late 20s.
She was wearing a white T-shirt, blue-and-white striped running shorts, white socks but no shoes.
She was taken to Taranaki Base Hospital.
TDN, NOVEMBER 24, 1986
WENDY SNOWDEN ASSAULTED IN PUKEKURA PARK
The 23-year-old woman jogger assaulted in Brooklands Park on Friday was still unconscious in the intensive care unit of Taranaki Base Hospital late last night.
Police have identified her as Wendy Ruth Snowdon, of Oakura. She was found unconscious in the park at 10.30am on Friday.
Any local residents or people who jog in the area and saw something suspicious or unusual at the time should contact the New Plymouth police, Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Pinkham said in a statement yesterday.
TDN, DECEMBER 8, 1986
WENDY LOSES FIGHT FOR LIFE
The New Plymouth woman found attacked and unconscious in Pukekura Park on November 21, died yesterday morning.
Wendy Ruth Snowdon (23), was found during daylight hours with head injuries and strangulation marks after apparently being attacked while jogging through the park. She never fully awoke to tell the police what happened.
A 25-year-old New Plymouth man has appeared in court on charges including attempted murder. He is undergoing psychiatry tests at Lake Alice Hospital.
Senior Sergeant Allan McLachlan, of the New Plymouth police, said Miss Snowdon was pronounced dead at 7.30am yesterday at Taranaki Base Hospital.
The head of the New Plymouth CIB, Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Pinkham, said yesterday the attempted-murder charge would remain until December 15 when the man next appeared in court.
“We still have some other things to consider,” he said, referring to a possible decision to change the charge.
The attack on Miss Snowdon prompted a warning by the New Plymouth police for joggers to be cautious when venturing outside at night and to run in groups.
A team of 16 detectives and 14 uniform staff, including dog handlers and search and rescue personnel, was assigned to the case.
While always in a serious condition, Miss Snowdon had raised hopes of her recovery earlier this week when she began to respond to others around her.
Although unconscious, she was not in a coma. The actual cause of death will be decided by a coroner, said Mr McLachlan.
TH, DECEMBER 17, 1986
PLAY AREA FOR TODDLERS
With pic
Pre-schoolers have more things to play on at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
A fort, a pyramid, two baby swings and a tyre swing have just been finished.
These new items were added following a survey by the New Plymouth Parent Centre which found there was a need for more pre-school play equipment, according to their vice president, Debra Turner.
The Taranaki Savings Bank financed the project with $18,500 and six Taranaki Lions Clubs spent four weekends working on it.
Mrs Turner says the TSB playground is extremely safe and will have wood chips put down to act as a cushion.
The area has been fenced as well, she says.
Another fort, a tree house and upgrading of the paddling pool are also planned for the park’s play areas.
1987
TH, MARCH 12, 1987
NEW PRE-SCHOOL PLAY AREA
With pic
Nicholas Taylor (4) New Plymouth, tests out equipment in the playground at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
A wooden slide is all that is needed to complete the new pre-school area.
Parents Centre president Debra Turner said all work on the TSB Play Area should be completed by the end of April.
Hard wooden swings have been replaced by leather bands on chains. These are safer and easier to use, she said. Two more structures are yet to be built.
Lions clubs have been doing the work with $18,500 donated by the Taranaki Savings Bank.
The project, launched in November, was initiated by the parents centre after a 1984 survey which showed the park was popular but the equipment old, unimaginative and mostly unsuitable for the major users, children under five.
TDN, MARCH 14, 1987
100 YEARS FOR PARK ROTUNDA
With pics
This month is the 100th birthday of the band rotunda in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
Construction work on it began in March, 1887, 11 years after Pukekura Park was opened.
The earthworks were completed and concrete steps and base begun that month but it was a slow process, hampered by financial difficulties.
The park was run by a private board for its first 60 years and was often short of funds for new development.
As a result the rotunda’s roof and ironwork were completed only as the board gathered the necessary finance for the job.
Controversy often surrounded Pukekura Park over decisions by the private board concerning its use and the way it was developed.
One such incident occurred in 1890 when the town band asked for permission to play sacred music on the rotunda during Sunday afternoons.
The request was rejected after 44 influential citizens protested against the move on religious grounds.
During the last 100 years the rotunda has been closely linked with the lake next to it – which was used for swimming and boating in the late 1800s as another fundraising venture.
A changing shed stood for many years close to the site of the current tea kiosk. There was even a diving board nearby, part of which is still standing.
Pukekura Park was not given its name until 1907.
Previously it had been called The Recreation Ground or, more commonly, “The Rec”
A large blue whale was beached near New Plymouth in 1893 and the bones donated to the park.
The two large jaw bones were placed on Cannon Hill, behind the band rotunda, to form an arch shape and vertebrae was spread over the hill as seats. Parts of the jaw bones still remain on the slope.
The rotunda has been repainted many times during its century at the park.
To mark the rotunda’s 100th year, the park staff decided to repaint the roof in its original colours.
Samples taken of the different layers to determine the first colours showed the rotunda had received a dozen different coverings.
The structure has stood up to its long service well and is now a protected building under the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
To celebrate the band rotunda’s centenary a number of activities are planned for tomorrow afternoon, including period music from the New Plymouth City Band and a boating display.
TH, MARCH 28, 1987
SWINGS TRAP BIGGER CHILDREN
With pic
Swings designed for preschoolers have trapped some older children using the equipment at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
Three 10-year-olds have had to be cut out of the swings since they were installed in the TSB Play Area four months ago, says city council parks and recreation horticulture and planning manager Graham Mulvay.
The children who got stuck were obviously too old and too big for the swings and if they had used their common sense would not have played on them, he said
“It’s unfortunate. We try to provide what’s useful for the community and people come along and abuse it.
“I was abused by a parent because of it when it was a
10-year-old child who got stuck.”
The fibreglass seat is designed for young children and makes them feel safe. A bar stops them falling out.
Older children, especially if they have bare legs, can slide into the swings but cannot slide out again.
“If they want to use preschool swings that’s their bad luck.
“There’s no way you can make that bar moveable because that would defeat the purpose.”
A minor alteration, to make it easier for children to get out, will soon be made and signs warning that the swings are only for pre-schoolers will soon be put up.
He says the playground and swings are well used.
“They obviously fill a need because every time you go down there are a group of people with pre-schoolers.”
The playground has four of the swings, which cost $150 to $200 each, and ten more are ready for installation in other parks in the city
“We want to provide the widest range of equipment we can.”
TH, APRIL 23, 1987
FOUNTAIN LIGHTS SECURED
The fountain at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, is likely to be out of commission for a few days next week as workmen re-anchor its lights.
Park Curator George Fuller said today that when the fountain was constructed about 30 years ago, the 15 floodlamps were secured into concrete with brass screws.
However over the years the concrete has deteriorated to the extent the lights all require reseating, using stainless steel screws.
He estimates the job will take a couple of days.
TH, MAY 11, 1987
PARK ACQUIRES TWO WHITE SWANS
With photo
Two white swans now grace the fountain lake at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth.
The Swans are about 6 months old and still an off-white colour. They expected to get their pure white plumage after they moult next winter, says park curator George Fuller.
“They are, we hope, a pair but it’s very difficult to sex them,” Mr Fuller said.
It is hoped they’ll become a breeding pair in three or four years.
The Swans were bred by the Isaac Wildlife Trust of Christchurch and obtained through Ducks Unlimited, an organisation handling the distribution of waterfowl in New Zealand.
They were transported to New Plymouth in sacks with their heads and necks free. “They travelled very well — they were remarkably quiet,” Mr Fuller said.
“We have been trying to get a pair of white swans for Pukekura Park for something like 10 years.”
The previous swans died of old age. They had been nesting for many years but never succeeded in raising young.
TH, JUNE 16, 1987
TEA HOUSE DECK CONSTRUCTION
DUCKS TO BENEFIT
With pic
Pukekura Park ducks, New Plymouth, may soon benefit from the not-so-old sticks in the mud near the park kiosk.
The piles driven in the park lake over the past week will form the anchors for a new observation deck over the lake, says New Plymouth City Council parks director Alan Jellyman.
The lake was drained for the piles to be driven and will be refilled this week. The deck will extend about one metre over the lake and will be an extension of the paved area on the ground near the kiosk, Mr Jellyman says.
Park staff are expected to take another few weeks to complete the deck which will also complete the planned redevelopment of the kiosk area, he says.
The deck will be about a metre above the lake level and be ideal for people wanting to feed the ducks, Mr Jellyman says.
TDN, JUNE 16, 1987
WATERING THE WATERFALL
With pic
Watering the waterfall? Mr Frank Leylander (New Plymouth) tops up the waterfall in Pukekura Park yesterday. The waterfall was running out of water because the lakes in the park had been drained for construction work. Water is pumped back to the top of the fall but it has slowly run out. Mr Leylander came to the rescue with a tankful of water from a street-cleaning truck.
TH, JULY 15, 1987
TEA HOUSE DECK CONSTRUCTION
With pic
Workmen pause during construction of Pukekura Park’s new observation platform and duck-feeding deck.
The deck represents the last stage of development around the New Plymouth park’s kiosk.
TH, OCTOBER 31, 1987
UPDATED PLAYGROUND OPEN
With pic
Trying out the new play equipment at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park today was just one of the attractions at a Teddy Bear’s picnic.
Enjoying the picnic, which celebrates the opening of the Taranaki Savings Bank-funded playground, are (from left) Kimberley Dawson (clown), Mary Valintine of Whangaparaoa (4), Julia Butler (clown), Richard Turner (3) and Steven Turner (7).
The TSB donated $18,500 towards the playground which bought new equipment and saw original equipment upgraded, says New Plymouth Parent Centre president Deborah Turner.
The playground was officially opened today by TSB general manager Brian Rudd, and New Plymouth City Council parks and recreation committee chairman Brian Bellringer, both New Plymouth.
1988
TH, JANUARY 27, 1988
CROWDS SEEK ELUSIVE EELS
Hundreds of people crowded New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park last night in a search for the elusive eel—but only 24 of the slippery creatures were caught.
One angler got more than he bargained for when he hooked a cap off the main bridge. It did not quite measure up, so Nigel Rex, New Plymouth, threw it back.
Also playing in the park last night was the bands 3’s company.
The band played to about 500 people on hatchery lawn, the theme of 60s to 80s music.
The eel hunt was part of the Department of Parks and Recreation summer programme. This involves activities to get people into the park, says Pukekura Park curator, George Fuller.
The eels are nuisance as they eat ducklings but this annual event does not make too much difference to the eel population, he says.
Basically it gets people into the park and that is what the department wants to do, says Mr Fuller.
Although there is no means of recording how many people go to the park, Mr Fuller believes about 1000 people per night visit.
“There seems to be more than last year,” he says.
With the increase in attendance the park is wearing well, Mr Fuller complemented the public for the care they have shown in regard to litter.
The increase in popularity of the park must be due to the availability of things to do, such as nighttime boating, says Mr Fuller.
TDN, APRIL 22, 1988
SAFER CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND
With pic
New Plymouth’s baby community can now enjoy their swinging lifestyles at Pukekura Park without fear—as 19-month-old Sarah Green demonstrates.
The kids’ playground at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, has become the site of a new surface cover under the swings, to protect babies in the event of a fall.
The carpet-and-plastic surface covers concrete, a major hazard for toddlers. The cover is glued and nailed down.
The national president of the Federation of New Zealand Parents Centres, Mrs Karen Eagles, New Plymouth, believed the surfacing was a major safety measure for children’s playgrounds.
“I’m in favour of anything that will increase the safety of children,” she said yesterday.
The Parents’ Centre had originally pushed for the opening of the playground, “and had been “waiting and waiting” for the surface to be put down since then, according to the New Plymouth Parents’ Centre president, Mrs Debra Turner.
She hoped that the surfacing would be put under other swings around the city.
TH, MAY 7, 1988
PUKEKURA VENUE MAY BE ENLARGED
With pic
New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park sportsground may be enlarged—making it a more viable venue for international cricket.
A delegation from the Taranaki Cricket Association and New Plymouth City Council has just returned from a factfinding mission to Christchurch’s Lancaster Park and Wellington’s Basin Reserve.
These international standard facilities were examined to help evaluate what upgrading is needed at the park.
New Plymouth City Councillor Brian Bellringer, council parks and recreation department director Alan Jellyman and Taranaki Cricket Association Chairman Maurice Betts made up the delegation.
The council is already considering spending more than $200,000 enlarging and upgrading the sportsground pavilion. Money may also be spent on new press facilities and improvements to the cricket scoreboard.
USEFUL
Mr Jellyman says looking at the different ways the facilities are provided at the venues was very useful for assessing New Plymouth’s needs.
“We got an idea of the requirements in size – for the grounds and pavilion facilities—we would be looking at,” Cr Bellringer says.
The pavilion upgrading proposal stemmed from a TCA letter urging the council to do something because with increased demands on the ground the facilities are unacceptable.
Similarly the council’s decision to do an in-depth study of the future of the park began with a warning letter from the New Zealand Cricket Council.
Cricket council executive director Graeme Dowling said in the letter during the last decade the park has hosted an international game every two years.
But Mr Dowling said continued allocation of these games to the park will only be possible if the council would give an indication of an upgrading programme.
He said the Central Districts Cricket Association is also concerned about this.
If the proposal to expand the grounds goes through, a decision will have to be made on whether they spread to the east or west.
PROBLEMS
Cr Bellringer says using the existing wicket table there will be big problems extending the grounds.
If they are extended to the east two of the eastern terraces will be lost – destroying one of the park’s attractions — the closeness of the spectators to the players.
If it expands to the west it takes away the only vehicle access to the park.
“At the moment we are looking for alternatives,” Cr Bellringer says.
Cost of the project will be a major consideration when the proposal is put before the council, Cr Bellringer says.
The delegation met with the cricket council during its trip and Cr Bellringer says the cricket council reinforced its stand that the ground needs enlarging.
A city council sub-committee has been set up to study the park situation and a meeting will be held within the next two weeks to discuss the delegation’s findings.
From this, a recommendation will be made to the parks and recreation committee.
One decision already made by the sub-committee is any developments carried out—such as upgrading to the pavilion—will be complementary to future work required, like expanding the field.
“It is no use building something that will thwart something else in the future,” Cr Bellringer says.
FACILITIES
Mr Dowling said in his letter that following the Shell XI match against the English team in February at the park both praise and criticism of the facilities were heard.
“Both teams and officials were high in their praise of the beauty and atmosphere at the park and although adverse weather in the lead-up period meant the pitch was slightly damp at the start, it settled down to play in keeping with its reputation as one of the better first-class pitches in New Zealand.”
TH, SETEMBER 21, 1988
$160,000 UPGRADING FOR PARK PAVILION
With pic
Some $160,000 will be spent upgrading New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park pavilion—and it will not cost ratepayers a cent.
The New Plymouth City Council approved the development at a special council meeting yesterday.
Both floors of the existing pavilion will be extended to the rear and the cost be borne by the council from the city and periphery section of the land purchase and development account.
The council has already approved expenditure of $120,000 in this year’s financial plan from this account.
Confident Parks and recreation committee chairman Brian Bellringer is confident the extra $40,000 will accrue in the account before it is needed.
The work will be undertaken by the city engineer’s department in a contract management capacity, and in consultation with parks and recreation director Alan Jellyman.
But when the alterations are complete the charge for use of the pavilion will rise from 15% of the gross gate takings at an event, to 20%.
Mr Jellyman will also prepare a reviewed scale of charges for the park’s sports facilities when this formula cannot be applied. This will be considered by the parks committee.
The proposal to upgrade the facility arose from a complaint by the Taranaki Cricket Association that the pavilion is inadequate.
A sub-committee has discussed alternative proposals with the association. It also inspected other national cricket venues.
It was earlier envisaged the council would pay for upgrading to the ground floor changing, showering and toilet facilities and the association would help fund improvements to the social area upstairs.
CHARGES
Potential difficulties with the club having special rights to the area made the council decide it would be best for the entire project to be council funded and recovery could be made by increasing charges.
“This will emphasise the user-pays concept,” Cr Bellringer said.
Upgrading the ground floor, including installing new public toilets, will cost $90,000, and the upstairs development $70,000.
Cr Bellringer said there is a degree of urgency to get the work done because of the first-class cricket fixtures scheduled for January.
He said little upgrading has been done to the pavilion since 1920, and problems with hot water facilities after a rugby league game there recently highlighted its inadequacies.
Already another service club has shown interest in using the upgraded facility, and the service may be marketed, Cr Bellringer said.
Warnings that the next year could be the most dramatic and historic ever were given by deputy mayor Ron Barclay to New Plymouth’s newest councillor.
The appointment of Stan Florence was officially confirmed at yesterday’s meeting.
“I extend a warm welcome to you on behalf of councillors. You will have twelve months on this council and it will be one of the most dramatic and possibly historic periods. It would appear there will be major changes, possibly in this area, with local government restructuring,” Mr Barclay said.
Cr Florence replied: “It sounds rather like a twelve-month sentence – I hope it doesn’t turn out to be the case.” He has been appointed to the town planning and parks and recreation committees.
TH, NOVEMBER 26, 1988
MUSIC TIPPED TO TAKE CENTRE STAGE
1989
TH, JANUARY 25, 1989
ANNUAL EEL HUNT
THEY DIDN’T STAND A CHANCE
The eels at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, did not have a chance when more than 600 people turned up for the annual summer Scene eeling evening.
A record 36 eels were caught last night within the two hours the contestants had to catch the heaviest eel, said Summer Scene coordinator Joanna Sampson.
Prizes were awarded for the meanest, liveliest, longest and smallest eels.
A late contender for the liveliest eel also won a prize for the curliest eel.
The main prize went to New Plymouth’s Matthew Goodwin whose eel weighed in at three kilogrammes.
2nd place went to Wayne Kapper with his 2.2 kilogramme eel and 3rd equal were Michael Barrel and Andrew Varney with their 1.1 kilogramme catches.
Miss Sampson said the evening was a great success.
TH, FEBRUARY 8, 1989
EXTRAS PUSH PAVILION IN RED
With pic
Upgrading New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park pavilion
cost $55,500 more than estimated.
The New Plymouth City Council had approved expenditure of $160,000 from the land purchase and development account for the extension and renovation project.
But figures obtained show the actual cost was $215,500, putting the account $10,818 in the red.
Town clerk Kinsley Sampson says this will effectively slow down improvements in other areas.
“It just means the next project has to wait a bit longer.”
EXTENSIONS
An allocation of $30,000 for vehicle depot extensions appears to have borne part of the extra costs.
This project depended on funding being available but parks director Alan Jellyman says it was unable to proceed and funds were amalgamated with those for the pavilion.
The main area where costs in the Brian Bellringer Pavilion leapt ahead of budget was plumbing. It was expected to cost $30,000 but finally cost $50,000.
Council design engineer Ravi Modgill says in a report which will be tabled at Friday’s parks and recreation committee meeting, that in the original estimate it was anticipated part of the hot water system and drainage would still be usable.
“However, nothing of the old system could be utilised and a completely new hot water and drainage system has been installed at a cost of $50,000.”
Mr Sampson says whenever existing buildings are renovated unexpected costs arise.
“There are always costs hidden under the old floorboards.”
Cutting concrete walls while demolishing parts of the original pavilion posed problems, and costs soared from the estimated $4000 to $12,000.
Mr Modgill’s report says besides these two items, expenditure on other items not included in the original estimate became necessary as the building progressed.
“Although a sum of $10,000 was included in the original estimate to cover such items this provision proved inadequate.”
Mr Sampson says a lot of old electrical wiring had to be replaced, and this cost an extra $2000.
When the work was nearly finished it was decided extending and patching the existing carpet would look terrible, so new carpet was put throughout, costing $4500.
Aluminium windows were installed in the new section and it was decided the old windows in the original section should be replaced to match. This cost $5000.
The roughness of a timber floor in the changing rooms prompted a decision to put a concrete surface over top-costing $2000.
Fire regulations meant an unplanned additional fire exit on the ground floor was needed and the fire rating of the stairs had to be increased. This cost $3000.
An additional $5000 was spent making the old and new sections of the building match.
Mr Sampson says as work progressed it became essential to have a uniform standard throughout.
Mr Modgill’s report says: “Some of the extras could have been avoided but this would have meant compromising with the upgrading and postponing the renovations and replacing the wooden windows at a later date.”
Mr Sampson says no matter how carefully estimates are prepared for a building to be renovated or extended, the estimate is always likely to be wrong.
City engineer Brian Davey says the project still worked out cheaper than a new building.
AUTHORITY
Mr Sampson says authority for the extra expenditure was given by Mr Jellyman – there was not time for it to come before the full council.
“There was some urgency about the job. We wanted it finished before the first class cricket matches and Christmas was approaching. We had to get it finished as quickly as possible.”
The pavilion development sub-committee met once to discuss the extra costs.
The project, which involved extending both floors of the pavilion to the back and front and revamping changing facilities—was first mooted in March last year. The work was complete by December.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 16, 1989
PARK SALE PLAN HIRRIFIES HISTORIAN
PLANS to sell part of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park horrify an historian who says it would breach a sacred trust.
The New Plymouth City Council has decided to sell part of the park which backs on to Gover St, and is seeking approval from the Department of Survey and Land Information. But New Plymouth historian Brian Scanlan, who wrote a book on the park’s history, said an unwritten rule was made when the park was formally handed to the then New Plymouth Borough Council almost 60 years ago.
In Mr Scanlan’s book on the park he said the park’s founder Robert Clinton Hughes made a moving appeal at the ceremony when the park title deeds and trust funds were handed over.
“He asked the mayor to treasure the park for New Plymouth, to regard it as a sacred trust and never part with an inch of it,” Mr Scanlan’s book said.
The land the council proposes to sell comprises four part sections with a total area of 4126 sqm.
Parks and recreation department director Alan Jellyman said the land was not an actively used part of the park. It is behind the eastern terraces of the park’s sportsground.
Part of the land was used for growing plants for food at Brooklands Zoo, another part is used as a private garden.
He said the council decided in 1986 the land should be subdivided into three sections and zoned residential. If they sold, the money would go into an account and could only be used for future park development.
Mr Scanlan was concerned any such sale would set a precedent and other areas on the park’s fringe could also be sold.
Mr Jellyman said this area is the only part a sale is possible. “This is a unique case because of the particular geography of the land,” Mr Jellyman said.
Parks and recreation committee secretary Mark Hutton said when the council decision was made it was believed the land would be more beneficially used as residential sections.
He said the park was not governed by the Reserves Act as most parks are – it has its own act of parliament controlling it.
Mr Hutton said the New Plymouth Botanical Gardens Act allows moves to be made which would be beneficial to park development, and the council considered this move would be beneficial. There is no provision in the act for sale or disposal of parts.
He said a case had been put to the Department of Survey and Land Information. The department had asked for further information. If the department sees merit in the application, it would be put to the appropriate minister for approval.
If it got to this stage the Department of Conservation would have to be notified. It may also have to be advertised and time given for objections, Mr Hutton said.
Mr Scanlan said he, and many others, would be strongly opposed to the move.
“It is a most marvellous park, in a central position, every inch is precious,” he said.
He was concerned that objections would be dealt with by the future New Plymouth District Council and questioned how worried residents in remote parts of North Taranaki would be about losing part of a New Plymouth park.
October 17 will be the 60th anniversary of the park being given to the city.
SEPTEMBER 9, 1989
OUTRAGE OVER PARK LAND SELL-OFF PLAN
PUBLIC OUTRAGE has developed over plans to sell part of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
The Daily News has received numerous letters and telephone calls from people horrified that the New Plymouth City Council dared consider selling part of their precious park.
New Plymouth Mayor David Lean has also voiced his opposition to the sale, saying he opposed it when it was put to the council two years ago. But he said the council passed the proposal with a large majority so he did not have an opportunity to use his casting vote.
He said it was obvious the proposal had to be put to several other authorities before it could be passed, so there was a good chance it would not go ahead. He said Councillor Lynn Bublitz was also adamant the land should never be sold.
The three other mayoral candidates all said they would oppose the land sale.
Eileen Gundesen said she was on the parks and recreation committee when the decision was made. She was in favour of the proposal at the time because she believed there was no park use for the land. But she said she was not necessarily still of that view.
“If there is a use for the land and members of the community would like it used I would be very open-minded about it.” She said when the proposal was put to the committee she understood this area was not in the original area gifted to the city.
Ian Lobb said he spoke against the proposal when it was before the town planning committee.
“I would not consider one square inch of it … it is part of our heritage.”
Bert Squire said he was against the sale, but he was in favour of some council land being sold and the money used for the purchase and development of land in new sub-divisions.
The council has decided to sell a 4126sq m area of the park which backs on to Gover St, because it is not being actively used as park land. Parks and recreation department director Alan Jellyman said if the land was sold the money would go into an account and could only be used for future park development.
The proposal has been put to the Department of Survey and Land Information. If the department sees merit in the application it would be put to the minister for approval. If it got to this stage the Department of Conservation would have to be notified and a time given for objections.
New Plymouth historian Brian Scanlan said an appeal was made when the park was given to New Plymouth almost 60 years ago, for the land to be regarded as a sacred trust and for not one inch to be parted with.
Letters from New Plymouth residents have a common theme: What right does the council have to sell this land? They say they understood the park belonged to New Plymouth people—not the New Plymouth City Council.
One letter said: “Pukekura Park is this city’s pride and joy. It as a beautiful park and is admired by overseas visitors from all over the world. I doubt if any city council in New Zealand, other than this one, would dare to suggest selling a corner of one of their established parks for residential buildings.”
Several residents have called for a collective stance against the sale.
One resident writes: “Finally I appeal to the people of New Plymouth. Do not allow this sale. It is an outrage and an insult to the memory of the forefathers of this city. This park was given to you, the people, in trust for you to enjoy whatever your race or creed. It is your heritage—not only your’s but your children’s, your children’s children and your children’s children’s children. No council of this city has the right to deprive you of one inch of this park it belongs to all, and we should make known to the city council that Pukekura Park is ‘not for sale’ ever.”
WEEKENDER, NOVEMBER 12, 1989
MR PUKEKURA PARK STEPPING DOWN
GEORGE FULLER RETIRING
With pic
Pukekura Park’s curator for the last 23 years, Mr George Fuller, is about to retire from the place he calls his home.
Although past retirement age he plans to hang on a bit longer to train up his replacement and because he is in love with the place.
However, retirement will give him time to pursue his other interests, he says.
He is noted internationally for his knowledge and contribution to the growing of orchids.
As a regular contributor to the magazine Orchids in New Zealand, Mr Fuller says he will be writing about his passion.
A keen whittler, he also plans to spend some time creating objects of beauty with pocket knife and wood.
He says the park is getting more and different use now than when he first began working there.
“If somebody had been jogging here 23 years ago I would have thought something was wrong with them.”
The best thing about the increased park use is the decline in vandalism.
The community is proud and protective of its park, he says.
The establishment of the orchid beds, expansion of the summer light show and resurrection of the water wheel, were the major works undertaken since he began at the park, he says.
Regretfully he was never able to finish his work maintaining the large trees, he says.
Trees have to be carefully looked after because they can easily be damaged in a storm.
He says the job was beyond the limits of staff and finances to achieve completely.
Mr Fuller and his wife plan to stay on in New Plymouth. They have three sons and two daughters.
He began his training in agriculture at Palmer’s Nursery, Auckland, in 1945. From there he travelled the world extensively, working mainly in England and Sweden. In 1965 he returned to New Zealand and was appointed curator of Pukekura Park in 1966.
MIDWEEK, NOVEMBER 15, 1989
WORK ON WHEEL NEARS AN END
With pic
One of Taranaki’s most popular tourist attractions is getting a face lift, thanks to the combined efforts of a group of concerned businesses.
Fitzroy Engineering is refurbishing the giant water wheel from New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park as part of New Plymouth’s contribution to the 1990 celebrations, says marketing manager Tony Houston.
The idea came from an employee at Fitzroy Engineering, Gordon Wilson. “He noticed the wheel was not going and was in need of a few repairs. He approached our managing director, Peter White-Robinson, with a suggestion that we take on the project.”
The wheel was lifted from the park at the end of September. Ian Roebuck provided a crane for the job and a host of other firms, along with the New Plymouth District Council, have provided their expertise. Mr Houston says everyone involved is very excited about the project.
The wheel dates back to about 1900. It generated power at the Okato dairy factory until about 1930 when it linked up to electricity.
The wheel was left to rot and was only found years later and placed in Pukekura Park in about 1976.
Unfortunately since then the constant work, the perpetual wetness and the onset of rot in the woodwork combined to bring its turning to a stop.
The refurbishing work includes strengthening the wheel and making sure it is concentric (able to turn easily).
The wheel will be returned to the park sometime in the next week depending on the weather.
1990
TDN, FEBRUARY 7, 1990
LEFT IN THE DARK
AN ELECTRICAL explosion which killed all of the lights at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park on Sunday night scared some people more than others.
A group attending an Energy City Radio Control Car Club meeting in the Brian Bellringer Pavilion not only jumped at the bang but fled from the building which they thought was on fire.
Club secretary Tracey Young said a big explosion rocked the building about 9.20pm leaving the group sitting in darkness, smelling smoke.
“It was just like an earthquake – I’m still shaking.”
Crowds of puzzled people enjoying the park lights were left wandering around in darkness—Miss Young said she was sure many would have heard the bang.
A New Plymouth Fire Service spokesman said one engine was sent to douse what turned out to be an overheated switchboard.
Club member Terry Miller of Waitara said when he went to the switchboard it was clouded with smoke and crackling and fizzing.
“When the fire brigade opened the doors it was glowing orange,” he said.
Miss Young said the club finished its meeting outside where about 200 interested people were milling about. “It might have been frightening but it has been our most exciting meeting.”
TDN, MARCH 20, 1990
PARTS OF PUKEKURA PARK UP FOR LEASE
Plans have been made to renew leases on parts of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park—following sale plans being abandoned.
Public outrage developed over former New Plymouth City Council plans to sell part of the park, and the council revoked his decision.
At yesterday’s community service committee meeting it was recommended new leases with people already using the land be negotiated.
Community service manager Alan Jellyman said the recommendations for leasing the property were based on the premise that the council was acting as guardians of public land.
“While I do not wish to retract the premise on which I raised this matter in 1986 and continue to believe that the resolution to dispose of the land was an appropriate solution, I do accept that there is a body of opinion with the council and the community which regards the matter quite differently,” Mr Jellyman said.
Part of Gover St land was being used to grow vegetables for Brooklands Zoo, another was being leased as an extension to a garden.
Recommendation was for the lease for any residential allotments be renegotiated annually.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 28, 1990
ICY ENDING TO TAIL OF PURSUIT
FIRST there was Shark in the Park … then Pig in the Park. A story that started with the great escape and ended with hard-hearted butchery with a chilling end for the main character.
This tale of pursuit and flight, of stealth and evasion, apparently started on the southern boundary of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
As park curator Anthony Joines tells the tale, an immature wild pig was released by one of the park’s neighbours to fend for itself in the wilds of the park earlier this year.
As the pig grew, so did its appetite. Soon the park’s staff and the neighbours were discovering mysterious damage to their lawns and gardens.
The beast roamed from the park’s southern boundary, to the north-east corner behind the sports ground and across to the Victoria Rd area. It favoured lawns and ignored flower beds, and developed the infuriating habit of returning to the scene of its crime only days after the first damage was repaired.
Eventually the strange scrapings were recognised and professional help was called in.
The council’s dog rangers made several unsuccessful bids to capture the increasingly large game.
But news of their failure did not deter others. Park staff say word of the pig in the park spread and eventually the beast was tracked down by a local hunter and his dog. The team made short work of their task and before you could say “apple sauce” the pig was headed for the deep freeze.
TDN, NOVEMBER 3, 1990
PARK ERA ENDS WITH RETIREMENT
With pic
NEW PLYMOUTH’S Pukekura Park curator George Fuller has retired after 25 years in the job.
And his successor, Anthony Joines, knows he has a hard act to follow. “Mr Fuller is a great man,” he said.
But Mr Fuller says Mr Joines has a lot to offer.
“He is young and enthusiastic.” Mr Joines completed a degree in horticulture at Massey University in 1986, then worked at Duncan and Davies’ nurseries for four years.
He was ready to change his career’s direction when he got the curator’s job—wanting a more “hands on” position. “It’s a great opportunity to take up … I’m very privileged.”
Originally from Wellington, Mr Joines has a special interest in New Zealand ferns.
He hopes to promote the park by making more information available about it, and marketing its qualities through schools. He would begin with Taranaki schools, and maybe expand.
He began working at the park in August last year and has trained under Mr Fuller.
TDN, NOVEMBER 3, 1990
GEORGE FULLER, THE KEEPER OF OUR JEWEL
With pic
Curator retires leaving 1000-year legacy
TUI’S song fills the air in George Fuller’s garden. It also fills the heart of the humble man responsible for continuing to develop the mystique in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park in the past quarter-century.
Gaining tuis, bell birds and pigeons as lodgers at the internationally-renowned park is one of the greatest feats attained during his career as its curator. Not that he would take the credit for it.
The credit goes to a former curator who made the contentious decision to remove the pines which established the park, and plant today’s treasured collection of natives, he says.
But he will take credit for grooming the trees – an investment he says will pay dividends in the future.
There is another account he wants to make a down payment on—so that he can be sure future New Plymouth residents will reap the dividends.
And those dividends must take the form of a Pukekura Park every bit as large as it is today.
George Fuller also hopes for a bonus payment—by forward-planning authorities investing in properties bounding the park to expand New Plymouth’s jewel.
As he retires this week he has wants to ensure a historic pledge made when the park was handed over to the New Plymouth Borough Council is never forgotten.
Park founder Robert Clinton Hughes made a moving appeal at the handing-over ceremony in 1929,. asking the mayor to treasure the park for New Plymouth, to regard it as a sacred trust and never to part with an inch of it.
At any time in the park’s history arguments could have been put forward that it was expedient to dispose of part of the park for short term gain, George Fuller says.
“It was a great day in 1929 when Robert Clinton Hughes handed the park over to the borough of the day, with the pledge that none of it be forfeited for any reason. I think we need to be reminded of that.
“It was at that time being handed over because of great financial stresses. If anybody had reason to sell parts to keep it going it was those administrators.”
Planners must contemplate the time when the commercial area will be up to the park boundary. Then every square metre will be so much more precious—a refuge from the busy commercial world, he says
“At any time we could raise excuses for the sale of any part of the park for income. But I would even go so far as to suggest some properties adjoining the park should be purchased to add of the area of the park, in the Gover St. Fillis St area.”
He says areas which are integral parts of the park could have been sold earlier when they were hardly used.
The park demands a great commitment from the people who look after it because people’s expectations are so high, he says.
The curator’s house is on the park fringes and it is not only the tui’s song he hears. Any disturbance at the park echoes in his garden, so he is always alert.
“One doesn’t have to be here for long before it has a profound effect on one’s life. It’s a sort of love affair with the park. You put a lot into it and expect a lot out. You often receive back far more than you expected. You become pretty wrapped up in it.”
Besides a well-known love of orchids, his great love is trees. In parks with well established trees it is easy to neglect trees’ welfare, he says.
“I can’t help but feel my work with trees will be unfinished. I’ll probably be remembered in the short-term for my work with orchids. But my long-term investment in the park was the work I put into those trees.
“People get excited over the flowers, but the crowning glory of Pukekura Park is its trees.”
The major decision about trees at the park was made just after the war. The treasured pine trees which had transformed the treeless gully into a park, were to be removed.
He says this was a very controversial decision, but one which showed a lot of foresight.
Today, fine native tree specimens stand in Pukekura Park in an area which could now be occupied with decaying pines.
The community quite rightly questioned the decision to remove the pines.
“Any change in Pukekura Park should be questioned by the community. They feel very strongly about the preservation of it as a natural park, and taking down any trees needs to be well justified.”
This move was well justified, he says.
“The administrators saw that in 100 years the pines would almost have completed their life cycle and after about 50 years be brittle and dangerous. They had served their function admirably. In 60 years they had establsihed the park.’
But eventually even the critics could see the wisdom of the move. Pines were replaced with trees expected to keep growing for up to 1000 years and only get better – not brittle.
“One of the most thrilling things for me is to see kauri and rimu 10 metres high, which were planted the year I came here. That is really something.
“Listen to that tui singing there,” he says, sitting in his backyard. “It is magnificent really the people of New Plymouth are so fortunate to have this magnificent backdrop.”
Seeing native birds move into the park has been his greatest source of job satisfaction. “You can bring visitors to the park and show them pigeons, bell birds and tuis within a half-hour walk. That must be almost unique I think. And it is greatly appreciated by visitors.”
Before George Fuller’s 25-year stay, John Goodwin committed 25 years to the park, and before that was Thomas Horton, who also served for 25 years.
But he plays his commitment down: “At any given time we are only caretakers for posterity and try to avoid repeating any mistakes that may have been made.”
His last day was October 30, but he has not been at work since March because of ill-health.
His successor was appointed last summer so he could be trained.
He says after doing specialist training in working with orchids, it was beyond his wildest dreams to work so closely with orchids.
“It was a real bonus to work in such a lovely park. It was a source of great satisfaction to have an important responsibility in these two fields. My specialist interest gave a good opportunity to help explore the fantastic potential Pukekura Park has.”
Two of his pet projects were the waterfall and waterwheel. He helped design and build the waterfall. “We worked our fingers down to the bone fitting a lot of the parts in.”
Just before 1976 – the park’s centennial year – he found the relics of a waterwheel at the Omata Dairy Factory. The dimensions perfectly fitted an area near the children’s play area.
This provided a challenge—fitting a mechanical structure unobtrusively into the natural setting.
“It was a challenge for me making sure it did not intrude into what is a very natural landscape. When we consider that in 1876 it was a treeless, waterless, derelict gully.
“Although it is totally artificial it is regarded as a very natural park. That is one of the subtleties which must always be maintained to keep its uniqueness.”
One of those qualities is making sure it is easy for people to get lost in – you can’t stand at any one point and see it all.
“Where ever you go there is always that tantalising temptation to go a little further or see something that is just out of sight. It is important these elements of semi-obscurity be preserved.”
He says this means that in a fairly small area people can experience a sense of being out of touch, but not quite lost.
“They experience that awe that is always there when you go down a bush track and can’t see around the corner. You’ve got to make sure you know the way back – you can’t just say that is the way I came. In a very small space it captures that mystique.”
He says this atmosphere is strengthened by many small areas being obscured from each other.
“You can stand anywhere any the scenery closes in and entices you to go down one path.
When you’ve travelled down that path it opens into something different or new. And from that point you’ve got to make a new set of decisions.
“It is exposing people to the controlled unknown.”
He says research has shown an average person—not a bush enthusiast—was satisfied after an hour in the unknown. That is part of Pukekura’s success—people can get just enough of the unknown to feel satisfied all within a visit.
George Fuller’s arrival at the park coincided with the Fred Parker orchid collection being donated. This was the base he worked with to develop one of New Zealand’s most highly recognised orchid collections.
His great commitment to the park has been made possible by his wife Doris. She doesn’t like to be in the spotlight which has often been on George. She has dedicated herself to the home and their five children. Their two daughters are both training to be teachers. They have three sons—a cabinet maker, an electronic engineer and a power station engineer.
He met Doris when he first went to England in 1947. She also had worked with orchids, so they had a common interest.
“She has tolerated all my demands to the community and work very well. This allowed me to dedicate all of my interests and time on things outside the home.”
In his retirement he will move away from the park—the house goes with the job. His love of the park will remain though.
But there will be more room in his life for his other interests: whittling, photography, sketching and writing.
TDN, NOVEMBER 24, 1990
RENOVATING FOUNTAIN LAKE JETTY
With pic
HAMMERING in a post during renovation of a jetty at Pukekura Park’s fountain lake yesterday is Taranaki Model Marine Club member Stan Robinson, watched by New Plymouth District Council parks and recreation department worker Bert Clark.
The lake will be almost completely drained this weekend, for the first time since the fountain’s installation in 1954-55.
Yesterday park curator Anthony Joines said just enough water would be left to enable the lake’s goldfish to survive. He said draining the water would allow a jetty used for feeding ducks and launching model boats to be renovated. Members of the model club would be doing the labour voluntarily.
The lake might be left drained until Tuesday, when people sentenced to periodic detention might be used to clean out silt and rubbish, said Mr Joines.
1991
TDN, FEBRUARY 8, 1991
TACKLING TERRACE EROSION WITH TIMBER
With pic
A new look for Pukekura Park’s eastern terraces, as staff of Works Civil Construction repair erosion damage caused by people who have insisted on climbing up and down the terraces. The banks are now being faced with timber restraints—the technique involves bolting horizontal timber on to vertical posts, with a 25mm gap left between the planks to allow the grass to grow through.
MIDWEEK, FEBRUARY 27, 1991
CARELESS RIDERS LEAVE COSTLY REPAIR BILL
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Horses ridden through Pukekura Park have caused damaged to newly laid tracks which could cost hundreds of dollars to fix. Park administrative officer Colin Scott says there have been two such incidents recently – one late last week and the other over the weekend.
“The first incident came after a dose of heavy rain,” he said. “The track was quite soft and the horses made a real mess, leaving big holes in the ground where their hooves had sunk in.”
It was a similar situation at the weekend. The ground was still quite soft and the result was another series of deep holes in the tracks.
Park staff had been working on the track for some time and had only completed the job about two weeks ago.
VERY COSTLY
Mr Scott says the nature of the park made the job a highly labour intensive one, therefore to repair the track could be very costly in those terms.
“There is also the question of priorities as the staff have now gone on to other scheduled jobs.”
Because these repairs had not been expected, he says it could be some time before they are carried out.
Mr Scott says another problem with the damage is that if there is a heavy downpour the whole track could wash away.
“Also if another lot of horses went through it could quite easily collapse.”
Mr Scott says at this stage they do not know who culprits are, and adds that even though horses are not allowed in the park, they are not looking to prosecute anyone.
Mr Scott says local riding clubs have been very co-operative and will canvass their members for information as well as passing on to them the message to refrain from riding in the park.
TDN, FEBRUARY 25, 1991
THOMAS HORTON’S DESCENDANTS GATHER
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THE DESCENDANTS of Thomas Horton—New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park Curator for 25 years— gathered at the park during the weekend.
Mr Horton’s two youngest children, Warwick Horton (58), of Feilding, and Ella McLeod (82), of Hamilton, are pictured with a photograph of their father and records of his time at the park.
More than 140 family members from as far afield as Australia and the South Island met in the city on Friday night. They spent Saturday in the park and attended a formal dinner on Saturday night.
On Sunday a tree was planted on the Horton Walkway, an avenue lined with native trees which was named after Thomas Horton.
The park’s fernery and display houses are two of Mr Horton’s notable achievements in his time at the park from 1924 to 1949. Mr Horton recalled living in the curator’s house on the park boundary with his parents, and how his father lived for the park.
“He used to come down every day. On Saturday and Sunday he would walk around to make sure everything was in order and tidy. He was a special man.”
TDN, APRIL 30, 1991
NEW MAPS FOR CITY PARKS
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Visitors to New Plymouth’s Pukekura and Brooklands parks have no excuses for getting lost these days. Two maps, sponsored by Radio Taranaki, outlining the area have been erected outside the Brian
Bellringer Pavilion and at the entrance to Brooklands Zoo.
The main function of the maps is to have a permanent site, create a more professional image and hopefully have them used more by the public,” said Pukekura Park curator Anthony Joines. “This is the start of a bit more consumer information.”
A previous pencil drawn map, sited near the pavilion, dated back to the 1970s but had faded badly. It would be placed in the park archives.
The brightly-coloured maps had been drawn to scale with topographical detail based on earlier maps of the parks, said Mr Joines.
An accompanying board featured additional information about the parks’ features. And a montage of old photographs of the park was currently being processed by the Taranaki Museum to accompany the map in Pukekura Park and so provide a link with the past, said Mr Joines.
WEEKENDER, MAY 5, 1991
WORKING ON MAIN LAKE BANKS
With pic
The main lake at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park looked far from picturesque late this week when it was drained to carry out maintenance work.
The reason for the work is that the flow of water in the lake has begun to undermine the bank and this, aggravated by the weight of the vegetation around it, has led to a section of lakeside track beginning to give way.
This is a constant problem for park staff that has happened around other parts of the lake as well.
Workmen are now boarding up a section of the bank to reinforce it and reduce the risk of further damage. Further restoration work will done at a later date as funds allow. The lake is expected to be refilled next week.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 19, 1991
PINE TREES IN PARK DANGEROUS AND TO BE CUT DOWN
With photo
The skyline in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park is about to change for safety reasons.
Eighteen 100-year-old pine trees near the TSB Bank children’s play area and the fountain lake were leaning and in danger of falling on people, Park curator Anthony Joines said.
So the area would be closed for a week from October 7 while the 50m high trees are chopped out.
Mr Joines said some trees were dead and many were rotten or unstable.
“They are falling apart….. some of the bigger ones are starting to move.”
One large tree near the fountain lake has moved about 50 centimetres in the past six months, he said.
A similar problem was faced when other large pines in the park had to be removed in 1976.
At that time there was a public outcry about removing trees from the park, but it was necessary for the public’s safety.
It is a shame to lose them because of the sky-line feature, but because of the playground they are in a critical area.
“It is not that we are looking to chop trees down — it is a necessity.”
Mr. Joines said most likely redwoods would be planted in their place. These should last at least three times as long as the pines. They would be planted by the New Plymouth Horticultural Society either this spring or next autumn.
The trees would be felled into the area below Victoria Rd. It was likely a lot of the wood would be milled, Mr. Joines said, and the rest would be burnt during the day.
Contractors doing the work had been instructed to try to protect the undergrowth when removing the trees.
While it was inevitable there would be some damage, Mr joines said any special plants would be moved before the operation and then replanted.
The weakness of the trees was evidenced in Cyclone Bola, Mr Joines said. The trees were ripped apart in the wind.
TDN, OCTOBER 12, 1991
PINES AWAY AFTER 100 YEARS
with pic
PATHWAYS near the Pukekura Park playground are fenced off because of falling timber but by the end of the week the playground will be safer than ever before.
Contractors are completing the felling of 18 old pines in the park which have been deemed dangerous to park users. The pines were between 100 and 110 years old and caused council officials concern during high winds.
Park curator Anthony Joines said it was regretful the trees, about 50m high, had to go, but it was necessary to ensure the public’s safety, he said.
The felling operation had been going well despite a few people not paying attention to the signs placed around the entrances and jumping the barriers erected at the eight accessways into the playground, said Mr Joines. However, the majority of park users had been co-operative. Mr Joines said the contractor’s expertise and diligence was ensuring minimal damage to other plants and trees in the area. The budget for the job is $10,000.
Some of the timber was loaded onto logging trucks for milling, while the remainder of the wood was cut up and burnt on site. Not a lot will be milled because the trees’ age meant rot and borer had affected some limbs, said Mr Joines.
The work on the pines will be completed by the end of this week.
Planted between 1876-86 when the park was only a barren valley with a swamp, the trees were chosen because of their growth rate.
Mr Joines said the quick growth gave protection to native plants growing underneath allowing the park to develop.
He said some of the trees might have come from the Christchurch Botannical Gardens over a hundred years ago.
Other trees possibly for the chop are pines that overlook Poets Bridge and the sportsground. Mr Joines said hopefully they would be removed in the next five years.
TDN, OCTOBER 22, 1991
PARK PLAYGROUND GETS SAFETY MATTING
With pic
IMPROVEMENTS to the playground at Pukekura Park included safety matting, said New Plymouth District Council Pukekura Park officer Anthony Joines.
However, there were still a lot of improvements to be made in the area, he said.
Of most concern was the accessibility of the park area to water.
Fencing would be used to protect children in the more exposed areas, and foliage would be used as a natural barrier in others.
“We’ve never had any major accidents in Pukekura Park,” Mr Joines said.
Matting under play equipment had been transferred from Lynmouth Park and the job would cost about $700. Resurfacing to improve drainage was also being carried out and, weather permitting, should be completed by the end of November.
There were also plans to upgrade the area beside the top slide by the end of June, Mr Joines said.
Hillary Commission play education officer Diana O’Neill, who condemned many Taranaki playgrounds recently, held up the TSB children’s playground as an excellent example of a safe playground.
Mr Joines said children, in overseas studies, were now being asked what they wanted underneath playground equipment.
In most cases they had asked for cushioning material.
1992
TDN, JANUARY 8, 1992
RETIREMENT ENDS 48 YEARS OF DEDICATION TO DISPLAY HOUSES
With pic
Iolanthe small is as much a part of Pukekura Park’s display houses, as the houses are part of the park.
She has worked in the park since 1944, and has managed the fernery and begonia house for almost as long.
However, this Friday that 48-year association will finish with Miss Small’s retirement, ending an era in the life of the quiet tunnelled enclave which, under her guidance, has earned an international reputation.
The new Plymouth district council’s longest serving employee, Miss Small began work in the park as a message girl, commuting about the place on her bicycle.
Sometimes she helped in the fernery, which was planned and designed in 1927 by the wife of the chairman of the park board and a Hawera florist. Miss small pointed out the female association with the fernery was to become a tradition, with men in charge only until the beginning of World War II.
Miss Small took the reins about five years after her arrival, when the fernery manager left and the board chairman approached her with an offer.
“He came to me with a pipe in his mouth and said: ‘Miss Small, you carry on until we appoint somebody,’ and I’ve been here all the time waiting for that to happen.”
Miss small’s “right-hander” Ailsa McCrone arrived 35 years ago, giving the pair 85 years combined service — surely a record for the council’s books.
The display house manager has seen many changes in the fernery complex and the wider park. The Begonia House was added in 1967, donated by George and Mabel Kibby, and an orchid collection has also been developed.
Miss Small said her job had been kept interesting with constant changes and additions to the displays. The many regular visitors to the display houses motivated staff to come up with innovations.
Pukekura Park’s display houses have developed a reputation throughout the country, and Miss Small said she would not have wanted to work anywhere else. The park was valued by the residents and the council, who treated it as a priority, she said.
Park curator Anthony Joines said the world-recognised standard of the display houses’ had a lot to do with the departing manager.
The care dedication that she has given is not found these days in many people, Mr. Joines said.
He said Miss Small worked more or less seven days a week and the service she had given was literally above and beyond the Call of Duty.
TDN, MARCH 7, 1992
HILLSIDE IS A “HIDDEN CORNER”
By Anthony Joines
PUKEKURA Park is one of mystery and discovery as many of you will know.
Even after living in New Plymouth for years one can discover corners of the Park seemingly hidden away but that have obviously existed for years. One such location is on the flat area above the lookout back to the racecourse boundary. We imaginatively refer to this as the “eastern hillside”.
The eastern hillside works on a balance between open space and large trees. Although the majority of these trees were only planted in 1965 it now has the maturity of scale where the trees are large enough to balance with the open lawn areas around them.
Coming from the lookout the first tree that greets us is X Cupressocyparis leylandii. This is a natural bigeneric hybrid between Cupressus macrocarpa and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis and thus the X in front of the name. This Leyland Cypress was amongst the 1965 plantings and now has a spread of more than 12m and a height close to 20m. This marvellous example has been allowed to retain most of its basal branches to show its true character. This is one of two in this collection.
Amongst this plateau are a few natives such as rimu, miro, kauri and totara. However, the next tree of note is the North American Giant Fir, Abies grandis. The Abies are a handsome tree, very symmetrical and of an appeal when allowed to develop fully.
Alectryon subcinereus is a more recent addition from Australia. Planted in 1977 the Smooth Rambutan is a relation to our New Zealand titoki but somewhat different with larger leaves and a smaller composition. This tree is only 7m tall but an attractive addition to this collection.
The pines are a dominant force as you move closer to the racecourse. Pinus nigra, the Austrian pine, are the oldest recorded trees in this collection. Around 1908-1922 the three specimens that still exist today were planted by W.W. Smith, the Park Curator of’ the day. These trees are each at least 35m in height with their height exaggerated by the tall straight trunks and very light branching in relation to other pines. Pinus ayacahuite is a Mexican representative and was planted in 1963.
Apart from having a name you can hardly pronounce, this is a handsome tree with graceful habit enhanced by its horizontal branching system. The Mexican White Pine will eventually reach a height of 30-40m and are at present about half their final height.
Pinus patula is one of the most striking pines here. Again a Mexican pine it was planted in 1962 and now is around 20m but its most noticeable characteristic is the horizontal arching nature of its branches that have given this specimen a spread, of at least 20m also. The Spreading-Leaved Pine gets its name from its leaves that are spreading or pendulous from its growth points.
Just past the P. patula is another Mexican and Northern American representative, the Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera. This grand tree was planted in 1962 and was imported as seed from a selected clone for timber production from Mexico or California. It is now 21m tall with a spread of 14m and its particular charm is the fabulous display of butter-yellow foliage in mid autumn.
Also in the autumn colour theme is a combination of smaller trees towards the racecourse walk track. Represented here is Cotinus americanus (the Smoke Tree), Amelanchier canadensis (the Shad Bush) and a member of the dogwood family, Cornus florida. These three trees produce wonderful colours of orange, red and crimson mid to late autumn.
Just opposite them is a wonderful example of another Abies, the Sacred Fir from Mexico and Guatemala, A. religiosa. This pyramidal tree is endowed with olive-green downy shoots that give a very glaucus effect en masse. It gets its name from its use in Mexico where as well as being used for general carpentry, its branches are used for decorating places of worship at the times of religious festivals.
I have discussed only a few of the tree specimens on this hillside but I urge you to discover it for yourself. I have labelled most of the plants I have discussed today, so there is no excuse for losing your way.
TDN, JULY 7, 1992
PLAQUE TAKEN FROM PARK ENTRANCE
A $2000 BRONZE plaque mounted on the main pillar of the entrance gates to Pukekura Park was stolen during the weekend.
The plaque, from the estate of one of the park’s major benefactors,’ Charles Score Sanders, was erected in, 1939 to commemorate the completion of the pillars and the entrance gate, which was funded from the estate, along with the park’s rhododendron dell, New Plymouth District Council community services manager Alan Jellyman said.
Mr Jellyman said the plaque was removed from a prominent place on a busy intersection and he believed someone would have seen it being taken. “We would very much like it returned. It is just another one of a spate of thefts of public property.” Two weeks ago guttering from a building in the park was also taken.
Mr Jellyman said Mr Sanders was also a major benefactor in the development of Ngaere gardens which used to be a traditional Taranaki picnic destination and are at present being restored.
New Plymouth’s Sanders Ave and near by Sanders Park are named after him.
Senior Sergeant Lynn Manning, of New Plymouth, said scrap dealers should report any sightings of the plaque.
TDN, OCTOBER 10, 1992
RESIDENTS TO HAVE SAY IN PLANS FOR PARK MANAGEMENT
WHAT DO you think of New Plymouth’s Pukekura
and Brooklands parks?
New Plymouth residents will get the chance to voice their opinions next week when a survey is launched by a New Plymouth District Council working party formulating a parks’ management plan.
People would be asked through a newspaper advertisement such questions as how often they visited the parks, what features attracted them and what improvements could be made, said council horticultural services manager Mike Nicholls.
“We really want to get community feedback,” he said.
“We are doing everything we can not to commit ourselves to any preconceived notions.”
The group had, however, identified areas it felt needed improving. These included car parking, pathways and visitor information.
The idea of introducing gate charges had been floated earlier for community scrutiny but Mr Nicholls said this was met with a firm no. Feedback to date indicated people wanted the park “finetuned” rather than changed dramatically.
A draft plan should be available in the new year for public perusal and in force by the end of June.
A separate plan was also being developed for Pukekura Raceway and parks director Colin Hosking said community input was welcome. Feedback to date indicated people were happy with the status quo.
The plans would look 20 to 25 years ahead but Mr Hosking said they could be reviewed at any time.
The working party meeting twice weekly is: Crelin Keig (sports background), councillor Lynn Bublitz, Sally Masson (gardening background), Geoff Cooke (regular park user), Richard Bain (landscape architect), community services manager Alan Jellyman, park officer Anthony Joines and Mr Nicholls.
NEW SPORTS grounds may be developed opposite New Plymouth’s Sutherland Park if a feasibility study wins favour with New Plymouth District councillors.
Consultants are investigating how much it would cost to create two new sports grounds off Fernleigh St which would be used primarily for soccer, Mr Hosking said.
“Council is not committed to that project but is seriously looking at it,” said Mr Hosking. “It won’t be a cheap exercise.”
The consultant’s report would hopefully be completed for consideration by the newly-elected council next month.
Mr Hosking said the development was under consideration because the Woodleigh sports club had lost its junior soccer grounds at Rotokare Park.
This was now the Kawaroa tennis club’s new base .
It had to shift to make way for the new aquatic leisure centre.
TDN, OCTOBER 30, 1992
NPDC PARKS COULD SEE NEW INITIATIVES AFTER FEEDBACK
A LICENSED restaurant in Brooklands Park? Or how about canoes on Pukekura Park’s lake and a motorised buggy to transport the elderly and disabled around the gardens?
These are just some of the suggestions Taranaki people have sent to the New Plymouth District Council which is formulating a parks’ management plan.
Horticultural services manager Mike Nicholls said about 80 people had responded to a survey asking what improvements could be made.
“We have had quite a steady flow of feedback. It’s quite promising,” he said.
“There’s a wide range of interesting ideas and some fairly clear trends.”
“People want to see us protect the tranquility of the place and the natural beauty.”
Mr Nicholls said the survey showed the public clearly did not want to pay to use the parks, therefore this would not be considered.
People also did not want to lose the combination of bush and formal gardens or Christmas lighting.
Mr Nicholls said another clear desire was a stronger enforcement of the ban on mountain-bike riding and free-roaming dogs.
More car parking, more challenging playgrounds, better signposting, mending the broken-down water wheel and establishing a covered eating place near the kiosk were among other suggestions.
“The overwhelming theme is to make these improvements without affecting the existing balance,” said Mr Nicholls. “We are pretty much thinking along the same lines.”
The ideas would be considered by the working party which would have a draft plan ready for public perusal in the New Year. It should be in force by June and subject to regular reviews.
Mr Nicholls said any more ideas for inclusion in the plan would be needed by mid-November.
1993
TDN, JANUARY 7, 1993
LATE-NIGHT BIKE RIDE TURNS TO TRADGEDY IN PUKEKURA PARK LAKE
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A MIDNIGHT bike ride turned to tragedy for a New Plymouth youth whose body was found in a lake at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park yesterday afternoon.
Two professional divers located the 16-year-old’s body in water 1.5 metres deep about 2.30pm, after family and friends reported him missing when he failed to return home yesterday morning.
The youth, whose name will not be released until next of kin are notified, and a friend, were riding their mountain bikes around the centre of New Plymouth and in the park when they became separated around midnight.
Details were sketchy but it is believed that when the dead youth’s friend found the 16-year-old had disappeared, he assumed he had returned home and so left the park.
It wasn’t until the next morning when it was discovered the youth was still missing, that his friend became concerned for his safety and returned to the lake to look for him.
Family members and other friends, who also spent several hours in the morning searching the lake area and bush, found the missing youth’s bike lying beside the lake and alerted police about 12.45pm, said Sergeant Tony, Johnstone, of the New Plymouth police.
“Two divers located the body in the main lake not far from the Poet’s Bridge about 2.30pm,” he said. “It was found on the kiosk side of the lake in about one and a half metres of water.
“Visibility in the lake was not good.”
Police had the lake level lowered by about 15cm before beginning the search. The two divers who found the body were experts from a local diving club.
The dead youth’s family and friends were at the scene when the body was discovered.
Mr Johnstone said the park lights had been turned off earlier on in the night, before the two youths arrived, as it had been raining heavily.
Both were seen in the centre of town by a police constable earlier on in the evening and it was believed the dead youth went missing between 11.45pm and 12.30pm.
Police would not release the cause of death until after a post-mortem had been carried out. They were not treating the death as suspicious.
Meanwhile, the New Plymouth District Council has warned people to take extra care around the park lakes in the wake of the tragic death.
Community services manager Alan Jellyman said the lake and park needed to be treated with respect as they could be dangerous.
“We try to discourage people from jumping out of the rowboats into the lake, it has happened now and then and it is in circumstances like these that tragedies occur,” said Mr Jellyman. “People should exercise care around water.”
He also warned members of the public not to walk in areas of the park that weren’t lit at night.
The youth’s death occurred only two weeks after a story was printed in The Daily News warning cyclists not to ride their bikes in the park.
TDN, JANUARY 8, 1993
VICTIM NAMED
THE NAME of the youth whose body was pulled from the main lake at Pukekura Park on Wednesday has been released.
Joseph Scotty Greenwood (16), a student, of New Plymouth, died some time on Tuesday night after he went for a bike ride with a friend to the park and disappeared.
His body was recovered from the lake by divers about 2.30pm on Wednesday.
A post-mortem has been completed but cause of death would not be released until a coroner’s court hearing. His death was not being treated as suspicious, said police.
TDN, JANUARY 12, 1993
WALSH APPLIANCES EEL HUNT
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HANGING OUT: Greg Gow (13) and Johl Dwyer (7) take in a spot of fishing on The Poet’s Bridge at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park last night.
It was smorgasbord time for the snakelike fish in the park lakes and anglers tempted them with titbits—but several paid the price for their gluttony with their lives.
The Walsh Appliances Great Eel Hunt attracted more than 1000 keen anglers who provided the eels with a meal which included everything from pig guts, possum and goat meat, to grubs, squid and rump steak.
However, for at least six eels it was all a bit much. They got too hooked on the sumptuous fare dangling before their eyes and finished up at the weigh-in by the end of the night.
Koraya Cook, one of three Summer Scene co-ordinators, said the eels had been caught by anglers of all ages.
“There were heaps of grandparents out with their grandchildren. It was a really good atmosphere up there. And although we had 1000 registered for the hunt, there were heaps more people at the park just watching.”
A 2.7kg eel was enough to win the major prize of a ghettoblaster, with the lightest eel weighing in at 1.25kg. Spot prizes were also presented at the end of the evening’s competition.
TDN, MARCH 6, 1993
CHIMNEY WORK
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Bricklayers Brian Walsh and Steven Rasmussen undertake the delicate job of restoring a 150-year old chimney in Brooklands Park.
The chimney was part of a house that was built in 1843 for New Plymouth man Henry King.
Mr King was the captain with the New Plymouth Shipping Company which brought the first settlers to New Plymouth from England, and later Brooklands Park was created on his land.
Pukekura Park officer Anthony joins said wood for the house was taken from the surrounding forests, while the sandstone and lime used to erect the chimney was probably shipped in from Sydney.
The house was burned down in 1861 during the first Taranaki war, and the chimney was the only surviving structure.
Mr. Joines said the chimney was slowly disintegrating because of its age and children who climbed over it were speeding up the process by knocking out stones.
The bricklayers were using the dislodged stones to fill the holes, and cement to bind stones together. The restoration work was expected to take another few days to complete.
TDN, OCTOBER 7, 1993
REVAMP URGED FOR PUKEKURA PARK
INCREASED parking areas, paved paths and new gardens are some of the developments outlined in a draft management plan for New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
The draft plan, for both Pukekura and Brooklands parks, was received by the New Plymouth District Council’s community services committee yesterday, and will be released for public submissions.
The report said the park was a significant tourist destination and to improve the experience a visitor and education centre should be established in the Brooklands area to service the whole park.
It also suggested a review of signs in the park, with better labelling of plants to provide more information and a standard entrance design for the park’s secondary entrances to provide shelter and information for visitors.
It also suggested relocating the formal entrance to Brooklands Park to the foot of Brooklands Park Dr, where new entrance gates would be placed.
Parking was also identified as a key problem, particularly the congestion experienced at the park’s main entrance at Fillis St.
While the report said the physical structure of the park, which was developed around a valley, made it difficult to satisfy the need for more parking, it suggested developing further car parks on the Victoria Rd frontage above the waterfall and the frontage of the nursery on Brooklands Park Dr.
The park’s complex network of paths varied in standard and were confusing to many visitors, the report said.
Most of the paths had metal surfaces and were subject to increasing foot traffic. “Throughout the winter season the main walks tend to become muddy and restrict access for essential maintenance works to be undertaken. In the summer, high-use areas become dusty and potentially hazardous on sloping walks.”
There was a need to begin a programme of paving the main visitor routes and to ensure that signs allowed visitors to find places of interest easily, the report said.
While the park’s lakes and waterways were highlighted as a central landscape feature, the report said their degradation posed an environmental threat to the park.
“The deterioration in the water quality due to high levels of incoming silt, organic pollutants and accumulating debris needs urgent attention.”
The report recommended setting up a working group to outline various ways to improve the water quality.
The report also suggested the establishment of a number of new gardens or expanding some existing ones.
The committee set up a subcommittee to hear submissions on the management plan.
TDN, DECEMBER 10, 1993
WATERWHEEL MAKES COMEBACK
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BIG WHEEL: Fitter Peter Crossan (on beam) waits to guide Pukekura Park’s waterwheel back into its usual position.
The waterwheel was lowered back into its familiar resting place near the children’s play area by crane yesterday after being removed two months ago for a $6000-plus revamp. Fitzroy Engineering replaced the worn and cracked axle while council carpenters fixed the damaged woodwork, park officer Anthony Joines said.
The waterwheel, which is 3m in diameter and 1.2m wide, had been out of action for 18 months.
Mr Joines said the wheel was damaged by the weight and force of the water it had to bear during the 1990 Taranaki Anniversary weekend floods.
Originally from an Okato dairy factory, the waterwheel was moved to its current home in 1976 to mark the centenary of the New Plymouth park.
1994
TDN, FEBRUARY 5, 1994
PARK LOSES LANDMARK IN TREE COLLAPSE
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New Plymouth’s Brooklands Park lost a landmark yesterday when its most famous Spanish chestnut tree collapsed.
The tree, which died about 20 years ago from root fungus, finally gave in to rot and water and keeled over.
Planted in 1864 by the Brooklands estate founder Captain Henry King, it was the most significant of the trees left from that era because of its grandeur and eventual size, New Plymouth District Council Pukekura Park officer Anthony Joines said.
“It became an important feature of Brooklands. Many locals would remember it as a gathering point for picnics or weddings — under its huge canopy 200 people have sat down to take tea,” he said. A 1969 survey found the tree had an average spread of 42.6m and a girth of 5.9m.
Mr. Jones said the chestnuts started showing signs of decline in the early 1970s. In 1977 its dead limbs were cut back and the centre and lower framework preserved.
Other rotten timber was progressively removed until only a skeleton remained.
Park staff take some consolation in a nearby sapling which sprung from the old tree —a mere youngster of about 40 years — which they hope will eventually fill the gap.
TDN, APRIL 5, 1994
CHANGING OF THE GARD-ENERS IN THE PARK
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A NEW regime will take over the management of New Plymouth’s Pukekura and Brooklands parks from this week.
Parks asset officer Ian McDowell will take over as Pukekura Park superintendent, while current park officer Anthony Joines will leave the park for a new position in the council headquarters.
The change comes as a result of the restructuring of the New Plymouth District Council’s parks division.
The asset unit, which Mr Joines will join as a senior assets officer, will own and manage the council’s parks. The parks business unit, which Mr McDowell will work for, will contract with the asset unit to carry out work in the parks. The business unit is planned to be up and running on July 1.
With his position disappearing, Mr Joines said he had decided to take on a new challenge in parks administration.
Mr Joines, who has helped care for the jewel in the crown of the district’s parks since 1989, said he would miss Pukekura Park.
“I love the park. I love being part of it and I love the environment and the people who work here.”
Mr McDowell, who has worked for the council and its predecessors for 31 years, is looking forward to tending Pukekura Park.
He has qualifications in parks administration and, like former park curator George Fuller (1966-90), trained at Kew Gardens in Britain.
TDN, MAY 23, 1994
NEW BOAT OPERATORS
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SELF PROPELLED: A love of the outdoors prompted Waitara couple Belinda and Mike Watson to apply to the New Plymouth District Council to operate the row boats at Pukekura Park after the operator for the last two years opted not to renew his contract.
They took over the operation just over a week ago but wet weather has meant the boats have only been on the water for a limited time so far. “The park is a good place to work. We enjoy camping and tramping so it fits in with our lifestyle,” said Mr Watson.
The boats are available for hire on the lake at weekends and on school and public holidays—weather permitting.
MIDWEEK, JUNE 15, 1995
HAZARDOUS PINES TO BE REMOVED
For some time the Taranaki Jockey Club has been concerned by the potential danger from a group of mature pine trees adjacent to the Pukekura Raceway and Bowl of Brooklands.
During recent years, various tree limbs thought to be a risk to the public, have been removed. NP District Council director of parks Colin Hosking says it has now reached a point where the trees need to be looked at as a group.
“Having carried out an assessment of the trees involved, it is agreed that they will increasingly continue to be a threat to the safety of people, horses and facilities in the locality,” he says. “It has been decided to remove the trees in one operation on a commercial basis so there is a financial return on them to facilitate restoration planting with appropriate, longer-term, skyline, dominant species.”
The work will begin as soon as possible.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 20, 1994
KEEP OFF THE GRASS
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FORKING IT UP: Pukekura Park groundsman Ian Berry forks up one of the many gouges in the sports ground’s surface in preparation for a new layer of soil.
The repair job was necessary after a group of people ignored warning signs at the weekend and played a game on a recently-laid surface which could not handle the rough and tumble.
New Plymouth District Council senior recreation assets officer Anthony Joines said the ground had been repaired after a season of rugby league in preparation for the cricket season, which starts with two North versus South games during Labour Weekend.
Now another layer of soil will have to be laid, making the half of the sports ground nearest the main gates unusable for at least another three weeks.
“We had a sign saying ‘Sports ground closed’ but, unfortunately, a group of people have had some type of game on there and have made holes and cut up quite an area of ground … about 40 square metres,” said Mr Joines.
“We’re renovating a lot of other grounds around Taranaki and I’d like to see all grounds given a fair go.”
The damage will need up to 15 cubic metres of soil and take four men half a day to repair.
1995
TDN, JANUARY 11, 1995
ANNUAL EEL HUNT
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IT’S ALIVE !: Spectators watch the life leave one of the 12 eels – and one fish – caught in the lakes at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park on Monday night.
More than 700 people registered for the Walsh Betta Electrical Great Eel Hunt, part of the New Plymouth District Couneil summer scene programme.
Council recreation programmes facilitator Angie Brown said there was standing room only around the band rotunda as the prizes were handed out.
As many as 2000 people either participated or watched the event, she said. Prizes were given for the heaviest, longest, shortest, ugliest, skinniest and most slimy eels caught.
A variety of methods were put to use, with some people using fishing rods while others employed a simple string, bait and sinker.
The banks of the park lakes and the bridge were packed with hopeful fishers of all ages.
One man tried using his own boat in the lake.
Ms Brown said he was asked to remove his boat for
safety reasons.
TDN, JANUARY 14, 1995
NO PLANS FOR LIFEJACKETS IN NP PARK
THE New Plymouth District Council has no plans to introduce life jackets for people using the boats on the city’s Pukekura Park lake.
A letter to the editor of the Daily News this week suggested that in the interests of water safety, those in the boats should wear lifejackets.
But parks director Colin Hosking said thousands of people had used the boats on the lake and as far as he could remember there had only been one drowning associated with their use.
Mr Hosking said he believed that drowning was due to a group of young people skylarking about in the boats.
The flat-bottomed dinghies were difficult to capsize and were only operated in reasonable weather.
He believed the risk in using the boats without lifejackets was small. Mr Hosking said it might be possible to have a supply of lifejackets available for those who wanted them.
TDN, MARCH 6, 1995
SEARCHLIGHT TATTOO
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TATTOO OVERVIEW: To the military sounds of guns blasting and pipe and brass bands blazing, Taranaki people marched en masse to the Searchlight Tattoo at Pukekura Park last night and Saturday night.
Ticket controller Bryan Robb, manager of New Plymouth Opera House, said there was some confusion over whether Pukekura Park’s capacity was 7000 or 9000.
“To be safe to patrons we decided to stop selling at 7000 because everyone told us a different capacity figure – but nobody was turned away,” said Mr Robb.
“There would be at least 7000 here tonight,” he said last night.
And aside from an opening hitch at Saturday’s tattoo, in which two parachutists landed in Liardet St and two inside the park, the night was fabulous, said Mr Robb.
The tattoo was part of the opening weekend programme of the Taranaki Festival of the Arts.
In another festival activity, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery celebrated 25 years of operation on Saturday with the unveiling of its lastest exhibition, New Zealand Light, which features light sculptures by New Zealand artists.
Technic Group managing director John Matthews, a past gallery chairman, unveiled and cut a silver anniversary cake—a model of the gallery made for the occasion by Auckland artist Judy Darragh.
Taranaki Festival of the Arts chairman Grant Kerr spoke about the achievements of previous festivals and gallery director Priscilla Pitts introduced the exhibition.
TDN, APRIL 7, 1995
PUKEKURA PARK’S FERNERY FEATURED
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FERNS, ferns, ferns—tonight some serious fern-talk is the hot topic on the Palmers Garden Show at 7.30 on TV One.
Bill Ward heads for New Plymouth to check out the gorgeous Pukekura Park Fernery, and to chat with a man who knows the ins and outs of fern-growing.
Ken Davey is the senior technical officer at the fernery, and offers some excellent tips to the home gardener on the general conditions required for ferns to thrive.
The peaceful Pukekura Park Fernery has been in the fern-growing business for more than 65 years.
Established in 1928, the fernery comprises a series of fern-clad tunnels leading into four contrasting display houses.
To add to the brilliant display of New Zealand and exotic ferns, the fernery also features flowering and foliage plants – but ferns take centre-stage in tonight’s programme.
Later in the show, the wonderful Jack Hobbs—the Palmers Garden Show’s “How to … ” man – offers further tips on the growing and care of ferns.
TDN, APRIL 22, 1995
PUKEKURA PARK’S FUTURE BLEAK
GEORGE FULLER
THE extension of sealing to serve the stadium has prompted me to record the growing concerns I have relating to the future of Pukekura Park, both in terms of water flow, as influenced by sealing of the catchment, and aesthetic values as influenced by sealing of paths.
The water catchment for Pukekura Park and Brooklands Park is bounded by the racecourse, Highlands Intermediate School, Junction Rd, Carrington St and Victoria Rd.
Rainfall within this basin would have been originally absorbed by bush, then later by pasture, thereby feeding natural groundwater reservoirs. Flow released into watercourses would have been relatively steady throughout the year.
Between 1878 and 1928, five dams were built, resulting in the formation of three lakes and two ponds which are significant attractions, but over the past 60 years rapid residential development of the upper catchment with consequent impact on drainage patterns has had dramatic influence on flow patterns.
Within minutes of rain starting to fall, large volumes of stormwater are now rapidly accumulated and dumped into the lower watercourses, starving the natural reservoirs.
As a consequence, the factor of flash-flooding has increased concurrent with replenishment of groundwater reserves being decreased. A state of extremes has evolved.
Flash flooding is immediate and obvious but the effects of reducing summer waterflow is far more insidious. The long-term impact could be as equally dramatic. The lakes are slowly dying. The stage has already been reached where in late February, the total through-flow in the waterwheel area could almost be bucketed away by hand. This volume simply cannot sustain life in several hectares of slack water.
Eutrophication is now advanced and within a few years the lakes will become ecologically “dead” over the critical summer period.
Extending the sealing of the stadium carpark will not in itself make a great deal of difference to the overall situation but the sealing of the nearby stable yard a few years ago certainly did.
Whereas previously the daily washings had undergone filtration via discharge into a bushed area, they are now in the Pukekura watercourse within minutes via a drain, but plans are apparently in hand to change this situation.
There is, however, cause for concern over yet another sealing project being undertaken, but it has no direct relationship to water. It concerns the sealing of paths.
In my 25 years associated with administration of the park I do not recall serious complaints being expressed over the condition of the major paths. I therefore find it difficult to see justification for the sealing which has already commenced, unless it be to expedite more rapid and comfortable movement of servicing vehicles. If it be for reasons of maintenance, then perhaps the homework was not completed. Sealing around an artificial lake with large trees to the margin is a different proposition from sealing a city street. My real concern has its origins deeper than that of material cost or questions of maintenance. For most park users, there is the dominating feeling that they are in natural surroundings. I have a strong conviction that this subtle and precious delusion may be eroded by being obliged to walk on pavements. Over and above my anxiety over the intrusion of seal into the walking areas of the park, I find the edging in brick totally incongruous.
It is so easy to be critical from a distance—even cynical—but my concerns are genuine and based on careful observations over time.
With regard to sealing of paths, judgement can be easily made by walking from the Tea House to the bridge and then projecting one’s thinking to encompass all major paths between the Bowl and the playground. I have yet to meet a park-user happy about this prospect, though admittedly I have not canvassed extensively.
I could bear to walk on pavements around the park if that was the wish of the community, but I have great difficulty dealing with the real prospect of the park without its lakes. It is my belief that any funds which can be accumulated to further the questionable sealing of the paths would be much more wisely spent financing a major study of the whole catchment with research into every possible means of ensuring a reliable flow of quality water during summer.
Nature has been gradually pushed to the limit and time to find a solution is rapidly running out. This problem cannot be resolved within Pukekura Park or with current resources. Previous community values are at stake on both issues raised.
TDN, MAY 22, 1995
PUKEKURA LAKES MAY ONE DAY BE JUST A MEMORY
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URGENT action is needed to save the Pukekura Park lakes from dying over summertime, says former park curator George Fuller.
That death could come within a decade and would mean black repugnant-smelling water, no waterfowl and no boating, he predicted.
He hoped that the flood-control skills which had kept to a minimum city flooding from last month’s once-in-a-century rainstorm would be used to save the park. “My casual observations of flow rates through the park, together with those of changing plant and waterfowl populations, compel me to suggest that we are perhaps within 10 years of total summertime death of the lakes.”
District council horticultural assets manager Mike Nicholls said he agreed with Mr Fuller’s basic principles, but there was no simple answer. A multi-pronged approach was needed, dealing with areas above the park as well as the park itself. The solutions would come not in one year or two, but by a step-by-step approach.
Mr Fuller said finding a way to improve the summer water flow was a complex problem, but the developments on the high plateau shared between the racecourse and Highlands Intermediate School might hold the key to salvation for the park.
“But lateral thinking is required,” said Mr Fuller. “Any effort to speed drainage from this plateau will strike the death knell for the park. In fact, a form of undraining is required.”
Between Fillis and Upjohn Sts he had seen water —the park’s lifeblood—bubbling from 40 springs which were fed from the plateau. There was an impressively even spread of 17 springs between Fillis St and the Bowl of Brooklands, 19 between the Bowl and List St, and four beyond to Upjohn St. Most originated from non-residential land, and continued to serve the eastern reach of the Pukekura-Brooklands-Maranui Gully watercourse throughout summer.
“If all the stormwater that accumulated on the plateau could be first channeled into a system of dispersed underground reservoirs from which it could slowly permeate into the water table sustaining the 40 springs, an engineering masterpiece would be the result because not only would the risk of flash flooding be reduced, even in the Rogan St area, but the high-level water table vital to the future of the park would be replenished.
“Too costly? What price Pukekura Park?” Mr Fuller asked.
In the past, the park’s wellbeing had been safeguarded by the continuity of long-serving administrators and staff. “But now it’s remote, and the link with the community and the park isn’t strong any more. I feel quite sympathetic towards people coming from other areas with the responsibility of administering this park and not having anything to do with it.”
Another possible threat to the park’s character came from the contracting out of basic work to companies from outside.
Perhaps the time had come for a Friends of Pukekura Park organisation to be established, Mr Fuller suggested.
Mr Nicholls said the protection of the watercourse through the park has been recognised in the forward plan. “Several projects are listed for cleaning out the waterways. We are trying to tap into resources in the community, and we are investigating the supply of a mobile dredge.
“Over the next two to three years, we are planning to dredge the upper lakes to reduce the amount of silt travelling into the main lake. The main lake is more difficult, because we have to dredge it and cart the effluent somewhere without damaging the vegetation. We are looking for the most sensitive solution to that; we have made inquiries to firms around the district and have our own engineers looking at it as well.’
TDN, MAY 25, 1995
FRIENDS OF THE PARK BACK CALL TO SAVE LAKES
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THE newly-formed Friends of the Park group has thrown its weight behind former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller’s attempts to save that park’s lakes.
“We think the council should listen to him as he is the one with the practical knowledge … he used to walk through the park every day, he knows what he is talking about,” said Friends of the Park founders Heather Allen and Patricia Stewart at the New Plymouth park yesterday
“Saving the lakes is our number one priority… there should be a resident curator at the park. This (park) is too important to be managed from a distance,” added Ms Allen.
“We totally support Mr Fuller’s concerns and, like him, believe the formation of such a group is long overdue.”
Earlier this week Mr Fuller told The Daily News urgent action was needed to save the park’s lakes from dying—something which would mean black repugnant-smelling water, no waterfowl and no boating.
He hoped the council’s flood-control skills, which had minimised city flooding during last month’s once-in-a-century rainstorm, would be used to save the park and its lakes.
Although New Plymouth District Council horticultural assets manager Mike Nicholls agreed in principle with Mr Fuller, he said there was no simple answer to the problems facing the park.
However, Ms Allen said the council should know how the people of the district felt about the main city park.
She and Ms Stewart would be organising a public meeting in the next few weeks to gauge support for planned FOP activities, which included liaising with the council over future management of the lakes.
TDN, MAY 27, 1995
COUNCIL WRELCOMES GROUP’S INVOLVEMENT IN CITY PARKS
THE New Plymouth District Council has welcomed the formation of the Friends of the Park group, saying it will be good for the city’s Pukekura and Brooklands Parks.
“Pukekura Park was administered for its first 50 years by a board of trustees until it was handed over to the then borough council … and it has always been highly regarded by the citizens of the district,” said NPDC community services committee chairman Lyn Bublitz last night.
“A friends group will further strengthen the parks’ importance as district amenities and build on this community involvement.”
Earlier this week New Plymouth residents Heather Allen and Patricia Stewart formed the Friends of the Park group, with the aim of preserving and enhancing the parks’ lakes, after former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller warned urgent action was needed to prevent the lakes from dying.
His main fear was that alterations to city drainage systems was depriving the lake of fresh water, particularly in the summer.
Mr Bublitz said the management plan for the parks, which was recently adopted by the council, would ensure the future maintenance and development of the parks.
The lakes, which had been formed by damming sections of the area to capture the natural occurring water springs and seepage, were subject to continual silting and the removal of this silt posed major problems.
The council was presently repairing the damage caused by last month’s floods and reinstating the cloudy bowl lakes. Dredging the lower lakes would start within the next financial year.
“Those who love the park and …everyone in the district can be assured the policies outlined in the management plan will be adhered to, the lakes preserved and even further enhanced,” said Mr Bublitz.
MIDWEEK, JULY 12, 1995
EXTRA PARKING SPACES AT PARK
A new public car park being built in New Plymouth’s Victoria Rd is expected to ease parking congestion near the entrances to Pukekura Park.
New Plymouth District Council horticultural assets manager, Mike Nicholls says the 600m² area would create about 20 extra parking spaces.
“The project is part of Pukekura Park management plan which identified there was often a clutter of vehicles near the entrance to the main sportsground at the park.”
Mr Nicholls says the plan also identified the need for several more smaller car parks at other other entrances to the park.
“It was important that the new car parks did not intrude into the park and the Victoria Rd project is a good example of this.”
A hedge, several old fruit trees and a few sheds were removed to make way for the new site.
The area was the former curator’s garden and included mostly old sheds and buildings so nothing of value was destroyed, says Mr Nicholls. The project also includes cleaning up walkways leading to the playground and water fall.
Mr Nicholls says rather than distract from the beauty of the park the car park has tidied up the area and will be a valuable facility for users.
It’s expected to be completed sometime next month.
TDN, JULY 20, 1995
OIL EXPERTISE MAY SOLVE LAKE MUD POSER
A PUMPING system commonly used in oil exploration industry may be used to clear the tonnes of silt which line the bottom of the lakes at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
The lakes were last cleaned out in the mid-1960s and the New Plymouth District Council estimated that since then, up to 12,000m³ of sludge now had to be removed, community services manager Alan Jellyman said yesterday.
The community services committee recommended a trial costing $30,000 be carried out, but Mr Jellyman warned the committee that if the system was successful, cleaning the whole system could cost about $300,000.
Until the mid 1960s, silt was sluiced out of the lakes to the Huatoki Stream using high pressure hoses, but in the age of the Resource Management Act this was no longer appropriate, he said.
The aim was to find a method which did not too heavily affect the surrounding paths, vegetation and use by visitors, he said.
Initially, the parks division had looked at using two mobile suction dredges which would pump sludge with a high water content to a large number of trucks.
“Because of the nature of this material, freight costs would be considerable and finding a suitable disposal site is a major problem. Estimates suggest that between 10,000 and 12,000m³ of material will have to be removed to clean out the lake system.”
But Mr Jellyman said a new system, more commonly used in the oil exploration industry, had come to the division’s attention.
This system would remove most of the water from the silt, resulting in cheaper sludge to transport, with minimal set up costs, and little environmental damage or disruption to visitors.
Mr Jellyman said Fluid Equipment Ltd planned to trial the system for 14 working days. The trial would start at the upper reaches of the main lake, working from the Rhododendron Dell towards the boat shed.
A slurry would be pumped by pipeline to a dewatering station set up on Brooklands Park Dr, producing at least 7m³ of dry sludge an hour. Removing and trucking away the sludge would cost $30 per cubic metre.
Mr Jellyman said the trial would cost about $30,000, which could be paid for from the Pukekura Park Trust Fund.
However, if the trial was successful, it could cost up to $300,000 to clean up the whole lake system.
Mr Jellyman said the project would need the approval of the Taranaki Regional Council.
OCTOBER 30, 1995
PROTECT NATURAL BEAUTY OF PARK
DURING the recent elections, the future of the central Devon St area came under close scrutiny. The full gamut of emotions were exercised from the purely aesthetic to the purely financial.
Few seem to be aware that a close potential parallel exists concerning another local feature to which most have an even deeper affinity Pukekura Park.
The management plan Pukekura and Brooklands Parks, 1993 reveals:
12.1(a) Primary pathways with paved surfaces.
Presumably all the paths surrounding the lakes, Shortland St walk, Smith walk, and the surrounds of the bandstand are to be asphalted.
24.0 … There has been discussion over creating a new entrance to the fernery.
Both these projects are under action. Is this what the community wants?
During 25 years in the park I gained the impression that the natural state of unsealed paths was a precious asset. I recall only one justified complain about their condition. I also learned much about the inherent instability of margins of the artificial lakes and the power of roots beneath hard seal. Not a good basis for introducing sealed surfaces, even if that was deemed aesthetically acceptable.
My inquiries reveal unrest over the proposal to construct a foyer at the entrance tunnel to the fernery.
Visitors are enthralled at, and never forget the sense of adventure experienced in entering this magic place through an unlikely tunnel in a bank. Why destroy this unique experience? I am left mystified !!!
Asphalt and architectural structures are alien to what most perceive as the special natural character of our park. Is there justification for spending large sums of money on developments that threaten the subtle character it embodies?
The gulf between the community and those making decisions on its behalf has widened in recent years.
It must be narrowed. It is therefore very gratifying to note that a group calling itself Friends of the Park has been formed. It is to be hoped that this will provide a channel through which hopes and aspirations may flow in both directions.
Let us keep out park enticingly simple.
1996
TDN, FEBRUARY 27, 1996
WALK IN PARK TURNED INTO LABOUR OF LOVE
With pic
MOSES was found in the bullrushes, but Andrew was found in the agapanthus.
The agapanthus in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, at 3.30pm on Sunday, to be exact.
Sue Langslow was walking in the park with her husband, John, and their three sons when the latest member of their family decided his time had arrived.
“We got to the red bridge and she had a massive contraction and said, We’d better get out of here’.
“We got to the kiosk and she said: ‘It’s too late!’,” said Mr Langslow.
“Halfway between the bridge and the kiosk on an agapanthus bush, on the side of the track, Sue gave birth, I had to catch him before he fell.
“I ripped off my T-shirt and I wrapped him in that. The whole thing took about five minutes.”
John said he had been there for the birth of his other children, but had never been quite this involved.
“At about 2am the morning before, we took Sue to the hospital and nothing happened.
“Our GP told us to go for a walk in Pukekura Park and said that might make something happen.”
During the delivery drama, two women took the Langslows’ three sons off for ice-creams while two men stood at each end of the track keeping back strollers. One of them called an ambulance on his walkie-talkie.
“We would like to thank the ladies in the park and the guy with the walkie-talkie, they were really helpful. Without them it would have been a lot more complicated.
“There were about 100 people outside the kiosk and they all cheered and clapped as we went past, yelling was it a boy or a girl? It was real neat.’
Sue said the births of other sons Stuart, William and Michael – all born within the walls of Stratford Hospital – had been quick, but not that quick.
“It was one contraction and wham!” said Sue.
“There’s nothing you can do about it when they decide to come.’
Andrew James Langslow weighed 2.3kg and was scheduled to arrive on tomorrow.
TDN, MARCH 14, 1996
COUNCILORS GIVE MIXED RECEPTION TO FERNERY PLAN
A COVERED entrance is part of plans for a more than $500,000 upgrade of the fernery and display houses at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
But the plans, unveiled at yesterday’s New Plymouth District Council community services committee, were opposed by some councillors who feared the extensions would destroy the natural character of the fernery.
Parks planning officer Mike Nicholls said the park management plan highlighted a number of weaknesses of the fernery and display houses.
These included:
- An entrance which new visitors had difficulty finding.
- The age of the framing and increasing maintenance.
- The expense and difficulty of replacing glass panes from vandalism and the potential danger from falling glass.
- Poor working conditions and confused layout within the production area.
- A lack of access for disabled people.
Mr Nicholls said the whole project would cost between $500,000 and $600,000. However, the first stage, to be paid for from the non-rates funded Pukekura Park trust fund, would cost $100,000. This involved developing the plant preparation room, renewing the underground services and building the entrance shelter.
Further stages included developing a covered walkway linking the begonia house and the northern end of two display houses and re-roofing the main houses with laminated safety glass.
But Eileen Gundesen said she was opposed to the entrance which she believed would destroy the naturalness of the existing entrance.
Mrs Gundesen said friends from the United States marvelled at the natural entrance to the fernery. Kim Gilkison also expressed concern, saying that the entrance-way looked similar to tourist-type facilities throughout the world.
But Lynn Bublitz said it was important to have a sheltered area at the entrance.
“I have taken groups through and there is no place big enough to get the groups together before we move through the houses. I don’t think this will detract from the naturalness of the set-up.”
TDN, MARCH 15, 1996
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS SILT REMOVAL FROM LAKE
THE New Plymouth District Council looks set to push ahead with plans to pump silt out of the Pukekura Park lakes.
Since the lakes were last dredged in the 1960s, some 12,000m³ of silt has built up, reaching up to two metres deep in places. In summer, with so much silt and little water moving through them, the lakes often smell.
Over summer, Drilling Fluid Equipment Ltd carried out a trial in the waterway leading through the Rhododendron Dell, using machinery commonly used in the oil industry. The council set aside $30,000 for the trial.
This system removes most of the water from the silt.
Parks planning officer Mike Nicholls told the community services committee on Wednesday that the company had to adapt its equipment to deal with lake silt and the debris in it.
“The firm is now confident that each part of their system, from the cutting head and suction pumps through to the dewatering plant, will meet the challenges of the job. Drilling Fluid Equipment invested heavily in researching and developing equipment for this task, with only nominal cost to the council.”
The committee recommended $150,000 be set aside in the 1996-97 financial plan to remove 3500m³ of sediment from the area south of the Poet’s Bridge, which has the greatest amount of sediment. This would be the first of two or three stages to remove the sediment from the lakes.
However, a push by Brian Bellringer, Lynn Bublitz, Peter Tennent and Eileen Gundesen to carry out the whole project in one year did not meet with the committee’s approval. The total project would cost about $350,000.
Mrs Gundesen: “The park lake stinks. It needs to be cleaned out and it needs to be cleaned out quickly. If we don’t sit up and take notice we won’t have a treasure any longer.”
Chairman Heather Dodunski conceded that the sediment was a problem and that the lakes often stunk, but that had to be balanced against a rating level which residents could afford.
TDN, MARCH, 1996
OUT WITH THE OLD TURF AND IN WITH THE NEW
With pic
DIG THIS: Pukekura Park will never be the same again. A major upgrade is taking place, with the 24-year old cricket wicket block being totally replaced.
The new block will consist of Patamahoe clay, which is also used at Auckland’s Eden Park. Over the years the wicket quality has slowly deteriorated with natural ageing. That has meant Cricket New Zealand has downgraded the Park’s wicket, making it ineligible as a premier venue.
The project is being managed by the New Plymouth District Council, in conjunction with the New Zealand Turf Institute.
TDN, APRIL 26, 1996
WATER IS HIGH ON AGENDA FOR PARK GROUP
WATER is at the top of the agenda for Friends Of The Park, a group of residents wanting to protect New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
By working on projects such as water monitoring, tree planting and future park developments, the group aims to help maintain and improve the popular tourist attraction.
“We are worried about decreasing water flows over summer due to residential developments in the catchment areas,” said member George Fuller. “We are also hoping to prevent the New Plymouth Jockey club from discharging effluent into the lakes as we feel this may be responsible for the unhealthy state of the lake water.”
Taranaki Polytechnic tutor Elise Smith has been working with her students on a project to monitor the water flows and quality within the parks several lakes.
Such research has not previously been conducted in the park and it is hoped the data collected will help in managing future flow levels and quality.
The Friends Of The Park held its first annual general meeting on Wednesday night at the Bellringer Pavilion to elect a committee and discuss issues important to Pukekura Park.
Mr Fuller said the group would help within the park through working bees and also work at the consultative level, liaising with the New Plymouth District Council on park related matters.
The group also planned to represent the public regarding future projects involving the fernery, display house, path sealing and sludge removal.
TDN, MAY 8, 1996
PARK MAKES ITS MARK BY POST
With pic
New Plymouth’s favourite park will be licked and stuck to millions of envelopes later this year.
Pukekura Park has been selected by New Zealand Post to appear on the 40 cent stamp of a scenic collection to be issued in November. The collection will feature images of parks and gardens throughout New Zealand.
The news has been welcomed by Tourism Taranaki chief executive Elaine Gill.
“The 40 cent stamp is the most used so that’s great news, it means lots of free publicity for New Plymouth,” she says.
Ms Gill is urging local businesses to forgo franking machines and use stamps while the scenic collection is in use.
“We are encouraging all businesses in Taranaki to choose stamps at that time. The general population can also enjoy using them. “We had a lot of good feedback from the stamp that featured the Ngamotu Golf Course last year. It even impacts overseas, the stamps raise peoples’ awareness about what there is to see and do here,” she says.
Russell Watson, general manager of New Zealand’s Philatelic Bureau, says the scenic collection is always a popular issue.
“Every year we do a scenic issue with mountains, lakes, rivers, bays and so on. This year we decided to take a different slant with scenic images from the four seasons and we wanted to go with gardens and parks.
Collectors look forward to the scenic issues every year, and colourful gardens are always popular with stamp collectors, which is why Pukekura Park was chosen,” he says.
Mr Watson says “several million” Pukekura Park 40 cent stamps will be issued. The stamp will display the striking view over the park’s main lake, with Poets Bridge in the foreground and the mountain looming in the background.
The image has been designed by Hamish Thompson and painted by Jeremy Bennett, both from Wellington.
There are five stamps in the entire series, the other images coming from Seymour Gardens in Blenheim, Winter Gardens in Auckland Marine Park in Napier and the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch.
TDN, AUGUST 15, 1996
CLEANING THE BOWL
With photo
FEEDING THE HOMELESS: Hong Kong tourist Wing Kei Chan (7) feeds the ducks at New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands, which is being renovated.
A project to replace the Bowl’s old wooden stage began on Tuesday with contractors filling the area once covered by decking.
The lake was drained earlier this month to allow works to begin—leaving the resident ducks somewhat confused.
Bowl Trust chairman Michael Keat said the old stage was completely rotten and would soon be replaced by a single-level concrete stage.
“The idea is to give the venue the capacity to put in a full orchestra as well as bringing performers closer to the audience,” he said.
“The size of the lake won’t be reduced at all, we are just filling the area beneath where the old wooden stage used to be,” said Mr Keat.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 13, 1996
PUKEKURA PARK EELS
LIKE A. J. McCormick (September 10), I am also very concerned at the threat to birdlife posed by eels in the lakes and streams of Pukekura and Brooklands.
It was a delight to see the adult pair of black swans with their brood of three cygnets late last spring, but depressing to see, in the space of a few days, first one and then another disappear. Against all odds, one did survive and is the only swan left today. I haven’t seen the adult pair for months.
It is not only the eels that pose a threat at breeding time. I have often seen young people using the hired boats to clamber up onto the small islands where ducks and swans nest. It will be a sad day when the swans disappear completely from our best known and most visited lake.
I A BARRETT, New Plymouth.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 24, 1996
SPRING CLEAN AT LAKE
With photo
SILT SUCKER: Paul Hopkins from Drilling Fluid Equipment Ltd uses a suction hose and specialised gear to remove silt from Pukekura Park’s main lake.
The machinery, which was adapted from equipment used in the oil industry, removes most of the water from the silt which is then trucked away.
The New Plymouth District Council is spending $150,000 this year to remove up to 3500msup3 of sediment in the area south of the Poet’s Bridge—the area which has the greatest amount of sediment.
Since the lakes were last dredged in the 1960s, some 12,000m³ of silt had built up, reaching up to 2m deep in places.
In summer, with so much silt and little water moving through them, the lakes often smell.
TH, OCTOBER 1, 1996
PLAY PROJECT FOR PUKEKURA PARK
Seven new play structures will be built at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, this summer and other equipment upgraded and repainted.
The $18,500 project was announced today by New Plymouth Parents Centre and the Taranaki Savings Bank.
Five climbing frames, some with slides, bridges, tyre swings and balancing beams are among the new equipment planned.
Parents centre president Sonia Watson said the aim is to provide safe, imaginative play equipment which fits the environment.
“It’s safe but it’s going to be challenging as well.”
The paddling pool will be adapted to have a shallow end, a seat, bridge and stepping stones.
Impact-absorbing surfaces will be used under all equipment.
A pre-school area will be almost entirely enclosed and children with special needs have been considered.
Extra seats and picnic tables will be built.
The project was designed by New Plymouth City Council parks and recreation department horticulture and planning manager Graham Mulvay. Lions clubs will do the work.
Materials will cost $18,500, to be provided by the bank. The area will be called the TSB play area.
A parents centre survey of all city play areas showed Pukekura Park was the most popular but that playground equipment is considered old and unimaginative, said parents centre member Mary Bird.
Children under five made up 60% of playground users but most equipment was designed for older children.
The 1984 to 1985 survey also found 60% of equipment needed painting and 32% needed repairing.
TDN, OCTOBER 10, 1996
NEW PITCH PRIMED TO ENTERTAIN
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK has a new pitch that should provide higher scoring and more entertaining matches, says New Plymouth District Council parks and recreation officer Steve Crowe.
“The whole wicket block was re-laid and levelled in autumn, and now we’re just making the final touch-ups to get it finished.”
Crowe said the pitch had been re-laid with Patamahoe clay and the newly-covered area was six wickets wide.
“We’ve been instructed to have it ready for the fourth weekend in November, so we are just working to sort out the levels.”
“There are a couple of soft spots, and we are working to have them filled and ready for the start of the season.
“Once the pitch is sorted out, we hope it will be much faster, with more bounce, and a lot less spin.”
Crowe said the old pitch was passed its prime and had a habit of taking spin on the first day of a match.
“The old soil had lost its pace and bounce, but the new clay is far more durable, tacky stuff.”
“Patamahoe soil is harder, and it holds together a lot better in winter, so it should last very well, and we are expecting good things from it.”
The pitch will get its first international when a New Zealand Academy XI plays England on January 10.
The new pitch may take a while to wear in, but Crowe was confident it would make for some good cricket this season.
“Traditionally, the first year a pitch doesn’t play too well, but once the new clay has settled in we could be looking at some high scoring matches.”
TDN, NOVEMBER 13, 1996
PUKEKURA PARK STAMPS ITS AUTHORITY
With photo
PICTURE THIS: New Plymouth Post Shop manager Hec Stockman checks out New Zealand Post’s latest stamp which features the city’s Pukekura Park.
In the background is an enlargement of the image which graces the 80 cent stamp which includes Mt Egmont, although the mountain was typically shrouded in cloud yesterday.
The stamp, which goes on sale today, is one of five highlighting scenic gardens throughout New Zealand. The others are Blenheim’s Seymour Square Garden (40 cent), Auckland’s Wintergarden ($1), Christchurch’s Botanic Gardens ($1.50) and Napier’s Marine Parade Gardens ($1.80).
To coincide with the release of the stamp, mail passing through the Taranaki Mail Centre from today until the end of December will be franked with the message: “Festival of Lights, Pukekura Park, Taranaki NZ, Dec to Feb,” he said.
New Zealand Post had also arranged for the Friends of Pukekura Park group to set up a display in the central post office to promote the park.
As well, Tourism Taranaki would be encouraging businesses to use the 80c stamp on all fastpost mail, overseas Christmas cards and small packets.
TDN, NOVEMBER 21, 1996
PLAN CALLS FOR MAJOR UPGRADE TO CITY ZOO
NEW PLYMOUTH’S Brooklands Zoo may be upgraded to include a farmyard exhibit and improved displays.
The upgrade over the next four years could cost up to $350,000.
The New Plymouth District Council’s community services committee yesterday recommended a development plan for the zoo be adopted as a draft for consultation with the community.
Landscape architect Richard Bain said considerable parts of the zoo needed to be upgraded due to the quality and age of the cages and general maintenance.
The proposed first stage involved turning the former deer compound into a farmyard exhibit.
“We looked at the essential character of the zoo and believe we have succeeded in keeping the character of the place, namely that it feels like a park and is a great place to have a picnic, and also the good feeling about safety for children.
“We wanted to retain that characteristic and looked at pulling the cages in the middle out and putting the animal exhibits around the perimeter with a central lawn and playground in the middle,” he said.
TDN, NOVEMBER 22, 1996
GRANT ENABLES BOWL REVAMP TO GO AHEAD
THE upgrading of the Bowl of Brooklands is on course, thanks to a $100,000 grant.
Bowl trust chairman Michael Keat said yesterday that the TSB Community Trust had given a $100,000 grant in return for the venue being known as the TSB Bowl of Brooklands for the next 10 years.
Demolishing the old stages and the two towers and replacing them with a single-level concrete stage and a roof to cover it was originally estimated to cost about $100,000. But detailed design work resulted in a price tag of $235,900.
If the grant had not been made, the Bowl trust would not have been able to complete the project, but the work was now under way thanks to the community trust, he said.
The concrete stage was due to be finished at the end of November, with the roof being finished by late January.
Mr Keat said he did not expect any negative feedback from changing the Bowl’s name. “I think the advantage of changing the name is that people are going to see the venue improve. It has been a dead duck for quite a while now . . . so the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.”
Mr Keat said that with one floor level that was covered by a roof, performers could set up their equipment much closer to the front of the stage and would effectively be about 10m closer to the audience.
As well, the new stage was 1.5m higher than old one, so the audience would not be looking down at the performers on stage. The stage, at 27m wide and 20m deep, was large enough to accommodate a full symphony orchestra.
Mr Keat said the improvements would make the venue more flexible and hopefully attract more concerts.
Roofing of the stage would also avoid situations where concerts were cancelled in the morning because it was raining, only to have the weather clear in the afternoon or evening, he said.
Community trust chairman David Walter said the organisation had made major grants to several sporting complexes and was delighted to be involved with the Bowl as an outdoor cultural and entertainment centre.
“The growing recognition and importance of Taranaki’s Festival of the Arts helps underline that the Bowl has an exciting future. These plans for redevelopment will really open up a wide range of opportunities.
“Many living in Taranaki still recall those marvellous evenings at the Bowl right back to the 1950s and we hope these spectacular experiences can be rekindled well into the 21st Century.”
Other project funds had come from the Bowl trust and $80,000 from the J. T. Gibson Memorial Trust.
TDN, NOVEMBER 23, 1996
FESTIVAL STAFF WELCOME CHANGE
ORGANISERS of the Taranaki Festival of the Arts have welcomed the proposed Bowl of Brooklands facelift.
Festival director Roger King said the upgrading would provide a secure venue for future Arts Festival productions and help attract bigger audiences.
He said the improvements would be perfectly timed for the next festival’s major outdoor production, the Willow Pattern Story, as the new covered stage would prevent the show being cancelled through rain.
The concrete stage was due to be finished at the end of November, and the roof in late January.
THE TSB Community Trust gave $100,000 to revamp the New Plymouth concert venue, in return for it being renamed TSB Bowl of Brooklands.
TDN, NOVEMBER 23, 1996
FERNERY UPGRADE PLANNED FOR PARK
WORK will soon begin to upgrade the Pukekura Park fernery as part of a four-year plan.
The first stage, to be finished in this financial year, includes placing a new, single roof over houses two and three, and developing a covered walk at a cost of just under $100,000.
In future years it is planned to improve the entrance to the fernery, develop the interior of the covered walk and re-roof the Kibby House and the first house, the New Plymouth District Council community services committee was told on Wednesday.
The upgrade of the fernery was subject to considerable debate when the council discussed its annual plan earlier in the year, and proposals for a covered entrance or “vestibule” to the fernery were dropped.
Senior parks planner Anthony Joines said after the annual plan was passed, it was decided to re-examine the whole project. This involved setting up a working party involving council and community representatives, including former park curator George Fuller.
The fernery was threatened by the growth of trees shading the complex and the age of the structure, and had to face increasing demands from visitors for new experiences and accessibility, he said.
Mr Joines said creating a covered walk, by extending houses 2 and 3, would provide a viewing gallery into those houses, improve access to disabled visitors and a one-way circuit through the fernery.
Plans for covering the entrance had not been finalised, but would be “subtle but effective,” he said. This would provide a clearer entrance as well as a small area of cover that reduced congestion at the entrance.
Lynn Bublitz said the proposals would not destroy the integrity of the display houses. “It will add to the park itself and certainly goes towards cementing New Plymouth as one of the garden centres of the country.”
1997
TDN, FEBRUARY 4, 1997
NEW ROOF SUPPORT CAPS OFF BOWL RENOVATIONS
With photo
BOWL ME OVER: Paul Crossan from Inglewood Engineering works to put the new parabolic roof in place at New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands yesterday.
The front roof support, which is part of a $235,000 upgrade of the TSB Bowl, stretches 41.4m across, is about 12m high and is connected at each end to a concrete anchor in the lake in front of the stage.
The upgrade also includes a 27m wide and 20m deep concrete stage large enough to fit a full symphony orchestra and the roof to cover it. The stage is also 1.5m higher than the old wooden stage, and all at one level.
The project is to be finished in time for the ENZSO concert on February 26.
Money for the work has come from the TSB Community Trust ($100,000) which has secured naming rights for the venue for the next 10 years, the J. T. Gibson Memorial Trust ($80,000) and the Bowl of Brooklands Trust’s own funds.
TDN, FEBRUARY 26, 1997
BABE AMONG AGAPANTHUS RETURNS TO PLACE OF BIRTH
With photo
BABY Andrew Langslow, who made his entry into the world among the agapanthus in Pukekura Park, returned yesterday to celebrate his first birthday.
With him for the occasion were his parents Sue and Andrew Langslow and three brothers William, Michael, and Stuart.
The New Plymouth family had been taking a stroll in the park last year when Andrew decided it was time to make his entry into the world. Halfway between Poet’s Bridge and the park’s kiosk, Andrew, weighing 2.3kg, was delivered by his dad as his mum rested on an agapanthus bush.
“It was one contraction and wham,” said Mrs Langslow at the time.
Baby Andrew’s delivery drama has “made a few people smile”, said his mum.
Friends of Pukekura Park were about to make the one-year-old a honorary member, said president Trish Stewart. “We thought it would be a nice gesture.”
The Langslows hoped to hold Andrew’s birthday party in the park yesterday, but wet weather put on a damper on plans.
Instead, the one-year-old celebrated at home with a special Pukekura Park birthday cake.
“Our neighbour made—it it’s beautiful, it has a red bridge, trees, a lake and ducks on it,” said Mrs Langslow.
But despite the weather, Andrew, who is just taking his first steps, still managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the site of his unexpected delivery.
TDN, MARCH 11, 1997
BROOKLANDS ZOO IS SET FOR BIG UPGRADE
With photo
BROOKLANDS ZOO is getting set for a $300,000 redevelopment.
The New Plymouth zoo, which opened in 1963 as a Jaycees project, will be revamped over four years to provide a better environment for animals and visitors.
The boxed cell-like cages will largely go and in will come enclosures which use natural surroundings, such as branches, rocks and plants and which better blend in with the surrounding park.
The zoo will also be extended into what is now the plant nursery area, to make way for an aquatic and small mammal exhibit.
New Plymouth District Council parks director Grant Porteous said the zoo was in need of repair and it was now time to assess its future. “It’s something we want to maintain,” he said. “We get a significant level of visitors to the zoo; it’s a big attraction of the park.”
A feature of the new layout moves animals to the periphery of the zoo site, with the centre becoming a focal lawn or mini park. Themed exhibits such as a farmyard, where visitors could touch the animals, a small mammals area, underground animals and aquatic creatures are part of the new plan.
Zoo supervisor Logan Craig said the redevelopment was basically repackaging what was already there, but there might be some new animals. “It will remain part of the park, a small zoo,” he said, adding that there would be no giraffes or hippopotami wandering around. “We aren’t here to save the world. We’re not into major conservation efforts. It’s a display zoo that complements the park,” he said. It contained no animals that were “wild caught.” They were all unwanted captive-bred animals from other zoos.
Animal enclosures would not be enlarged as such but more redesigned. “There’s nothing that’s really cramped here for space,” he said.
Plans for the revamp were made public in February and were advertised at the zoo and the public asked to make submissions. A study last year showed that, increasingly, visitor experience of the zoo failed to meet today’s community expectation, because of changing perceptions of animal welfare and display.
Problems included large numbers of cages now poorly suited to animal habitat, harsh appearance of cages, run-down appearance, limited number of animals (particularly hands-on species), limited visitor facilities such as shelter, and existing materials not being predator-proof.
About $40,000 had been set aside this year to start the project with the farmyard area.
The zoo would remain a free entry facility, Mr Porteous said.
TDN, MARCH 27, 1997
WRONG TITLE
MAY I refer to the letter by Caroline J. Campbell (March 24). In 1958 when Eric Handbury was our public relations officer, he instigated the great attraction, the Festival of the Pines. Later, he named the Sound Shell—The Bowl of Brooklands; and, he instructed us, who were on his committee, to make sure that in future, no-one should call it the Brooklands Bowl.
I was on that committee, and we all assured him that as long as we lived we would honour his wish on behalf of New Plymouth. (I do not know how many of that committee are still alive).
Could I ask The Daily News and its readers to act as watch-dogs, so that this simple but important distinction is observed, and that the wrong title does not ease into common use?
RON HAMILTON
TDN, APRIL 5, 1997
MONKEY FACES DEATHSPCA SLAMS ZOO VANDALS AS BRAINLESS IDIOTS
With photo
ESCAPED zoo monkeys on the run in New Plymouth yesterday could have been shot and killed, thanks to the “brainless idiots” who slashed their cage on Thursday night to free them.
That was the reaction from the city’s SPCA yesterday. The organisation condemned the vandals who released the little brown Capuchin monkeys from their enclosure. One monkey was still on the run last night.
Six of the 10 monkeys were found outside their enclosure early yesterday when zoo staff turned up for work. Their wire cage had been cut open.
Four were lured back to the enclosure but two went on the run, on an adventure around Pukekura Park and one was spotted as far away as Mill Rd.
One, an adult male, was caught at the rear of the Bowl of Brooklands yesterday afternoon when zoo assistant Julie Sarton, who works with the monkeys, was able to feed it some banana laced with a tranquiliser.
Council staff said yesterday that if they couldn’t safely capture the remaining animal, it might have to be shot.
And while that was sad and unfortunate, SPCA inspector Judy White blamed it on the “brainless idiots” who let the monkeys out.
“If they are shot, I hope it plays on the conscience of the people who let them out,” she said.
“The monkeys will probably be quite traumatised. They wouldn’t know where they were. I lay all the blame on the people who let them out.”
Parks director Grant Porteous said yesterday, after the first monkey was recovered, that, unfortunately, shooting as an option could not be ruled out.
“But that is a very, very last resort,” he said. “We hope to capture it like this one, by tranquilising it.
“It has been seen around the park area again so it is maybe now heading back on its own.”
The zoo would be closed over the weekend, as it was yesterday, in the hope the young monkey would return.
Chris Connolly, council parks unit manager, said yesterday the incident came out of the blue. There had been no warning or threats regarding animal welfare at the zoo.
“These monkeys are not used to being in the wild. I don’t know why people would want to do it, it’s cruel,” he said.
If anybody spotted the monkey, they should contact the council by telephoning 759-6060 (after hours).
The monkey should not be approached as they could bite or scratch.
TDN, APRIL 8, 1997
FEARS RISE AS MONKEY STAYS AT LARGE
FEARS are rising for the safety of a young monkey, missing from New Plymouth’s Brookland’s Zoo.
The young monkey, about 18 months old, escaped from its enclosure on Thursday night with other Capuchin monkeys after vandals slashed open their cage.
The other monkeys were recovered and although there have been sightings of the remaining one, it is still at large and zoo staff now fear for its safety.
They say that, if it cannot be caught using sedatives or if it does not go back to its enclosure on its own within the next day or two, it may have to be destroyed. New Plymouth District Council senior parks planner Anthony Joines said yesterday that, as time went by, the likelihood of the monkey returning to the zoo on its own was becoming less.
“The time factor away from the rest of the monkey colony is also a concern with the non-acceptance by the other monkeys becoming quite probable,” he said.
“The health and wellbeing of the monkey is also a major problem. It is a very social animal and relies on the contact and comfort from others in its colony for survival.
“It will be foraging and feeding on leaves, branches and fruits in the native bush but this may not sustain it indefinitely.
“Whether it will survive with colder nights and wet autumn conditions is also questionable.”
Mr Joines said that as the monkey became hungry and lonely, it would be more stressed and, unfortunately, more dangerous to both itself and people it came across if cornered or restrained.
Two sightings of the monkey were reported yesterday, in Pukekura-Brooklands parks. But Mr Joines said zoo staff had limited options.
“The most desirable is to feed it fruit with sedatives mixed through it and then return the drugged animal to the enclosure.
“Tranquilliser shooting has been ruled out, as the monkey is so small it is a very difficult and dangerous process with the high probability of causing the animal severe physical injury.”
If the sedative option was unsuccessful and the monkey did not return to its enclosure within the next 24-48 hours, the only remaining option might be to destroy it.
“This is obviously not our preferred action but, in many ways, it may be the kindest thing to do for the monkey.”
Council staff remain on call to attend reported sightings and the New Plymouth YMCA Conservation Corp is helping with bush searches to follow up sightings.
Meanwhile, security at Brooklands Zoo has been stepped up following last Thursday’s incident. Parks director Grant Porteous said yesterday security guards were patrolling the area several times a night now.
“Keeping people out is very difficult, particularly on a site like that,” he said.
But with plans under way for the zoo redevelopment, security would be high on the agenda.
“It’s a case of trying to maintain user friendliness—so people can still view the animals. You can put up steel bars and all sorts of things . . . but we will be looking at our options as we go through the redevelopment process.”
TDN, APRIL 9, 1997
TEARS FLOW AS LAST ESCAPED MONKEY SHOTMISSING MONKEY SHOT AFTER RESCUE BID – FAILS
COUNCIL staff cried as the last runaway capuchin monkey was destroyed yesterday.
Brooklands Zoo and New Plymouth District Council parks staff were left with no option but to kill the monkey after being unable to trap the creature. The young capuchin was the last remaining escaper after vandals let the troop of monkeys out of their enclosure at the zoo last Thursday night.
Council senior parks planner Anthony Joines said the decision to destroy the monkey was done with a heavy heart—and deep anger that the capuchin had died because of the vandals’ stupidity. The decision had been made by parks management on advice from appropriate agencies, and after all other efforts to trap the monkey had failed.
The monkey was sighted in Pukekura Park at 3pm yesterday and zoo staff rushed to the scene. After trying to coax the monkey to take food laced with sedatives, it was clear the monkey had no intention of going near zoo staff, said Mr Joines.
“The only remaining option was to humanely deal with the monkey. The option to destroy the monkey took into account all factors, and particularly the welfare of the monkey itself.”
Mr Joines said it was an emotional scene, with zoo and parks staff crying as police moved in at 4.10pm and shot the monkey, which was up a tree in Goodwin Dell.
A tranqilliser gun could not be used because there was a big chance the monkey would have been fatally injured anyway. Even if it was captured there was also the possibility it would have been rejected by its troop.
THE missing monkey had been tracked by park staff since the breakout and the public had helped by reporting sightings.
Search parties had been active with tracker dogs, and baited cage traps and grid searches of the park had been used in an effort to return the capuchin to its home.
Mr Joines was furious at the actions of the vandals who smashed open the monkey enclosure at Brooklands—releasing the young monkey that would have been terrified being separated from its troop.
“It is extremely cruel to set free such an animal as this into a foreign and unfriendly environment.
“We hope the perpetrators are caught and pay for this heartless crime.”
SPCA North Taranaki inspector Judy White agreed.
“I lay the blame entirely at their feet. It was a very senseless and idiotic thing to do. You have to wonder where their brains are—if indeed they have any. It’s very sad there are people like this around that would do this to one poor, innocent little monkey.”
The animal would have been terror-stricken, Ms White said.
“It would have been frightened, traumatised, cold and hungry. It probably would have been in shock.
“One good outcome is that it was found and humanely put down. At least everyone can stop worrying about it now and we know it won’t suffer any more being out in the cold and wet.
“I just hope the people responsible for all of this have a conscience.”
TDN, APRIL 12, 1997
GRUFF GROUNDSMAN SEEMED MODEL FOR TELEVISION CHARACTER
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK groundsman Ian Berry died at the age of 57 recently.
Mr Berry was almost single-handedly responsible for the park earning the reputation as one of the best cricket wickets and grounds in New Zealand.
A seemingly gruff character on the outside, he was anything but when you got to know him, much in the style of the BNZ cricket advertisements, which feature the groundsman and his apprentice. It was a comparison well made by Mr Berry’s family in a poem printed in his death notice in The Daily News last weekend.
Written as a lament, it summed him up beautifully. Here are some extracts:
“21 years have come and gone, and memories fill the field.
“Oi, stop climbing up those banks.
“Get those bloody ducks off my park.
“He’d say with his eye all a spark
“The BNZ series of TV ads makes me chuckle and smile,
“Cause I see my Dad in every one.
When asked to comment on the weather he’d say: “It’s gunna stay fine—if it doesn’t rain.”
Those words capture the essence of Mr Berry perfectly, a view backed up by New Plymouth District Council parks’ general manager Nigel Dravitzki.
“Ian had been with the council for 21 years and took over looking after the park and the wicket 17 years ago,” he said.
“He was always colourful. A real personality and everyone identified him with those BNZ ads. On match days I used to help him, and I was always the apprentice,” Dravitzki recalled with a laugh.
“I spoke to Russell Wyllie, the groundsman at Lancaster Park who is generally regarded as the best in the country. He disputed that and nominated Ian as the best in New Zealand. That was the sort of regard he was held in by his peers.”
Dravitzki said Mr Berry was passionate about his job.
“He loved and looked after that block with a passion. He was very involved in re-laying the wicket block. His one big regret was he wanted another season with the wicket.”
That was typical of Mr Berry. Looking after and nurturing the Pukekura Park pitch was a labour of love. He will be missed.
Dravitzki said Mr Berry’s assistant, Bruce Shaw, would take over the position.
“While Ian was sick he produced a good first-class wicket. I’m confident Bruce will do a good job. He’s also had the benefit of working under Ian, of course.”
TDN, APRIL 15, 1997
SPRAYING IN PARK RAISES CONCERN ON HEALTH EFFECTS
A SPRAYING operation at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park last week could have exposed the public to a hazardous chemical.
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is now investigating the spraying of the park’s sportsground around mid-morning on Wednesday when a contractor, wearing full protective gear and in an enclosed vehicle, sprayed the area with the organophosphate Diazinon 800.
The main carpark was full at the time, it was drizzling with rain and a strong smell of spray was reported.
Steve Crowe, council recreation assets manager, said the spraying was part of a routine programme for grass grub.
He said the sprayer wore protective clothing, including a face mask, as part of standard health and safety procedures.
Mr Crowe said that by spraying in the rain or drizzle, the chemical went straight into the soil.
“It will be physically on the ground—there would be no problem (for the public),” he said.
But OSH New Plymouth manager Murray Thompson said yesterday it appeared the process was not being managed and OSH was concerned because it appeared members of the public were exposed to chemicals.
“Whether this contractor is self employed or employed by council, the end result is the same—they have to control it (a hazard) so that they do not cause harm to themselves or others,” he said.
“We want to know what processes this person has in place to manage it.
“We will be looking at all sorts of sections within the act—control of hazards, unsafe workplace, etc.
“We want to know they have identified all their hazards and have control and that they have either eliminated, isolated or minimised (the hazard).”
New Plymouth’s Olympic runner Nyla Carroll, was training in the park at the time last week and also noticed the spray.
While she had not noticed any ill-effects, she said a lot of athletes blamed spraying on tracks and in parks for problems they suffered.
She said yesterday it was worth drawing council’s attention to it.
She had also noticed a council worker spraying in the park last week on Brooklands Rd in the middle of the day.
“I noticed it blowing all over the place, it was windy, it had a really strong smell,” she said.
She mentioned it to her husband later who believed that if the council was spraying at that time of day, it wouldn’t be harmful.
But the spraying in the sportsground has drawn criticism from occupational health professional Pam Jenkins who said: “They shouldn’t be spraying where the public has access to it. That particular chemical, the public should be kept away from the area—people who are not wearing protection—because it can be a health hazard.”
The chemical, used to kill grassgrub, is a cholinesterase inhibitor, which means it attacks the nervous system, and the material safety data sheet which accompanies all chemicals clearly states it is a hazard to humans and domestic animals.
The council’s only warning was minor signage (roughly about 30cm square) attached to the railing around the field stating ‘keep off, spraying’.
TDN, APRIL 15, 1997
FRIEND FOR LIFE
With photo
Sue Langslow looks on as her son Andrew (1) is honoured as a life member of the Friends of the Park by the other life member, George Fuller.
Little Andrew saw Pukekura Park a lot earlier than most kids. In fact, he was born there when his mother went into labour suddenly on February 25, 1996.
Friends of the Park president Trish Stewart said the organisation wanted to honour Andrew because of his special link with the park.
“It’s also to mark the first year of the Friends of the Park and help us mark our first AGM since we began.
“Mr Fuller is a former curator and was the first person to be made a life member,” Mrs Stewart said. “We hope by honouring someone so young it will encourage younger people to take an interest in the park.”
The Friends of the Park annual meeting would be held at the Pukekura Park kiosk tomorrow night and would be open to the public, Mrs Stewart said.
TDN, JUNE 3, 1997
COMMITTEE PLANS TO RAISE ROOF AT FERNERY
With photo
THE first stage in a major upgrading of Pukekura Park’s fernery will soon be under way.
The $240,000 project, to place new rooves over the fernery’s second and third houses, was approved by the New Plymouth District Council’s community services committee last week and tenders should be called in the next month, senior parks planner Anthony Joines said.
It was hoped to have the work completed in time for this year’s Rhododendron Festival.
The upgrade would retain the existing caverns but raise the rooves by a couple of metres. This would allow many plants, which had to be cut back to stop them from pushing through the roof, to grow to a much taller height.
While people would still enter and leave the fernery through the first cave and house, the upgrade included a connection from the Kibby House (the fourth house) to the second house.
As well, visitors using the linking covered walk would be able to look down into both the second and third houses from above. Information and seats would also be provided in this area.
Similar structures, made from a stainless steel frame and toughened safety glass, could be used to upgrade the first house and Kibby House in the future.
Mr Joines said the upgrade was needed because the houses, built with wooden frames in 1926, were nearing the end of their life. Toughened glass would protect visitors and staff from vandals throwing stones on the rooves.
Some of the trees above the houses would be trimmed or removed to improve the limited light the fernery received, especially in winter.
George Fuller, the park’s former curator and member of the Friends of the Park group, welcomed the changes and the opportunity to be involved in the council’s working party.
“Changing the fernery is going to be an emotional issue in the community but we have to face the facts that inevitably there has to be change in rebuilding the houses and as far as I can see this proposed development will take account of most of the concerns people would have.” Mr Joines, also a former park curator, said he was excited by the move.
“The fernery is the number one attraction in the park and we can see this as only enhancing it.”
The design, construction and materials would all come from local suppliers, he said. Construction would take up to 12 weeks and the houses would be closed to visitors for some of that time.
TDN, JUNE 20, 1997
WONDERLAND OF TUNNELS AND FAMOUS FERNS
Ian McDowell
FAR more eloquent writers than I have described the magic of Pukekura Park’s Fernery and plant display houses.
They are truly unique, for the complex is interconnected by tunnels and, in the first three glasshouses, the side walls are cut from the volcanic clay on which there is a rich tapestry of ferns, mosses, liverworts and even terrestrial native orchids.
Come and experience them for yourself. You’ll find them in the Stainton Dell by taking the path through the cutting just past the lakeside Tea Kiosk.
On the way, look out the orange and yellow flowers of the bulbous Clivia nobills and the many varieties of ferns which are also part of the extensive collection of natives and exotics here.
When you reach the Fred Parker Lawn, take the path between the now nearly dormant herbaceous borders, go around the small rock garden surmounted by one of the largest specimens of the so called “dwarf” golden-leaved Hinoki Cypress, and you’ll find yourself at the entrance tunnel.
Tread the soft, sawdust-carpeted path and emerge into the restful greenery of the Fernery.
It would be easy to fill the whole of this article talking about this group of plants which helps to identify New Zealand and adds to our clean, green image.
To the left, there are borders of the rasp fern tangihau, Doodia media, a tough species that has lovely rosy-red new growth in the spring.
Above it is the distinctive neinei or Dracophyllum, so called because it resembles the dragon tree. Notable, too, is the basket of the fern Lycopodium hanging nearby, its pendulous foliage having two distinct forms, a characteristic of other indigenous plants.
Further around to the right of the tunnel are the moss-covered trunks of the crown fern, Blechnum discolour, beneath which the handsome shiny leaves of B. colensoi peek out.
On the island bed to the right of the entry steps, topped by a king fern, are the darker green, finely divided leaves of heru heru or Todea superba.
Walk around the “island” to see the strange bent trunk of Peneumatopteris above a limpid pool of water edged by filmy ferns, liverworts and selaginella.
The wheki ponga (a favourite of mine) is next. With its robust stem covered by fine brown roots, it looks almost like a cuddly teddy bear.
Moving on into the next house you encounter collections of cymbidium orchids, some with spikes of flowers already fully open, together with epiphytic bromeliads.
Groups of the richly coloured Zygocacuts in orange or pink, or pink and purple dominate the scene, together with white and green ornamental kale, the latter a gourmet’s delight. For those keen plants people seeking something different, look up on the second staging for the sprawling grey-foliaged Guichenotia macrantha. This small, West Australian shrub has lots of five-petalled, bell-shaped flowers in a pale lavender colour and is a real delight.
When you emerge from the next tunnel, note the group of globular, scarlet-red flowered Gloxinia sylvatica just to the left.
This house is bright with cinerarias, evergreen azaleas and vireya rhododendrons. The latter are also featured in the park, on the other side of the dell to these glasshouses.
In the heated Kibby House most people are attracted to the pool where you can seek out some members of the Gesneriaceae family.
Nearly at your feet, among leaves of brightly coloured Peperomias—the grass-like Scripus cernuus, Carex and Selaginella—is a group of the pale peach-flowered Alloplectus calaclamy.
Then there is a bold group of bright orange Smithianan Temple Bells and, further around, Kohleria hybrids come in purple and pink, their tubular flowers having lovely speckled petals.
Isoloma hondense, with rich scarlet flowers, can be found on display at several locations.
Also around the pool, a succulent Bryophyllum tuberfolia has serried ranks of greyish leaves, each tipped with youngsters ready to root should they fall, and a crown of pale orange, drooping flowers.
Arching branches of Euphorbia fulgens are studded with rich scarlet flowers, while, reflected in the pool, a group of hunstman’s horn look set to catch any midges, should they be about.
There are most interesting insectivorous plants in the cabinet above the stairs, including the sticky-haired Drosera and the pitcher-toting Nepenthes.
Even more fascinating are Dracula vampira—what a name!—yet so descriptive of these deep purple- and white-flowered orchids perched up in hanging basket, so you can look up straight into the Count’s face.
Other orchids in the case include Oncydiums and a variety of Masdervilleas, especially the relatively large orange flowers of the variety Susan which have a reddish, shot silk, hair effect when viewed closely.
The three-petalled rich blue flowers of Tillandsia are lovely and, in the same colour, to the left of the pool, Dichorosandra thrysiflora has spikes of flowers.
Just below this display are Mexican flag plants, Campelia zonata, some variegated in leaf and others in flower.
The rouge plant is also not far away, Rivina aurantiaca which, besides the red-berried form, is also there in orange.
Across in the other corner, not far from the wishing well, blue-flowered Coleus Fredici is causing comment and, nearby, is Jacobinia pauciflora in red and yellow.
Foliage contrasts abound on the staging to the right. Note the bold stripes of Vreisia hyroglyphica, the variegated pineapple, and the purple-red leaved banana and last, but not least, the distinctive downward pointing, knobbly juvenile leaves of our native lancewood, Crassifolium ferrox.
In the next month modifications to the glasshouse roofs will be under way so don’t be disappointed. Visit this week before the temporary closure. We are open every day 8am until 4pm.
TDN, JULY 22, 1997
QUESTIONS ON SILT
I REFER to the NPDC recently published “Mid Term Update”.
- Through your columns I wish to put the following questions to the council and which are with regard to the item “Removed silt from Pukekura Lakes”.
- What volume of silt has been removed from the various lakes?
Assuming some filtration at the separation tower, what volume of mud has been disposed of by dumping?
- Is it a coincidence that during dredging, heavily polluted water enters the main lake via the southern most stream?
- What was the result of the analysis done to this polluted water?
- What is the gain in water depth at the main lake southern end?
- Is the dredging out a contract basis, and if so what are the criteria for payment?
- ANDERSON, New Plymouth
ALAN JELLYMAN, NPDC community services manager, replies:
In response to the questions raised by your correspondent, K. Anderson, I can advise the following.
- To date, just on 1500 cubic metres of silt and muds have been removed in the dredging process.
2. A small percentage or colloidal material which was unable to be removed in the separation process as returned to the lake. As much of this as possible will be removed at the end of the process.
3. Analysis of lake pollutants has shown sources to be other than silt. - Dredging is carried out to approximately three metres depth. In some cases silt was more than two metres in depth.
- The dredging programme has been carried out on a negotiated contract basis, due to the specialist nature of the work. The programme aims within a set overall cost, to remove the optimum volume of accrued silt and debris of the main lake, upstream from the Poets Bridge, without incurring physical environmental damage to the lake surrounds or park setting.
The process used by Council’s contractor has adapted petro-chemical industry technology to a unique environmental problem and setting. To this end, methodology has been subject to trial and adjustment as the programme has progressed. The end outcome will greatly improve the quality of our upper lake system, at the same time avoiding the major damage to the park which would have resulted from traditional methods of lake cleaning.
I would welcome the chance to brief your correspondent in depth, should he require additional information.
TDN, AUGUST 7, 1997
STAGING A COMEBACK
With photo
A REAL BOON: New Plymouth architect Terry Boon, who designed the new Bowl of Brooklands stage, receives a commemorative picture from trust chairman Michael Keat at the amphitheatre yesterday.
Mr Keat made the special presentation at a trust board meeting in appreciation of the work of Mr Boon, who designed the renovations for free. The picture is of the ENZSO concert in February which was the first event in the improved amphitheatre.
Mr Boon said renovations were needed because the stage size was inadequate and did not have any of the facilities that were required.
“We dropped the front frame into the lake and brought the stage forward. People want to be close to the action.”
Mr Boon said his firm designed it for free because “it was just part of our contribution to the community”.
TDN, AUGUST 16, 1997
UPGRADE OF FERNERY ON HOLD AFTER ERROR FOUND IN COSTING
With photo
A $150,000 error in the costing for the upgrade of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park fernery has put the redevelopment on hold.
When the New Plymouth District Council approved the first stage of the upgrade it was expected to cost $240,000.
But when the tenders for the work came in they were about $150,000 higher, at almost $395,000, said community service committee chairperson Heather Dodunski yesterday.
The higher price was because of a $150,000 error by a quantity surveyor in the original estimate, she said.
The first stage involves replacing and raising the roofs of the second and third houses of the fernery—one of the park’s top attractions.
Over the objections of Graeme Tilyard and Mayor Claire Stewart, the committee considered the matter with the public excluded yesterday.
After the meeting, Mrs Dodunski, of Inglewood, said the committee had recommended the council delay the project until the next financial year because of the quantity surveyor’s error.
“This error has proven to be unacceptable to the committee and has forced them to recommend to the council that the project be delayed.”
Mrs Dodunski said there was no other way to find the extra money as the council’s annual plan for the year had just been set in place.
The committee looked at options to lower the price, she said.
“I think the committee were of a firm opinion that we should do it once and do it properly. Any savings that could have been looked at were only in the region of $40,000 to $50,000.”
Mrs Dodunski said the quantity surveyor was employed by architectural firm, Tse Taranaki.
The committee was extremely disappointed at having to delay the project, she said.
“It is a project that has had total support from the council and public and we are disappointed that we have been let down by an outside surveyor.”
Mrs Dodunski said the funding in the annual plan would be set aside and the project would be considered in next year’s annual plan.
TDN, OCTOBER 1, 1997
FARMYARD COMES TO CITY ZOO
With photo
HABITAT UPGRADE: Brooklands Zoo supervisor Logan Craig and one of the resident silky fowls check out the zoo’s newly-developed farmyard area.
The construction of the barn, fences and paddocks is the first stage in a total upgrade of the zoo which will occur over four years.
None of the farmyard animals have been introduced to their new homes, while zoo staff wait for the grass to become properly established.
The extensions at the New Plymouth zoo will be officially opened on November 15.
The new farmyard area, which includes a barn, will concentrate on small domestic animals such as guinea pigs, rabbits, lambs and goats. The zoo’s wallabies, which were holidaying at the Pouakai Zoo Park, would also return to their home at the same time, Mr Craig said.
The next stage of the upgrade would involve a redevelopment of the walk-through aviary and the monkey area, he said.
The redevelopment of the zoo, which will cost about $300,000, will involve removing many of the boxed, cell-like cages and creating enclosures which use natural surrounding, such as branches, rocks and plants and which better blend in with the surrounding park.
Brooklands Zoo, which opened in 1963 as a Jaycees project, is owned and operated by the district council.
TDN, OCTOBER 6, 1997
OAK TREE TOPPLES ON PARK TOILETS
With photo
A GIANT English oak tree badly damaged public toilets when it fell in Pukekura Park yesterday.
Pukekura Park Kiosk proprietor Tom Nagle said it was lucky no-one was killed or seriously injured when the 20m tree fell on to the toilets behind the kiosk about 2.30pm.
“I was doing some invoicing in the kiosk when I heard this cracking. It sounded like fireworks, stopping and starting . . . then there was a hell of a rumble and the ground started shaking.
“So I went out to have a look and saw this tree had toppled on to the toilets.
“It’s lucky there was no-one sitting on the throne at the time . . . and this area, the nearby seats, are very popular, particularly with elderly people who may sit there before going to the fernery,” said Mr Nagle.
A New Plymouth District Council worker was called in to fence off the area and cut away dangerous overhanging branches.
New Plymouth District Council general manager Kinsley Sampson said the tree would be removed and the toilets repaired.
The tree and the toilets were the only reported casualties of the weekend weather as there were no reports of serious flooding in Taranaki despite the heavy rain.
More than 200mm of rain fell at the North Egmont Visitors’ Centre, with the heaviest measured at 29mm per hour, in the 24 hours to noon yesterday. Egmont Village received about 68mm and Hawera only 11.5mm.
“No serious flooding was reported but several rivers and streams reached moderate flood levels,” said Taranaki Regional Council hydrologist Grant Best from Stratford.
Though mountain rivers rose significantly, their previously low levels meant they were able to cope with the rain.
The expected strong winds of up to 110km/h did not eventuate, with the maximum gust in New Plymouth about 35km/h and about 55km/h at Uruti.
The Meteorological Service said a depression and cold front crossed the North Island during the weekend, bringing heavy rain to many regions.
TDN, NOVEMBER 12, 1997
NEW COURTS BOOST FOR PUKEKURA
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK Tennis Club has invested in four new synthetic courts to make playing a better experience and attract new members.
Maree Malcolm, club vice-captain, said the $60,000 project would be finished this week—if the weather held out.
Two of the synthetic grass courts have already been filled with sand and are in playable condition, while the remaining two are yet to be completed.
Malcolm said the synthetic surface was far superior to the old asphalt courts.
“It’s much easier on the ankle and knee joints because it’s softer. It also means less wear on shoes and balls so there is a saving for members in that respect.”
Because the surface was softer it meant older players could continue to enjoy their sport, she said.
“I haven’t played Soffe Cup tennis for a few years because my knees are getting a bit worn but with this new surface I can keep on playing for years,” she said.
Members raised the money for the new surface by borrowing from the TSB Bank, a New Plymouth District Council-run Hillary Commission loan, a Lotteries Commission grant and a small TSB Community Trust grant.
“We originally planned to resurface five courts but we budgeted on getting a better grant from the TSB Community Trust. When one of the Hawera clubs built two courts the trust gave them $30,000. In our case they were generous enough to give $300,” Malcolm said.
The use of refurbished courts will be mainly for members but Malcolm said if non-members wanted to use them they should contact the club.
“We’ll keep them locked up when no one is using them. We welcome non-members to come to use our other courts and if members are here and people want to try the synthetics, I’m sure we can come to some arrangement.”
The court surface was guaranteed for seven years but Malcolm said if it was properly maintained it could last up to 12 years. “The hope is we can now establish ourselves as a tennis centre for Taranaki. We have nine courts in all and room to expand.”
TDN, DECEMBER 22, 1997
HEALTH CHECK FOR PARK LAKES AND WATER FLOW
With pic
The quality and amount of water in the lakes in New
Plymouth’s Pukekura Park is under scrutiny.
Biologist Elise Smith is taking water samples and monitoring flow levels at the park, to determine if there is enough water passing through the park to sustain the lakes in good health.
This year she has been setting up research methods for the project, which will run over a number of years. It is being funded by the Taranaki Polytechnic, says Elise, who tutors part time at the Polytech and is also a member of the Friends of the Park.
“I have students doing environmental science and I needed a project they could work on year after year. The polytech gives me a grant for the chemical tests and equipment.
“It’s a useful teaching tool and the (New Plymouth
District) council is also interested in the outcome.
“This research is to collect data so we can advise on future management.”
The project ties in weather and rainfall data with flow rates and chemical tests to check the health of the water. It was sparked by concerns the springs which feed the lake system are drying up.
“There are six or eight major springs and many smaller ones at the top end of the park which feed into the lake.
(Retired curator) George Fuller has noticed they have been drying up over the past several decades, as more land has been built on.”
These springs are fed by groundwater soaking in from land around the park. “In summer, the lakes rely on the springs and if the springs are drying up, we could well have a problem if we start seeing the lake level dropping. We might then see a lot more stagnant algal growth,” says Elise.
“The situation may be eased by slowing the passage of water in the upper catchment, so the water gets slowly soaked into the ground around the park.
“We can tell when it’s been raining by the level of the water where we take measurements. When it rains we get a fresh flood, the water goes up amazingly, but then it goes down again very quickly.
“In summer when there’s less rain, the springs are important.”
Friends of the Park member Gordon Smith keeps records of the flow. On one day recently, they measured a rise from 10cm deep at the spot where records are taken, to 45cm after about 2 1/2 hours of heavy rain. This had dropped back to 10cm by the next morning.
“The health of the park water system suffers due to the efficiency of the stormwater disposal system.”
“In an urban environment there is less open land left for the water to soak into. The park relies on the water to look its best, and we have to manage it so we maintain water flow.”
1998
TDN, JANUARY 13, 1998
RAILWAY IN THE PARK
IMAGINE a small-gauge railway running throughout Pukekura Park. Imagine a bridge just above the water over the upper part of the lake, and the track winding up through the scenic wonderland the park has to offer.
Imagine the kids being able to ride around on the train, and Grandpa, too old to walk around himself, but still able to see and smell the beauty of the park’s bush. Imagine small tunnels and riding at night through the Festival of Lights.
I believe this would make an excellent millennium project. I have been on a train in the Coromandel, called Driving Creek, which is flat out with tourists wanting to see the bush, with the added fun associated with riding on a little train.
In Pukekura Park, the track could run halfway up the hillsides so not to disturb any of the existing main walking tracks. Small-gauge railway is extremely efficient, with little track space needed. Very little or no bush would be lost.
However, if it was to be done, I feel it would need to be done big enough so it was commercially viable – such as around the whole park, and can be used as a mode of transport to the top of hills for picnics, etc.
TDN, JANUARY 31, 1998
Is Bowl’s best yet to come? After four decades, a Taranaki institution takes on – new life
FROM demure young ladies in long white frocks vying for the title of Miss Brooklands to the din and strobe lights of a UB40 gig, the TSB Bowl of Brooklands has seen it all.
Every thrilling moment _ from Robin Hood bounding over the stage to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra thundering through the 1812 Overture in company with Army howitzers and fireworks. And every amusing mishap _ from the duck who quacked at a tragic moment to the dog who mistook Kiri Te Kanawa’s leg for a lamp-post.
But now, less than a month before the 40th anniversary of the first Festival of the Pines, the venerable Bowl has had a facelift, and optimism abounds for the future. Next week a return visit will be made by Sir Cliff Richard, who asked to come to the Bowl again because he enjoyed it so much last time. And several promoters have expressed interest in bringing more big acts.
An Australian company’s spokeswoman has said the Bowl could become the next Mission Estate (the Napier venue to which concert-goers flock each year to see international shows).
But Bowl trust chairman Michael Keat goes further than that. He says the Mission Estate “copied us _ and the Mission Estate is just a venue on the side of a hill!”
The Festival of the Pines flourished from 1958 until the ’70s, when it was knocked out by the twin blows of television and daylight saving.
“But things are certainly looking up now,” said Michael Keat. “I’m already getting Bowl bookings for next year; that’s an indication of the interest among promoters.
“The modifications to the Bowl have made so much difference, and that’s what has brought it to life again. It has got a new roof and is more like it used to be _ in 1958 there was also a very steep arch and a roof and a concrete stage . . . but it’s a lot bigger now.
“People are looking beyond television and want to go out to an excellent live show in a beautiful venue.”
Michael Keat’s best memories are of Miss Brooklands gliding across the lake on a raft fashioned in the shape of a magnificent swan, and a pirate ship and crocodile created for the show Peter Pan.
The Bowl’s history began in 1954, when the Pukekura Park Committee considered a proposal for the creation of a sound shell.
Three years later New Plymouth public relations officer Eric Handbury targeted the undeveloped Brooklands valley _ where, according to a contemporary account, “grassy steeps led down to a neglected lake where frogs croaked from water-lily pads and sometimes urchins splashed.
“He (Eric Handbury) had a vision. He saw thousands of spectators upon those natural terraces, a stage and entertainment there as there is in the Hollywood Bowl in USA.”
So began 10,000 man-hours of construction work _ almost all of it volunteer labour with donated materials.
The Bowl was described at the time as “a modernistic sound shell with a cantilever roof, designed to fit in with the scenery. Approximately 8000 people can be seated on the wooden seats and another 8000 on the slopes surrounding the `bowl.’ A curtain is formed by a floodlit waterfall which rises 15 feet and falls back into the lake, with lights of many colours reflected on it.”
The first Festival in 1958 was described as “a week of evening arts, drama, song, music and merriment.” The audiences totalled 45,000 people, and 5000 pounds was raised.
The programme featured Festival Games at the adjoining Pukekura Park (Murray Halberg among the athletes), G. B. Shaw’s play Androcles and the Lion, an air pageant (at “the Bell Block aerodrome”), a variety concert starring Irish tenor Patrick O’Hagan, a show featuring the Wellington Ballet, an Act of Worship, and a National Orchestra concert. Season tickets cost just one pound ($2).
Eric Handbury left for North America after the 1962 festival and now lives in retirement in Canada, after a career producing and directing big entertainment shows and conferences for companies such as IBM and Electrolux.
He recalls his festival years with enthusiasm. “It was the best time I have ever had in my life,” he said from his home near Niagara Falls yesterday. “It was just a wonderful time dealing with wonderful people _ extraordinary people with very little money who put together enormous tourist attractions.
“One thing that struck me always was the enormous co-operation I got from the people who were doing community work in the Bowl. I would love to step on that stage once more. I loved New Plymouth and often wish I could go back and live there.”
His favourite memory is of the spectacular Polovtsian Dances (an excerpt from Borodin’s opera Prince Igor), “with riders coming down from the hill with chariots, and lighting bonfires which had been pre-soaked in kerosene.”
Still living in New Plymouth is one of the early behind-the-scenes workers, Mary Robinson. “I was given a paintbrush to paint backdrops, and then I got my own hammer and hammered up the stage work,” she said. “You put on your old rags and away you went.
“Denny Sutherland (long-time trust chairman) was very artistic and very good with the hammer and designing and speeches; he was excellent.
“Once I had to paint the bridge from the main stage to the front, and I fell in the lake. I never missed a show or a working bee.
“I saw Howard Morrison when he first came as a boy, Lulu, John Rowles, the Hollies, the Shadows, Glenn Campbell, Cilla Black, Jose Feliciano, Kiri Te Kanawa, Allison Durbin, Roger Whittaker, Solomon King, Suzanne Prentice, Harry Secombe, and Bill and Boyd.
“I met every one of them, and when my camera wouldn’t go Glenn Campbell fixed it for me.
“And when Kiri was on stage (reconnoitring before a show) there was a dog Whisky who pissed on Kiri’s leg, and you should have heard the language she used.
“I’m still there, because I absolutely love the Bowl. Now I just take charge of the cafeteria and see that everything is in order after the shows.
“There was something about the old Bowl; it had something, I think because it was small, and everybody loved it. But it has gone very commercial.”
Keat, a comparative youngster who started with the Bowl in 1974, sympathised, but said the entertainment scene had inevitably changed dramatically since the festival’s early days.
Cay Wyatt used to be the lighting director.
“In those days the festival was a week-long event night after night after night, and we worked virtually 24 hours a day re-doing the lighting for the next performance,” he said.
In fact Cay took his holidays at festival time, and spent them hard at work at the Bowl.
He remembers well The Crucifixion (1960).
When the procession _ including a scourged Christ _ walked across in front of the audience and up the hill to the site of the crucifixion, the audience heard Christ’s last words on the Cross courtesy of a microphone on the end of a spear held by one of the Roman soldiers.
A crisis came in the final scene of Romeo and Juliet (1961) when the rope pulling a barge across the lake fouled telephone cables that had been laid since the dress rehearsal. “I was in the control room . . . I could see the telephone wires moving across the room! I cut them through with my pliers; I saved the day.”
Another Romeo and Juliet emergency occurred when an actor was accidentally cut during a swordfight; when he saw the blood he fainted. “They had to make it look like part of the show, and they had to carry him off.”
Those hectic but rewarding days won’t come again, even if some future show exceeds The Seekers’ record audience of 17,500.
But good times still lie ahead: “The future is looking good for the Bowl,” said Michael Keat. “We are definitely on a roll.”
TDN, FEBRUARY 6, 1998
CLIFF BY CANDLELIGHT AND YOUTHFUL OLIVIA GIVE CROWD A MAGICAL NIGHT
IN December at the bowl there was Carols By Candlelight, last night it was Cliff by candlelight.
Conditions were perfect and as the 15,000-strong crowd filed into the TSB Bowl of Brooklands after the gates opened at 6pm, the excitement was tangible.
Some were picnicking, others were drinking their wine and chatting and many were readying the candles they had been given at the gate. It was clear from the atmosphere that this was the event New Plymouth had been waiting for and none were to go home disappointed.
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra roared into life and following an overture and an introduction describing him as the “First Knight of Pop”, the ever-youthful Cliff gambolled on to the stage, clad in leather trousers and looking preposterously fit.
The collective roar from the crowd resonated from the farthest corner of the natural amphitheatre before Cliff did a cover of From a Distance.
“Good evening New Plymouth,” he said before fitting in some praise for the bowl.
“This is one of the most beautiful situations I have ever sung in,” he said.
The chat was a feature of the concert and gave a nice personal touch as he related anecdotes to his fans.
As part of his 40th anniversary tour, the crowd were treated to songs (not to mention some of his lithe dance moves) from the last four decades, including The Shadows’ Do You Want to Dance and the classic Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.
As the night crept in, candlelight started to decorate the venue and after a moving tribute song to Diana, All That Matters, the bowl was lit up like a Christmas tree.
New Plymouth’s Danielle Adams (16) took a swim across the lake to shake Cliff’s hand, later explaining she did it “because I like his music. I don’t care if I’m the only teenager who listens to him.”
Cliff then introduces Olivia Newton-John who looks equally young.
In her soft-green evening dress, she is far removed from her Grease days but it doesn’t stop her from singing the musical’s famous Hopelessly Devoted To You, giving the song back that spark it had when it first came out—before becoming a karaoke bar anthem.
It’s her first tour since 1983 but her voice sounds as good as ever.
Under the shimmering mirrorball, Cliff puts his arm around Olivia and the pair sing a duet to the delight of the crowd.
The candles swayed side to side for his more recent hit Some People.
During the 80s classic Wired For Sound, the line “I like loud speakers” was apt, because the sound system handled admirably the full force of the near 80 people on the new and improved stage.
The repartee and the hit songs, alternating with Newton-John, continued. By concert’s end, as fireworks lit up the sky, the crowd could leave reflecting that with Cliff and Olivia, they had been part of the magic of the bowl in its full splendour.
TDN, MARCH 16, 1996
COCKER MAGIC GOING STRONG
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JIVING JOE: Woodstock legend Joe Cocker cranks up the volume at the Bowl of Brooklands.
Almost 5000 committed fans ignored the showery conditions and ventured out for a Saturday night of classic rhythm and blues at the TSB Bowl in New Plymouth. And few could have gone away disappointed, as Cocker turned on a superb show.
There were some concert-goers, however, who got a nasty surprise when they arrived to find that tickets at the gate cost $10 more than the $50 advertised for bookings. The extra amount was too much for some fans, who were left out in the cold.
Concert promoter Bridget Darby said $50 or $60 was still a bargain price for an international act and New Plymouth fans of Joe Cocker were charged less than at other centres.
“You just can’t get an overseas act for any less than that and that’s all there is to it,” Ms Darby said. “As for putting the price up, it comes down to encouraging people to get their tickets early.”
While some people may have been concerned about the cost of tickets or the ban on bringing alcohol into the venue, one comment from New Plymouth’s Dave Dixon spoke for many happy punters.
“Well they never searched me for any grog, and as for the cost . . . It doesn’t worry me mate. I got my ticket a few days ago!”
TDN, MAY 11, 1998
PARKS MAN PROMISES CRYSTAL-CLEAR LAKES
THE lakes in Pukekura Park should be crystal clear in three months after a $150,000 silt cleanup.
The New Plymouth District Council has been removing silt from the lakes which has built up since the last dredging in the 1960s.
Senior parks planner Anthony Joines said more than 2500m³ of silt had been removed so far.
The system used had recirculated 10% of fine silt back into the lakes.
“We’re working through the system now to get rid of the last 10%. It should be clean in the next two or three months.”
It was the first time the system was tested in a New Zealand lake system like Pukekura Park. Ways of getting rid of the last 10% of silt were being trialled.
“In terms of the top end (of the lake) it has made it worse visually. But an incredible amount has been removed, the depth is back in there and the lake is looking better.
TDN, MAY 16, 1998
WALKWAY AROUND ANCIENT PURIRI
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TREE FELLA: Contractor Ray Haslip works on a walkway designed to extend the life of a 2000-year-old puriri tree in Brooklands Park.
Foot traffic around the tree is increasing so measures are being taken to ensure it doesn’t suffer damage.
New Plymouth District Council parks director Grant Porteous said a boardwalk structure was built around the tree to protect its root system.
“We are trying to be pro-active on it.
“It’s a natural feature and we are very keen to protect it against increasing public pressure,” Mr Porteous said.
The 22.86m-tall tree was unique because it was one of the original trees in Brooklands Park.
Most of the park was cleared of the original vegetation.
“It improves the experience people have of looking at the tree,” said Mr Porteous.
Work on the walkway is due to be completed next week.
TDN, MAY 19, 1998
AVIARY UNDERGOES REDEVELOPMENT
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MOVING OUT: Brooklands Zoo keeper Gary Ward watches rainbow lorikeets, which have to be moved while the free-flight aviary is upgraded.
All the birds are being moved to temporary homes so work on the second stage of the zoo redevelopment can proceed. The aviary will have a rainforest effect and feature a raised walkway and ponds.
Mr Ward said moving the birds was simpler than anticipated. “Because it’s not breeding season it makes things a lot easier.”
Senior parks officer Paul Jamieson said the birds were caught by putting food in cages. A mist net was used for the stragglers.
“The main problem has been the time it has taken. We catch what we can and then let them settle and try again the next day.”
The upgrade will be complete by July 1. Further upgrades to the monkey colony and the entrance cages were planned.
TDN, MAY 21, 1998
PARK ROAD TO BE NAMED AFTER OLYMPIAN
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A SECTION of Pukekura Park is going to be named after Empire Games gold medalist Stan Lay.
The previously-unnamed drive into the park from Fillis St to the Bellringer Pavilion will be called the Stan Lay Drive.
Mr Lay, a New Plymouth resident, won gold for New Zealand in javelin in the Empire Games in 1930, and came second in the same event in 1938. He also competed in the Olympic Games in 1928, coming seventh.
He has strong links with the Pukekura Park sports ground, having represented Taranaki in cricket from 1926 to 1931 as an all-rounder, top-scoring with a century against Wanganui in 1926. Mr Lay also played against Australia and England at the ground.
The 91-year-old was awarded an MBE in 1987 for his achievements in sport and for work in the community.
This latest recognition for his sporting achievements was a real honour, Mr Lay said.
New Plymouth Mayor Claire Stewart said naming the drive that runs alongside the ground after Mr Lay was a particularly appropriate way to recognise his achievements.
“By naming such an appropriate section of the park after him, his achievements will be remembered by people not only today, but in decades to come.”
TDN, JUNE 15, 1998
TREE PLAN MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS
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A DECISION to replace old and dying trees at the Liardet St entrance of Pukekura Park with young kauri trees could be proven to be a bad one in time, says the park’s former curator.
The New Plymouth District Council will spend $30,000 replacing old and dying silver birch and puriri trees along Liardet St with 16, 21/2-3m kauris.
NPDC senior parks planner Anthony Joines said the old trees had become a hazard.
“The trees that are there are suffering and becoming unsafe. There are a lot of dead sections within the trees—particularly the puriri, which could split and break in a good wind.”
The trees were planted long Liardet St, between Gilbert and Fillis streets, about 40 years ago.
Mr Joines said a lack of root space meant the trees had struggled to grow.
Seven of the 18 trees originally planted had died and the remainder—a mix of puriri and silver birch— had only grown to a quarter of the size they should be for their age.
But George Fuller, curator of Pukekura Park from 1966-90, said there was the potential for the kauri to grow to huge sizes, which could create big problems for residents in the future.
He accepted the old trees were past their use-by-date and had to be replaced. But the decision to use kauri was questionable.
“In 100 years’ time there could be some very annoyed people, kauri grow to be enormous. I can only say the agency responsible for planting kauri like that will be cursed in time.
“If a kauri grows well, and one hopes they will, they’ll grow to be huge.”
Unlike puriri, kauri could not be kept within limits, he said.
Mr Fuller said the young kauri would face a variety of hazards as they grew, including vandalism and knocks from vehicles.
He favoured using lancewood trees, which were robust and could be grown to a decent size in a nursery before being transplanted in Liardet St.
Mr Joines said the possibility of vandals attacking the kauri was a risk, as it was with any council planting.
Kauri trees were specifically chosen for the entranceway project, he said.
“Kauri will be the most significant tree in Pukekura Park in the future—we’ve got hundreds of kauri trees planted in the park and they are replacing the pine as the sky-line tree.
“Also, their growth is very upright, so they’re not going to create visibility problems for the residential neighbours and they’ll allow cleaner views of the park.”
Once the old trees were removed the ground would be prepared to allow the kauris to thrive. Planter boxes will be installed at the base of each tree.
Car parks and footpath space would be retained.
Once work begins, it will take up to six weeks to put the kauri in place. Mr Joines said the work-affected section of Liardet St would remain open.
TDN, JUNE 19, 1998
COUNCIL TURN DOWN APPEAL FOR BACKSTAGE UPGRADE FUNDS
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IF Olivia Newton-John performs at the Bowl of Brooklands again it’ll be piano storage space as a dressing room for the second time, after funding for a backstage upgrade was rejected.
A request by the Bowl of Brooklands Trust for $215,000 to fund the expansion was turned down by the New Plymouth District Council this week.
Trust chairman Michael Keat said he was disappointed because the lack of backstage space for big shows made the upgrade essential.
“We had Olivia Newton-John (Cliff Richard’s support act) in the piano room, which is very small. For anything involving more than 20 people there is just not the space.”
Promoters of the Cliff Richard and Joe Cocker concerts earlier this year both complained about the Bowl of Brooklands backstage facilities.
Unhappy promoters may not want to book other acts at the venue.
He said the council was prepared to spend money on new assets but not for maintenance of existing ones.
Council policy committee chairman Heather Dodunski said the upgrading of Brooklands Bowl was seen as ongoing, and short-term solutions were available for the backstage problems.
“It’s one of those things where there is only so many dollars to go around.”
TDN, JULY 1, 1998
BROOKLANDS ZOO UPGRADE AT LEAST $20,000 OVER BUDGET
THE upgrade of Brooklands Zoo is running at least $20,000 over budget.
The New Plymouth zoo, which opened in 1963 as a Jaycees project, is undergoing a four-year facelift worth $370,000.
But the project has struck unexpected hiccups, which has inflated the anticipated cost so far.
New Plymouth District Council parks director Grant Porteous said the first stage of the four-year programme was the construction of a farmyard, where zoo visitors could touch the animals.
Stage two involves extending the free-flight aviary, a project currently under construction.
Mr Porteous said stages one and two had cost $20,000-$25,000 more than the anticipated $170,000.
The over-run was because of difficulties associated with upgrading some of the old facilities and work needed to upgrade services such as water and electrical supplies, he said.
Those were problems that had not been identified when the development programme was first put together. However, the extra work was not totally unexpected, said Mr Porteous.
He denied problems had been caused by problems with the revamp designs produced by architects Boon Cox Goldsmith Jackson. “Nothing more than we would expect on any job. Sometimes you have to revise plans as you work through. There were elements of design which have to be refined as the builders work.”
With development of the monkey enclosure and the setting up of an aquatic exhibit still to come, Mr Porteous was adamant the revamp project would run to budget.
Feedback on the development to date had been very positive, he said, with the farmyard proving itself to be a significant attraction at the zoo.
TDN, JULY 15, 1998
UPGRADE FOR PARK DISPLAY HOUSES
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ALMOST $400,000 is to be spent upgrading the 70-year-old fernery and display houses in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park over the next few months.
The project—which will see roofs raised, by up to 3m in parts, to allow better growing conditions for plants and better access for disabled people is the first substantial work on the fernery and display houses since they opened 70 years ago, says NPDC senior parks planner Anthony Joines.
“Since 1928 the begonia house and small growing houses have been added, but the facility is mostly the original structure,” said Mr Joines. “Some of the structure, such as the Oregon pine, has lasted well, but other parts, like the glass in the roofs, have to be upgraded for safety reasons. “The fernery and display houses were highlights of the park and attracted tens of thousands of visitors each year. Up to 15,000 people visited the park each November during the Taranaki Rhododendron Festival.
It was decided to complete the project this winter and have the houses reopened in time for the 1998 TSB Bank Rhododendron Festival. “This is the time of year when we have the lowest number of people going through the fernery, and it’s also the best time of year for the plants because we will be exposing some of them to the open air and sunshine. It’s safer to do that during winter, as some of them would burn and die in summer.” He said the more delicate plants would be removed during construction.
Some of the existing roofs were almost becoming unsafe and the glass could shatter, while other growing areas were also showing their age. At the end of the five-stage development all the existing roofs would have been replaced with higher ones, which would allow more growing room and better growing conditions. The covered walk area would allow a “full-circuit” walk of the fernery and display houses and improved access for disabled people, although they would not be able to traverse the tunnels. “This is by far the best fernery and glasshouse display in the country and this upgrade will guarantee it will stay one for the next 70 years,” Mr Joines said.
The New Plymouth District Council operations committee earlier this week let a $398,735 contract to Fabish and Jackson for the redevelopment, which will see new reinforced glass roofs installed over the display houses, the creation of a new hothouse and propagation house, and a new covered walk area from which to view the hothouses.
TDN, JULY 22, 1998
PUKEKURA PARK SIGNS POINT WAY FOR VISITORS
Visitors need no longer go round in circles looking for the water wheel in Pukekura Park – a new network of signs will point them in the right direction.
Deep blue signs with gold lettering have been erected after a deluge of public demand.
“Many people, locals included, have expressed difficulty finding their way around the park, even to locate attractions such as the fernery and begonia house,” says senior parks planner Anthony Joines.
Feedback from visitors, both local and out-of-town, has signalled that people tend to stick to the main tracks, rather than exploring new paths.
“The new signs will include a lot more interpretative information on various features of interest, as well as pointing the way to find them,” says Anthony.
Planning for the new look has taken six months. A trial sign was set up beside the Hatchery Lawn to try out different colour schemes and test public reaction.
Dark blue was chosen because it blends in well with the bush, and the gold lettering and red arrows stand out well and are easy to read. The style and timber used for the signs is suitably rustic, and in keeping with the park’s relaxed atmosphere, says Anthony.
The number of signs used is also being monitored, so the park doesn’t end up with too many, which would spoil its natural character.
“A lot of the success of this park is the mystery and sense of discovery that tourists find here – it’s quite different to others.
“You walk through an area of bush, then around the corner there’s open space, and you can’t see where you’re going to end up,” he says.
The new signs will be installed over the next 12 months.
TDN, AUGUST 26, 1998
DREDGING IN PUKEKURA LAKES NEARS COMPLETION
THE dredging of Pukekura Park’s main lake is almost finished and two other sites will benefit from its bounty.
Senior parks planner Anthony Joines yesterday said the work by Amtec Engineering and Drilling Fluid Equipment Ltd was expected to be finished in about two weeks.
The work, which had taken about 18 months, had cost about $150,000 and about 2500m³ of dry material had been removed.
Mr Joines said the dredging system, which was based on equipment used in the oil industry, was designed specifically for this task.
“It’s been extremely successful and is the only one of its kind in New Zealand, so we had to be patient with the contractors in getting the process right, and that has taken a bit longer than expected.”
Mr Joines said the system, which acted like an enormous vacuum cleaner, avoided the need for unsightly heavy machinery and trucks in the park. When trucks were last used in the park, many trees suffered from the weight of the vehicles on their roots.
As well, because the system removed most of the water, it weighed less and was easier to truck away.
Mr Joines said the contractors were now removing the fine silt which had been returned to the main lake when the water was recycled.
Mr Joines said the dry silt was high in nutrients and been placed on the city’s foreshore and in an abandoned quarry in Bell Block’s Peringa Park. In both areas, the silt would be spread and used in future plantings.
TDN, OCTOBER 6, 1998
A FROND IN NEED IS A FROND INDEED
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GLAZING UPGRADE: Nebulite Taranaki worker Alan Coulton works on fitting a new aluminium roof to the Pukekura Park fernery.
The upgrade, which is costing about $400,000 and is being carried out by Inglewood construction firm Fabish and Jackson, is expected to be finished later this month in time for the TSB Bank Taranaki Rhododendron Festival.
The upgrade retains the existing caverns but raises the roof by a couple of metres.
While people will still enter and leave the fernery through the first cave and house, the upgrade included a connection from the Kibby House (the fourth house) to the second house.
New Plymouth District Council senior parks planner Anthony Joines said the fernery was built in 1928 and the structure was becoming unsafe.
Mr Joines said it was hoped to upgrade the rest of the fernery, using similar materials, within the next five years.
TDN, OCTOBER 19, 1998
KEA AND CHEEKY MACAWS LATEST ZOO RESIDENTS
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THEY’RE bright, they’re big, they’re beautiful and they ooze personality.
The latest residents of Brooklands Zoo are also cheeky and exotic, flying in from far-away places.
They are three South American macaws—large colourful parrots hatched in Australia in 1971 and bought from an aviary in Christchurch as part of the New Plymouth zoo’s aviary upgrade.
The birds are a hybrid between the green and gold macaw.
Senior parks officer Paul Jamieson said there were few macaws in New Zealand and New Plymouth was lucky to get them.
The macaws should be an asset for many years to come, with life expectancies of up to 80 years, he said.
They are not the only newcomers. Two kea, their sex still to be determined from DNA tests, have their own cage in between the macaws and the renovated free-fly aviary.
The one-year-old kea come from the Department of Conservation captive management programme.
Mr Jamieson said it was important to have kea on display as not only were they entertaining but most New Zealanders would not have the opportunity to see them in the wild.
The council also has more down-to-earth plans for the zoo, including a small mammal exhibit, with the animal yet to be revealed. An aquatic exhibit is in the pipeline, along with continued development of picnic areas, shade planting and playground facilities.
TDN, NOVEMBER 12, 1998
TIME FOR A CHANGING AREA AT BOWL
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TOP artists will no longer have to change in toilet-sized rooms when the latest upgrade of the Bowl of Brooklands is completed.
The TSB Bowl of Brooklands Trust is spending $100,000 building new changing rooms and offices at the rear of the newly upgraded stage, while the New Plymouth District Council is spending $60,000 creating a new access for trucks to the rear of the building.
Trust chairman Michael Keat said that at February’s Cliff Richard concert, Cliff Richard only had a 2m square changing room, while Olivia Newton-John had to change in the piano room, which was rigged up with some temporary curtains.
“We were getting complaints from promoters that we were bringing artists to a wonderful venue and sticking them out back in a hovel.”
Mr Keat said the new dressing rooms would not be flash, but they would not be an embarrassment either.
The first major artist to use the new facilities will be world-renowned soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa at her performance at the Bowl on January 30 with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
The new sealed access and loading bay on the eastern side of the Bowl would make it much easier to unload the large number of trucks which carried the artists’ gear.
As well, the new access meant the trucks would not have to park in the Bowl itself, taking up valuable space for seating, corporate boxes and merchandising.
“We had to do the stage to get the shows. We need to do this to keep them coming.”
TDN, NOVEMBER 25, 1998
REFURBISHMENT PROJECT IS ALMOST FINISHED AT PUKEKURA PARK FERNERY
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CONTINUING the enchantment of days gone by, Pukekura Park’s fernery and display houses have made it into the 1990s.
The roofs of the fernery have been replaced and raised 2.5 metres and a hothouse for growing plants has been added in the centre. “By raising the roofs, we now have a new covered area for display, as well as allowing wheelchair access,” says New Plymouth District Council senior parks planner Anthony Joines.
When the facility reopens in about a fortnight, people in wheelchairs will be able to enter the magical world through an entrance at the back of the fernery. Other folk will still use the main entrance.
About 200,000 people visit Pukekura Park each year, and many visit the fernery. This year, they will be able to enjoy a brand new walkway, filled with about 1500 new plants, including more ferns and brilliant-coloured vireya.
A display of the tropical rhododendron has been chosen to provide all-year-round colour to the fernery, and entice people into the new area. There is also a desert in the making. “We are going to put in some hot, arid plants, like cacti,” Mr Joines says.
“We have got a lot of plant collections that people have donated to us over the years.” Now they will be able to be displayed in the best way possible, thanks to the expertise of fernery team Ken Davey and Ailsa McCrone.
“The art of displaying plants is not an easy one, but the experience these people have between them provides the wonderful effects that the fernery is well known for,” Mr Joines says.
“We have got the top display house in New Zealand.”
The fernery will be lit up for the annual Festival of Lights, so visitors will be able to see the renovations first hand. People will have a bird’s-eye view of the fernery from a viewing platform and will also be able to complete a full circuit of the complex without repeating the four houses.
The higher roofs will allow plants to grow to maturity, he says, pointing to a tropical cabbage tree which had its upper foliage lopped off to fit into the old building.
The $400,000 revamp will not alter the character of the fernery, Mr Joines assures people. “The houses themselves, the tunnels, the fern-clad banks, have not been touched. We simply have a new roof complex.
Planning for the new coverings began in 1996, with community representatives, Friends of the Park and council staff consulting over a development plan.
“It is very important to the community to retain as much of the character of the fernery as possible.
“But people have to realise it will take a year or two before everything looks natural again and all the new areas are clad with ferns.”
Mr Joines says the fernery structure was built back in the 1926-28 period so was much in need of redevelopment.
“The roofs were beginning to show their age and they were becoming unsafe.” Strengthened glass and polycarbonate roof arches, all set in a steel framework painted bush green, have fixed that problem.
The idea for a fernery first came from a Mrs Lovell in Hawera back in 1918, when Thomas Horton was the curator of the park. A lack of funds prevented him from following up the idea.
But later, in 1926, a fundraising project began, with community fetes held on the park’s sports ground. With the funds in place, work on the fernery began.
“The simple concept was to dig a hole in the ground and put some glass over it,” Mr Joines says. “That’s what it still is today.
“There would have been a lot of hand-digging and wheel barrow and spade work,” he says.
The spill was used to form the Fred Parker Lawn and all the gardens outside the fernery. The Kibby House was added in 1934.
When Brooklands Park was gifted to New Plymouth, there was a glasshouse on site, which was moved to the fernery. “And along with it came the begonias and orchids—the first flowering plants,” he says. That house was replaced in 1961.
This year’s roof replacement project is the first upgrade since then. “Because of this we have an investment for a long-term future. This will last another 50 to 70 years.
“This is the icing on the cake for what is a wonderful facility,” Mr Joines says. “It’s brought it into the 1990s.”
TDN, DECEMBER 17, 1998
DOING THE LEGWORK
PARK BUGGY
With pic
OUT AND ABOUT: It’s all aboard for this group of people who tried out a new way for disabled and elderly visitors to get around New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
They are, clockwise from top left, Molly and Tom Nagle from the park kiosk, Joy Hall from Friends of Pukekura Park, Murray Saywell of Saywell Motors, Denis Hall from Friends of Pukekura Park and Anthony Joines of the New Plymouth District Council.
Saywell Motors has donated the six-seater golf cart to the council for a two-year trial. It is available free of charge to less-mobile people who want to tour the park.
Bookings for the cart could be made in advance at the Pukekura Park Kiosk from today, seven days a week. Members of Friends of Pukekura Park have offered to drive visitors.
Murray Saywell said if the scheme was successful it would continue past the two year trial—and if demand was high enough he might donate another cart.
TDN, DECEMBER 22, 1998
BOAT HIRE SHED BURNT DOWN
With photo
GONE FOR GOOD: Pukekura Park curator Ian McDowell clears away the ashes of the rent-a-boat shed which was torched by vandals early yesterday, while boat shed operator Belinda Watson and helper Travis Young (foreground) ponder work without shelter.
Mr McDowell yesterday said the wanton vandalism was soul destroying. “It’s unbelievable, this sort of thing.”
The small shed, which used to be at the Pukekura Raceway before it was shifted to the lake about 30 years ago, was razed. As well, the nearby tarata (lemonwood) tree and a small bush had to be removed, said Mr McDowell.
Ken Brown, of New Plymouth Electrical, estimated it would cost several hundred dollars to replace electrical equipment, fluorescent tubes, fittings and cables which were damaged in the blaze. “I would have been involved with the park for about 20 years and this is the first time I have seen such vandalism.”
“It’s a damn shame, I guess I’ll just have to sit with my umbrella from now on when it rains. It was an important shed for me, I used to have my thermos and other things in it,” said Ms Watson who, with husband Mike, runs the park boat-hire business.
TDN, DECEMBER 23, 1998
PUKEKURA VANDALISM GUTS PARK WORKERS
WORKERS at Pukekura Park, one of New Plymouth’s top tourist attractions, are gutted by a recent spate of vandalism.
New Plymouth District Council’s community services manager Alan Jellyman said it was frustrating and upsetting for park staff and contractors who poured their hearts in its presentation. “It’s almost like a kick in the guts for them.”
Twice this month lights had been stolen from the park. The first time halogen lamps were taken from high in a tree, while in the second incident 14 black fluorescent tubes and four light fittings were taken from the path between the fernery and the kiosk.
Mr Jellyman said it was disturbing that the offenders appeared to have gone to a lot of trouble, probably bringing ladders in, to steal the lights—which were part of the annual Christmas Festival of Lights.
This week, early on Monday, the boat hut on the main lake was burnt to the ground. Mr Jellyman said the destruction of the historically important and useful shed, probably with the use of an accelerant, was wanton vandalism.
He believed the vandalism this year, which was loading staff with extra work, had been worse than previous years. “The nature of things this year has been different, and disappointing.
“It’s the community that suffers . . . And these things do not help the image we want for our park.”
Along with the vandalism was the unacceptable behaviour shown by some visitors. On Sunday, during the Christmas in the Park spectacular, cans were thrown at Santa Claus as he jet-skied across the lake. “I suspect it’s people pouring out of the local hotels with too much under their belts.”
Last year theft and vandalism of festival lights cost the council and Powerco, the festival sponsor, more than $10,000.
Friends of the Park’s vice-president Denis Hall said Pukekura Park was one of the jewels of the region. “There’s no other place to compare with it in New Zealand.”
The people who looked after the park had a love for it and the spate of vandalism was like a personal attack for them, he said. “That is how we feel, it’s something that is community owned that is being despoiled. It’s not as though they gain anything out of it, it’s just selfish destruction.”
New Plymouth Sergeant Chris Ford said during summer there were large numbers of people using the park and with it came an increase in offending.
Vandalism and thefts in the park occurred every year and he did not believe offending had been worse this year. “However we are definitely monitoring the situation, and staff are stepping up their patrols.”
Police patrolled the park numerous times every day, both visibly in the early evening hours and covertly later at night, to ensure the safety of the park and the law abiding citizens, he said.
1999
TDN, FEBRUARY 18, 1999
TOURING MCC SIDE GRABS CLOSE WIN AT PUKEKURA PARK
With photo
WHILE most cricket fans’ attention was focused on the match between New Zealand and South Africa at Christchurch yesterday, two teams were cooking up an exciting finish at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
Chasing 216 to win, Yarrows Taranaki was going along nicely—until captain Rodney Brown went for 85 with the score at 129.
The touring English MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) side turned the screws with three quick wickets and Taranaki’s hopes appeared to be fading.
That was until Russell Dempster decided to give the ball a whack. Two singles, then a four followed by two sixes and a single by Dempster reaped the home side 19 runs off the 46th over.
With Dempster and partner Regan West swinging at everything, Taranaki collected another 21 runs off the next two overs. But it came at a cost, with Dempster bowled for 26.
The equation was simple, Taranaki needed 21 off 12 balls with two wickets in hand. Once again, the MCC attack tightened the screws, picked up the remaining two wickets and won by 11 runs with a ball to spare.
Brown’s innings of 85 dominated the Taranaki total of 204. He cracked nine fours and two sixes and a victory for the home side looked possible.
One batsman also dominated the MCC innings, with Martyn Ball watching his team-mates come and go on his way to 91. His innings included nine fours and one six.
Pick of the Taranaki bowlers were Mark Stewart (3-29) and Dempster (2-18), while the best of the English attack was captain and offspinner Keith Greenfield, who picked up three wickets for eight runs. His first two overs were wicket maidens.
The MCC side, touring as part of Central Districts’ 50th anniversary celebrations, has now won three of its five one-dayers, with one match drawn. The side has another three one-day matches and a three-day match before returning to England.
TDN, MARCH 17, 1999
LYE SCULPTURE TO BE FILMED IN PARK
PUKEKURA PARK will be the scene when a performance by the Len Lye kinetic sculpture Large Blade is filmed for television about 8pm tomorrow.
Susette Goldsmith, spokesperson for New Plymouth’s Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, said yesterday the filming for TV One’s Backchat programme had just been confirmed.
“To show off the sculpture properly on national television and to reinforce the fact that Len Lye’s works belong in New Plymouth and are treasured by the locals, they have requested that as many people as possible gather on the Fernery Lawn to watch the performance,” she said.
The performance would be a special one made possible by the New Plymouth District council’s parks division, art patrons John and Lynda Matthews, Creative New Zealand and the gallery, said Mrs Goldsmith.
Gallery director Greg Burke described the park performances already given by Large Blade as one of the most successful outdoor art events held in recent years. About 5000 people watched the performances in the first weekend.
MIDWEEK, MARCH 31, 1999
PARK FRIENDS THANKED
The council has formally recognised the achievements of the Friends of the Park, and thanked them for the activities they provide.
The “Friends” have been involved in a lot of projects at Pukekura Park, including helping to plan the upgrade of the Fernery and Display Houses and to shift the plants during construction work.
They have also become trained guides for groups in the park, helped control the thousands of people who visited the fernery during the Festival of Lights, and currently operate a donated mobility cart to help less-abled visitors see more of the park.
Senior parks planner Anthony Joines says the activities of the “Friends” betters both Pukekura Park and the community.
TDN, APRIL 20, 1999
PUKEKURA PARK CART PROVING A HIT WITH DISABLED, ELDERLY
With photo
THE golf cart being used to ferry disabled and elderly people around New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park is proving so popular that people are being urged to book to avoid delays.
Friends of the Park spokesperson Molly Nagle said more than a 1000 people had used the six-seater vehicle since it was donated by Saywell Motors in mid-December last year.
Mrs Nagle, who is based at the Pukekura Park kiosk, said that with rest homes regularly booking the cart, she urged people to ring the kiosk in advance and book the cart to avoid being disappointed.
Mrs Nagle said feedback to the free service had been positive. “People think it is absolutely wonderful. “Often they are people who have been to the park before and have now become less mobile, and while they can get as far as the kiosk or maybe Poet’s Bridge, they can’t get much further.”
Volunteers from the Friends of the Park were manning the vehicle, which took people on a free tour of the park that lasted about 30 minutes.
TDN, APRIL 22, 1999
PARK TO GET CURATOR
………..PUKEKURA and Brooklands Park are to get a curator following the suggestion of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers review.
The public had been concerned about the lack of a publicly visible manager and the way in which the parks operated, noted the review.
Among the concerns were those that some areas were neglected, and presentation standards were not maintained. A council project team recommended the curator be responsible for Pukekura Park, Brooklands Park and the Zoo.
The policy committee backed the recommendations.
MIDWEEK, JUNE 23, 1999
GLOBAL HUNT ON FOR NEW PARK MANAGER
A YEAR-LONG review of operations in Pukekura Park has revealed the need for a dedicated park manager.
The New Plymouth District Council’s decision to reinstate a manager reflects the high profile of the park, both nationally and internationally, as the city’s icon.
The council plans to develop the park and address concerns raised both in public submissions and by Friends of the Park, says NPDC director of parks Grant Porteous.
“Friends of the Park have been very keen to see someone like that in the park and that certainly had an influence during the review.”
The need for a full-time curator/manager for the park was also highlighted in the Price Waterhouse report commissioned last year.
The park did have a dedicated manager in the 1980s and early 1990s after former curator George Fuller retired, but with changes in administration the position ended in 1996.
The new manager’s role will differ from the curator, who lived in the park. He or she will be driving the management and development of the park, co-ordinating contractors and developing critical relationships with groups including the Friends of the Park and the media.
“There are some pretty unique plant collections in the park and in other parks so the role won’t be isolated to the park itself. It will include management of other collections,” says Mr Porteous.
In a recent visitor survey by the council, Pukekura Park was ranked the second-most important destination to visit in New Plymouth.
George Fuller, who was the curator living in the park for 25 years, is pleased the park will have a dedicated manager. He was behind the development of different areas in the park and has monitored the growth of most of the trees including the kauri trees which were planted when he arrived in 1965.
“I kept the place going for 25 years so I can’t help but feel strongly about what happens,” he says.
“People had a good loyalty to the place, they were probably the lowest paid in town but their loyalty was incredible.”
The council is advertising the position now nationally and internationally and hopes to fill it within three to four months. Applications close in mid-July.
TDN, JUNE 25, 1999
ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE CURATOR WORRIES ABOUT FUTURE
Already inclined to working with nature, Pukekura Park staff find themselves in a garden paradise. If they are lucky, they spend the majority of their working lives there. Retiring park curator Ian McDowell is one of the lucky ones.
He talks to BARRY EASTON about his
dream job, and adds a warning or two about the
future.
The park is a heritage of the people of the district for all time, and as it is theirs to enjoy, so it is theirs to maintain and improve. Taranaki Herald, 1921
RETIRING Pukekura Park curator Ian McDowell never felt the need to develop a large garden at home. After all, he says, he has always considered the whole of New Plymouth city to be his garden.
For the last 36 years Ian McDowell has worked in a variety of capacities within what was once known as the Parks and Reserves Department of the New Plymouth City (later District) Council. His domain was a whopping 1400 hectares that embraced 80-odd parks, sports grounds, walkways and coastal reserves, all owned and administered by the local authority.
After joining the department as a technical assistant in 1963, Ian held various posts within Parks and Reserves. For the last five years, however, he has been curator of Pukekura Park, the jewel in the crown of the multiplicity of properties administered by the New Plymouth District Council.
It says something of the job itself, and the people with whom he has worked over the years, that he has barely missed his native England, from which he departed in 1963, with Ann, his bride of only a few weeks. It was the love of horticulture that brought the couple on a poundstg10 ($20) assisted fare to New Zealand.
Raised in Essex on the edge of the Epping Forest, Ian had developed a passion for trees and shrubs, and had pursued a career that had eventually won him a student’s place at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, on the outskirts of London.
“I had been offered two jobs in New Zealand—one in Timaru, and the other in New Plymouth,” he recalls. “Some New Zealand colleagues suggested that I would like New Plymouth, so that’s where we headed.
“It was winter when we arrived. There were strong winds, and I can recall that the bus trip from Wellington to New Plymouth was like driving through the Highlands of Scotland. We moved to a house at Fitzroy, behind which were sheep grazing in a couple of paddocks. One of my very first jobs was to transform these into what was to become Peringa Park.”
Ian McDowell’s training at Kew gardens stood him in good stead. Fears that he might find difficulties coming to grips with the names of New Zealand native trees and shrubs proved unfounded.
“Kew has flora from all over the world, including New Zealand. What Ann and I quickly discovered, though, was that New Plymouth was a plant-lover’s paradise, where you can grow the widest range of plants in the entire world.
“We found the rate of growth to be equally amazing. In this country, you can form a park and be able to walk under the trees you planted within your own lifetime. You could never do that in England.”
Jack Goodwin (curator of Pukekura Park from 1949, and superintendent of Parks and Reserves from 1965 to 1977), was a great mentor, says Ian, who still refers to the man as “Mr Goodwin”.
“He brought the best out in people,” Ian says. “I was fortunate to work with people who were highly skilled and dedicated in their field. It started with Mr Goodwin and Alan Jellyman, who began with the department a year before me. George Fuller (curator from 1965-1990) arrived about two years after that.
“Alan, George and I formed a very close friendship and working relationship. We built the waterfall together, nearly wearing our fingers to the bone in placing the rocks in position.
“We all had our different skills. I wasn’t as good with words as George, but part of my contribution was to draw pictures of my vision of the finished project, and I like to think that this helped.”
IAN McDOWELL considers himself lucky to be among a select few to work at a job that is also his hobby, and to be able to stay in the one place to achieve this.
“With most jobs, in order to progress, you have to be prepared to move from place to place. I’ve been able to work my way through the ranks to positions of responsibility without having to leave New Plymouth.
“There is a spiritual element about working with nature. Nature has a way of humbling you—of making you put things in perspective. It is a cliche, but we are only custodians of the gardens we live and work in. Our contribution is just to choose the site for the trees and shrubs we plant based on weather patterns. God does the rest!”
At the same time, God shouldn’t be left in sole custody, warns Ian McDowell. He is uneasy about dual budgets for development and maintenance; a diminishing and numerically less skilled work staff, and an increasing reliance on voluntary labour from groups such as the Friends of Pukekura Park.
He points to his own former position as being “a curator without teeth” in that, unlike previous appointees, he was not given total control of development and maintenance.
Ian McDowell says the position of curator/manager, which has been advertised internationally, embraces components of the roles three or four people once had.
“That’s the way they do it these days,” he says. “They write a new job description and do away with existing staff.
“The same thing happened when the New Plymouth City Council became the District Council. Steve Bainbridge, who was a very well qualified man, and was the director of parks at Waitara, found himself maintaining the grounds of a private rest home.
“I know that councils have to maintain essential services such as roading, water supply, etc, but I have always considered our parks and gardens to be equally important in terms of the well-being of the citizens of New Plymouth.”
Issues such as “compulsory competitive tendering” are of grave concern to Ian McDowell, who fears for the future of the park if projects are to be dollar driven. It worries him that Brian Bellringer was a lone voice on the council to oppose compulsory competitive tendering.
“Where this process falls down, is with the continuity aspect of operations,” he says.
“For things to work properly, there has to be continuity—you cannot continually change the way in which things are done without doing damage.
“Qualified staff need to be kept on in their jobs for that continuity to occur. For example, it takes a year for a full range of plants to come up. If a new director is appointed, he needs to be in the job for two or three years before he can even start to make a worthwhile contribution.
“The ideal team should comprise a mix of experience and new blood.”
Ian McDowell plans a busy retirement. He has been invited to help with a commercial organic gardening venture; he has been asked if he would be prepared to give commentaries to those touring the park in the small golf cart on Sundays, and he plans to join the Friends of Pukekura Park to keep a watchful eye on the activities of the New Plymouth District Council.
TDN, AUGUST 26, 1999
PUKEKURA PARK EXCELS IN SURVEY
PUKEKURA PARK has scored well in a survey of New Plymouth District Council parks division services.
Senior parks planner Anthony Joines said the random survey of 332 residents, carried out by a Rotorua company, looked at four of the division’s services, playgrounds, public toilets, Pukekura Park and the last Festival of Lights.
The survey found that 80% of those spoken to had visited the park in the last year and the general satisfaction level was 94.5%.
Levels of satisfaction for individual areas of the park were: fernery and display houses 97.1%, gardens 97.4%, lakes 94.4%, walkways 95.6%, tea house 95.2%, park toilets 85.9%, TSB Bowl of Brooklands 94.3%, sportsground 92.7% and Brooklands Zoo 94.8%.
The survey also highlighted 38 playgrounds, with the general satisfaction level being 85%.
The lighting festival also scored well, with a 96.7% satisfaction rating. Those questioned visited the park on average 2.5 times during the festival, with 61.6% hosting visitors from out of town.
Mr Joines said the high number of people taking visitors along showed that word of mouth was very important in marketing the festival outside of Taranaki.
The survey found the main areas for national tourists were Auckland 26%, Hamilton 11%, Palmerston North-Wanganui 14% and Wellington 15%.
Mr Joines said that in this financial year, the division planned to survey the public on its walkways, gardens, swimming pools and the festival of lights.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 4, 1999
ARBORIST TO HEAD PARK’S TEAM
AN AUCKLANDER has won the job of managing New Plymouth’s Pukekura and Brooklands parks.
Brian Gould (44), the chief arborist for the Auckland City Council, will start his new job as the New Plymouth District Council’s Pukekura Park manager in November.
Mr Gould, who will report to parks director Grant Porteous, will be involved in managing all aspects of Pukekura and Brooklands parks, as well as developing the district’s special tree collections.
Mr Gould said he applied for the job because of the significance of the park.
“Pukekura is recognised as being one of the most significant gardens in the country and this is a unique opportunity to manage a major collection of trees that is highly regarded.”
Mr Gould said he was impressed by the diversity of the plants in the park, from native trees, to Northern Hemisphere exotics and conifers, through to formal gardens and bush, all in a wonderful natural setting.
A major issue for the park would be dealing with the inevitable change in the parkscape as some of the bigger trees reached the end of their lives and had to be replaced.
He was also well aware of the importance of the park to New Plymouth people and wanted to develop good relationships with groups that had an interest in the park.
As someone who loved the outdoors, he was also keen to explore the region, and particularly Mt Egmont.
Mr Gould holds a professional diploma in arboriculture and a graduate diploma in horticulture and has worked at the prestigious Winkworth Arboretum in Guildford, near London—one of the major tree collections in Great Britain.
He moved to Australia in 1988 to become parks manager for Melbourne City before shifting to Auckland in 1994.
He is married, and he and his wife Julie have two daughters.
NPDC community services manager Alan Jellyman said the job had attracted applications from throughout New Zealand and overseas.
“Brian will bring with him extensive experience in the management of tree collections, which form the heart of Pukekura and Brooklands, and also in policy development.”
TDN, SEPTEMBER 11, 1999
CLAIMS OF PARK POLLUTION SPARK AN INQUIRY BY COUNCIL STAFF
THE New Plymouth District Council is to investigate fears that effluent is getting into the streams feeding the Pukekura Park lakes.
City resident Patricia Gillbanks said she noticed the strong smell of horse manure while walking alongside one of the streams at the back of the Rhododendron Dell.
The stream was green and frothy and she questioned whether it was effluent from the Pukekura Raceway stables.
But senior parks planner Anthony Joines said that a couple of years ago, traps were put in place to catch washings from the stables and direct it into the sewers.
Mr Joines said effluent from the Brooklands Zoo was directed into a large septic tank which was regularly cleaned out.
Mr Joines said the dark green colour of the lakes did not mean it was polluted.
“That’s the natural colour for the water.”
Mr Joines said he was concerned about the possible report of effluent getting into the streams and the council would be investigating the issue further.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 23, 1999
NEW CART FOR CITY PARK
With photo
The first popular mobility cart was introduced last December and has taken thousands of people around Pukekura Park.
It will now go to the Pukeiti Rododendron Trust for public use. It will be replaced by a larger cart. The new cart is battery-powered and quieter than the previous one.
Both vehicles were donated by Murray Saywell of Saywell Motors.
New Plymouth District Council senior parks planner Anthony Joines said the mobility cart had opened up the park for people not able to walk far.
TDN, NOVEMBER 12, 1999
PARK JOB WAS FATE, SAYS MANAGER
With photo
NEW Pukekura Park manager Brian Gould believes he was destined to come to New Plymouth.
Mr Gould began his new job with the New Plymouth District Council on Monday, coming from his last position as chief arborist for the Auckland City Council.
He will be responsible for the park’s plant collection and supervising other park activities.
Mr Gould said all the signs pointed to a move to New Plymouth.
“I was born in Plymouth (England) and the photographs on my calendar for September and October were both of Mt Egmont,” he said. He started the job on his birthday.
He said it was as if the job had his name on it in invisible ink.
“It’s amazing how many people in this type of work have said they never saw the job advertised.
“I’ve had 25 years experience with trees and landed this job. It’s fantastic. It’s the best of everything. I’m the envy of everyone I know.”
Mr Gould boasts a professional diploma in arboriculture, a qualification he said was held by only about 400 people in the world.
He said he had visited Pukekura Park on visits to New Plymouth, but admitted he still had a lot of familiarising to do.
“I’ve still got a bit to learn about the park and come to terms with it,” he said.
“I recognise the significance of the park. I certainly recognise the value New Plymouth people place on the park.
“There’s a clear level of interest and love for the place and I can understand that. I certainly won’t be short on advice.”
Mr Gould said many of the sky-line trees were approaching maturity and would need replacing in the near future.
He said it would be a tough job maintaining, enhancing and developing the park while keeping its ambience and structure during that process.
He said it was as good as anything he had seen overseas because of the collection of exotic plants within a framework of New Zealand natives.
“It’s in a nice valley setting with the mountain as a focal point. It’s a beautiful garden.”
TDN, NOVEMBER 17, 1999
NEW LOOK AT THE PARK
With photo
BACK in the mid-1980s, 22-year-old Peter Quinn took the very first photograph of his life in Pukekura Park.
That experience led to a career as a professional photographer. And now he has produced his tribute to New Plymouth’s botanical paradise in the form of a 60-page book entitled Pukekura and Brooklands: A park for all people.
Quinn said yesterday his book was the first about Pukekura Park since Brian Scanlan’s was published about 1957.
The book concentrates on the human use of the park and features an introduction by Taranaki Museum director Ron Lambert.
As well as four historical black-and-white photographs, it includes 66 colour pictures taken during the nine months starting in October last year. Some show aspects of the Kiri Te Kanawa concert and the Festival of Lights.
Quinn said the book went on sale this week in the district, and he hoped to have it in shops throughout the country and possibly even overseas. The New Plymouth District Council had underwritten the production costs, and a share of the profits would go towards the upkeep of Pukekura and Brooklands.
Born in Te Aroha, Quinn came to New Plymouth in the mid-1980s and worked at the Motunui synthetic petrol plant before taking a year’s photography course at the Wellington Polytechnic. Since then he has provided the pictures for a book entitled Staunch: Inside New Zealand’s Gangs.
Another book which he illustrated, Highway 35: Travels around East Cape, was short-listed for this year’s Montana Book Awards.
TDN, NOVEMBER 19, 1999
NEW PARK WALK NAMED
A TRACK in Pukekura Park is to be named after long-time park advocate and former Taranaki Herald editor Brian Scanlan. The New Plymouth District Council’s policy committee yesterday decided to name the walk linking the Shortland St entrance to the Hughes Walk as the Scanlan Walk. Mr Scanlan wrote two histories of the park and served on the parks and reserves committee during his term as a councillor from 1965 to 1971.
2000
TDN, FEBRUARY 14, 2000
CITY PARKS IN FOR MAJOR UPGRADES NEW PLYMOUTH’S
Pukekura and Brooklands parks will be a hive of activity in the next few months.
Work planned includes the second stage of the upgrade of the Pukekura Park fernery, the next stage of improvements at Brooklands Zoo, and new shelter for people using the lake boats.
Pukekura Park manager Brian Gould said that final designs for the zoo upgrade were nearing completion and tenders would be called later this month. The work involved construction of new enclosures for the otters and capuchin monkeys, together with the removal of the disused bird cages in the centre of the zoo, and the landscaping of the grounds and play area. The project, which should be finished by the end of June, will cost about $140,000 and will increase the size of the monkey enclosure by about eight times. Mr Gould said the fernery project involved the removal and rebuilding of the Kibby House, which houses the fernery’s begonia collection.
Tenders for this project, costing about $250,000, were being called now and it was hoped to start construction at the end of this month.
Mr Gould said the work involved demolition of the house and its replacement with a larger structure, made from safety glass. The fernery’s boiler house and electrics were also included in the upgrade.
Mr Gould said the council was also having a new $6500 shelter for people using the Pukekura Park lake boats. The original shelter for the contractor who runs the boats was destroyed by fire in December 1998.
As well, Mr Gould said designs were being created for an upgrade of a footbridge in the Maranui Gully, as the existing bridge did not meet safety requirements.
As a part of that work, it was planned to better highlight the gardens and trees planted in the 3ha Maranui property donated by Thomas List, who owned The Daily News between 1905 and 35.
TDN, MARCH 3, 2000
NEW MONKEY ENLOSURE PLANNED
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MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO: Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould inspects the monkey enclosure which is soon to be replaced at New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo.
Tenders have been called for the third stage of the zoo redevelopment, which would result in the construction of new enclosures for the eight capuchin monkeys and three otters, he said.
“The new monkey enclosure will be about eight times larger than the current one, rising to about 9m at its highest point, and will give the monkeys a lot of room to move around and swing and climb.
“The public will also have a clearer view of the monkeys with three viewing areas: two windows at ground level and a raised viewing deck with no glass or mesh between them and the monkeys.”
The enclosure had been designed in consultation with zoos in Auckland and Wellington, which had redesigned their enclosures to make more open, he said.
The zoo’s otters will be shifted to a new home on the site of the existing monkey cage.
Throughout construction, which will start at the end of this month, both the monkeys and otters will remain on public view.
Mr Gould said the removal of the old otter home as well as a line of disused bird cages at the front entrance would open the zoo up, allowing the entire area to be landscaped.
“Brooklands is primarily a children’s zoo and all of our designs and plans are made with children in mind.”
The work, which cost about $180,000, was funded from bequests to the New Plymouth District Council and is the third stage in an ongoing programme.
The first two stages involved the creation of a farm exhibit and the free-flight area.
The fourth stage will involve redesigning the entrance to the zoo.
TDN, MARCH 17, 2000
GREAT HUNT NOT A CASE OF EEL BE RIGHT
EELS should not be killed during the annual hunt for the fish in the Pukekura Park lakes.
That was the view of deputation to the New Plymouth District Council’s policy committee yesterday which urged the council to promote environmental education.
“It is our contention that the death is unnecessary and the hunt is an excellent opportunity for environmental education. Tag-and-release is the buzz phrase for game fishermen,” said New Plymouth’s Elise Smith.
“Over the years, the number of eels caught has dramatically declined. My age group apparently caught hundreds. Now we are down to single figures. The eel hunt should continue but learn about the animals, their role in the ecosystem and how to tag them, then release them.
“The tagging procedure is not difficult and the public would be very keen on seeing this. Several kids were quite upset that the eels were bludgeoned with a baseball bat even though this is a good method for a quick dispatch.”
Ms Smith’s suggestion was backed by a letter from Taranaki Fish and Game officer Allen Stancliff, who said the declining catch indicated that the culverts from the park to the Huatoki Stream were stopping migration.
“The competition catch could be kept alive in keep-nets, individually weighed to determine the winner and then released.”
Parks director Grant Porteous said eels were not a pest and while there had been an effort to reduce them in the past, attitudes had changed.
However, if the eel population was allowed to increase, it might have a marked impact on the number of ducks, he said.
TDN, MARCH 23, 2000
KIBBY HOUSE UPGRADE
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FLOWER POWER: Pukekura Park fernery supervisor Ken Davey on the site of the Kibby House, home of the fernery’s begonia collection, which is currently being upgraded. Mr Davey holds streptocarpus plants, two of hundreds of plants which have been moved to other parts of the fernery during the Kibby House upgrade.
The upgrade of the Kibby House is stage two of the Pukekura Park fernery revamp, costing about $250,000.
The fernery project involves the demolition of the house and its replacement with a larger structure made from safety glass.
New Plymouth District Council parks and leisure director Grant Porteous said the new Kibby House, due for completion in mid-May, would be of the same design as the other recently upgraded fernery houses.
Stage three of the fernery revamp, focusing on house number one of the fernery, would probably be completed next financial year, he said.
TDN, MAY 17, 2000
NPDC MAY REVIEW ITS STANCE ON TRUST SUPPORT
THE New Plymouth District Council is to review its move to withdraw secretarial and financial support to four community trusts.
Thirteen months ago, as a part of a review of its staffing, the council decided to withdraw from providing support to the TSB Bowl of Brooklands Trust, the TSB Showplace, the TSB Stadium and the Taranaki Events Centre (Rugby Park) from June 30.
The move had allowed the council to reduce the number of staff in the district secretariat by one.
But on Monday, prompted by a request from the Bowl trust for its secretarial and financial support to be extended, the full council decided to call for a review.
Council officers will prepare a report for the next round of committee meetings while the council also decided to continue the Bowl trust’s support till September 30.
Alex Matheson, who represents the council on the Bowl trust, said the group had applied to the council’s community funding subcommittee for money to pay for these services.
However, the trust would not know if it had funding for the service as the subcommittee would not meet to consider all the applications until early July.
“It just seems to me that we are doing the dirty on people who have worked hard on that trust for all these years to bring it to where it is now,” Mr Matheson said. But other councillors pointed out the move to withdraw support had been designed to ensure financial transparency and to encourage the trusts to work together.
TDN, MAY 30, 2000
NEW RESIDENT AT ZOO
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CUTE ARRIVAL: One of Brooklands Zoo’s three new cotton-top tamarin monkeys was not shy to show off its funky hair-do as it settled into its new home.
The three tamarin monkeys—dad Ivan, mum Nancy and baby Niva arrived in New Plymouth last week, making their home in a former bird cage near the capuchin monkey enclosure.
The New Plymouth zoo has the new monkeys on loan thanks to an animal exchange programme with Auckland Zoo, Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould said. It was hoped they would breed.
“They’re small monkeys, about the size of a squirrel. They don’t need much space, the cage we’ve got them in is more than adequate.
“They are very inquisitive and active, adapting easily to new surroundings,” he said.
Zoo staff are also planning some purpose-built accommodation as part of the current upgrade of the capuchin monkey enclosure.
Cotton-top tamarins originate from the forests of Colombia in South America.
The monkeys, along with the macaws recently acquired from Christchurch Zoo, are a significant addition to the zoo collection.
“We want to keep our collection of animals small so that it’s easily manageable, but exciting so that people get a lot of enjoyment out of coming to the zoo,” Mr Gould said.
TDN, JUNE 9, 2000
KIBBY HOUSE UPGRADE
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BLOOMING WONDERFUL: Parkscape worker Ailsa McCrone tends plants in the latest upgrade to the Pukekura Park fernery.
The new house is being built by Hawera’s Arthur Brown Construction and replaces the Kibby House, which housed the fernery’s begonia collection.
The work involved the demolition of the house and its replacement with a larger structure made from safety glass. The fernery’s boiler house and electrics were also included in the upgrade, along with improved access for the disabled.
Pukekura Park manager Brian Gould said the project, which cost about $250,000, should reopen to the public in about a month, once work on the ceiling and restocking of the house was completed.
Mr Gould said the new house was about 20% bigger than the old house, but most of that additional space was taken up in additional plant propagation areas.
TDN, JUNE 12, 2000
COUNCIL TO REVIEW FUTURE OF TRUSTS
THE New Plymouth District Council may look at bringing the Bowl of Brooklands, the city’s community stadium and the Showplace directly under its wings.
The TSB Bowl, TSB Showplace and TSB Stadium, along with the Len Lye Foundation, are currently run by trusts that receive either secretarial and/or financial support from the council.
But the policy committee has recommended that as well as looking at co-operative management of the venues, that council officers also investigate the possibility of bringing the trusts into the council’s structure.
This would mean that, for example, the stadium would be treated no differently from the Fletcher Challenge Energy Aquatic Centre, which is a part of the council’s community services department.
The review was prompted by a council decision 18 months ago to stop providing secretarial support for the trusts from June 30 this year. The reduction in work has meant the number of people working in the district secretariat has dropped from five to three.
But the Showplace, which faced a financial crisis from a crippling $500,000 loan and a lack of working capital, has had its support extended to September 30 and the Bowl trust also asked for a similar extension.
The Len Lye Foundation, however, has already taken on its own secretarial services, while the stadium has always provided its own secretarial services.
As an interim measure, the committee recommended the council continue to provide secretarial services.
Committee chairperson Heather Dodunski said bringing the trusts directly in under the council’s structure would be far more financially transparent.
Mrs Dodunski said she acknowledged the enormous voluntary work many people put into the venues and believed this could be maintained under direct council control.
John Honnor also emphasised the work of volunteers, but said there was only so much they could do. But he pointed to the case of the Star Gym, which struggled for many years until its volunteers could carry on no longer and handed the venue back to the former city council. The council then had to spend $100,000 on it because it had become so run down.
“I don’t believe they should have to be applying to our community funding subcommittee to operate a council-owned facility,” he said.
The policy committee recommended that secretarial and other support services continue to be provided.
TDN, JUNE 19, 2000
SWINGING INTO MONKEY HOME PROJECT
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BROOKLANDS ZOO’S new capuchin enclosure is shaping up to be something of a monkey mansion.
Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould said he was pleased with progress on the $180,000 structure and it should be finished within the next six weeks.
“We then have to fit the enclosure out with logs, rocks and ropes for them to play on.”
Landscape architect Richard Bain and architect Alan Reed previously inspected similar enclosures at zoos in New Zealand and Australia.
“We have taken some of those ideas and come up with a structure that’s really unique,” said Mr Bain.
It will be 10 times larger than the present capuchin enclosure, and offer visitors two areas to view the comical creatures.
A wooden slip-resistant ramp leads to an upper viewing platform, the main feature of which is a “hole in the wall” offering unobstructed views of the primates.
“There won’t be any glass or wire between the people and the monkeys,” said Mr Bain.
However, the monkeys would not be able to escape and members of the public would not be able to touch them.
He said the smooth walls surrounding the open window ensured they could not climb out and a pond below the window was an added deterrent, as capuchins did not like water.
They could also be viewed through two ground-level windows.
Mr Bain said the open plan design was part of a worldwide move towards more natural environments for zoo animals.
“This is an enclosure, not a cage.”
Mr Bain said that while capuchins were renowned for destroying foliage, adding greenery was important to them.
“We think we’ve found some plant species they won’t want to touch.”
He said they would also plant the area behind the enclosure to give a more natural backdrop.
TDN, JUNE 20, 2000
Hunt is on for Lori the lorikeet
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LORI the lorikeet is missing from Brooklands Zoo, and staff fear he may have been stolen.
Zoo supervisor Julie Sarten says Lori was probably taken from the New Plymouth aviary about 2pm on Sunday.
The six-month-old bird was hand-raised from a chick by zoo staff.
“Lori is very friendly and trusting, and is used to standing on people’s oustretched arms. He could quite easily be caught,” Ms Sarten said.
Several people went through the aviary on Sunday afternoon, so someone might have seen something that could help, Ms Sarten said.
Staff are worried that Lori will become unwell without his special diet.
Lori is mainly green, with blue, gold and red highlights, and zoo staff are very keen to hear of any sightings.
The disappearance follows the recent theft of two rabbits from the farmyard area.
Signs have been erected in the zoo asking visitors to report anyone acting suspiciously.
TDN, JUNE 21, 2000
MYSTERY CALL LEADS TO LORI
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LORI the lorikeet was returned to New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo in a plastic bag yesterday, after being stolen from his aviary on Sunday afternoon.
Just before 10am yesterday an anonymous caller told zoo staff he had seen a bird in a bag at the zoo’s gates. Staff found a bag firmly tied to the zoo’s information sign—with a very distressed Lori inside.
Zoo supervisor Julie Sarten said Lori was recovering well.
“He’s had plenty to eat now and he’s going to be fine.
“He’s very cuddly at the moment.”
Many of the birds in the free-flight aviary from which Lori was stolen have been hand-reared and are very tame. Lori would have gone along happily with his captor.
“Lori probably climbed on someone’s arm and they could’ve tucked him under a jersey because he’s so secure with people,” she said.
TDN, JUNE 27, 2000
MONKEY NOT FAT, PREGNANT
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BROOKLANDS ZOO staff thought Nancy was simply getting fat. But it wasn’t that; the cotton-top tamarin monkey was pregnant.
And she sprang a surprise on her keepers at the New Plymouth zoo on Saturday—twins.
Nancy, her mate Ivan and daughter Niva had come to Brooklands Zoo less than a month ago from Auckland Zoo, where staff had not realised that Nancy was pregnant.
Last week, Brooklands Zoo staff noticed that she was looking quite fat, but thought she had been eating a lot of food. The first they knew of the pregnancy was on Saturday, when a member of the public told them she thought she had seen one of the monkeys carrying babies on her back.
“It was a big surprise for everyone, but a really nice one,” said Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould yesterday. “We have a really good facility here for them to live in; there’s plenty of room.”
Mr Gould said the first few days were the danger period for newborn tamarins, but the signs were looking good. Ivan and Niva were taking turns carrying the babies, and Nancy took them back to suckle them. They were a very protective family unit.
Twins are the most common result of tamarin pregnancies. This is Nancy’s third live birth, and her oldest offspring have stayed at Auckland Zoo for its breeding programme.
Mr Gould said a competition would be held to find names for the new arrivals, but not for about two months: “We won’t know for a while what sex they are. They are too tiny to handle.
“The names will have to begin with N, because that will denote that Nancy is the mother. That’s so that people in zoos can keep a record of whose progeny is whose.”
TDN, JULY 4, 2000
TREES FALL, ROOFS FLY AS TARANAKI BATTERED BY GALES
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THREE New Plymouth men jumped for their lives when a 30m tree toppled at the Bowl of Brooklands as gale-force winds lashed the city yesterday.
The near-miss was just one of a series of incidents throughout the region as winds of up to 110km/h pummelled Taranaki.
Along the coast between New Plymouth and Okato, heavy winds toppled trees, lifted roofs and off-shore whipped up the Tasman Sea.
The three New Plymouth Plumbing and Gas workers were re-roofing a section of the concert venue, when a strong gust blew down the tree.
“We heard a loud crack, looked up, and the tree was coming down on top of us,” said Tim Parker. He and fellow workers dived out of the way.
The impact of the fall destroyed many of the Bowl’s rafters, and caused ceiling tiles to rain down in a tearoom underneath.
TDN, JULY 10, 2000
BOWL IMPROVEMENTS HELD IN BALANCE
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AN early start to work on the next stage of improvements to New Plymouth’s Bowl is hanging in the balance.
Trust chairman Michael Keat said that tenders for the work would close on Friday. If the trust decided at a meeting four days later to accept a tender, the successful contractor would be asked whether it was feasible to start work within a week or so and finish it without risking problems stemming from winter weather.
That early start would mean that the transformed TSB Bowl of Brooklands would be ready for the next production there on December 17 (Christmas at the Bowl). Otherwise, it would not be possible to do the work until April.
Mr Keat predicted that the improvements would increase the Bowl’s audience capacity dramatically, from about 15,000 to 18-19,000, and make the venue a better proposition for concert promoters considering whether to bring shows to the Bowl.
The work would involve re-grading the grassy amphitheatre floor (to produce a more uniform slope and better sight-lines), and terracing it.
Mr Keat said the present wooden-bench seating for 2700 spectators had been installed in the late 1950s or early 60s, but had been repaired and partly replaced over the years. It would give way to 3500 plastic seats which would be removed after each concert and would also be available for concerts at other venues.
Funding plans for the new seats received a setback on June 22 when the New Plymouth District Council decided not to contribute $150,000, instead referring the request to the community funding sub-committee. But Mr Keat hopes the trust will be able to raise funds to get the seats in place without delay.
He said the lake in front of the stage would be narrowed to allow the road across the front of the audience area to be moved four metres closer to the stage, but more water would be “wrapped around” the stage area.
TDN, AUGUST 9, 2000
ZOO SADDENED BY DEATH OF BABY NITA
YESTERDAY was a sad day for New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo—one of the two cotton-top tamarin monkeys born in June died.
Nita had become suddenly ill on Monday and died in the early hours of yesterday morning, said Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould.
Results of a post-mortem should be available in a week, but the zoo is hoping a disease was not the cause because that would mean that the other baby, Nexi, may also be at risk.
Nexi and Nita’s birth seven weeks ago was particularly welcome, because cotton-top tamarins are endangered in the wild, and Brooklands Zoo is part of an Australasian breeding programme for the species.
The twins were named only two weeks ago, after a district-wide competition.
Mr Gould said the family of six-year-old Steven Martin, who won the right to name Nita, had already been told of the monkey’s death.
TDN, AUGUST 19, 2000
DEATH TRACED TO INFECTION
A LUNG infection claimed the life of a seven-week-old tamarin monkey which died at New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo two weeks ago, a post mortem has found.
New Plymouth District Council Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould said a vet had found that Nita, one of a pair of twins born at the zoo, died of a lung infection.
“Ordinarily, a lung infection would not be enough to result in the death of a tamarin, however, the vet believes that, as Nita was still young, and because it was the weaker of the twins, the lung infection was too much for it and it succumbed.”
Mr Gould said initial concerns that Nita had died of a disease which might affect the other monkeys had proven unfounded.
The remaining twin, Nexi, was in good health and thriving, as were the three adult tamarins.
The mother of the twins, Nancy, had a history of being a less-than-robust breeder, he said.
TDN, AUGUST 28, 2000
PARK RHODOS GETTING AN OVERDUE TRIM
PUKEKURA PARK walkers shouldn’t be alarmed if they see some rhododenrons looking like “clumps of celery” from next week, says park manager Bryan Gould.
The older rhododendrons in the Sanders Rhododendron Dell, near the park’s main lake, would be pruned back to about 1m high to form “a new crown” and encourage growth.
“About 20% of the plants are getting old and leggy, and are only flowering on the top where people can’t see them,” Mr Gould said.
The change would initially be a shock but in two to three seasons the plants would be flowering and look better than before.
He said this was the best time of year to prune the plants although some would look like “stumps” for the upcoming Taranaki Rhododendron Festival in October.
However, the dell would still put on a “brilliant display” with the other 80% of plants in flower and new plants that were being added.
“All the energy of the plants is stored in the buds, so by cutting them back now, the energy will go into regrowing the stems.”
It was normal horticultural practice to stimulate plants that had become old and tired. The trees had not been pruned for about 20 years.
TDN, AUGUST 28, 2000
FERNERY TAKES ON WHOLE NEW LOOK
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A NEW-LOOK Kibby House at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth opens to the public later this month following a major $225,000 revamp.
The orchid and sub-tropical plant display house has been rebuilt from the ground up, in stage two of the redevelopment of the fernery complex at Pukekura Park.
The over-all dimensions of the new building are about 25% larger than the original, increasing the floor space to 230m².
A soaring barrel-vaulted roof, designed to trap sunlight and heat and assist with air circulation, matches those of the other two adjacently linked glasshouses, refurbished about three years ago in stage one of the development.
The display space has been significantly increased, along with the creation of a purpose-built indoor propagation area and easier rear entrance access for people with limited mobility.
The project has been a joint effort between Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould, park curator Ken Davey, architectural consultants TSE Taranaki and building contractor Arthur Brown Construction, Hawera.
“Ken’s advice has been invaluable, ensuring that we’ve got all the specifications needed in terms of space and light and temperature control within the design,” Mr Gould said.
Work started in February and involved the dismantling of the entire original structure. The only things remaining from the old building are the block walls around the base of the windows.
A new floor was poured on top of the old floor. The green steelwork and toughened glass is all new and the footprint of the building extends into what was once an open-air space at the rear.
The upgrading of the driveway leading up to the building at the rear of the complex and a better-designed entrance makes for easier accessibility. While its chief function is as a service entrance, people with limited mobility would be able to use it by arrangement, Mr Gould said. Everyone else would enter as usual via the subterranean tunnel links from the main fernery, he added.
Sub-tropical plants don’t like the cold, so building had to be kept to a tight time frame, he said. “We couldn’t leave the plants out for very long. So it was part of the contract that the principal contractor had to be finished to a point where we could bring them in by this time and we achieved that.”
Hot pipes running beneath the benches keep the plants at an optimum temperature. Ventilation controls are about to be installed.
“Basically with the ventilation and heating systems, we’ve got the sort of climate in here that’s going to be perfect for these plants.
“Structurally, it’s a really interesting building as well. A lot of people come in and like to look at the building itself, as much as the plants.”
Work is being finished on an ornamental pool and water feature, which, as well as providing aesthetic enhancement, will also be good for the plants, adding humidity to the atmosphere.
With Kibby House complete, apart from some minor finishing touches, planning for stage three of the redevelopment, which includes redesigning the original fernery house and further improvements to propagation facilities outside the public area, is getting underway.
“It’s a very big project. I think it illustrates the council’s commitment to the fernery as a public display area, in terms of people viewing and appreciating the plant collection, which is very significant. But it’s also of great benefit to us, because it allows the plant collection to be cared for and looked after much better than we’ve ever been able to do before.”
TDN, SEPTEMBER 2, 2000
UPDATED DISPLAY HOUSE OPENS
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THERE was a mix of old and new at Pukekura Park last night.
Five park curators were on hand to witness the opening of the revamped Kibby plant display house.
The $225,000 facelift was given the thumbs-up by past curators John (Jack) Goodwin, George Fuller, Allan Jellyman and Ian McDowell.
Anthony Joines, also a previous curator, was unable to attend the ceremony.
“It’s terrific,” said Mr Goodwin, who started work at the park in 1949.
Mr Goodwin said the first task he was given when he took up the role was to attract people into the park.
“It was overgrown during the war—you had to cut your way into some of the gullies.”
One of his earliest suggestions was to put in an illuminated waterfall. But though he suggested it during his first year as curator, it was not completed until the 1970s.
The popular house has been closed to the public since March when the revamp work was started.
A new roof was installed, designed to capture sunlight and improve air circulation. Temperature and humidity control has also been improved.
Current park manager Bryan Gould said the new Kibby House provided more space and gave the workers a propagation area.
The display house, part of the fernery complex, would house a range of sub-tropical plants including orchids and bromeliads.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 27, 2000
ZOO TO CLOSE DURING WORK ON NEW ENCLOSURES
BROOKLANDS ZOO will be closed for up to a month while the New Plymouth District Council begins work on the next stage of the zoo upgrade.
Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould said the next stage would start early next month, creating a new otter enclosure, a new children’s playground and a cotton-top tamarin enclosure the public would be able to walk through.
“We will need to close the entire zoo for a short time—for between two and four weeks, depending on the weather—so we can demolish the disused bird cages near the zoo entrance and also the existing otter enclosure without endangering the public.
“After that, we’ll reopen the farmyard area and the aviary, but fence off the rest of the zoo while construction and landscaping are under way.”
The construction of the new otter and tamarin homes had been expected to take a year to complete, along with landscaping and installing new playground equipment, but earlier this month the council decided to fast-track the next stage.
It was planned to finish the upgrade, the last stage in a three year programme, by Christmas, he said.
TDN, NOVEMBER 24, 2000
PARK CURATOR DIES AT 63
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FORMER Pukekura Park curator Ian McDowell has died, aged 63.
Mr McDowell was the park’s curator from 1994 until his retirement last year. He worked with what was known as the Parks and Reserves department of the New Plymouth City (later District) Council for a total of 36 years.
Raised in Essex next to Epping Forest, Mr McDowell moved to New Zealand with his wife Ann in 1963, where they settled and raised their family in New Plymouth.
In an interview published last year, Mr McDowell said he was amazed at the rate of plant growth here.
“In this country, you can form a park and be able to walk under the trees you planted within your own lifetime. You could never do that in England,” he said.
One of his legacies is the waterfall at Pukekura Park, which he and former park curators Allan Jellyman and George Fuller built together—”nearly wearing our fingers to the bone”.
Mr McDowell attributed the success of the gardens he tended to nature, rather than his own green thumb.
“Nature has a way of humbling you—of making you put things in perspective. We are only custodians of the gardens we live and work in,” he said.
“Our contribution is just to choose the site for the trees and shrubs we plant based on weather patterns. God does the rest!”
He is survived by wife Ann, and children Carl, Lorna and Miranda.
TDN, DECEMBER 18, 2000
NEW MONKEY ENCLOSURE
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CLOSE ENCOUNTER: Muggeridge sisters (from left) Jessica (4), Kelsey (6) and Charlotte (8) were among the many who checked out the new walk-through enclosure for the cotton-top tamarins at the upgraded Brooklands Zoo, New Plymouth, officially opened with a Do at the Zoo on Saturday.
Thousands enjoyed the afternoon event. As expected, the most popular was the large walk-through monkeys’ enclosure which allows visitors to enter the cotton-toptamarins’ home.
The official opening in perfect weather featured free train rides, a giant inflatable monkey, animal feeding and face-painting.
The $180,000 staged upgrade, which included a larger enclosure for the otters with flowing water, a children’s farmyard and free-flight aviary, had taken 3 1/2 years, Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould said. “In our own way and in our own style we have produced one of the best provincial zoos in the country,” Mr Gould said.
2001
TDN, MARCH 23, 2001
WALKWAY TO BE BUILT OVER PARK WETLAND
THE New Plymouth District Council is finalising plans for a new wetland feature in Pukekura Park. A $5000 sponsorship from Fletcher Challenge Energy has made possible the construction of a boardwalk to open up previously inaccessible parts of the park, Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould said.
“We were aware the company was offering to sponsor projects which supported wetland conservation in Taranaki, so we put together a proposal,” he said. “It will create a new experience for visitors, enhance the existing wetland and improve public understanding of the importance of riparian wetland habitats.”
The development site is a small area below an earthen dam which holds back the waters of the lily lake at the Bowl of Brooklands. Construction will start in mid-April and is expected to be finished in August.
MIDWEEK, MARCH 27, 2001
WETLANDS MOVE FOR PUKEKURA PARK
PUKEKURA PARK is getting an addition to its walkways with the construction of a wetlands board-
walk the Bowl of Brooklands.
Bryan Gould, from the district council, says the boardwalk will provide another side of the park that has not previously been utilised.
The wetland is being built with the donation of $5000 from Fletcher Challenge.
Although small, the boardwalk will give people the chance to have a close-up look at a wetland habitat, including the special plants, frogs and dragonflies that like soggy conditions. There are lots of other new developments happening in the next few months as well.
Four areas within the park are getting a facelift. After an intense weeding, all these areas are getting new plantings, which will enhance the current landscape and create new features.
The monument hillside (at the south end of the main lake), the Japanese hillside (above the fountain lake on the western side), the palm lawn (between the lake and the children’s playground) and the water wheel have all been granted the new lease of life, which will be complete and ready to be enjoyed by next spring.
TDN, MARCH 29, 2001
PUKEKURA PARK FACELIFT TO ENHANCE LANDSCAPING
WORK at Pukekura Park continues, with four sections of the park being upgraded during the next few months to create new landscape features.
It will start with the removal of some poor-quality trees and unsuitable vegetation, along with some pruning and shaping.
The second stage involved replanting these areas to enhance the landscape and create new features, said Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould.
The upgraded areas will be:
* The Monument Hillside, at the south end of the main lake.
The south-east sector of the hill, below the stand of totara, will be planted with several thousand silver ferns to create a silver fern forest beneath the tree canopy.
* The Japanese Hillside, above the fountain lake on the western side.
Extensive planting of new azaleas and maples, with a link path to improve access.
* The Palm Lawn, between the fountain lake and the children’s playground.
Some poor-quality trees and overgrown vegetation will be removed to open up the area.
Many new specimens of azaleas and maples will be added to enhance the planting theme and create a better link to the nearby stream and slopes.
* The Water Wheel.
Some unstable and unsuitable trees will be removed, followed by mass planting of ferns to create a fern forest dell.
“These areas are all rather anonymous right now and would benefit from the planned improvements. The new plantings would add beauty and colour to gardens,” said Mr Gould.
TDN, APRIL 2, 2001
PARK’S EELS GET CHANCE TO BREED
PUKEKURA PARK’S declining eel population can rest easy for the next few years, with the blessing of the New Plymouth District Council.
The Great Eel Hunt, held every January at the park, is to be put on hold to allow the eels to restock their population.
Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould said he was concerned that fewer and fewer eels had been caught in the park over recent years.
“That’s indicative of just how few eels there are left in the lakes,” he said.
“We changed the last eel hunt from a catch-and-kill to a catch-and-release competition in an effort to maintain the stocks in the lakes, but the eel population is so low that we really need to give them some breathing space and leave them alone for a bit.”
He said the eel hunt would be reinstated depending on how productive the eels were.
“Over time we expect to see more eels and other fish in those lakes, and generations of children appreciating the need to maintain our natural ecology,” Mr Gould said.
TDN, APRIL 21, 2001
THIS MAN MADE THE BOWL
With photo
Although he lived in New Plymouth for only a few years before moving on to new climes and new challenges, Eric Handbury has left his own enduring legacy.
MARK BIRCH looks back at the life and times of the man who will always be remembered as one of the most creative spirits in the city’s history.
ERIC HANDBURY, the genius who turned a dream into reality and created the magical outdoor amphitheatre of the Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth, is no more.
He died at Fort Erie General Hospital in Canada on February 24, at the age of 78—predeceased by his wife, Audrey, but leaving four children and nine grandchildren.
And although Eric Handbury spent a mere six years in New Plymouth, there is no doubt that he counted that short period as one of the highlights of his long life.
Certainly New Plymouth, Taranaki and perhaps the whole of New Zealand owe him a debt of gratitude for making possible so many nights of enchantment and excitement at that superb venue.
Born and educated in Sheffield, England, Handbury studied navigation at Trinity House.
In 1938 he went to sea and served during World War II in the British Merchant Service, later working as chief navigation officer for the Straits Steamship Company of Singapore.
In 1949 he arrived in Dunedin, where he became regional manager of the Castrol Oil Company. He also organised an international motor show, several 30-hour car reliability trials and a women’s tourist trophy event, the first of its kind in New Zealand or Australia.
In 1956 he became New Plymouth’s public relations officer—and before long harboured a dream to build “the biggest outdoor theatre in the Southern Hemisphere” in a scruffy valley featuring a neglected lake.
Developing that site was no easy task.
Handbury’s son John, writing to The Daily News this week from Canada, recalls that Eric “organised a group of volunteer carpenters, electricians and other tradespeople. Working at weekends, they dug the ground, designed the stage, nailed seats, wired lights. Wives brought sandwiches for lunch and kids played among the dirt piles.
“Dad would lose his smoking pipe, and the project would halt while everyone searched for it.
“Incredibly, over years, this dream came to life.”
Sheila Connell, of Eltham, remembers those days well.
She was Handbury’s secretary at the time of the first Festival of the Pines at the Bowl.
On one occasion he took her to Brooklands Park, left her at the highest point of the “cow pasture” while he carried on down to the lowest point by the lake, and demonstrated to her what a wonderful natural amphitheatre the area was—she could hear everything he said across that distance, even though he hardly raised his voice.
But early concert-planners had to reckon with the grievances of the tangata whenua of the Brooklands valley—ducks and frogs—who threatened to mount a protest movement by disrupting performances with the odd inappropriate quack or croak at dramatic or tragic moments.
John Handbury refers to old news clippings that described the Frog Wars:
“Apparently when the Bowl just opened, the frog-croaking was loud enough to drown out the performers. Dad suggested they dynamite the frogs from the pond. There was a huge outcry from naturalists and the public. A cartoon was published in the New Plymouth newspaper with frogs holding ‘Ban the bomb’ signs in front of Dad’s office.
“Controversy raged until a university professor announced that the frogs croaked only during their two-week mating period. The shows were rescheduled to let the frogs do their thing.”
The ducks were left alone to swim unperturbed on the narrow lake between performers on-stage and the audience.
Over the years, productions at the Bowl grew more and more successful. A record 17,500 people packed into the amphitheatre for a concert by The Seekers in 1968.
THE Festival of the Pines flourished from 1958 until the 70s, when it was knocked out by the twin blows of television and daylight saving. But improvements to the venue helped to bring the Bowl to life again; there were audiences of 15,000 for Split Enz in 1984, 13,000 for Ice House in 1988, 10,000 for UB40 in 1989 and 15,000 for Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John in 1998.
However, the Handbury family were long gone—only a fading memory for older New Plymouth residents.
“Mom and Dad decided to immigrate to Canada, the `land of opportunity,’ in 1962,” says John. “This was a great shock to the New Plymouth community, and many people came to our house to change Dad’s mind. News clippings show the Handbury family boarding the ship like departing royalty.
“Dad has had many accomplishments since the Bowl. Upon arrival in Canada, he attempted to build a Bowl of Brooklands lookalike in Parry Sound, Ontario. He couldn’t get financing. Possibly Canada wasn’t ready for this type of large project, or maybe people weren’t prepared to work for free here.
“Eric conducted many large audio-visual shows, a major one being the Sound and Light show at the Canadian Parliament buildings in 1967, which was attended by the Queen and Prince Philip. His Centennial Medal from this show rests in our family archives—it could use a good polishing.
“Other shows include the Expo pavilion in Montreal and Osaka in Japan, the Son et Lumiere at Dundurn castle in Hamilton, and major shows for corporations such as IBM.
“He was the most successful and brilliant producer in a tough, tough business. He was the only one companies would seek in Toronto.
“He was a great organiser and leader. Although probably laughable today, his shows used the most cutting-edge technology available.
“When times were good, the family had good vacations; when not, we let our shoes last a couple of months more. No big deal, Dad always came through in the end.
“Despite Dad’s many successes in Canada, his many friends here, his four children who haven’t grown up too badly, his nine grandchildren, Dad has always regretted moving from New Zealand. `My biggest mistake,’ he’s described it on bad days.
“Possibly he remembered the fine friends, all working towards a common dream, drinks afterwards in the pub, a `synergy’ to build a project that had a happy ending. A camaraderie he couldn’t replicate in Canada.
“The Bowl was still operating and is a major event. I surfed through websites describing an accomplishment created 40 years ago. `A rockin’ place,’ `an important spectacle,’ `the FAMOUS Bowl of Brooklands,’ `1200 children danced and sang their way through the last 100 years in front of a strong crowd at the wonderful Bowl of Brooklands outdoor centre.’ My mouth was wide open at this point. I’m proud of you, Dad.”
RIGHT up to the end of his life, Eric Handbury was proud of his Bowl. In a telephone call from Canada in 1998, he told The Daily News his festival years were the best time he had ever had in his life: “I loved New Plymouth and often wish I could go back and live there.”
Just over a month later, he wrote to The Daily News in ecstatic mood at receiving from his New Plymouth friend Dr Alan Hayton cuttings about the recent concert featuring Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John.
“These are cuttings that I shall treasure for the rest of my life. They are amazing! They are unbelievable! They are magnificent! They are triumph!! New Plymouth, I am so proud of you and so glad for you.
“If I never do anything worthwhile again, I am proud of my part in the development of the magnificent theatre. I can say always that I created it, that I stood with Malcolm McAlpine on the high slopes overlooking the natural auditorium and told him of my dream of the Bowl of Brooklands, a vast open-air theatre that would hold its stages and its players in the valley below us, and stretch up to the pines on the skyline.
“But I will never forget those extraordinary men and women that brought that vision to fruition. There are so many to mention, but a few stand out as the outstanding architects of the concept. People like Stan White, Malcolm McAlpine, Baden Winchcombe, Malcolm Gaze, Joe Carey and one of your recent correspondents, Robin Sinclair. I remember you all so well and I miss you.
“I still hear your great voice, Tom Jackson, as I remember the figure of a crucified Christ on the lighted hills and the rage that quietened the crowds. The horses still gallop in my memory as they charge down, their riders lighting the fires around their captives, the arrows still hiss in Brooklands’ Sherwood Forest and, for me, the sweet young voices of the New Plymouth Girls’ Choir echo in the trees.
“I think at one time the Bowl received recognition as one of the finest tourist attractions in the Southern Hemisphere, an honour that fell into obscurity for some time, until now. Now your theatre stands the chance of becoming as much a landmark as Mt Egmont. Congratulations, New Plymouth.”
And today John Handbury, reviewing his father’s accomplishments in New Plymouth, says he would like to applaud two groups.
“First, my Dad and his tenacious co-workers who pioneered the Bowl on a shoestring budget so many years ago. Hopefully this story has found some of them and enlightened others on their accomplishments.
“Second, to the people who have maintained it over all these years. Renailing those seats, rewiring the lights, organising the events, and keeping it as an important spectacle.
“I’m saving a few of Dad’s ashes, and if I ever visit New Plymouth, I’ll spread them in the Bowl of Brooklands lake. Frogs or no frogs, he’d want a piece of himself there.
TDN, MAY 18, 2001
GATE MARKS SISTER-CITY ANNIVERSARY
With photo
THE 10th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between New Plymouth and Mishima was celebrated with the unveiling of a traditional Japanese torii gate at Pukekura Park yesterday.
Headed by city council chairman Hajime Shirnura, the 22-strong Mishima delegation has been at the sister cities convention which finished in New Plymouth yesterday.
“The New Plymouth-Mishima link is recognised as being one of the most active sister-city links in New Zealand and to have continued that activity for 10 years is a magnificent achievement,” New Plymouth Mayor Claire Stewart said.
The red wooden torii gate that has been constructed is in Pukekura Park’s Japanese hillside area, on the western hillside overlooking the fountain lake.
Officials from Mishima helped the New Plymouth District Council design the gate.
Torii gates were originally part of Shinto temples in Japan. The gate at Pukekura Park will be known as Mishima Gate.
TDN, MAY 30, 2001
TREE PLANTING HONOURS HISTORY OF PUKEKURA PARK
With photo
THE same spade used 125 years ago to plant Pukekura Park’s first trees was brought out yesterday to plant the park’s newest trees.
About 20 people with close association with the park gathered on the palm lawn, between the fountain lake and the children’s playground, for the planting of two palms to commemorate the anniversary of the opening of the park.
Bryan Gould, Pukekura Park manager, said the Taranaki Museum had given its permission to use the spade which Jane Carrington used to plant four trees during the park’s official opening 125 years ago.
Miss Carrington, daughter of the man who planned the city of New Plymouth, Frederic Alonzo Carrington, planted an oak, representing Great Britain, a puriri for New Zealand, a Norfolk Island pine for the South Pacific islands, and a pinus radiata for America. Mr Gould said it was decided to plant palms for the commemoration ceremony as part of a redevelopment of the palm lawn, to make it more of a feature.
Pukekura Park was an extremely important asset for New Plymouth, Mr Gould said.
“It is one of the major parks of New Zealand and very much a centrepiece. It’s important to the residents, the community and the district, but the ripples go further than that.”
Taranaki historian Ron Lambert believed good management of the park since its inception had made it what it was today.
“The park is absolutely pivotal in tourist potential to Taranaki and for the locals. It is one of the most successful parks in the country and it has a long history of very good management.”
TDN, JUNE 1, 2001
EARTHWORKS AT BOWL
With photo
EARTH MOVING: Digger driver Mark James works on upgrading New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands, forming a ramp at the top of the Bowl to push over tonnes of dirt.
TSB Bowl of Brooklands Trust operations manager Michael Keat said the aim was to raise the level of the seating area to provide a better view over the stage for the audience.
The developments were costing $150,000 and should be finished in a few months.
Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould said new contours and levels were being put in to increase audience space and viewing.
“We are changing the levels so that we can see from any level in the Bowl—and so you don’t slide down on your bottom when you’re sitting on the hill!”
TDN, JUNE 25, 2001
MAN FOUND IN PARK LAKE
AN elderly New Plymouth man was found dead in the main lake at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park on Saturday afternoon. People walking in the park discovered the 91-year-old’s body in the water near Poet’s Bridge about 4pm, said acting Sergeant Kay Anna yesterday. There were no suspicious circumstances and a post mortem examination would be done today to find out the cause of death, she said. The man’s name was not released.
TDN, JUNE 26, 2001
DEAD MAN NAMED
POLICE yesterday released the name of an elderly man who was found dead in Pukekura Park’s main lake in New Plymouth at the weekend. He was Douglas Sidney Ferabend (91). Mr Ferabend’s body was discovered near Poet’s Bridge by people walking in the park on Saturday afternoon. Police said they would know the results of a post mortem, which was to be held yesterday, in several days.
TDN, AUGUST 1, 2001
MUDDY EYESORE GETS FACELIFT
With photo
A MUDDY, unusable area of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park has been transformed into a unique $12,000 wetland over the last month.
Park staff have built a boardwalk and wetland pool at the northern end of the Lily Lake, near the Rhododendron Dell. Until this week, staff had been waiting for aquatic plants to arrive from a specialist nursery near Auckland.
The project is the brainchild of Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould.
“It emphasises the characteristics of a wetland environment, mud and water,” he said.
“It was great luck and coincidence that the Fletcher Challenge grant opportunity arose at the same time as my idea.”
Fletcher Challenge Energy granted $5000 towards the project and the district council provided the other $7000.
Fletcher Challenge communications adviser Donna Harris said the wetland feature received funding because it tied in with the company’s sponsorship philosophy.
“We are keen to ensure Taranaki wetlands are preserved and the overall conservation of the environment.”
Mr Gould said there were no plans for an opening ceremony.
“I just want to give the plants a chance to get established,” he said.
TDN, AUGUST 4, 2001
ZOO LOSES BABY MONKEY
NEW PLYMOUTH’S Brooklands Zoo lost the latest addition to its monkey population yesterday when a one-day-old tamarin monkey died. Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould said staff at the zoo discovered the new arrival yesterday, but the baby tamarin did not survive. It was the second tamarin monkey to die within a year. Cotton-top tamarin monkeys are endangered in the wild and Brooklands Zoo is part of an Australasian breeding programme for this species.
TDN, AUGUST 15, 2001
UPGRADE HAS BOWL SET FOR SUMMER SHOWS
RECENT work in upgrading the Bowl of Brooklands should result in more top acts coming this summer, trust chairman Alex Matheson said.
Mr Matheson said the bowl had just finished getting a major facelift.
“The fourth and final stage has just been completed and although it has been a bit of a mess at times recently, everything is designed to have the bowl at its best by summer.
“We had to have the upgrade done so we can get more entrepreneurs interested in the bowl as a venue.”
Mr Matheson said the upgrade included a new roof for the stage, a total revamp of the back-stage dressing rooms and improving road access to allow trucks to bring heavy equipment down to the stage.
“But probably the most significant difference people will notice is the new terrace seating.
“We were limited to numbers with the limit we could comfortably hold around 10,000 to 12,000. That put a lot of promoters off, so we’ve been forced to flatten it by taking out part of the bank.”
That has increased capacity to around 16,000.
“That makes it a more attractive proposition for many promoters.
“The reality is we are in competition with Mission Vineyards in Napier and you only need to look at the numbers of Taranaki people who make the trip across there to see top acts—to see that the work we’ve done is necessary.
“The TSB Bowl of Brooklands is a unique and beautiful outdoor venue and we’re currently working on getting some notable acts there this summer.”
TDN, SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
SPRINGTIME BABY AT BROOKLANDS
With photo
THERE’S monkey business going on at Brooklands Zoo.
Staff turned up at the capuchin enclosure yesterday morning to discover a new addition to the gang of eight.
A tiny newborn was clinging to its mother, Dru.
Zoo section manager Julie Sarten said zoo staff had no idea that Dru was pregnant and were surprised to find her in the morning with a new baby.
“She carried the pregnancy really well—there were no visual indications that she was pregnant,” Ms Sarten said.
“The father is probably Crumpie, the number two capuchin male in the group.”
The lead male had a vasectomy six years ago in an effort to control the monkey population, which was then housed in a smaller enclosure.
“The other enclosure was quite small and we didn’t want any more monkeys in it. We knew in the new one it was just a matter of time.”
Ms Sarten said more space was needed for the lesser males to mate with the females, away from the lead male.
“There are certain dos and don’ts in a monkey colony and the dominant male pretty much has say over everything.”
She said more births could probably be expected because Crumpie had probably mated with some of the others.
The birth of the capuchin comes a month after the birth at the zoo of a cotton-top tamarin monkey, which died soon after.
Ms Sarten said the first 48-72 hours after birth were the most precarious for newborn capuchins.
“But the monkeys in the group are giving it lots of love and attention, so we’re crossing our fingers and hoping that this young one will do well.”
2002
MIDWEEK, JANUARY 23, 2002
PEST FISH IN GUN FROM DOC
A PUKEKURA PARK wetland feature damaged in unseasonal rainfall is set for a summer facelift.
The feature at the northern end of lily lake, not far from the Bowl of Brooklands, should be cleaned up, redesigned and eventually replanted, from next month.
Heavy spring rain scoured its banks, battered plants and clogged its boardwalk last October, just months after it was completed. Since then, it’s been off limits to the public, although park staff had hoped to have it rebuilt and cleaned before Christmas.
Park spokesman Bryan Gould says the delay was caused by the need to confirm council funding and finalise a design for the work. The next step was to seek prices from contractors.
“It’s taking a little while but depending on a suitable price and on a contractor being available we can go ahead in the next four to five weeks.
The repairs, estimated to cost $25,000, will improve drainage and see the bank surrounding the feature strengthened with rocks. New planting is unlikely before autumn.
“We will end up with a better result,” says Mr Gould.
TDN, JANUARY 26, 2002
PEST FISH IN GUN FROM DOC
PEST fish, watch out—the Department of Conservation (DOC) is out to get you.
A DOC team is headed for Taranaki to analysis the region’s ponds and lakes as part of a nationwide pest-fish survey.
The survey was aimed at enabling DOC to get a better understanding into the distribution of pest fish, like rudd, koi carp, gambusia and catfish, team leader Liz Keys said yesterday.
“These fish are a lot like possums—pests. They eat our native fish, insects, water plants and spoil the places they live in. “If anyone has a pond on their property that they suspect might contain these fish species, then let us know so we can include their pond in the survey and give it the all clear. “We are especially keen to include ponds that are visible from main roads or easily accessible, as we know that rudd have been spread by someone driving around looking for suitable places to put them,” Ms Keys said.
New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park and Lake Ratapiko were on the list of lakes which DOC staff would survey before February 13. The team would use a range of different nets to maximise their catch. Some nets might be left overnight and DOC was asking people not to interfere with them, she said.
People were urged to contact their nearest DOC or Fish and Game office if they knew of sites with pest fish. Rudd are silvery fish with red fins, koi carp look like large goldfish with two pairs of feelers at the base of the mouth. Cat fish are dark brown with long whiskers and gambusia, previously known as mosquito fish, are small, silvery fish that dart about at the edge of ponds.
TDN, MARCH 28, 2002
WALK MEN
With pic
The dedication of former Pukekura Park curators George Fuller (left) and Alan Jellyman has been recognised, with pathways in the park being named after them.
New Plymouth District Council acting parks manager Bryan Gould said it was customary for paths and features within the park to be named after people who had played pivotal roles in its creation.
“George Fuller retired in 1990 after 25 years service, while Alan Jellyman was curator from 1962-1977, before going on to become director of parks and reserves,” Mr Gould said.
A third curator, the late Ian McDowell, was also similarly honoured with a walk being named after him. He was involved in Pukekura Park’s development between 1977 and 1989, then became deputy director of parks and reserves until 1999.
TDN, MAY 3, 2002
ZOO CLOSES AS PRECAUTION AFTER DEATH OF LORIKEETS
With photo
TWO lorikeets have died from a mysterious illness at Brooklands Zoo.
The zoo’s walk-through aviary has temporarily been closed to the public following the bird deaths and the discovery of several sick birds.
Parkscape Services manager Chris Connolly said he was not sure what the bacterial infection was and was waiting for the results of vet tests.
“There is a possibility that the infection could be passed on to humans, so we’re playing it safe and closing the aviary to the public until the birds are healthy again.”
But the illness was not salmonella, he said.
Mr Connolly said the aviary would reopen in about a week’s time, depending on how the birds recovered.
Four sick birds were looking better following medication in their food.
Brooklands Zoo’s acting supervisor Shelley Lister said staff noticed the birds were not their usual selves. They did not move much and kept fluffing up their feathers.
“We have had a similar infection before, but it takes some time to get it confirmed,” she said.
Mr Connolly said it was possible the illness was spread by the outside wild bird population through their excretions as birds either landed on top of or flew over the aviary.
“Wild bird populations tend to have a level of immunity against such diseases, but from time to time you hear about diseases sweeping through these populations and knocking their numbers back.”
TDN, MAY 9, 2002
LORIKEETS ON THE MEND
THE lorikeets at Brooklands Zoo are recovering well from an illness that spread through the aviary last week, killing two birds. The walk-through aviary has been closed to the public since last week and is expected to open by the weekend. The vet had not yet confirmed what the illness was, Parkscape services manager Chris Connolly said.
TDN, MAY 14, 2002
PARROTS OUT OF QUARANTINE
BROOKLANDS ZOO’S lorikeets are all happily out of quarantine and back on their perches. The disease that had claimed two birds a fortnight ago had responded to antibiotics and all the remaining birds had survived, parks director Bryan Gould said yesterday. Veterinarians had sent tissue from the dead birds away for analysis but it was thought that birds died of psittacosis, a disease that caused flu-like symptoms in exotic parrots.
TDN, MAY 22, 2002
MOVES TO LABEL ALL PARK TREES
GIVING a tree a label is no big deal, but the job takes on new meaning when you are dealing with a whole park.
Installing signage to explain a tree species is on the list of things to do for Bryan Gould, manager of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
“It’s a project that needs to be done. It’s been tried in the past with varying amounts of success, with different ways of attaching labels,” he says. “From my perspective, it’s about improving information to the public. Knowing what they are looking at is important.”
Some tree labels are still in place, but Mr Gould wants them to conform to the style used throughout the park for directional signs. “We’ll decide upon a style of sign, but we want to maintain the signage style already in place in the park.”
Mr Gould says plants located in the fernery will receive similar attention.
“Many of the plants in the fernery should have labels on them, but there is the suggestion that it’s a dangerous thing to do because those people, with dishonest motives who know what they are looking for, know exactly where to go.”
Plant theft has been a problem in the past at Pukekura Park, but Mr Gould places informing the public above such issues. “Any potential problem is outweighed by the benefit of actually giving people the information they are looking for.”
Plant and tree identification can concern visitors to the park, says regular park goer Malcolm Campbell, New Plymouth. “It would be helpful to know what they are, especially for tourists.”
TDN, JULY 3, 2002
PUKEKURA IN LINE FOR MAJOR CHANGES
WITH PHOTO
NEW PLYMOUTH’S Pukekura Park is set for a major overhaul.
A 55-page draft plan recommending sweeping changes to the city’s top tourist attraction was unanimously endorsed by the New Plymouth District Council’s policy committee meeting last week.
Full council approval will be sought on August 20 and council officers have been instructed to proceed with public consultation before then.
Among the major changes suggested are a review of the entrance to the park, where inadequate car parking and access causes congestion and problems for pedestrians.
Another significant change is the proposal to establish a visitors’ centre and staff to provide information.
The report was written by Bryan Gould, from the New Plymouth District Council, Anthony Joines, who ran the last Festival of Arts, and Gary Brown, from the Tse Group.
Mr Gould said the purpose of the report was to provide a clear vision and direction for the future management of the park.
Other recommendations include:
* Reviewing the future of Pukekura Park as a sports ground, to identify its future use.
* Removing the Pukekura Park and Brooklands residences.
* Refurbishing the tea house. It is described as being a popular facility, but one with great potential for extension and refurbishment. The area occupied by the band rotunda is likely to be included in any new design.
* Upgrading the Bellringer Pavilion and toilets. They require a major uplift, says the report.
* Upgrading the Festival of Lights. A new strategy of innovation and improvement is required.
* Relocating the Brooklands plant nursery outside the park. The existing nursery surrounding The Gables has potential for upgrading. A cafe-type facility is mentioned as a possibility, along with changes to the carpark and entrance to Brooklands.
NPDC general manager of community assets Anthony Wilson was reluctant to comment on the report.
“In one sense, that’s the last thing I want to do. We want the community to express their opinions on the suggestions and give us their feedback.
“I should make it very clear though that we are not considering the sports ground should continue as anything but that. We’re not planning to change it into a carpark, but we want to be sure that the types of sport played there are compatible with the rest of the park.”
Mr Wilson said one of the houses that might be removed was next to the zoo and was currently used as staff quarters, while the other house was the old curator’s home on Victoria Rd.
Pukekura was officially opened in 1876. Founder Robert Hughes intended to develop the lakes for competitive swimming and aquatic sports within an attractive park setting.
In 1888, Newton King bought Brooklands and he and his family developed it into a park before gifting it to the people of New Plymouth in 1934, when it became part of the park complex.
TDN, AUGUST 22, 2002
BOSS MONKEY PUT DOWN AFTER ILLNESS
With photo
THE popular leading male among Brooklands Zoo’s capuchin monkeys was put down last weekend because of his health problems.
Beau—who was the dominant male among the capuchins—had lost a lot of weight because of diabetes.
“His quality of life would be miserable at best, so the kindest thing was to let him drift off to sleep,” said Bryan Gould, New Plymouth District Council parks manager.
Diabetes was extremely difficult to treat in monkeys, and a vet considered that it was unlikely Beau’s condition would improve, he said.
“Beau’s been quite popular with zoo visitors, especially with the children.
“He was born at Brooklands 18 years ago and has been the dominant male since he was seven, and he was well-known by a lot of people who have watched him over the years.”
Capuchins can live up to 30 years, although in the wild dominant males usually die much earlier from injuries received fighting other males.
There had already been a change in the family dynamics of the remaining nine capuchins and Crumpy, another monkey, was now the new dominant male, Mr Gould said.
Crumpy was believed to be the father of Boo and CJ, the two newest additions to the capuchin population.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 23, 2002
AIR WALK MOOTED FOR NEW PLYMOUTH JEWELAIR WALK PLANNED FOR PARK
With photo
A NOVEL concept is being considered to help solve Pukekura Park’s access problems — a steel walkway high in the forest canopy.
The 500m long aerial walk would span the valley connecting Brooklands Zoo to a proposed information centre by the TSB Stadium’s car park, premier parks manager Bryan Gould said.
Expected to cost several million dollars, it would help to solve the problems of parking congestion at the park’s main entrance and people visiting only the areas around the main lake.
“Those are the basic reasons for even considering these concepts,” he said.
“There’s a whole area of the park still waiting to be explored.”
As the air walk wove in and out of the trees, at heights of 25m-40m, it would reveal intimate views of the park, bush, bird life, Mt Taranaki, and possibly the foreshore and wind wand.
“It’s taking you to a place where you would never normally go, up at a height where you can really experience what it’s like to be a birdie up in the tree.”
Mr Gould said steel pylons used to support the airwalk would need little ground to stand on and would have little environmental impact.
The walkway would have a balustrade, and would rise and fall gently, said Mr Gould.
New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent was enthusiastic about the possible innovations.
“The concepts are exciting. Full marks to the team, they were asked to think outside the square and they have.
“We’ve been fully briefed as a council and we now look forward to getting feedback from the community,” he said.
“Pukekura Park has a unique status, both regionally and nationwide, and we’re looking forward to protecting and enhancing that.”
NPDC community assets general manager Anthony Wilson predicted the concepts would be the subject of extensive public consultation.
“It is of such importance to the community, but I emphasise it is far from a fait accompli. It is really thinking about what works we might do in the park in the next 20 years, rather than what we’re considering starting next week.”
While reluctant to give details, Mr Wilson confirmed rumours that a cable car from the TSB Stadium to the kiosk was another possibility.
“It is just one of a whole series of exciting concepts, nothing more at this stage. The absolute earliest anything could happen would be July next year. What is more likely is council may give us a small amount of money to do some pre-design work, so we can get a better handle on the actual cost.”
Friends of the Park president Denis Hall said it would certainly be an exciting development, attracting tourists as well as locals.
However, “you’ve got to look at it from the point of view of how it would affect the park itself,” he said. “People don’t like too much change of their very precious Pukekura Park.”
Friends of the Park committee member Agnes Brabin said it depended on how much the structure would impact on the view from the park floor.
Group treasurer Chris Hinton was concerned it may obstruct the view of Mt Taranaki from the main lake. The proposed air walk was modelled on the Tahune Forest AirWalk, in Hobart, Tasmania.
Costing several million dollars to build, it attracted 154,000 visitors in its first year from July 2001 — three times what was expected, said Tourism Tasmania.
Wellington has a similar structure in Otari-Wilton’s Bush, where a smaller 75m-long, 18m-high, wooden pathway gives walkers a bird’s eye view of the surrounding foliage.
“It’s quite fascinating to see the difference of the foliage up in the canopy compared to the same tree lower down,” said Mr Hall.
The cost and details of the proposed air walk in Pukekura Park will be outlined in the upcoming development plan to be submitted to the New Plymouth District Council by the end of November.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 23, 2002
TREE-HIGH IDEAS DESERVE OPEN-MINDED PUBLIC EVALUATION
TO most people Pukekura Park is just what it appears to be. A tranquil, natural retreat in the heart of a city that has an obvious love for trees and gardens. That is what its founders strove to achieve and what those who have come after them have worked so hard to maintain. Their success is reflected in the massive numbers who pass through the park each year.
In fact, much of what they see is an illusion. No ordinary stand of bush could survive this volume of visitors without very special and intensive care and Pukekura Park is no exception. Methodic planning by its creators and the hard work of generations of dedicated staff since keeps the vegetation, paths and lakes looking tidy, attractive and above all natural.
The biggest success story of the park is that it is there at all. Like the associated TSB Bowl of Brooklands, it is a tribute to the foresight and ingenuity of some of New Plymouth’s founding generations. These dedicated citizens saw the potential of a scrubby gully close to the centre of the settlement and gave their time and labour to start what has become one of the most respected and highly-rated parks and natural amphitheatres in the world.
It is rewarding to discover that those in charge today are striving as hard to continue that entrepreneurial spirit and improve on what has already been achieved. Talk of a walkway through the forest canopy, a gondola ride and a new entrance will undoubtedly shock some traditionalists, but deserve much closer inspection than knee-jerk rejection.
The need for a better main entrance with improved parking is obvious. During summer and the Festival of the Lights, or when a major sports event is on at the sports field, or bowl, vehicles parking outside the existing entrance and in side streets at the south end of Liardet St must drive people who live there mad. The big car park at the TSB Stadium and racecourse could absorb many of these cars if there was better access to the park and bowl from there.
The walkway also has the potential to become an attraction in its own right, just as several in Australia and Wellington have shown. Much has been made of the need to provide facilities for tourism in Taranaki and this is an obvious possibility, as long as it does not upset the carefully created and nurtured “natural” atmosphere. The New Plymouth District Council has obviously recognised the potential for controversy in all this and is sensibly going to undertake a campaign of public consultation before making any firm decisions. An obvious part of that will be a cost analysis and an evaluation on just how obtrusive the walkway would be. Potential supporters and critics should wait for this before making a final personal decision on such an important idea.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 24, 2002
ENSURING SURVIVAL OF HEALTHY TREES THE AIM OF KAURI FELLING
With photo
ANYONE walking along Brooklands Park’s Kauri Grove will notice red markings on many of the trees lining the walkway.
What you will not see is the overcrowding of the trees’ roots — underground.
And these 67-year-old kauri still have a lot of growing to do.
Scientists have estimated that the oldest kauri in New Zealand lived for up to 4000 years.
The marked trees are part of a New Plymouth District Council plan to remove some of the 150-tree stand in an attempt to help healthier trees reach their full potential.
Premier parks manager Bryan Gould said up to 30% of trees would be removed in an attempt to ensure future survival of healthier trees.
Mr Gould said the trees were overcrowded, resulting in poor growth and a decreased ability for regeneration.
He said work would begin by removing trees that were structurally unsound, suppressed and deformed, and which were preventing other trees from growing to their full potential.
“The original close planting of these trees is a constraint on their potential development,” he said.
“Careful management of this grove now should ensure the long-term future of these kauri.”
The grove of kauri was planted in 1935, by Thomas Horton, the Pukekura Park superintendent at the time.
Work on the walkway will begin in mid-October and last about three weeks.
We’ll end up with a healthy stand of trees . . . which are a real attraction for park visitors.”
Also planned for the walkway is a timber boardwalk, which will allow the public to view the trees without damaging their root systems.
A day-long forum will be held on October 4 for any member of the public who is interested in finding out more about the plan for Kauri Grove.
Chris Connolly, manager of park services at NPDC, said some of the kauri that was to be cut out would be left on the forest floor as part of the natural breakdown of vegetation.
“Some of the wood that is suitable for wood-turning will be made available to local wood turners. An amount will also be given to Forest Research for research purposes.”
TDN, OCTOBER 29, 2002
HOLLYWOOD MAGIC TO TRANSFORM CITY PARK
SMOKE and mirrors will transform Pukekura Park’s cricket ground into a Japanese samurai training camp — and the public might be allowed in for a look.
The filming of The Last Samurai will include 300 Japanese warriors riding horses around the cricket ground, says New Plymouth District Council’s premier parks manager Bryan Gould.
Mr Gould thought the film company would undertake escorted tours of the site.
“You will be able to see in certain places,” he said, although Film Venture Taranaki’s Peter Avery thought that was unlikely.
Mr Gould said he got the impression from talking to film company people at a site meeting that they would consider giving the public limited access to the park set.
“I think people will probably just be climbing trees and fences and that, trying to get in and have a look themselves anyway.”
Charles Harrington, location manager for Samurai Productions NZ Ltd, said Pukekura Park was a public park, so everyone would be allowed to use it.
“When we’re rolling film though, I think we will definitely be controlling pedestrian traffic, that’s all I know. Because it’s supposed to be 1876—you can’t see anyone else,” he said.
On film, the park—to be used by the film company in February and March next year—would be unrecognisable: “It won’t look like Pukekura Park, I can assure you,” said Mr Gould.
“It’s all going to be done with smoke and mirrors,” he said.
Several large buildings would be created on top of the terraces, with one covering the Bellringer Pavilion, and another masking the scoreboard.
The buildings would be mainly a facade, with little substance behind a temporary frontage.
Bamboo would be used to create authentic-looking Japanese fencing, and a giant torii gate would be placed over the park’s main entrance, said Mr Gould.
And towering behind the gate, although not visible naturally, Mt Egmont would be superimposed, covering the houses on Fillis St and the city.
Changes to the park would be restored when filming was finished, including re-sowing the grass trampled by horses’ hooves, he said.
“They’re going to paint the white fence black. But then they’re going to repaint it white again. Everything that changes will be put back again as it was.”
Mr Gould said the film company approached the council about filming in the park months ago.
“Basically, the man (from the film company) came along and slapped down the plan on the front of his four wheel drive and said: `Well, what does it take to make this happen’?”
Although the film company was keen to acknowledge the public interest in the site, the public would not be allowed in during filming.
But the rest of the park would remain open to the public, he said.
Residents on Fillis St and the top of Liardet St have been advised by circular that roadside parking in their area will be reserved for the film’s equipment vehicles for a month from February 24.
TDN, OCTOBER 29, 2002
PARKSCAPE SET TO TRIM PRIVATE CONTRACTS
NEW PLYMOUTH District Council-owned Parkscape is to trim back its involvement in private sector work.
On Tuesday, the council’s powerful policy committee unanimously endorsed a series of recommendations by business advice manager Graeme Trevathan which will drastically change the way Parkscape, a ground maintainence provider, does business.
At the moment it has several major contracts. They include providing services for Yarrow Stadium; Dow Agro Sciences, the New Plymouth Golf Club, Taranaki Healthcare and Frankley and Oakura Schools.
Key points of the changes outlined were:
- Future private sector contracts are to be restricted to any spare capacity available after the servicing the council’s needs.
- General manager of the customer services division Barbara McKerrow will be the only person able to make decisions on individual contracts.
- Ground maintenance services to council owned or occupied lands will be paramount.
- Parkscape will not compete with alternative service providers for contracts on non-publicly owned or operated land.
- Ground maintenance services will be charged on a full cost recovery basis.
While the final decision on the future of Parkscape still needs to be made by the full council, the vote on the recommendation at the policy committee was unanimous and it appears almost certain to be adopted.
In the 12 months to June 30 2002, Hobson Investments Ltd, which trades as Parkscape, recorded an after-tax profit of $92,000. As a Local Authority Trading Enterprise, all profits belong to the council.
Yesterday Taranaki Chamber of Commerce chairman John Rae welcomed the changes, saying it opened up opportunities for local businesses.
“I’m very happy with that news. Congratulations to Parkscape on making the profit, the company has obviously been well managed.”
TDN, NOVEMBER 13, 2002
KAURI GET THE CHOP, BUT ALL IN GOOD CAUSE
with photo
ABOUT 40 Brooklands Park kauri are being thinned out to give space for the remaining 120 trees.
Work started last week to cull some of the over-planted Kauri grove, giving the trees more root space and a better chance of regeneration.
The work had achieved the aim of allowing more light into the canopy, which would also help the growth of seedlings, said New Plymouth District Council parks manager Bryan Gould.
It would increase the growth of existing trees and with the added space they would gain in width as well as height. “We’ve had only positive comments about it,” he said.
The 65-year-old trees were cut down in sections to protect the canopy and the root system.
Most of the debris would be left on the forest floor to break down providing natural nutrients, and some smaller pieces would be used for research.
This week New Plymouth will host the Arboricultural Associationnational conference with 150 arborists from around New Zealand attending.
On Friday evening at the Plymouth Hotel will be the Banks Memorial public lecture with guest speaker Dr Bruce Clarkson lecturing on Mt Egmont’s vegetation.
The highlight of the week’s conference is the national tree climbing competition to be held atBrooklands Bowl on Saturday. The winner will represent New Zealand in the international competition in the United States next year.
TDN, NOVEMBER 21, 2002
HATCHERY LAWN DISPLAY NOW AN ALL-WEATHER AFFAIR
A BIT of rain will not spoil shows on Pukekura Park’s Hatchery Lawn during this summer’s Festival of Lights.
The lawn had been dug up for a permanent $80,000 stage in time for this year’s Summer Scene concerts, said New Plymouth District Council premier parks manager Bryan Gould.
An in-ground drainage system would also be dug in, to drain the excess water from the lawn into the lake, he said.
“So there’s no more squishy mud and there’s no more surface water.”
During the last Festival of Lights heavy rain turned the Hatchery Lawn into an unusable bog.
Council recreation services manager David Lee said performers found the temporary staging used in previous years was not waterproof enough: “It wasn’t sufficient to allow the performances to go on in bad weather.”
Mr Gould said the roof and sides of the new stage would be strung between seven steel tree-forms.
The permanent sculptures would splay out into branches at heights between 4.75m and 6.25m high.
“They look rather like sculptured tree-ferns and will contrast with the backdrop of natural vegetation.”
A low-impact floor mat similar to one used by the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company would be rolled out on the 14m by 9m platform, said Mr Gould.
“It’s just got a tiny bit of give in it so that when dance performances are happening they’re not going to injure themselves.”
The raised stage would be almost a metre high, and circled with stones to blend in with the existing garden edging, he said.
It would also feature mountable lighting, built-in electrics, and a storage area.
An organiser of the Summer Scene, Impact Management’s Angie Joines, said a lot of community groups and professional performers would use the stage under the Festival of Lights Music-in-the-Park programme.
TDN, NOVEMBER 25, 2002
WOMEN HIT BY PUKEKURA PARK MOBILITY CART
TWO elderly women got more of a ride than they expected when they were hit by the Pukekura Park mobility cart on Saturday afternoon.
Friends of the Park president Denis Hall said the women—both in their 80s—had just got out of the cart when the driver’s foot slipped off the clutch.
“They had just got off and they walked in front of the cart. The buggy jumped forward and the ladies were knocked down,” Mr Hall said.
An 88-year-old woman suffered moderate head injuries, while her 80-year-old companion received moderate chest and abdominal injuries, a Taranaki Health ambulance spokesperson said yesterday.
Both women were treated outside the Pukekura Park Kiosk, where the accident occurred, by ambulance staff and taken to Taranaki Base Hospital.
Mr Hall said one of the women was admitted to hospital for overnight observation, but both were believed to have been released by yesterday.
The cart, which gives people with limited mobility access to the park, would be nosed into a wall at the end of a ride, to avoid similar accidents in the future, Mr Hall said.
TDN, DECEMBER 14, 2002
`STARVING’ PARK DUCKS GOING QUACKERS
with photo
THE Pukekura Park ducks are hungry and they want your bread—no matter the cost.
After years of feeding the ducks twice a day, the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) has put the bread away for good and the ducks are now out for anything they can get.
NPDC premier parks manager Bryan Gould said council staff stopped feeding the hundreds of ducks at Pukekura Park earlier this month.
The public was still encouraged to feed the birds, he said.
While the cost of the bread was not the problem for the council, with a lot of it being donated, the hidden cost of paying someone to feed the ducks was not justified, Mr Gould said.
“We think the ducks are quite capable of looking after themselves.
“We are raising the level of presentation in the park . . . I would rather that we spend our time dealing with the issues of the park,” he said.
One man who regularly fed the ducks was disgusted at the council dropping its bird-feeding regime.
“The ducks are starving,” said the man, who refused to be named.
“People have to be told about the situation. The ducks are going barmy with hunger.”
The man said he had witnessed one child being attacked by ducks, because she had a piece of food in her hand.
As an occasional Pukekura Park duck feeder, this reporter decided to see just how hungry the ducks on the park’s main lake were.
They were ravenous.
As soon as one duck spotted a bag of bread in my hand, the rest of the 100-or-so population had surrounded me in seconds—jumping all over my feet and pecking at my fingers.
One cheeky blighter even grabbed the bread bag out of my hand.
In the park kiosk, diners were intrigued to learn the ducks had been fed by the council.
“I didn’t know they used to be fed. A couple of days ago when I was feeding the ducks and I thought they rushed over to me quicker than usual,” Rae Joyce said.
Marjorie Donnelly was concerned the ducks would go hungry.
“I think they should be fed by someone,” she said.
Mr Gould said the ducks did not have to stay at the park—if they did not like the lack of feeding, they were free to fly elsewhere.
2003
TDN, JANUARY 28, 2003
VISITORS CHECK OUT SAMURAI MOVIE SETS
With photo
Pukekura Park these days.
Hundreds of people every day are checking out the progress on The Last Samurai film set being built at the Pukekura Park cricket ground.
Groundsman Bruce Shaw is also keeping a close eye on developments. After all, the outside of his workplace—the groundsmen’s storage shed—is being transformed into a Japanese hut.
Builders are everywhere, as the Bellringer Pavilion and groundsmen’s shed entrance is given a facelift.
“The landscape is certainly changing. We are just carrying on with our work as normal. We keep out of their way and they keep out of ours.
“There’s loads of visitors wandering around with cameras,” Mr Shaw said.
The wooden fence around the cricket ground had changed colour, from white to black, and the wire-netting had come down. The light towers had been darkened too, with the lights due to be removed before the shooting began late next month, Mr Shaw said.
Eventually, the cricket ground would be turned into an imperial army parade ground, complete with tents, 300 extras, 50 horses and canons, Mr Shaw believed.
At the end of filming, the ground would be returned to its original condition.
Mr Shaw also understood a giant blue screen would be erected at the northern end of the ground, to not only block out the scoreboard and the houses on Fillis St, but provide a backdrop for a computer-generated graphic of an 1870s Tokyo street.
Despite the rapidly growing movie set, there were still three more cricket matches planned for the ground before it would be closed for filming, Mr Shaw said.
Taranaki would play Wairarapa this weekend, the one-day club finals between Stratford and New Plymouth Old Boys was scheduled for Waitangi Day, while Taranaki women would play Manawatu women on February 8.
The production schedule at the cricket ground is for four or five filming days within a five-week period, from late February to the end of March. The public will not be able to use the park’s main entrance during that period, but the other entrances will still be open.
Meanwhile, work on The Last Samurai Japanese fishing village set at Port Taranaki is also going up fast, with workmen busy putting the set up beside Fitzroy Yachts on Marine Parade.
TDN, JUNE 12, 2003
HONOURED BY NEW LOOKOUT
A NEW lookout in Pukekura Park is being constructed in honour of New Plymouth man Brian Scanlan.
Mr Scanlan was a former editor of the Taranaki Herald, an elected councillor, Pukekura Park committee member, local historian and noted alpinist. He died in 1994.
The $15,000 lookout, which will include views of the park and Mt Taranaki, will be built near the park’s boundary behind the Bowl of Brooklands.
New Plymouth District Council parks manager Bryan Gould said plans for the memorial were originally drawn up in 1996 by former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller. Those plans were for a lookout above the park’s main lake, but had been altered to include a view of Mt Taranaki. A small carpark would also be built next to the lookout.
TDN, FEBRUARY 14, 2003
PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FOR PUKEKURA PARK GURU’S LIFE WORK
with photo
THE man who put his green fingers to work on many of Taranaki’s top parks and gardens has won an international horticultural award.
Alan Jellyman, who retired three years ago from the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) after 38 years working on the district’s parks, has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Gold Veitch Memorial medal.
The international award is given to people who have helped in the advancement and improvement of horticultural science and practice.
Mr Jellyman is only the fifth New Zealander—four of whom have hailed from Taranaki—to win an RHS award.
The late Sir Victor Davies, of the world-renowned Taranaki company Duncan and Davies, was the first winner, former Pukekura Park curator John Goodwin the second, and then came the late Felix Jury, well-known Tikorangi horticulturist.
It was a huge honour to follow in such illustrious footsteps—especially considering Sir Victor and Mr Goodwin were former employers and mentors, Mr Jellyman said.
“It is a great honour to be recognised in this way, not just by your peers, but on an international basis, for what is a lifetime of work,” he said.
Having such prestigious awards given to Taranaki horticulturists emphasised the importance and the high quality of parks and gardens in the region, he said.
Mr Jellyman would travel to London to be presented with his award at the RHS annual meeting in June.
During his parks’ management role at the NPDC, Mr Jellyman’s abilities led to the improvement of many public facilities, including the parks estate, urban landscapes, cemetery beautification, swimming pools, public libraries, art gallery and museum.
He served on the national executive of the New Zealand Institute of Parks for 17 years and was chairman from 1987 to 1992.
Mr Jellyman is an Associate of Honour of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture and has served as a horticultural and technical adviser to the QEII National Trust, Eastwoodhill Arboretum, near Gisborne, and Hackfalls Arboretum, 44km from Wairoa.
He has served on the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust since 1962, is a life member of the trust and is currently the chairman.
TDN, MARCH 3, 2003
NEW STAMP
With photo
NEW STAMP: Pete’s Post owner Brett Newsome presents a new Taranaki stamp that takes some licking.
The 35-cent stamp, which features New Plymouth’s famous Pukekura Park waterfall, is one of two new stamps just released by the Pete’s Post’s New Plymouth franchise. The other stamp, a 40-cent version, features the Surf Highway 45 logo with a picture of a surfer in the background. Mr Newsome said the new stamps replaced stamps that featured Port Taranaki, and the Three Sisters at Tongaporutu. The 35-cent stamp is in circulation now and the 40-cent stamp will be introduced within the next month.
TDN, MAY 9, 2003
WHEELS IN MOTION OVER CYCLING PROBLEM IN PUKEKURA PARK
THE New Plymouth District Council is about to clamp down on cyclists who whizz through the city’s Pukekura Park.
“We have seen instances of people leaping embankments, racing down hills and cutting corners which might be exciting for them, but can be quite unnerving or dangerous for other people,” the council’s premier parks manager Bryan Gould said.
“We are fortunate we haven’t had a serious accident, that I am aware of. We have a few scares and frights.”
NPDC’s park services manager Chris Connolly said cycling was prohibited in the park under a bylaw that had been around for decades, but there was a “chequered history” of enforcement.
The council was planning to erect new signs around the park and at all 18 formal entrances, as well as undertake a public awareness campaign involving schools.
The council would also prohibit cycling in Brooklands Park. At the moment there is a sign allowing people to cycle on a sealed track through Brooklands—that stemmed from a dispensation for posties which was no longer necessary.
New Plymouth’s Lynne Tubby wrote to The Daily News this week concerned that there could be a tragedy. “Someone’s going to die.
“I go walking there every day and, most days, someone riding a bicycle passes me usually going fast.
“It’s mostly kids, but not exclusively. In fact, it’s amazing the number of grown-ups who ride in there with their kids. It’s just a matter of time before someone is badly hurt, or worse.”
Mr Gould said that along with safety, there was the risk of erosion and cyclists hitting the park’s wildfowl.
“Where people don’t travel on the pathways they make their own tracks. There are several places were cyclists have cut down across slopes and through garden beds and have caused significant damage.
“While I can see it’s a wonderful place to go cycling . . . it’s incompatible with its primary use.”
Security patrols, who visited the parks several times a day, and staff working in the grounds did already ask cyclists to dismount but, invariably, they were ignored, he said.
Costs for signposting still had to be worked out, but they hoped to have everything in place before October’s Rhodondendron Festival.
Under the bylaw, cyclists could be fined up to $500 through the courts. “We don’t wish to get into that situation. We would ask people not to cycle, and we hope that’s adequate.”
The council would take a firm, but reasonable stance. No doubt there were people that genuinely were not aware of the prohibition, Mr Gould said.
“You can cycle pretty much anywhere in New Plymouth, except for this park.”
TDN, JUNE 4, 2003
HONOURS FOR HORTICULTURE
With photo
FORMER Pukekura Park curator John (Jack) Goodwin’s services were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday honours list this week.
Mr Goodwin, who now lives in Napier, became a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for his services to horticulture.
He was appointed curator of Pukekura in 1949 and became superintendent of New Plymouth’s parks in 1954, according to his honours citation.
Mr Goodwin was involved in the development of Pukekura Park, the Festival of the Pines and the establishment of Brooklands Zoo.
From 1951 to 1967, he was the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust’s honorary superintendent and was elected as its patron two years ago.
TDN, JUNE 7, 2003
SAFETY LAW HITS ZOO VOLUNTEERS
With photo
A CHANGE in legislation is preventing volunteers from working at Brooklands Zoo.
Volunteers Stephanie Oliver (11) and Holly-Mae Giddy (12) have been told that after three years their help can no longer be accepted.
New Plymouth District Council park services manager Chris Connolly said changes introduced last month to the Health and Safety Act had increased the council’s duty to ensure volunteers and staff were safe in the workplace.
“One of the unfortunate outcomes is that we feel the responsibility to manage people of this age is too onerous at the moment,” he said.
The bad news has left the girls bitterly disappointed.
“It’s sad to give it up because we’ve been there for so long,” Stephanie said.
“I’m annoyed because I’ll miss playing with the animals, but I’ll still come and visit them,” Holly said.
The girls would spend three hours on Saturday mornings feeding rabbits, guinea-pigs, chickens, ducks and pukekos, and cleaning-out.
They only entered larger animals’ pens when accompanied by a staff member.
Since the age of five, the girls have wanted to be vets—but now they feel their dreams have been dashed.
“When an animal got sick the staff would tell us what to do and taught us heaps,” Stephanie said.
Stephanie’s mother Heather Oliver is just as disappointed as the girls.
“It’s been all very emotional and upsetting,” Mrs Oliver said.
“I can’t understand why they can’t work there because they are not in any danger when they’re in the barn. The worst thing that can happen is if they get pooed on by a dove.”
Mrs Oliver said the girls had been taught that it was good to lend a helping hand. “What kind of message are they getting from above when they’re providing a service for the community?
“You try and give them that sense of helping others, but now they’ll just have to go elsewhere to do that.”
The girls had sent a letter to New Plymouth MP Harry Duynhoven outlining their concerns and intended to send another to Mayor Peter Tennent, she said.
Holly’s father, Mike Giddy, said his daughter was very upset when she found out that she could no longer be a volunteer.
“It’s just the bureaucracy of it all,” he said.
Mr Connolly said the responsi-bility had always been there, but it had now been formalised with the changes made to the Act, he said.
“My concern is to not disadvantage the children but it’s my responsibility to meet requirements in the legislation.”
The council still wanted human interaction with the animals.
“It’s about trying to find that compromise. What we want to do over the next month is see if we can get in place a manageable situation.
“We’ve got to be 100% confident that we can supervise and manage these people.”
TDN, JUNE 12, 2003
HONOURED BY NEW LOOKOUT
A NEW lookout in Pukekura Park is being constructed in honour of New Plymouth man Brian Scanlan.
Mr Scanlan was a former editor of the Taranaki Herald, an elected councillor, Pukekura Park committee member, local historian and noted alpinist. He died in 1994.
The $15,000 lookout, which will include views of the park and Mt Taranaki, will be built near the park’s boundary behind the Bowl of Brooklands.
New Plymouth District Council parks manager Bryan Gould said plans for the memorial were originally drawn up in 1996 by former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller. Those plans were for a lookout above the park’s main lake, but had been altered to include a view of Mt Taranaki. A small carpark would also be built next to the lookout.
TDN, JUNE 25, 2003
GROWING COMPASSION
With photo
RETURNING RITUAL: The head of Auckland’s Buddhist monastery, Lama Samten, revisits a Bhutan pine with New Plymouth District Mayor Peter Tennent at Pukekura Park yesterday.
Lama Samten, who is the uncle of Pong Re Sund Rap Tulku Rinpoche, the first Tibetan Lama born in the Southern Hemisphere, is in Taranaki until Friday. He, along with his nephew, planted the pine at Pukekura Park in 1999.
“This tree is a symbol of compassion to me. This pine is a tree of enlightenment for us,” Lama Samten said.
He is travelling with Tibetan doctor Nyima Tseving Lhunkhang and they were greeted by Mr Tennent at the park, where the pair exchanged gifts.
The Buddhist leader is on a month-long tour of New Zealand, concentrating on meditation and healing.
He recently returned to New Zealand after sharing in the 50th anniversary celebrations of Sir Edmund Hillary’s climb to the top of Mt Everest.
He is holding several workshops at New Plymouth’s Senior Citizens Centre.
TDN, JUNE 27, 2003
LOGIC TO COUNCIL’S TREE-FELLING PLAN
With photo
THE New Plymouth District Council is defending its decision to cut down kauri trees in Brooklands Park and leave them where they fall.
Bryan Gould, NPDC manager of premier parks, said the maintenance work was important to ensure the long-term health of the trees and public safety.
“People shouldn’t have any concerns about the trees on the ground, it is all part and parcel of the good work which has been done.”
He said the felled trees were carefully selected.
They were either damaged or weak, causing a safety hazard to the public, or they were suppressed by healthier trees.
He said a few healthy trees were removed to ensure optimum spacing.
Some critics have claimed that the trees should be left to grow naturally and that they could be found closer together in natural forests.
The trees were planted in 1935 as one of the first experiments in native tree forestry.
“These trees were planted in rows, they were always intended to be managed,” Mr Gould said.
“Now that the canopy is thinner this can become a self-sustaining group of trees.”
Mr Gould said the council would not remove the felled trunks.
“We will reposition some of the logs to ensure that they are stable and won’t roll away.
“But they will be left there to recycle the nutrients back into the soil. The leaves and foliage will rot away.”
Removing the trunks could damage the soil and remaining plants, he said.
George Fuller, curator of Pukekura and Brooklands parks from 1965-1990, said he has been trying to get the council to carry out maintenance on the trees for a long time.
“You can’t just put in native trees and forget about them. They need to be cared for.
“I am thrilled to see it happening. I never expected this work to be done in my lifetime.
“I was very impressed with the way the council consulted with the public about the matter. They held a public forum free of charge.”
Mr Fuller said he was impressed by the skill of the team which cut down the trees.
“What people forget is that those trees are there for a thousand-year cycle. A few bits on the ground for a few years is of very little consequence.”
The council is also planning to thin the kauri trees in Barrett Domain.
TDN, JULY 30, 2003
CARNIVOROUS BELLAMY IN AWE OF OUR PUKEKURA PARK
With photo
IF David Bellamy were a plant he’d be carnivorous.
“I’d probably be an insect-eating plant, like a Drosera, to get my own back on the insects,” the world-famous botanist said as he took a tour of Pukekura Park yesterday.
The man himself is fond of the odd carnivorous snack.
“People ask me if I’m vegetarian, and I say no, I’m a botanist, so I don’t eat plants.
“I’m a carnivore, I like brain and I like pancreas. In Patagonia they cook the whole animal. It’s wonderful, you reach in and take out the bit you want.”
Bellamy was brimming with fascinating details of his world travels, but yesterday his concern was getting some kidney ferns to take back to the United Kingdom.
“Kidney ferns are wonderful. I try to grow them, but I can never manage it. I should grow them in the bath,” he mused.
The ferns would be destined for the Chelsea Physic Garden, where Bellamy was helping build a fernery to house the oldest ferns in the world.
Ferns are among the oldest plants on the planet, and Pukekura Park had ferns which were directly related to the first plants which grew 400 million years ago, Bellamy said.
Bellamy is in Taranaki to open the Rhododendron Festival, which is ironic as the rhodo is not a favourite of his.
“It’s the biggest feral plant pest in Britain.”
But the New Zealand bush kept them under control: The native bush had constructed the soil which meant exotics could not take over, he said.
Pukekura Park was a gem because it was the only botanical garden, to his knowledge, that was surrounded by native bush.
“If you enjoy the music of nature, then this is Top of the Pops and it’s right in the middle of your community.”
For those residents concerned about the felling of kauri trees in the park, rest assured, it has been given the David Bellamy seal of approval.
“Good on ya,” he said to premier parks manager Bryan Gould.
“I remember once going and starting clearance of pine and a lady came and hit me with her umbrella.”
Bellamy spent 2 1/2 hours roaming through the glades of the garden and bonding with a 2000-year-old Puriri tree yesterday, despite an arthritic achilles tendon.
He doesn’t like getting older.
“I think we live a bit too long now. I don’t think trees like getting old, either.”
He has planned his funeral—he is working on a project with the Church of England to allow woodland burials.
He hoped a yew tree would grow from him because they lived a long time and were medicinal.
The idea was that the resulting tree would then be harvested and made into something useful.
“Like a beautiful piece of furniture or a toilet seat,” he said.
Here’s hoping that’s decades away.
TDN, AUGUST 12, 2003
NEW PLYMOUTH MAKES FRIENDS WITH KUNMING
With photo
NEW PLYMOUTH and Kunming officially became sister cities last night.
Mayor Peter Tennent and his Kunming counterpart Zhang Zhenguo formally signed the agreement at a special ceremony at Puke Ariki.
“It is very significant. This has been driven by the community, not the council, and I’m very proud to have been the mayor signing this agreement,” he said.
“Mayor Zhang has made it very clear that he intends to ensure the opportunities are made very clear to the people of his city and I intend to do the same.”
Chairman of the council’s international relations subcommittee Phil Quinney said the New Plymouth district had a great opportunity to build a significant relationship with a city of five million people.
“There are obvious trade and tourism openings for us. It is a great opportunity for us to market ourselves in the fastest growing tourism market in the world,” he said.
Kunming becomes New Plymouth’s second sister city, sharing the distinction with Japanese city Mishima. Kunming has several sister cities, including Wagga Wagga (Australia), Denver (US), Fujisawa (Japan), Zurich (Switzerland), Cochabamba (Bolivia) and Chiang Mai (Thailand).
The main links between New Plymouth and Kunming are in education and botany. Both were fostered initially by deputy mayor Lynn Bublitz.
He went there on a scholarship to look at education. Since then the relationship between the Kunming Botanical Institute and Pukeiti has blossomed, while Inglewood High School, which Mr Bublitz used to be the head of, has long enjoyed reciprocal visits with the Kunming No 15 Middle School.
“Becoming sister cities is the high point of our relationship, it has been a long journey, but a very worthwhile one.”
In 1994 the then New Plymouth Mayor Claire Stewart led a delegation to Kunming to discuss closer relationships.
Since then, Kunming has sent a number of delegations to New Plymouth.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mayor Zhang Zhenguo likened the relationship to the tree he planted earlier in the day at Pukekura Park.
“The tree is a small one, but it symbolises the friendship between our two cities since we’ve signed the formal agreement to become sister cities.
“This tree will grow up gradually into a flowering tree, a prosperous tree of fruit, just like our friendship.”
TDN, AUGUST 13, 2003
KUNMING MAYOR GIVES FUNDS FOR PARK PAVILION
With photo
KUNMING Mayor Zhang Zhenguo enjoyed planting a tree in Pukekura Park so much, he decided to donate a pavilion to go with it.
On Monday, Mr Zhang and New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent took part in the traditional tree planting ceremony as part of their sister cities agreement.
Late on Monday night, Mr Zhang announced during the official signing ceremony that the Kunming Government would provide more than $200,000 funding for the pavilion.
Mr Tennent said he was stunned by the generosity.
“Mayor Zhang told me about it after the planting. It is a very generous gift. I’m not quite sure what it will look like, but it will be a traditional Chinese structure as part of the Kunming garden, as it will be known, near the bandrooms just off Rogan St.
“I got the impression it was a spontaneous gesture. None of his officers seemed to know anything about it.
Mayor Zhang said Pukekura Park was very beautiful and, after seeing how much space there was around the tree, decided to give a special gift to the people of New Plymouth.
“People coming to your beautiful park will see the Kunming garden, and the pavilion when it is built, and hopefully they will think of Kunming and think of China.
“Maybe this will make them want to come and visit us, or find out more about us.”
Mr Tennent said it would be a welcome addition to the park, which has the Mishima garden and gate at the other end of the park.
Mishima is New Plymouth’s only other sister city.
Mr Tennent confirmed he would lead a New Plymouth delegation to Kunming, probably in the next few months.
“It is part of the agreement that there are signings in both Kunming and New Plymouth,” he said.
“Already a number of industry leaders have indicated they want to be involved because they can see some great opportunities.”
He nominated the engineering, tourism and education industries as some with obvious benefits.
TDN, AUGUST 18, 2003
CUTTING PARK KAURI AN INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE
FUTURE visitors to New Plymouth’s Brooklands Park will walk in awe among its groves of giant kauri trees, some with trunks the size of a large living room.
That is the vision of Bryan Gould, the New Plymouth District Council’s manager of premier parks.
“It’s all very exciting and I wish we could come back in 300 years to see how the trees have grown.”
Mr Gould said that people who had been concerned about the recent thinning of trees in the park’s Kauri Grove needed to take a long-term view.
“The trees have been managed with their future sustainability in mind. Approximately 140 superb specimens have been retained and will grow on for the next millennium,” he said.
Only those trees with serious structural defects were selected for thinning. A small percentage of other trees were also removed to ensure the spacing between trees was ideal.
Debris from the thinning left to rot on the forest floor would be hidden within three seasons by the growth of ferns and other plants. The fallen logs would recycle nutrients into the soil. Removing them would not be cost effective, with a high risk of damage to the standing trees and the sloping ground.
“Rather than concentrating on looking down, people should be looking up,” he said.
The increased light and space now afforded the remaining trees would result in significant growth over the next few years.
Soon, hints of a future generation of kauri would appear.
“I’m betting my bottom dollar that within five years we will have kauri seedlings come up,” said Mr Gould.
Timber from the thinning was of no commercial value, being composed of sapwood. The kauri were only 68 years old and had an estimated 1500-year life span.
A boardwalk was planned to ensure visitors kept off the tree roots, and information signs would be placed along the Kauri Grove track.
The council was also planning a thinning programme for some of the 3000 kauri trees in the Fred Cowling Reserve, in Barrett Domain.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 6, 2003
LIGHTNING-HIT TREE FELLED
With photo
A LARGE tree that was struck by lightning nine years ago is being removed from Pukekura Park for safety reasons.
The Torrey pine next to the TSB Children’s Playground was structurally unsound, New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) park services manager Chris Connolly said.
“The tree was hit by lightning in 1994 and we’ve been keeping an eye on it ever since.”
A 12-metre vertical crack, with major decay, was found in the tree recently.
Most of the mass of the 46m tree was above the crack, he said.
“It’s the weak point of the whole tree, and there’s a real possibility of the tree collapsing.”
Mr Connolly said it was too dangerous to keep the tree because many adults and children walked past it each day.
“We’re required to remove the tree to prevent the potential for serious injury being done to a member of the public.”
He said the area around the pine would be landscaped and replanted.
The tree was planted in 1890. There are two other specimens in the park that were planted at the same time.
Council workers removed the tree’s main branches yesterday and the remaining sections of the trunk will be taken away next week.
The Victoria Rd access to the park, next to the tree, will be closed to the public until the removal is complete.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 10, 2003
BOLD $17M PLAN FOR PARK CABLE CAR AMONG IDEAS DISCUSSED
With pics
DRAMATIC developments worth almost $17 million are proposed for New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
A draft plan detailing a raft of possible developments for the park was released at last night’s New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) policy committee meeting.
Among the bold concepts proposed was a cable car, an aerial walkway—incorporating a tower twice the height of the wind wand—and the construction of a large glass canopy over the existing number one glasshouse in the fernery, where full-sized native tree ferns and nikau palms would be housed.
Big plans for the Bellringer Pavilion were proposed, with the building being transformed into a Victorian pavilion with a clocktower on the roof.
NPDC community assets general manager Anthony Wilson said Pukekura Park lacked a hub, and it was proposed an area next to the TSB Stadium on Mason Drive be developed as a park reception centre—where visitors could be welcomed, given information, and could see interactive and audiovisual displays.
The centre would be linked to the park via the proposed aerial walkway and cable car.
There were major plans for the tea house area, with the Victorian building being extended, a new commercial kitchen and shop being built, and a lakeside boardwalk constructed to give access to and past the tea house.
A major face-lift was also planned for the Brooklands Zoo and the Gables area.
It would see extensive landscaping around the Gables, including an extended carpark, with a formal walkway linking the building with a proposed cafe in an existing bungalow next to Brooklands Zoo.
In the zoo, the entrance would be redesigned, the free-flight aviary enlarged and a butterfly house created.
The park developments had been prioritised, with the areas around the Gables, Brooklands Zoo, and the relocation of the park’s management and maintenance offices to Mason Drive being given top priority.
The development concepts coincided with the release of the council’s draft Pukekura management plan, which has undergone significant changes since it first went public last year.
Mr Wilson said of the two reports, the management plan was the most significant, because it would stipulate how the council would manage the park in the coming years.
“We will consult with the public on the management plan first and once that has been through public hearings and finalised, we will then consult publicly on the development concepts and proposals,” Mr Wilson said.
He described the management plan as the “how we will do things” document, with the development concepts being a list of the projects that might be done in the park.
Some of the developments proposed were exciting and designed to address needs in the park that had been identified, he said.
“Realistically, some of the proposals might be brought about. Others might not even get off the starting block.”
At the meeting, councillors commented that both reports were excellent, with councillor Lynn Bublitz pointing out the really expensive development proposals for the park were well down the council’s priority list.
Phil Quinney even went as far as to say, if he won the $17 million Lotto Powerball this weekend, he would seriously consider giving New Plymouth the money to carry out all the wishlist proposals for the park.
“It’s an outstanding report and I think it’s one of the most exciting things I have seen before the council,” he said.
Information about the public consultation process will be released in about a fortnight.
TDN, OCTOBER 4, 2003
TIME FOR PUBLIC TO HAVE SAY ON PARK’S FUTURE
THE public can have a say on plans to upgrade New Plymouth’s world- renowned Pukekura Park.
The New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) is calling for submissions on its draft park management plan.
Copies can be viewed at the council offices, district libraries and online from today.
The management plan, which was released last month, highlighted some of the park’s potential problems including parking and accessibility issues and sub-standard facilities.
Council community assets general manager Anthony Wilson said the plan was important because it would detail how the park would be managed to meet the expectations of locals and visitors.
Submissions close on December 5 and the council would hold public meetings early next year before finalising the management plan.
The council also released a second draft plan last month detailing possible structural developments for the park worth about $17 million. The concepts included extending the tea house, a boardwalk on the Main Lake, building a glass canopy over a fernery, a park information centre on Mason Drive, a cable car, an aerial walkway and a Victorian makeover for the Bellringer Pavilion.
Mr Wilson said once the management plan was in place the council would begin public consultation on the park development concepts document.
The management plan was the more important of the two documents because it would guide how the council managed the park.
The concepts document has astounded former park curator George Fuller, who said it would turn the park into a type of Disneyland.
The park’s greatest attraction to visitors was its natural quality, he said.
Mr Wilson responded by saying little investment had been made in the park in the last 15 years.
“Everyone has this idea that the park is this lovely piece of nature. In fact, it’s an entirely man-made creation. We need to start investing in the park.”
TDN, OCTOBER 7, 2003
SCOOTERS GIVE ACCESS TO PUKEKURA PARK
With photo
THE TSB BANK has donated four scooters for people with limited mobility to use at Pukekura Park.
They will be available during the Festival of Lights, which starts in mid-December.
The scooter service, which will be free, may be extended to special events at the Bowl of Brooklands.
TSB Bank chief executive Kevin Rimmington said there had been a lot of positive feedback from the public since the bank had donated four mobility scooters for people to use on New Plymouth’s coastal walkway.
“They’ve loved being able to get out there and see as much of the walkway as they wanted.”
The scooters will be in addition to the park’s six-seater golf cart, which is run by Friends of the Park.
Taranaki Disability Resource Centre Trust chairman John Major said the motorised scooters would give people with limited movement a sense of independence. “It’s wonderful to have this facility available.”
TDN, OCTOBER 7, 2003
CHINESE PAGODA OFFER ON DELEGATION’S AGENDA
ONE of the first topics on the agenda during the New Plymouth District Council delegation to Kunming will be the proposed pavilion for Pukekura Park.
When the Kunming delegation visited New Plymouth for the first part of the sister city signing in August, Mayor Zhang surprised almost everyone by announcing the gift of a pagoda-styled pavilion.
Chinese officials were unable to supply any details, although a cost of $200,000 was estimated.
New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent admits he has heard nothing more about it since then, but in the itinerary released for the 34-strong delegation which leaves today, Kunming officials have scheduled a 90-minute discussion on the pagoda as the first item of business.
“At present we don’t know what we’re getting,” Mr Tennent said.
“We’re going through this Pukekura Park management plan at the moment and quite frankly it is going to have to fit in. We don’t know what the best location would be.
“We don’t know anything, but let’s find out.
“It is a very generous offer by our friends in Kunming, so we want to find the most appropriate place for it and accept the offer.”
* Daily News reporter Gordon Brown will travel with the delegation.
TDN, OCTOBER 14, 2003
KUNMING PAVILION SHAPES UP
With photo
THE proposed Chinese pavilion for Pukekura Park looks set to go ahead.
Plans were last week revealed to the New Plymouth delegation which was in Kunming to sign the sister city agreement.
Kunming Mayor Zhang Zhenguo was so impressed by Pukekura Park when he visited in August that he offered the pavilion as a gift to the city.
The proposal was unveiled to New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent and his 34-strong delegation during the visit to China.
Official delegates returned on Sunday and Mr Tennent said he was impressed by the amount of work already done by Kunming officials on the pavilion.
“It is a very generous offer, one worth several hundred thousands of dollars, to the people of New Plymouth,” he said. “The timing could not have been better as we are in the process of working through the management plan for Pukekura Park with the community.”
He said he wanted to make it clear the public could have input into any changes at the park.
“They will be able to discuss and go through some of these exciting suggestions. Kunming accept what we come up with will need to have the support of both communities.
“Visitors to New Plymouth will want to see it and locals will be very proud of it.”
While in China, Mr Tennent reciprocated with a gift to the city of Kunming. “I offered 99 kauri trees as the start of a New Plymouth grove,” he said.
“My understanding is it will be the first time a kauri has been planted in China, and we are told they will prosper.”
He said the number 99 had a special significance for Chinese people.
“We are the ninth sister city Kunming has and that number signifies longevity. The number 99 means forever, and kauri trees last for thousands of years.”
The trees are likely to be planted in Kunming’s horticultural expo, a huge park showcasing plants and features from Kunming’s other sister cities.
Accompanying Mr Tennent on the trip was the council’s premier parks manager, Bryan Gould. He had several meetings with Kunming officials and said most of the pavilion work would be done in China.
“We can expect two or three of their experts here in December to look at the site and talk about the details.
“They are pre-building the major pieces, shipping them over and then putting the whole thing together.”
Six people from Kunming would travel to New Plymouth next year to erect the Mandarin building.
“But we do have a reserve management plan process to go through and it is important that we square that first.
“They are aware of that in Kunming and are very respectful of our process.
“We will work together to get agreement on the design and the extent of the garden and if necessary they will change it to suit us.”
Mr Tennent labelled the Kunming trip “a fantastic success” but pointed out there was much to do.
“I was incredibly pleased with the trip, but the hard work starts now. There is so much potential in the relationship and a huge number of doors have been opened. Now it is important we go through the doors.”
* IN Saturday’s magazine section, Gordon Brown gives his assessment on the value of the trip.
MIDWEEK, OCTOBER 16, 2003
PUKEKURA PARK VIEWS SOUGHT
NEW PLYMOUTH people are being offered a say on how Pukekura Park is managed in future years.
The New Plymouth District Council is calling for submissions on its draft Pukekura Park Management Plan 2003.
Copies are available at council offices and district libraries and on-line at
www.newplymouthnz.com/parkplan.
The draft management plan is separate from the concepts document which includes controversial suggestions for a cable car and aerial walkway. That will be addressed next year.
“This draft management plan is very important because it will detail how the park will be managed to meet the expectations of locals and visitors, and how the park’s character will be maintained while enabling it to continue to be among the best parks in New Zealand,” says community assets general manager Anthony Wilson.
Submissions on the draft plan close on December 5. Early next year the council will hold public hearings on those submissions, after which it will finalise the plan.
TDN, OCTOBER 28, 2003
WATERWHEEL IN FOR A RETREAD PUKEKURA WATERWHEEL UPGRADE IN THE PIPELINE
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK’S popular waterwheel is up for a major overhaul because it is considered dangerous.
The New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) is looking to put $150,000 towards fixing the waterwheel, and beautifying the area around it.
The waterwheel, which came from the old Omata Dairy Factory and was installed in the park almost 30 years ago, had never really worked properly and was always breaking down, NPDC water and wastes acting manager, Brent Manning, said in a report.
It was expensive to maintain and needed a lot of work to regulate the water flow and keep debris clear of the water channel, Mr Manning said.
The way the wheel was constructed also made it unsafe.
“The major problem associated with the wheel is that it is mounted in the main channel, and during periods of flood, there are no controls on its speed. In such circumstances, it is at risk of flying apart,” Mr Manning said.
Another problem was that because the lower part of the wheel was partly submerged in water, if the wheel stopped rotating, a section could become water-logged and the wheel unbalanced.
“If any timber was to break loose from either the wheel or the walkways, it could block the main outlet tunnel from the park, with potentially catastrophic results. In a worst case scenario, it could see flooding of the downstream properties.
“It has also been observed, that if a child was to get inside the wheel, it would be almost impossible for it to get out and the child would almost certainly be killed,” Mr Manning said.
A number of options were looked at by council officers for the future of the waterwheel, including doing nothing or getting rid of it altogether.
Those options were scrapped, because of the public support for the waterwheel and its historical significance.
It was therefore decided to look into moving the wheel to the east—out of the main flow of water—and creating a waterfall at the channel outlet where the waterwheel was, Mr Manning said.
The proposal was the best option to allow the wheel to keep turning—with a new flume and water flow control system—as well as beautify the area.
The plan was to remove the existing path next to the waterwheel and build a new bridge downstream to give people a good view of the wheel.
The wheel would have to be temporarily removed to be fixed, Mr Manning said.
The council is to consider including $75,000 in the 2004-2005 long-term council community plan for the waterwheel and waterfall work, with another $75,000 in 2005-2006 for the pedestrian bridge.
The council had consulted with George Fuller, Pukekura Park curator for 25 years until his retirement in 1990, who had been involved in the original construction project.
Mr Fuller said he supported the proposed improvements to the waterwheel.
“The waterwheel has been troublesome for many years and despite many efforts to correct whatever fault it has, it has not resulted in any long-term solution.
“It seems a shame that such a wonderful piece of equipment can’t function,” Mr Fuller said.
Not all NPDC monitoring committee members, who had a look at the Fitzroy Beach concept last week, were as pleased with fixing the waterwheel.
Councillor Elaine Gill said the waterwheel should have been included in the overall development plan for Pukekura Park, released to the public last month.
“I’m not happy. We have recently had the Pukekura Park management plan put before us, which has a considerable amount of changes to the park.
“Here we are proposing to spend $150,000 on the waterwheel. Is there not other things in that development strategy that would be better to spend the money on?
“We need to look at it in a logical order,” Mrs Gill said.
MIDWEEK, DECEMBER 17, 2003
LESS-MOBILE BENEFIT FROM GIFT
Pukekura Park will be accessible to a greater number of people, thanks to a generous donation from TSB Bank.
The bank has provided four mobility scooters to the council which will be made available free of charge to those with limited mobility who want to enjoy Pukekura Park, including the TSB Bank Festival of Lights.
Eighteen months ago the bank donated four mobility scooters for use on the Coastal Walkway, and TSB Bank Chief Executive Kevin Rimmington says they had received so much positive feedback from the public regarding the service that the bank was keen to extend the project to include the park and the lights festival.
2004
TDN, JANUARY 24, 2004
COUNCIL PREPARES PARK BIKE PURGE
THE New Plymouth District Council has erected new signs in Pukekura Park in an effort to deter cyclists.
Bryan Gould, manager premier parks, said the council was making a fresh effort to remind cyclists that bikes were banned from the park grounds.
“We keep having problems with cyclists posing a danger to other park users and damaging plants,” Mr Gould said.
“Pukekura Park is solely for foot traffic and mobility scooters. Cyclists have other areas where they can exercise.”
Park staff and security patrols would be used to stop cyclists. Persistent offenders, or those who caused damage or injury, could be fined under the district’s bylaws.
TDN, FEBRUARY 12, 2004
EXPERTS BERATE COUNCIL OVER CARE OF PARK
THE New Plymouth District Council has been severely criticised for not properly maintaining Pukekura Park.
At the public hearing on the draft Pukekura Park Management Plan yesterday, several submitters complained the park was not being maintained to the high standard it once was.
George Fuller, Pukekura Park curator for 25 years until his retirement in 1990, made an impassioned speech to the council, urging it to value the park through good maintenance and staff.
He was particularly concerned with the state of paths in the park.
“Since about 1990, paths previously formed have been neglected, and practically every one formed since has degenerated into a drainage channel as the consequence of design faults.
“Scouring is so extreme that, in desperation, present staff are obliged to repair holes with 30mm road metal chips, originally intended for bullock tracks and now for farm tracks and roadway base-course.
“The outcome is positively dangerous and certainly inappropriate,” said Mr Fuller.
Mr Fuller did not blame the present park staff for the park’s problems. They were simply casualties of a council policy change that saw the park’s residential maintenance and horticultural teams disbanded, he said.
While it was not too late to put the paths back to their once pristine state, such work would be costly, Mr Fuller said.
Permanently sealing the paths, however, would amount to vandalism in Mr Fuller’s opinion.
“(The park staff) need to be constantly asking themselves exactly why the park is regarded as so unique and held in such high esteem. Paradoxically, it seems that it is because it is so simple, unfussed, and just a little untidy—in a tidy sense,” Mr Fuller said.
Tikorangi nursery operators, Mark and Abbie Jury, were critical of the level of staff expertise at Pukekura Park.
The draft plan did not recognise the need to employ horticulturists of a high calibre, they said.
The decline in “plantsmanship” in the park was highlighted in the fact that plants were being put in the wrong places, there was inadequate quality control in the park, a lack of imagination with new plantings and the “slightly embarrassing” Japanese garden, Mr Jury said.
They were also critical of the council’s attitude towards the park’s Taranaki plant collection.
“We stand by our claim that most other significant public parks and botanic gardens in the country have better collections of Taranaki-bred plant material than Pukekura,” Mrs Jury said.
Councillors later included clauses in the plan that recognised the need for Taranaki-bred hybrids and the importance of securing a horticultural-skilled workforce for the park.
NPDC premier parks manager Bryan Gould said there were six full-time staff in Pukekura Park—considerably fewer than there used to be. That number did not include staff in the fernery or the zoo.
The council had experienced difficulty attracting qualified horticulturists to New Plymouth, because of the wages being offered and the fact that most did not want to leave the main cities, he said.
Mr Gould said he had also taken on board Mr Fuller’s comments about the poor state of the park’s paths.
In another submission, David Medway, president of the New Zealand Ornithological Society, said there was no database available to the public on birds in the park.
“I don’t see how you can manage a park if you don’t know what is there,” Mr Medway said.
Councillors later included in the plan the need for a database. The amended plan will go to the full council for approval next Tuesday.
New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent said after yesterday’s six-hour meeting that he expected a lot of debate during next year’s annual plan process regarding more funds for the park.
TDN, FEBRUARY 13, 2004
MAYOR BACKS PARK STAFF OVER `DECLINE’
NEW PLYMOUTH Mayor Peter Tennent yesterday defended Pukekura Park maintenance staff after claims of a decline in the standard of the city attraction.
“It’s not the staff—it’s the budget,” he said in reply to this week’s public criticism of the state of the city’s 128-year-old park.
At a public hearing on Wednesday into the council’s draft 10-year management plan for the park, submitters variously described current staffing levels and management practices as “abysmal”, “pitiful”, and “seriously endangering the botanic credibility of Pukekura Park”.
Former park curator George Fuller even accused the district council of “coming close to strangling the goose that lays golden eggs for the whole region”.
This criticism has turned the heat on to the district council and the way it manages the 49ha central New Plymouth icon.
Yesterday Mr Tennent led council damage control over the controversy, claiming that before Wednesday’s hearing the council had already been fully aware that the park operation was under-resourced.
“That’s one of the reasons we are getting the management plan in place—so we can move forward. The concern voiced in the submissions underline what we have been aware of, and what we have already been addressing.
“The concern is a positive. It will help us in our efforts to get a management plan agreed to by the community.”
The draft management plan agrees things are amiss, and says that since 1993 the park has been subject to fundamental management and infrastructure changes.
The most significant management change was the dis-establishment of the position of park curator in 1994. The park’s garden staff were reorganised into a contract unit of the council, accountable for all operational activities.
The park operated in this fashion for a number of years.
“Even though its intentions were good and all practical efforts were made, the park suffered from unclear management in both its physical and strategic wellbeing as a result of this reorganisation,” says the draft plan.
In 1999, a new position of Pukekura Park manager was established, which covered many of the tasks of the original curator’s position.
And with further restructuring in 2002, the management of Pukekura and Brooklands parks became the responsibility of a premier parks team, headed by Bryan Gould.
The draft plans said work was now well under way to improve the daily routine management needs of the park, to improve the quality and accessibility of services to the park, and to address its long-term development needs.
This week the council made changes to the draft plan, agreeing that the key to ongoing maintenance and development of the park is a horticulturally-skilled workforce.
In a suggested policy addition, the plan acknowledges the need to include advanced levels of plantsmanship at middle and upper-level management of the park.
TDN, FEBRUARY 14, 2004
CULTIVATING FUTURE OF NEW PLYMOUTH’S PRIME GARDEN ASSET
THERE are some popular Taranaki icons that politicians and others tinker with at their peril. Amenities like New Plymouth’s coastal walkway, St Mary’s pro-cathedral, Marsland Hill, Pukeiti and, above all, Pukekura Park fill a special place in the affections of the public.
The New Plymouth District Council has found out just how special is this regard with its revision of the management plan for Pukekura Park this week. Not only has the process drawn a large number of submissions, many from experts in the field, a number have used the strongest possible language to voice their concerns at apparent cut-backs in standards, maintenance and grooming.
One of the loudest voices was former park curator and respected horticulturalist George Fuller, whose telling comment that the council risked killing its golden goose will strike a chord with many. While the park makes no direct contribution to city coffers it is one of a number of key attractions that draw visitors and potential residents to the district and help bolster the regional economy. Careful budgeting is fine as long as it recognises the bigger picture.
On their own, Mr Fuller’s comments could be taken as the sour reaction of a retired curator who does not believe anyone can fill his shoes. Those who know the man will have no such doubts. His love for the park is legendary and he has been supported by many of the region’s best-known experts.
While it is of concern to hear such worthy experts getting so worked up at the state of the park, there is some reassurance in the fact the council appears to be taking the advice seriously. Mayor Peter Tennent has defended existing staff, but agrees the budget is too tight. Perhaps it is time for a little of the lateral thinking that created this tranquil haven from a scrubby gully early in the development of the town.
Why not appoint a top horticulturalist to the reinstated post of curator and use the park as a training ground for those keen to make a career in this field? Without denigrating the effort of the handful who now work there, surely it would be better for everyone to have people on the payroll who see a future in the business. They could be encouraged to mix practical work with theory on their way to a recognised qualification. This would not only enhance the park, but add to its international reputation.
Whatever is done, the council has to recognise the extra pressure that growing tourism and attractions like the annual Festival of Lights and summer entertainment programme are putting on the facility and staff too. Failure to do so will only bring more of the sort of unwanted publicity generated by this week’s impassioned submissions from people who deserve to be heard.
MIDWEEK, FEBRUARY 18, 2004
PARK BOSS CRIES POOR
Last week’s Pukekura Park complainers and their complaints included:
Former curator George Fuller, who says pathways have been allowed to deteriorate into “a deplorable and dangerous state”, with design faults turning new tracks into drainage channels. He produced “hard evidence” of the poor state of the tracks in the form of 30mm pieces of aggregate used on one of them. He says material of 6mm or less should be used.
Friends of the Park president Agnes Brabin, who says the 87-member group has “huge concerns regarding changes being wrought” and wants greater consultation.
Friends of the Park member Joy Hall, who says the standard of management is “abysmal and most disappointing”.
Horticulturists Mark and Abby Jury, who say standards are slipping. “The culture of plantsmanship which made Pukekura Park what it is today has been lost in recent years. The decline in advanced skills in plantsmanship is becoming increasingly obvious….” They also want more emphasis on Taranaki-bred hybrids.
Ornithologist David Medway, who after three years of trying to track down information laments the lack of a comprehensive database on flora and fauna in the park. “I fail to see how the park and its natural assets can be properly managed unless you know what’s there.”
They were among 13 verbal submissions to the council as it considered a new management plan for the park.
There were another 30 written submissions.
TDN, FEBRUARY 19, 2004
PRAISE FOR PARK STAFF AT MEETING
PUKEKURA PARK’S management plan for the next 10 years has been adopted with little debate.
On passing the Pukekura Park management plan on Tuesday night, New Plymouth District Council Mayor Peter Tennent and Deputy Mayor Lynn Bublitz put their support behind park staff.
“I want to say a few words of support for those who currently look after that great park,” Mr Bublitz said. “Even in George Fuller’s time and even some of the other submitters would have had trouble keeping the garden to the maintenance level that we would all like.”
During last week’s hearing of submissions to the plan, Mr Fuller, who was Pukekura Park’s curator for 25 years until his retirement in 1990, complained the park was not being maintained to the high standard it once was.
He was particularly concerned at the conditions of paths in the park, which he said were being neglected.
Other submitters backed up Mr Fuller’s concerns, criticising the level of park staff expertise.
The council made amendments to the plan following the hearing to reflect those concerns. Those included acknowledging that the key to the ongoing maintenance and development of the park was the need to secure a horticulturally-skilled workforce.
Mr Bublitz said he hoped the amendments made to the plan would help look after the park into the future. He also said that future councils should take note of how passionate the public was about Pukekura Park and should look at budgets accordingly.
“I think it will be a poorer council that doesn’t address this fully,” Mr Bublitz said.
Mr Tennent reiterated Mr Bublitz’s praise of the park’s workers.
“I’m so incredibly proud of the staff at council. We are so well served by people who are passionate about the park they work in,” he said.
The council will appoint two councillors to the Friends of the Park following a suggestion by the organisation during the management plan hearings.
TDN, FEBRUARY 27, 2004
ELDERLY ASK WHEN IS A PARK PARK NOT A LEGAL CARPARK?
With photo
JILL CREASY thought it would be nice to take her 85-year-old mother Nancy Penwarden to the Pukekura Park Kiosk for lunch.
That was when the trouble started.
The normal route she took to the kiosk was blocked by a bollard. Cars were no longer welcome, even ones with mobility stickers.
And she was not the only one, as the council’s new policy of banning vehicles from Pukekura Park began to take effect.
Another early casualty was the Disabled Persons Assembly.
Secretary Shirley Hazelwood (Kaponga) and others were irate when one of their members faced possible prosecution for being in breach of the new regulations.
“An illegal parking letter was placed on an amputee’s car. The person had a mobility parking sticker on her car at the time,” Mrs Hazelwood wrote in a letter to the editor.
Elderly New Plymouth woman Lorna Gayton was yet another to be upset by the new restrictions. She recently took a visitor from the South Island to the park and, after lunch, took advantage of the buggy to take in the unique surrounds of the park.
She described the experience as magic, but on returning to her car, the spell was abruptly broken.
“Imagine my surprise to find tucked under the windscreen a letter informing me I’m parked on reserve land and failure to remove my car could result in prosecution.
“My husband is in a resthome and has to be conveyed by Ironside. My mobility is very limited as well. “
The council notice was to the point.
“Under section 44 of the Reserves Act 1977 it is an offence liable for prosecution, to park on any area of reserve land not designated for such purpose. You are required to remove your car immediately. Failure to comply may result in prosecution.”
New Plymouth District Council premier parks manager Bryan Gould said that to minimise the risk of an accident, private vehicles were now not allowed beyond designated car parks,” he said.
He cited the Reserves Act 1977 and the Health and Safety in Employment Act of 1992, among other legislation, which he said gave the council little choice but to act.
Mr Gould said there were exceptions for disabled visitors.
“Arrangements may be made directly by contacting the operator directly. Access will be allowed for drop-off or pick-up, or for parking in the tea house-designated car park spaces only.”
In either case arrangements must be made beforehand, he said.
That was unacceptable, Mrs Creasy said.
“They are bullying bureaucrats quoting the health and Safety Act to support their persecution of the disabled and the elderly,” Mrs Creasy said.
“Leave the park alone. New Zealanders are fed up with overpaid bureaucrats dictating and spoiling the simple pleasures we have always enjoyed.”
Mrs Penwarden described the council’s actions as apalling.
“I’m absolutely disgusted. I used to come here with my grandfather.”
Mrs Creasy said advising council officials before planning a trip to the park in order to organise council staff to unlock bollards in restricted areas was not the answer either.
She urged Mr Gould to have a rethink and reinstate the disabled parking adjacent to the kiosk.
“You would be giving pleasure to a lot of people who haven’t too many things or places to look forward to. We should be encouraged, not turned away.”
New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent was unapologetic about the change.
“I’m very comfortable with the position. We’ve been through an exhaustive process to come up with the Pukekura Park management plan which has now been passed,” he said.
“The community has said loud and clear `let’s protect the park’ and there is a worry about vehicles on the drive.
“Nobody wants to stop less abled folk having access to the kiosk. There is a process in place to enable them to ring ahead and get the bollard taken down, so the folk who need to can be dropped off at the kiosk.
“I have had concerns expressed to me, but what we’ve ended up with is a pretty good compromise. I do sympathise, but last thing we want is 50 cars going through the park.”
Although no-one could recall an accident involving a car in the park during the last 25 years, Mr Gould said the risk was still there.
“That means under the law the restrictions have to be put in place. We appreciate some people have concerns, but unfortunately we can’t avoid it.”
TDN, MARCH 5, 2004
PARK IN LIMBO
With photo
The state and future of Pukekura is under the spotlight. Over the next few months Taranaki people will get their say on a series of developments proposed for the iconic park. SARAH GAULT talked to some of the players involved.
BRYAN GOULD does not strike me as a bullying bureaucrat. English-born and bred, he is unfailingly polite, chatty and good-natured.
As the manager of New Plymouth’s premier parks he is the voice and face of the city’s treasured icon, Pukekura Park.
The post is earning him the wrath of some.
A week ago, in a Daily News article, a New Plymouth woman complained about elderly people’s access to the park kiosk. Wanting to take her 85-year-old mother to lunch, she drove towards the kiosk, only to be stopped at the driveway entrance by newly- installed bollards.
Gould, called upon to comment, said private vehicles were no longer allowed at the kiosk without prior arrangement.
In the course of her story, the woman complained about “bullying, overpaid bureaucrats” who spoiled simple pleasures.
Several weeks ago experts and members of the public berated the council over park standards. At the public hearing on the draft Pukekura Park management plan, former curator George Fuller urged the council to value the park through good maintenance and staff. His despair over slipping standards was striking.
Tikorangi nursery operators Mark and Abbie Jury were particularly scathing, citing a decline in plantsmanship, a lack of Taranaki-bred hybrids, an inadequate plant collection and failure to plan ahead.
Other submitters talked of the need to build a database of park flora and fauna, of their concern about proposed changes and the standard of management. Some of the 43 submitters offered praise.
Despite the harsh words, Gould remains reasonable, determined to put things right, and deeply enthusiastic.
But he is not just the nice guy in the parks office. He knows a thing or two about plants.
“All my energy, and my whole career, has been about managing trees, plants and landscapes. It’s important for people to know there’s someone at the helm (of Pukekura Park) who’s passionate about the place.”
Born—interestingly enough—in Plymouth, Gould started his arboriculture career as a tree surgeon in London 30 years ago. He worked for a local authority before switching to a large private company, Southern Tree Surgeons. That was followed by a six-year stint managing a significant arboretum—Winkworth, near Guildford—owned by the National Trust.
In 1988, Gould and family shifted to Melbourne where he worked in local government managing trees for the city’s ratepayers. In 1994 they moved across the Tasman to Auckland and Gould took up a post as city arborist.
Late in 1999, the Gould family headed south to New Plymouth after Gould won the new position of Pukekura Park manager. In 2002 he became manager of premier parks after further reorganisation saw Brooklands, Pukekura and the areas around Puke Ariki brought under the same umbrella.
It is a demanding role. The parks estate is getting bigger, albeit in small amounts. There is the new garden around Richmond Cottage, for example, and new developments planned for Puke Ariki Landing. Public expectations are vastly higher and fulfilling local government requirements costs money and time. Gould spends more time digging out information than digging dirt.
But Gould defends current park standards and staff expertise, while acknowledging past problems and limited financial resources.
Gordon Collier knows a thing or two about New Zealand parks and gardens. A garden consultant and writer for New Zealand gardening magazines, he developed world-renowned garden Titoki Point near Taihape over 30-odd years. His first job was at New Plymouth’s Tupare in 1956; he has a long association with Pukeiti and has visited Pukekura Park often.
Last November he and Auckland garden identity Bev McConnell spent several hours at Pukekura assessing it for the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture’s (RNZIH) database and open garden scheme.
His conclusion: “Pukekura looked tired. Perhaps more resources are needed to maintain this New Zealand icon.”
Brooklands looked good despite some weeds but the Stainton Dell was below par, continued Collier. The cool-climate plants it housed needed more attention in a warm climate. In addition, the concrete path opposite the fountain lake was intrusive when viewed from the other side; toilets needed upgrading; litter was obvious and the main entrance disappointing.
“You can’t have a good horticultural park if you are not putting the resources into it,” Collier told The Daily News this week. “It doesn’t take long for standards to go down.”
Nevertheless, the critique did not stop the park earning the RNZIH’s highest ranking as a garden of national significance, and Collier says it is still on New Zealand’s top rung of parks and gardens.
Pukekura is not alone in facing resourcing issues. Collier and McConnell visited nine parks for the RNZIH and say more than half were under-resourced.
Among issues confronting the horticultural industry is that of inadequate gardening staff. According to Collier, it is almost impossible to get a good gardener anywhere in the country. Landscape design is apparently more attractive than tilling the soil and many graduates lack a broad plant knowledge.
Gould ran up against this problem in seeking park staff following 2002’s reorganisation. A flood of applicants with appropriate skills was hoped for. Instead, a trickle of CV’s arrived, some with the right stuff, others completely off track.
Enough people with the right background and training were recruited, and Gould is satisfied he is employing keen people with a spread of qualifications and knowledge. Any gaps in skills are addressed through in-house training that ranges from horticultural lessons through to health and safety. He refutes claims that the park has lost its culture of plantsmanship and lacks enough people with advanced horticultural expertise.
“I have no difficulty with the judgment or ability of our staff.”
As to forward planning or the broad overview, Gould and members of the parks, recreation and assets team carry out that role.
While there is criticism of the plant collection and its lack of Taranaki hybrids, Gould says the park boasts an eclectic collection, and one of its hallmarks is a range of landscape styles.
“We don’t have a Taranaki-bred plant collection as such because we are interested in providing a collection of plants of the world.” Continued from previous page
Gould would like more staff. The parks team has seven people; in an ideal world there might be a dozen to provide coverage. In addition, fernery and zoo staff (respectively four and five) would each number five or six to allow for extended hours.
The figures equate to a significant increase and Gould emphasises there is no agreement on such numbers.
Pin pointing extra budgetary requirements is equally difficult. Pukekura’s operational budget, including the fernery, is just over $1.4 million. The zoo gets another $244.000.
Between 1993 and 2000, park services were contracted out and staff reorganised into a business unit. The ethos was maximum service for minimal dollars.
“I think it’s fair to say that Parkscape was put under the spotlight in terms of cost efficiencies,” says Gould’s boss, NPDC Parkscape Services manager Chris Connolly. “There were requirements to go where no one had gone and do all these things and do them cheaply.”
The management plan describes the period as a “trying time”. In 2001, Parkscape was brought back into the fold as a traditional council department.
Still, Connolly says Parkscape did good work with the resources available and contracting out forced a rethink of practices. For example, in 1990, tree prunings were loaded on to a truck and taken to the district landfill. These days branches are fed into a chipper and returned to the gardens as mulch.
District councillor Heather Dodunski talks earnestly and carefully of the park’s future and current status. As monitoring committee chairwoman the park comes into her ambit.
She says the hearing into the park’s management plan alerted councillors to their responsibilities.
“We cannot sit back and lay at our staff’s feet responsibility for what the public see as a lower level of standards.”
Staff only do what councillors as monitors of the budget allow them to do, she points out. “For some reason we have allowed the budget to slip below where it should be. Over the last few years there has been a tremendous change under the Local Government Act on how things are done, like asset management plans. They have been taking the time and effort to get together.
“I think it’s been a gradual thing and I don’t think anybody should feel they have to take the blame.”
She will be pushing for more parks money, and says that while millions more may be needed over a number of years, she’s keen to see an initial injection in the 2004/5 annual plan.
Yet money isn’t the total answer, says former curator George Fuller, a quiet man as passionate about the park as he was the day he retired 13 years ago.
“Money might buy skills but it won’t always buy dedication, because people have to feel an intense pride in being in a place where they are at the centre of tremendous focus and adoration.”
Contracting the service out in the early nineties was one of a number of factors starting in the 1980s that according to Fuller, eroded the park’s solid foundation.
“There was a whole series of things that seemed to come together, of different nature and character that all had an impact on the safeguards or threatened the values which had been maintained through the years.”
The Pukekura Park committee, most of whose members were elderly, was disbanded early in the eighties, severing a link with the community (although a Friend of the Park organisation still exists).
The parks department, formerly based at Pukekura, transferred to council offices following the introduction in 1989 of the Local Government Act. In the 1990s a resident maintenance team was ditched, along with the park curator’s job.
Despite his concerns, Fuller has been heartened by recent council assurances. He feels people are listening, believes public concerns are being taken seriously.
He’s at pains to point out that current park staff and managers need our support and sympathy.
“I can see there are great possibilities and I think great progress can be made with the present people.”
TDN, MARCH 5, 2004
CHANGE OR DIE, A MODERN MANTRA CHANGE OR DIE
With photo
DISNEYLAND is soon to hit New Plymouth. Flash facilities and hordes of people will descend on tranquil Pukekura Park.
Horrified? Don’t be.
Late last year New Plymouth District Council officers announced a series of development concepts and proposals for the city’s favourite green spot.
The 19 suggestions arose out of a review of the 1993 Pukekura Park management plan. They were wide-ranging, even wildly imaginative. There was the project to extend the fernery, one to build a cable car, another to construct an aerial walkway. Others encompassed a new park entrance, staff office and information centre.
The teahouse and cricket pavilion were each to get a revamp, the main lake a boardwalk.
Many newspaper letter writers and management plan submitters denounced the proposals, claiming natural beauty would be spoilt.
But the proposals are just that. The district council has yet to approve them in principle. Even the list prioritising which should start first is indicative, as are the estimates of costs, which range from $44,000 to $3.4 million.
Community consultation is yet to start, as is a seven-step evaluation process carried out by council officers.
Bryan Gould, the council’s manager of premier parks, says many of the proposals arose out of current problems:
* People with limited mobility have difficulty getting around the park and to attractions such as the fernery.
* There is conflict between pedestrians and vehicles.
* Buildings like the toilets desperately need upgrading.
* Park information is limited and the potential to develop a better visitor attraction and a community resource is untapped.
Jack Hobbs, a past presenter on Maggie’s Garden Show, calls Pukekura Park “absolutely world standard”, adding that anything that will enhance it has to be good.
Some argue that the developments will intrude rather than enhance.
Hobbs, also curator of the Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens, says it is getting harder for parks and gardens to compete in the modern leisure market.
“We have to keep getting better, there’s no doubt about it. Once upon a time people came to see the plants, now they expect more.”
Hobbs says parks have to become a “package” offering hospitality, good mobility, children’s playgrounds and visitor information.
Market research conducted by the botanic gardens revealed that fewer than 10% of its visitors considered themselves plant fanatics; only about 20% were avid gardeners.
“So 80% of our visitors don’t just come for the plants . . . we feel if we are going to get our message across in terms of conservation and environmental education and make a bit of dough, we have to get the people in here. If more people come, you get more value out of your collections because more people are exposed to them, and more are connecting with nature.”
It is all about having a “hook” or drawcard. Pukekura has the Festival of Lights but then so does Hastings (called Fiesta of Lights). We are competing with each other and, consciously or not, visitors compare us to parks they have seen here and overseas, argues Hobbs.
Wairarapa garden writer and historical researcher Gareth Winter says the way we approach a park today is different from the way we did 10 years ago, much less 100 years ago.
“Today we are less likely to take passive recreation in a park, so the park itself needs to evolve, and has done so with the addition of Brooklands, the Bowl and the Zoo.”
While Winter wants to see unusual plants and well-labeled trees in a park, he acknowledges that many others want to “relax, consume coffee, and chill out”.
It is useful to try to improve access and usage of parks and set aside spaces for the young, Winter believes. He visited Pukekura last October and loved the fernery and cable car proposals but says the aerial walkway, while exciting, could be hard to justify economically.
“To me there are some very exciting things about the project and the management plan process. I am jealous that your council has elected to retain direct control of the park. Here (in Masterton) our Queen Elizabeth Park, of a similar age but of very different character, has been left to contractors and is a sad shadow of its former glory.
“It is even more remarkable that your council has an officer dedicated to the `premier parks’. What an amazing concept,” says Winter, adding that he went home thinking the citizens of New Plymouth “didn’t know how bloody lucky they were”. *
Respected gardening identity Gordon Collier of Taupo takes a more cautious approach. The proposals are exciting if the money is available, he says.
“To me it’s more important that the park and its staff are up to scratch before they start spending money on other things—that’s their core business, having a good park.”
Collier, who assessed Pukekura last November during a visit on behalf of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (RNZIH) and found some areas wanting, says the park needs a couple of extra hands.
“We are not talking about huge sums of money—two good gardeners perhaps.”
Staff are an immediate priority, he says, flash buildings can come later.
Former park curator George Fuller echoes Collier’s caution: “I have strong feelings over major change but we do have to realise that numbers of people will increase; tourism seems to be the name of the game. We can’t live in the past and assume systems of the past will meet the needs of the future.”
The proposed new park centre near the TSB Stadium is one idea Fuller has backed for a long time—he made a submission to that effect during hearings for the 1993 management plan.
Less favourable, to his mind, are radical changes such as the fernery extension. Altering its entranceway could affect the hydrology of the area, the drainage and unsullied surroundings, he says, but he admits he bases his concerns on a single illustration of a “daunting Crystal Palace lookalike”.
Fuller’s final point reiterates the reverence in which he holds Pukekura Park.
“Human existence is transient. Meeting the demands of any one individual or group at any one time must be very carefully thought about, whether it relates to plant collection, to landscaping, to expansion of buildings—it doesn’t matter. We must be careful about extreme views.”
TDN, MARCH 31, 2004
DISABLED REGAIN CAR ACCESS TO PARK
With photo
DISABLED people have won back the right to take cars into Pukekura Park after a change of mind by the New Plymouth District Council.
In February, council workers installed bollards on a main path into the park to prevent vehicle access.
Resident Jill Creasy was incensed to find she could not take her 85-year-old mother, Nancy Penwarden, to the park kiosk for lunch without a significant walk.
Previously she was able to drive right up to the kiosk.
She embarked on a battle against what she described as “overpaid bureaucrats spoiling the simple pleasures we have always enjoyed”.
Many other park visitors also complained.
The council defended the decision, saying that disabled access was available if arranged ahead of time.
At the time, Mayor Peter Tennent said he was sympathetic to people’s concerns but the policy was “a pretty good compromise” between traffic safety and disabled access.
At last night’s council meeting, Mr Tennent was pleased that a different compromise had been found.
He said he “took his hat off to council officers that had let common sense prevail” in preparing the revised parking scheme.
The new plan details six disabled carparks clearly signposted around the kiosk area as part of a six-month trial.
A publicity campaign will inform the public of the disabled-only access and changes to Pukekura’s parking facilities.
Councillor Heather Dodunski, who pushed for a publicity campaign and new signposting as part of the changes, recognised people’s need to know who could go where.
“A lot of people come from the outlying areas and they need to know about the changes—particularly of the disabled certificates needed to use those carparks.
“But I think if everybody takes their time and adjusts, it will work,” she said.
Mrs Creasy said last night she was astounded to hear the council had changed tack. It was extremely pleasing, she added.
MIDWEEK, APRIL 7, 2004
FOOT POWER, NOT PEDAL POWER, IN PUKEKURA PARK
New signage has been installed at Pukekura Park’s main entrances to remind the public that it is a bicycle-free area.
Manager premier parks Bryan Gould says the council is making a fresh effort to remind the cycling public that bikes should not be ridden through the park.
School principals advised their students about the bylaw that prohibits cycling Pukekura Park, and now the park’s entrances have new signage to remind the general public.
“We keep having problems with cyclists posing a danger to other park users and also damaging plants and encouraging erosion in off-track areas,” says Bryan.
“Pukekura is solely for foot traffic and mobility scooters.
Cyclists have other areas where they can exercise, such as the Coastal Walkway and the Te Henui and Huatoki walkways, but Pukekura Park will remain a no-cycling area.”
Park staff and security patrols will be keeping an eye out for cyclists, and will ask them to walk their bikes through the park. Persistent offenders or those who cause damage or injury could find themselves facing a fine under the district’s bylaw.
“However we believe that the vast majority of cyclists will take note and will act appropriately in the park,” he says.
“Pukekura is the region’s iconic park and we want to keep it in top condition and have it as safe as possible for park users.”
TDN, APRIL 30, 2004
SCANLAN LOOKOUT OFFERS VIEWS OF MAN’S TWO BIGGEST LOVES
With photo
A LOOKOUT at Pukekura Park in honour of New Plymouth man Brian Scanlan was opened yesterday.
Mr Scanlan, who died in 1994, was a former editor of the Taranaki Herald, a Pukekura Park committee member, an elected councillor, alpinist and historian.
The lookout has views of Mt Taranaki and the park.
“They were two of his biggest loves,” family spokesperson Alex Strade said.
The memorial was funded by the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) and supported by the New Plymouth Rotary Club.
NPDC parks manager Bryan Gould said it had taken about a year to clear scrub from the area and complete the project.
“It’s been a combination of a lot of dreams and hard work.”
The memorial, near the park’s boundary behind the Bowl of Brooklands, cost about $15,000.
The original plans were drawn up in 1996 by former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller.
Rash Avery, another former editor of the Taranaki Herald, said Mr Scanlan was a huge supporter of the Bowl of Brooklands and used to walk through the park on his way to work.
“I think in his modest and caring way, he would approve (of the lookout). I’m sure he would’ve noticed with care which plants had been selected, nurtured and positioned.”
New Plymouth Rotary member Don Holyoake said Mr Scanlan was a past-president of the organisation.
“Our club is proud he made such a mark on the community.”
New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent said the area had been under-utilised and could now be enjoyed by everyone.
The lookout recognised Mr Scanlan’s contribution to Taranaki and provided a new entrance to the park, he said.
Mr Scanlan wrote books about the mountain, Pukekura Park, Bowl of Brooklands and firefighting.
He also wrote the first publication to cover Port Taranaki’s history from 1875 to 1990.
TDN, MAY 4, 2004
TRIAL SOON FOR VEHICLE ACCESS TO PARK KIOSK
A TRIAL allowing some vehicle access to the Pukekura Park kiosk starts later this month.
Drivers will soon be able to drive to the kiosk to drop off and pick up passengers with limited mobility.
There will also be four extra spaces designated for disabled parking—one beside the kiosk and three opposite the park management office.
The unsealed road between the pavilion and the main lake will be solely for foot traffic and mobility scooters.
Kelvin Shooter from the New Plymouth District Council said the trial would begin within the next few weeks, once new markings have been painted.
“This new system for vehicle access was developed after the council had consulted with the public and affected parties,” he said.
“It aims to strike a balance between ensuring the safety of park users and making it easy for people with limited mobility to get to the kiosk.”
The council will monitor the disabled parking spaces and ticket anyone using them who does not have a mobility permit.
Mr Shooter said tickets would not be issued during the early stages of the trial.
TDN, MAY 26, 2004
PUBLIC TO HAVE SAY ON CHINESE GARDEN
THE New Plymouth District Council last night formally accepted the gift of a garden and pavilion from Chinese sister city Kunming.
Originally planned to be built in Pukekura Park near the band rooms, it will now be situated in the old nursery site on Brooklands Drive, beside the Gables.
The only condition on the development going ahead is that public consultation must now take place, which is a requirement under the council’s own policy, with a final decision being made then.
In August last year, Kunming officials signed the sister city agreement in New Plymouth and Mayor Zhang Zhenguo planted a friendship tree in Pukekura Park.
He was so impressed by the beauty of the park, he made a spontaneous gesture and offered a Chinese garden and pavilion as a gift.
That caught officials on both sides by surprise, but after a reciprocal visit to Kunming by a New Plymouth delegation, and a recent visit here by Kunming officials, agreement has subsequently been reached on the new site.
Parks and recreation manager Kelvin Shooter said closing down the nursery and clearing scrub from behind it had opened up a good site.
“We plan to develop the area with an English Cottage to the south of the Gables, with the Chinese garden going in the northern end of the area, taking up about 10% of the newly-developed space,” he said.
The garden will feature a traditional Chinese pavilion and moon gate, as well as a selection of native Chinese plants.
Phil Quinney, who chairs the council’s international relations working party, welcomed the move.
“This makes very good use of the space not being used by the public. I think this will go a long way towards cementing the relationship between us and Kunming.”
MIDWEEK, JUNE 2, 2004
OPINION SOUGHT ON CHINESE GARDEN PLAN
With photo
PROGRESS has been made on the design of a proposed Kunming Chinese garden in Pukekura Park, with the public being asked for feedback.
A Chinese pavilion and garden are a gift from the Mayor of Kunming to mark a sister-city agreement between his city and New Plymouth.
The New Plymouth District Council monitoring committee last week agreed with a proposal to site the garden in an unused area to the north of The Gables in Brooklands Park.
The council is already clearing more than 1ha around The Gables with the intention of redeveloping it as gardens and opening the area to the public.
Parks and recreation manager Kelvin Shooter says the council has been disestablishing Brooklands Nursery, between The Gables and Brooklands Zoo, for about a year and has also made good progress in clearing scrub from behind The Gables to free up a prime area of land and return it to public use.
“What we plan to do is develop the area with an English cottage garden to the south of The Gables about where the nursery is now – and have open space to the west and north of the historic building.
“The Chinese garden from Kunming would go in the northern end of this area, taking up about one-tenth of the newly developed space.
“We’ll now consult on the Chinese garden with interested parties as well as the wider public as part of the Pukekura Park Management Plan,” says Mr Shooter.
Pukekura Park manager Bryan Gould says the Kunming garden would feature a traditional Chinese pavilion and moon gate and a selection of plants that are native to China.
More information is available from the Civic Centre. Feedback should reach the council by 5pm on June 11.
MIDWEEK, JUNE 2, 2004
STUDIO ON GO AT GABLES
With pic
THE new positioning of the Gables studio is no illusion.
The Taranaki Society of Arts building was moved from beside The Gables to behind The Gables last month to make room for the New Plymouth District Council’s planned redesign and redevelopment of the area
“The studio was on a concrete floor, so the wall had to be disconnected from the floor and the walls and roof had to be lifted,” says society spokesman David Russell.
“The whole studio – placed on a new wooden floor was shifted on to piles at the new site.”
A fence has also been erected around the building and decking placed along two sides with a ramp for wheelchair access, he says.
“This is now a very attractive working site for artists and we encourage other artists of New Plymouth to use it.
“They just need to become members of the society and the studio is there for them to use in a nice, private setting.”
To celebrate the reopening of the facility, an Affordable Art Weekend is being held this Saturday through to Monday in conjunction with the society’s usual six-weekly exhibition at The Gables.
Original art by members will be on sale in and around the studio from 11am to 4pm daily.
“This will be an opportunity for people to buy art by some established Taranaki artists at very affordable prices,” Mr Russell says.
MIDWEEK, JUNE 30, 2004
TRIAL DRIVES NEW VEHICLE ACCESS SYSTEM FOR PUKEKURA PARK USERS
A new system for vehicle access to and from the Pukekura Park Kiosk is currently being trialled.
The trial enables vehicles to be driven up to the kiosk to drop off and pick up passengers with limited mobility via the sealed road from the Bellringer Pavilion, past the old park management office.
Additionally there are four spaces designated for disabled parking: one by the kiosk and three opposite the park management office.
The unsealed road between the pavilion and the Main Lake is solely for foot traffic and mobility scooters.
Manager parks and recreation assets Kelvin Shooter says the trial will run through to summer, and was developed following consultation with the public.
“What we’re aiming to do is strike a balance between ensuring the safety of park users and making it easy for people with limited mobility to get to the kiosk,” he says.
The council is also monitoring the disabled parking spaces and will ticket anyone using them who does not have a mobility permit, to ensure the spaces remain free for mobility card holders.
“Once the trial is completed we will review the new vehicle access system and see how well it has worked, and also look at the level of safety to the walking public. We’ll then decide if the new system is a success or if any tweaks need to be made,” says Kelvin.
MIDWEEK, JUNE 30, 2004
CHINESE GARDEN ON THE CARDS FOR PUKEKURA PARK
Submissions have closed on the proposed Chinese garden for Pukekura Park, which was a gift to the district from the Mayor of New Plymouth’s sister city Kunming.
Manager planning and design Grant Porteous says the comments will be collated and a report will go to the next meeting of the council, where councillors will consider whether or not to go ahead with the park feature.
The Chinese pavilion and garden were gifted to mark the signing last year of a sister city agreement between Kunming and New Plymouth District.
The proposal is to site the garden in an unused area to the north of The Gables in Brooklands Park. Currently the council is clearing more than a hectare of land around The Gables with the intention of redeveloping it as gardens and opening the area to the public.
The planned development for the area includes establishing an English cottage garden to the south of The Gables – about where the nursery is now – and opening space to the west and north of the historic building.
“The Chinese garden from Kunming would go in the northern end of this area, taking up a proportion of the newly-developed space,” says Grant.
Manager premier parks Bryan Gould says the early concept designs for the Kunming garden feature a traditional Chinese pavilion and moon gate, and a selection of plants that are native to China.
“Kunming is renowned for its gardens – it’s known as the city of eternal spring – and New Plymouth already has significant botanical links to Kunming through a long-standing relationship between Pukeiti and the Kunming Botanical Institute.
“This garden is a gift from one garden city to another, and it would be an elegant and tranquil feature that would help open up an area that is currently closed to the public,” says Bryan.
TDN, JULY 1, 2004
CREEPY CRAWLIES WORTH SAVING, SAYS NEW PLYMOUTH REPTILE FAN
With photo
LIZARDS, wetas and other creepy crawlies make many people shudder.
But one New Plymouth couple think the insect and reptile varieties are worth protecting.
Barbara and Roger Watkins have made a submission to the New Plymouth District Council’s draft community plan to establish a display and educational facility at Brooklands Zoo to preserve indigenous New Zealand species and raise public awareness.
It was Mrs Watkin’s fascination with lizards that spurred her interest in the project.
She is a keen member of the New Zealand Herpetological Society, which is a group of people who are interested in and keep lizards.
“Various members of the society have talked about setting up an educational facility for quite some time,” said Mrs Watkins.
The society’s committee and most of its members are based in New Plymouth, so this was the obvious place to establish such a facility, said Mrs Watkins.
“We have been asked from time to time to set up displays for class groups at the museum.
“But this is quite difficult to do because of transportation of the animals.
“If there was a permanent set-up it would be kinder to the animals.”
Mrs Watkins said a nationally exclusive facility would also be a tourism drawcard.
“Some overseas investors are prepared to pay $5000 for a pair of New Zealand geckos. Therefore, they would be prepared to visit an exhibit.
“Nothing like this has been done in New Zealand.
“We could end up with a national collection.”
Mrs Watkins said Taranaki is home to a number of endangered lizards which are indigenous to the area.
These include the Taranaki goldstripe, forest geckos and elegans.
She said the collection could also include invertebrates, such as wetas, stick insects, glow worms and moths and reptiles such as protected New Zealand lizards and frogs.
“We should value these species much more,” she said.
Mrs Watkins said the cost for a public facility would have to be investigated but she gave an estimated figure of $15,000.
The dream facility would include a secure dark building with a walkway through it.
Mrs Watkins said she had been interested in lizards all her life.
In her own collection she has more than 50 lizards of nine different species.
She has no concrete reason for her fascination with this reptile variety.
“You know how some people like cats and some people like dogs . . . Well some people like lizards,” she said.
“It’s just one of those things.”
TDN, JULY 5, 2004
ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PUKEKURA
AN extra $1 million will be spent on sprucing up Pukekura Park over the next 10 years, the New Plymouth District Council has decided.
The council awarded the additional funding after public criticism earlier this year for allowing high standards in the city’s internationally-admired “jewel in the crown” to slip.
The criticism was aired during a public meeting in February to discuss the 2004 Pukekura Park Management Plan.
And during last month’s 2004-2014 draft community plan process most of the 29 submissions called for the park’s natural beauty to be retained along with a better standard of maintenance.
Friends of the Park vice-president Adrienne Tatham, of New Plymouth, said the group was pleased with the extra million dollars and believed that the council was now listening to the community.
“There is deep interest from the whole of the community and they have to answer to that.”
The council had yet to consult with the community on the draft proposal for the park, which includes expensive additions such as an aerial walkway.
In the meantime, she was pleased the council had accepted the Friends of the Park’s offer to help with general clean-up work in the park.
In her submission, Mrs Tatham called for the paths to be better maintained, but to remain unsealed.
“Pukekura is unique, let’s refrain from joining in the worldwide trends of fashion gardening and stop the feeling that marketers are trying to Europeanise our unique treasure and impose unwanted levels of concrete, tarseal or structures.”
More money needed to be put into staff and park upkeep to keep it to a “jewel in the crown” standard, Mrs Tatham said.
“Let’s work together to improve our park without changing the character and imposing new features for the sake of it.”
Parkscape Services’ Chris Connolly said that the extra $100,000 a year would be added to the current annual budget of $1.4 million spent specifically on the park.
The extra money would allow more staff to be employed in the park and pay for additional resources.
Eight permanent staff were based in the park, up on the six employed earlier this year.
The park management plan was a high-priority programme, which would require full public consultation, Mr Connolly said.
TDN, JULY 22, 2004
CHINESE GARDEN TO GO AHEAD IN PUKEKURA PARK
NEW PLYMOUTH DISTRICT councillors yesterday voted unanimously to approve a Chinese garden being built on Brooklands Drive.
In August last year, Kunming Mayor Zhang Zhenguo offered the garden as a gift to the district to mark the signing of a sister city agreement between Kunming and New Plymouth.
Originally planned to go on the band room lawn, council officers had a rethink and came up with a new site, on the former nursery grounds, beside the Gables.
The area has not been accessible to the public since the 1930s and is to be redesigned into a landscape to provide access and extend the Gables-Brooklands parkland.
While the concept had been endorsed in principal by the policy committee in May, any significant changes to the park must include public consultation and an evaluation of what impact any change would have on the character of the park.
Nine submissions were received by the public, with eight in favour. Interest groups consulted identified two possible areas of concern, carparking and toilet facilities.
Community assets general manager Anthony Wilson told yesterday’s policy committee that the council would adopt a wait-and-see attitude and review it after 12 months.
All capital costs with the garden will be paid for by the Kunming Landscaping Bureau. Ongoing maintenance costs will come out of existing Pukekura Park budgets.
Yesterday’s decision is subject to final approval by the full council at its August 3 meeting, although that should be a formality.
TDN, JULY 28, 2004
KUNMING GARDEN GIFT MAPPED OUT
WITH PIC
IT’S HERE: New Plymouth’s new Chinese garden is a step closer to reality with the final plans approved by a key council committee.
The new garden will be near The Gables at the Booklands end of Pukekura Park, on a site that has been used as a plant nursery with no public access. It is a gift from Kunming to mark the signing of a sister-city agreement with New Plymouth last year.
Development of the garden will be paid for by the Chinese city, with maintenance costs to come from the Pukekura Park budget.
Submissions to the New Plymouth District Council in support of the garden came from Venture Taranaki, Betty Leung, the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust, Pauline Crowley-Zieltjes, Witt, Friends of the Park and David and Margaret Harrop.
TDN, SEPTEBER 20, 2004
GULLY LAND WILL BOOST POPULAR PARK’S ASSETS
With pic
THE New Plymouth District Council is poised to buy 2.5ha of land to extend Pukekura Park.
The Maranui Gully runs along the south-west boundary of Highlands Intermediate School and is owned by the Ministry of Education.
It’s expected the purchase will cost the council between $35,000 and $40,000.
Premier Parks Manager Bryan Gould is happy at the prospect of an extension to the park.
“We can safely say that the confirmation of the exchange of deeds of the land will occur soon. We are very lucky to be acquiring this land.”
They were buying the land for several reasons.
Mr Gould said it would improve the accessibility of the bush tracks for the public, and increase bush and bird habitat.
“We’re incorporating this new piece of emerging native regrowth into the existing bush, and it’s going to be all the better for it.”
A priority would be to maintain and protect the water catchment area because the park’s streams, lakes and ponds filtered out of the basin in the gully, he said.
“It is a very interesting catchment.
“It’s bounded by roads and housing on all sides, but it’s not connected to the river system that comes off the mountain ringplain. “It’s virtually entirely self-supporting.”
TDN, OCTOBER 18, 2004
JEWEL STILL SHINES 75 YEARS ON
With photo
TO ensure the future of Pukekura Park, it needs to be not only maintained, but added to.
Yesterday, a ceremony at the park celebrated the 75th anniversary of council ownership.
Deputy mayor Lynn Bublitz said that if the park was to be as good as it was today in another 75 years, its collection needed to be added to.
“Most of the trees have all been planted and seen the hand of man. It’s man and nature that has produced what we see today, but it can’t just be left. Key to success in the future is to not just preserve it, but to keep adding to the collection,” Mr Bublitz said.
He said it was important to ensure the natural quality of the park.
Guests at the celebration included former park curators, and descendants of the Newton King family—who bequeathed Brooklands estate to the park.
New Plymouth District Council manager premier parks Bryan Gould said the founder of the park, the late Robert Clinton Hughes, dreamed of turning the once-neglected wilderness into a recreational haven for the people of New Plymouth.
With limited resources, a host of volunteers and a board of trustees, Mr Hughes set about making his dream a reality by establishing the park in 1878.
After 51 years at the helm, and with a dwindling bank balance, Mr Hughes and his team decided to hand the park over to the borough council so that it could be maintained in perpetuity. That handover took place on October 17, 1929.
Since then the park had nearly doubled in size, Mr Gould said.
“The residents of New Plymouth district owe a lot to the efforts of Robert Hughes, and the council of today is focused on continuing to maintain Pukekura Park as the jewel of the district,” he said.
TDN, DECEMBER 13, 2004
CHINESE TEAM STARTS WORK ON KUNMING GARDEN GIFT
With photo
WORK has begun on New Plymouth’s own slice of China.
A team of eight Chinese craftsmen has arrived in New Plymouth to start creating the Kunming Garden, adjacent to The Gables on Brooklands Park Drive.
The garden is a gift to the district from Kunming Mayor Zhang Zhenguo, to mark the signing in August last year of a sister city agreement between the two cities.
In return for the Kunming Garden, a New Zealand gardens featuring 99 kauri trees and native plants, is being planned for The Golden Temple Scenic Area in Kunming. A preliminary design will be considered by the people of Kunming early next year.
The garden design will celebrate the sister-city relationship between New Plymouth district and Kunming, through the use of native plants.
At Brooklands, the main features of the Kunming Garden will be a Chinese pavilion and moon gate.
Kunming Landscaping Bureau chief of planning and construction division Li Xiaoyan said that visitors to the Kunming Garden would experience something different from what they were used to.
“Chinese beauty is different than New Zealand beauty. I think the people will like it very much,” Ms Xiaoyan said, through interpreter Sunny Chen.
Hand-carved wood and stone had been shipped to New Zealand from China for the project, which was expected to cost about $300,000.
That cost was being met by the people of Kunming, New Plymouth District Council premier parks manager Bryan Gould said.
It was yet to be determined how much New Plymouth would be spending to construct a New Zealand native garden in Kunming, he said.
The building of foundations began for the Kunming Garden at Brooklands before the arrival of the Chinese team.
Mr Gould said the Chinese craftsmen would be in New Plymouth for up to four months, working alongside local landscapers and builders on the Kunming Garden.
“We’ve cleared away the old plant nursery and opened the area up in preparation for the construction. By the time the garden is finished, the public will be able to use a previously inaccessible section of Brooklands and enjoy the traditional design and the foliage of a Chinese garden,” Mr Gould said.
TDN, DECEMBER 17, 2004
WATERWHEEL MAKEOVER NOT IN TIME FOR PARK’S CHRISTMAS RUSH
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THE waterwheel at Pukekura Park will be no more—but a whizzy new version will take it place.
While it was unfortunate the removal was timed just before the busy season, the wheel had not worked and needed to be fixed, New Plymouth District Council’s premier parks manager Bryan Gould said.
“It’s been longer dead than alive.
“It needs to be moved so we can move the project forward,” Mr Gould said.
“It’s an old feature that needs a makeover and it’s better we get on with it.”
The waterwheel, which came from the old Omata Dairy Factory, has never worked properly since it was installed at the park about 30 years ago.
Mr Gould said $150,000 would be spent in a two-year project, mostly on the ground work where the embankment was collapsing.
An engineer would be appointed early next year to do the assessment.
The new wheel, which would be installed in the side stream, would be in perpetual motion, Mr Gould said.
Once finished, the whole area would be planted out in ferns and people would be able to walk over the bridge across the pool to view it.
“That way we will end up with a feature working 100% of the time and a reliable attraction.
“And it will be a better access and view for the public.
“It’s going to look lovely,” Mr Gould said.
2005
TDN, JANUARY 11, 2005
QUESTIONS TO SHED LIGHT ON PUKEKURA PROFILE
NEW PLYMOUTH’S top tourist drawcard, Pukekura Park, is going under the spotlight in an attempt to plot the popular park’s future.
The New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) is going to canvass Pukekura Park users to determine what developments the public want to see in the park. As many as 1000 visitors will be questioned in the park between January 17 to January 23 so the council can gather information on how the public use the park, and what their issues and priorities are regarding the park today and in the future.
Major developments proposed for the park, worth almost $17 million, caused a public outcry in late 2003, with some people concerned the park would be transformed into a Disneyland at the expense of the plants.
The draft plan detailed a raft of possible developments for the park, including a cable car, an aerial walkway—incorporating a tower twice the height of the Wind Wand—and the construction of a large glass canopy over the existing number one glasshouse in the fernery, where full-sized native tree ferns and nikau palms would be housed.
NPDC parks and recreation assets manager Kelvin Shooter said yesterday that the public survey followed on from the 2003 Pukekura Park management plan. “What came out of that was that we had only a limited understanding of usage and what the public perception of what the park was and what it was about. “We felt we needed to do something that was more scientific and quantifiable,” he said.
The survey, which would look at visitor numbers, why people were using the park and who was using it, would form part of a major analysis into the use of Pukekura Park, he said. “We will have people stationed in the park to conduct these surveys, which will be designed to gain a detailed understanding of what the park is used for. We estimate it will take about five minutes to complete each form and, knowing how passionate people are about the park, we are sure they will want to take part. “The answers we receive will help us to plan the long-term development of Pukekura Park in the way that the public wants, therefore the more people we get taking part in the survey, the better,” Mr Shooter said.
Pukekura Park was considered the jewel in New Plymouth’s crown and the council wanted it to keep that reputation, he said. “To do that we need to know what the public wants, because the park is highly valued by residents—both those who use it regularly and those who rarely visit it during the year—and we want their opinions to be the driving force behind its management.”
TDN, JANUARY 13, 2005
GARDEN TAKES SHAPE
With photo
TAKING SHAPE: A moon gate frames construction work taking place on the Chinese pavilion at the new Kunming Garden, adjacent to The Gables on Brooklands Park Drive.
The team of eight Chinese craftsmen working on the garden are on target to finish their artwork by early next month.
New Plymouth District Council premier parks manager Bryan Gould said yesterday the public was expected to be able to access the garden by mid-February.
There would be a formal opening several months later, when a high ranking official from New Plymouth’s sister city, Kunming, was expected to attend, Mr Gould said.
The $300,000 cost of the garden is a gift to New Plymouth from Kunming Mayor Zhang Zhenguo.
It is to mark the signing in August 2003 of a sister city agreement between the two cities, is being met by the people of Kunming.
In return for the Kunming Garden, a New Zealand garden featuring 99 kauri trees and native plants, is being planned for The Golden Temple Scenic Area in Kunming.
TDN, FEBRUARY 8, 2005
PUKEKURA PARK PAIR MOVING ON
With photo
A GENERATION of catering for weddings, functions and serving ice-creams at Taranaki’s iconic Pukekura Park Kiosk will soon be over for its operators.
Tom and Molly Nagle said yesterday they would be quitting after running the kiosk for 26 years.
“We just felt it was time for a change,” Mrs Nagle said.
“We’re really going to miss the people and have felt it was a real privilege to have been here and to have had such beautiful customers and such a lovely place to work,” she said.
The couple have asked the New Plymouth District Council for an early release before the lease goes out to tender this month.
“Our lease is due for renewal at the end of June but we have chosen not to re-apply,” Mrs Nagle said during another busy day at Pukekura Park yesterday.
“We are going to close our dining room at the end of the month so we’ve cancelled all our functions and bookings from February onwards.
“We’ll just be operating via the shop.
“So people will still be able to get a cup of tea or coffee or a cold drink or something to eat if they wish.”
Mrs Nagle said it would be impossible to put a figure on the number of people that the kiosk staff had served over the years in the family-oriented business.
“I would have no idea whatsoever. We’ve done hundreds of weddings and birthdays.”
There were no guarantees such functions would be accepted by the council in future, Mrs Nagle said.
She declined to reveal the couple’s new business direction.
“It’s still under wraps, but we’re not retiring,” Mrs Nagle said.
Council property assets manager Gavin Thorley said there had already been contact from several people interested in taking up the opportunity.
“They all see it is an ideal venue for functions as well as for the normal people who are visiting the park.”
The kiosk, which was built in 1931 and has an Historic Places Trust A listing, is in need of an upgrade.
“It’s of an age and of a style that we need to retain.
“You can still upgrade in keeping with that style and have it offering a different type of fare—if that’s what people want,” Mr Thorley said.
In the meantime, it was important to ensure there was continuity of service through the busy time of the year.
As part of the upgrade, there was also a need to find out from other operators what might be appropriate for the kiosk in future.
“We need to work through that process,” Mr Thorley said.
TDN, FEBRUARY 12, 2005
ORIGINAL PAINTINGS GRACE NEW PAVILION
With photo
MAGICAL and colourful freestyle paintings have appeared on Kunming Garden’s pavilion at Brooklands Park.
The pavilion sits within the garden, developed by a team from China, based in New Plymouth for the past three months.
It will soon be enjoyed by all following an official public opening on February 27.
“It will be a very beautiful, tranquil place,” a delighted premier parks manager Bryan Gould said.
Named the Spring Wind Pavilion, it had been exquisitely painted by two “incredibly skilled” artists who had done all their work freestyle without following any blueprint, he said.
The designs were begun with blocks of colour and developed into symmetrical designs within which were painted small cameo classical landscape scenes.
“They are pictures within a motif,” Mr Gould said.
The materials for the whole project had cost $75,000. The garden is a gift from New Plymouth’s sister city, Kunming City.
“They have generously donated all the materials—and the people to build it.”
In total, 34 tonnes of timber, stone and carvings were shipped over in two containers before work began.
The garden, adjacent to The Gables, will be entered through the Moon Gate and has a meandering path to the pavilion.
The garden plantings will begin during autumn and winter and would take a few years to establish.
“But it will look beautiful from the beginning,” Mr Gould said.
TDN, FEBRUARY 28, 2005
NEW GARDEN SEALS CITIES’ LINKS
With photo
DIFFERENT cultures came together yesterday at the formal opening of the much-awaited Kunming Garden at Brooklands Park.
About 150 people joined New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent and officials representing New Plymouth’s Chinese community at the ceremony, the first to enjoy New Plymouth’s latest symbol of the sister-city link with China.
The ceremony began with a whaka tau (call) and karakia before fireworks and a Chinese lion dance through the garden and pavilion accompanied by Chinese drums and gongs.
The garden is a gift from the people of Kunming and Zhang Zhenguo, Kunming’s mayor when the sister-city agreement was signed between New Plymouth and the Chinese city of five million in 2003.
Mr Tennent said the gardens would also function as an educational tool.
“I’ve had many calls from educators who will be bringing their classes to see something they will not see as fine anywhere outside of China.
“This will be enjoyed not only by the people of New Plymouth but visitors throughout the country and the world,” he said.
Mr Tennent thanked the team responsible for its design and construction.
“To have such dedicated workers and such craftsmen to do this work is an honour. Not only have they worked hard, but they have also left family and friends during that time and we highly appreciate that,” Mr Tennent said.
Speaking through an interpreter, Lily Yang, chief of planning and construction at Kunming Landscaping Bureau, said the garden was an important link between the two cities.
“Although New Plymouth and Kunming have been separated by the sea and the mountain, our relationship began long ago. Although we leave New Plymouth soon, we will bring your friendship back to home.”
Taranaki Chinese Association president Betty Leung said she was pleased with the garden.
“It is a symbol of friendship between New Plymouth and the Chinese community and it makes me so excited.”
The Kunming garden at Brooklands has three main features—the entrance moon gate, the pavilion and the friendship tree. Pathways linking the features were decorated by hand with pebbles in a traditional Chinese pattern.
The gesture will be returned in the future with a New Zealand equivalent planned for the Golden Temple Scenic Area in Kunming. This will feature 99 kauri trees.
MIDWEEK, MARCH 30, 2005
KUNMING GARDEN STRIKES A CORD WITH PUBLIC
Some 300 people attended the public opening of the Kunming Garden at the end of February, greatly pleasing the garden’s workers and the New Plymouth District Council.
“The Chinese workers put a lot of time and effort into creating the Kunming Garden and they were really gratified and impressed by the level of public support at the opening,” says international relations coordinator Kathryn Scown.
The garden is a gift to the city from the former Mayor of Kunming, Mr Zhang Zhenguo, to mark the signing in 2003 of a Sister City agreement between the two cities.
Six Chinese craftsmen and two engineers worked alongside local landscapers and builders to construct the garden in Brooklands.
The garden itself includes many traditional Chinese features:
Moon Gate
Of traditional Chinese design, the view through the Moon Gate frames the pavilion and garden and bears the garden’s name, Kunming Garden, carved in Chinese characters.
Spring Wind Pavilion
The name of the pavilion evokes the nickname of Kunming – Spring City, so called because of its unique climate. The spring wind wakes up all creatures and brings the good rain which helps plants and crops to grow. On the pillars it is written in Chinese characters: ‘The weather is always like February and March (spring season in China), flowers blooming all year and spring stays forever.’
The yellow roof expresses the autumn harvest, and the carved inscriptions on the pillars refer to the harmonious fusion of all elements in the garden.
Dragon motifs
These are found on the Moon Gate and the pavilion. Dragons protect against fire and guard the garden.
Wood carvings
Inside the pavilion are hand-carved flowers, birds, grass and dragons. These are symbols of prosperity, happiness, long life, peace and wealth, which express the Chinese people’s best wishes.
Painting
The pavilion’s red pillars are for good luck. The colour brightens the scene in winter when foliage dies. The ceiling features lucky grass, flowers and traditional Chinese patterns.
The foundation
This is built with huge stones from the Kunming Stone Forest, a famous scenic area. They were all hand carved in traditional patterns in Kunming.
Pathway
The pathway has been decorated by hand with pebbles in a traditional Chinese pattern.
TDN, APRIL 13, 2005
PARK PEOPLE BACK PART OF REVAMP
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK visitors have backed a number of proposed major developments for one of New Plymouth’s premier attractions.
Results of a face-to-face survey of 1204 visitors to Pukekura Park have revealed more than 70% in favour of a visitors’ centre in the park.
More than 60% liked the idea of more historical stories in the park, while about 50% were keen to see a look-out tower and a treetop aerial walkway built, a cafe at Brooklands Zoo, guided tours and an upgrade of toilets in the park.
That was despite almost 20% of respondents saying Pukekura Park should stay as it was—natural—in another question on how the park should be improved or developed further in the future.
A cable car in the park and an extension and upgrade of the fernery were not favoured very highly by those surveyed.
The results of the survey, which was carried out in the park for a week in January, were made public at last night’s New Plymouth District Council monitoring committee meeting.
Along with other market research, the survey will be used to draw up a plan of developments for the future of Pukekura Park.
In September 2003, council officers released a list of dramatic ideas—to cost about $17 million all up—for the park, including a cable car to link Mason Drive to the park, an aerial walkway, a look-out tower, a new glass canopy over part of the fernery and an information centre near the TSB Stadium.
The ideas met with a storm of controversy, with some park lovers concerned the developments would see the park become a Disneyland.
Mayor Peter Tennent said last night that the survey was one of a number of ways the council was gathering information from the public about the park.
“Pukekura Park is incredibly important to the people of New Plymouth and it’s most appropriate that before we do anything or recommend anything to the people of New Plymouth, we find out the facts, what the perceptions are and we find out what people want.
“If there are to be future developments . . . they will come to council and they will go out for public consultation. But there is no point in going down that track unless that’s what the people of New Plymouth want,” Mr Tennent said.
NPDC parks and recreation assets manager Kelvin Shooter said the aim of the survey was to find out how many and what types of people visited the park, the patterns of usage, the activities undertaken, and the views of current users on existing and possible future facilities in the park.
Twenty researchers covered four to five entrances of the park for seven days. During that time, it was estimated 14,400 visitors entered the park.
The survey revealed that New Plymouth district residents (65%) visited the park most, with 50% going to the park at least once a month.
Those surveyed valued the park’s beauty, it’s accessibility and its appeal as a family and social venue, while many were not satisfied with the water quality of the lakes, the toilets, catering and botanical labelling.
In addition to the face-to-face interviews, 588 people responded to the survey by post, Mr Shooter said. A repeat of the January survey will be carried out during May and June.
TDN, JUNE 3, 2005
DEMOCRATIC PATH FOR FUTURE OF PUKEKURA PARK
NEIGHBOURS of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park are about to be surveyed for their views on future development in the urban oasis.
New Plymouth District Council parks and recreation assets manager Kelvin Shooter said yesterday that residents living next to the park would be contacted and asked for their input.
Key stakeholders, including the business, education, sport and physical recreation, environment, heritage and tourism sectors, would also be canvassed for their views.
When visitors to the park were surveyed in January, the majority backed a number of proposed major changes for the premier attraction.
Results of the face-to-face survey of 1204 park visitors revealed more than 70% were in favour of a visitors’ centre in the park.
More than 60% liked the idea of more historical stories in the park, while about 50% were keen to see a lookout tower and a treetop aerial walkway.
Other ideas receiving 50% approval included a cafe at Brooklands Zoo, guided tours and an upgrade of the toilets in the park.
A cablecar in the park and an extension and upgrade of the fernery were not highly favoured by visitors.
“We’ll be conducting this second phase of public feedback in three ways—by telephone survey, face-to-face interviews and focus groups,” Mr Shooter said.
“We’re aiming to find out information on a variety of facets relating to the park, including how these sectors use Pukekura Park, their level of satisfaction with it, how they benefit from the park and its importance or value to them, and any development options they favour.
“Their feedback will help the council prepare a draft development plan for Pukekura Park so that this facility continues to be an icon that the community loves for many years to come.”
As well as consulting the park’s neighbours and key stakeholders, next month the council will do a second round of surveys on visitors to the park.
In September 2003, council officers released a list of dramatic ideas—to cost about $17 million—for the park, including a cable car to link Mason Drive to the park, an aerial walkway, a lookout tower, a new glass canopy over part of the fernery and an information centre. The ideas stirred up a storm of controversy, with some people concerned the park would become a type of Disneyland.
TDN, JULY 7, 2005
WATERWHEEL SHOULD BE TURNING BY CHRISTMAS
With photo
ONE of Pukekura Park’s most popular features—its giant waterwheel—is expected to be turning again by Christmas.
A new, hi-tech wheel, closely matching the original in dimensions and looks, is almost complete.
Unlike the old waterwheel—removed from the park late last year because it was in a bad state of repair and constantly breaking down—the improved model is expected to run like a dream.
Designed by New Plymouth engineer Michael Lawley, the wheel is being built by contract carpenter Dave Carnahan in a shed on Mr Lawley’s rural Kent Rd property.
Mr Lawley knows a thing or two about waterwheels, having designed and helped build seven—including one at Pukeiti.
He said yesterday he studied the 30-year-old Pukekura Park wheel to ensure the new model would not be plagued with the same breakdown problems that the old, unbalanced wheel had.
Modern materials, including more than 3000 stainless steel screws, have been used in the wheel’s construction to ensure durability and reduce maintenance.
The old model’s joints had rusted and seized, making it impossible to take the wheel apart for maintenance, Mr Lawley said. The stainless steel accessories meant maintenance would still be possible decades from now, he said.
The original waterwheel was built by former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller, using the original ironwork and bearing from the waterwheel that once powered the Omata dairy factory.
Parts from the original Omata dairy factory wheel have been retained.
The gears from the outside of the waterwheel have been reconditioned and will be installed on the new wheel.
The former bearings were not usable, and the council will consult with Puke Ariki about what should be done with them.
Landscaping work is also planned for the area around the wheel.
When the 3.6-metre high, 1.6m wide wheel is ready to go in place, it will be lifted into position by a crane.
But the public will not be allowed to walk behind the working wheel. A bridge might be built across the dell in the future to give visitors a front-on view of the water feature.
The energy created from the working wheel might be used to run a water feature in another part of the park at a later date—in the adjacent children’s playground area.
The council has put $150,000 aside for the new waterwheel and landscaping work.
The new bridge and water-powered feature would be considered by the council in its 2006-2016 Long Term Council Community Plan.
MIDWEEK, JULY, 11, 2005
NEW WATER WHEEL SET FOR SPIN IN PARK
With pic
A PUKEKURA PARK icon should be back by Christmas – enhancing its aesthetic value by producing power to run another park feature.
The park’s 30-year-old water wheel was removed last summer and its replacement has already been built. But now it must wait for landscaping work at the Pukekura Park dell where it will live.
The wheel will be fed from an “innovative” new flume which, according to New Plymouth District Council parks chief Kelvin Shooter, will let it spin at an even rate regardless of the season or the amount of water in the stream above.
It will sit out of the water to reduce drag and corrosion and the path around the dell will be changed so the best views are from in front of the wheel.
A new waterfall, using water not needed for the wheel, will also be part of the new landscaping design.
Mr Shooter says a gearbox is incorporated into the wheel, with the idea of generating energy to run another water feature, probably in the children’s play area.
Tenders for the landscaping work will be let soon, he says in a report to the council’s monitoring committee. He hopes it will be finished by December but “the works schedule is very weather dependent”.
The council has allocated $150,000 for the project.
The original wheel was built by former curator George Fuller, using part of a wheel that powered the Omata dairy factory.
“Given the difficulties in the construction method and the unbalancing of the wheel by parts of it being immersed in water most of the time, it performed remarkably well,” Mr Shooter says.
TDN, JULY, 13, 2005
PUKEKURA PARK POTHOLES TO GO IN UPGRADE OF WALKING TRACKS
With photo
PUDDLES and potholes are the next local pest to be eradicated by the council, with a big upgrade planned for Pukekura Park’s walking tracks.
New Plymouth District Council’s Parkscape manager, Chris Connolly, said an extra $100,000 funding in the action plan for the park meant a 12-month maintenance programme would begin in the next few weeks, to improve the contours and structure of 20% of the walking tracks.
“The aim is to have walking tracks that do not have potholes, structured so they are not scoured out by rainfall, and are safe for people to use,” Mr Connolly said.
Feedback from a 2004 review of the track quality in the park showed people were concerned about the state of some of the tracks.
Friends of the Park president Heather Allen said the maintenance was more important now because of the popularity of Pukekura Park, particularly with the number of events being held there.
“The main tracks must be done because of the sheer number of people who use them now, as compared with 10 years ago,” Mrs Allen said.
She said the frequency of park visitors with baby buggies and mobility scooters made the quality of the tracks even more vital.
Mr Connolly said last year’s review had graded the tracks into four categories—sealed, gravel, secondary gravel and bush track—and had culminated in a maintenance manual for each grade of track.
He said the council had employed a person fulltime to focus solely on the improvement of the 14.5km of trails in the park.
The work could possibly make some tracks impassable over the duration of the programme, and Mr Connolly urged people to stick to the tracks that were open and watch for temporary detours.
TDN, JULY 20, 2005
PARK TOILETS TO BE BETTER AND SAFER
TOILETS at two playgrounds in Pukekura Park are being improved by New Plymouth District Council.
Construction will begin this week on a single unisex toilet at the Rogan St entrance to the park.
Early next month, the existing toilets in the TSB Children’s Playground, below the fountain lake, will be demolished and replaced with two new unisex toilets similar in design to the one next to the coastal walkway’s Egmont St carpark.
Council projects manager Stuart Skene said yesterday the upgrade was part of the annual, district-wide strategy, aimed at improving public toilets.
“In the TSB Children’s Playground, the existing toilets are dark and worn, and the entrance is out of sight of the public. For the new facility, we’ll be removing vegetation so that parents can stay in the playground with their children and keep watch while any of them goes into the toilet block—which makes the toilets much safer to use,” Mr Skene said.
A temporary toilet will be available in the playground during the construction period. The new toilet should be operational by the end of October, while the Rogan St toilet should be open by the end of September.
TDN, AUGUST 23, 2005
FUTURE OF PUKEKURA PARK KIOSK UP FOR DISCUSSION
THE future of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park kiosk is under review.
The condition of the kiosk, which was built in 1931 and which has a Historic Places Trust Category A listing, was poor, but it was not a safety hazard, New Plymouth District Council property assets manager Gavin Thorley said.
Its future will be discussed at the New Plymouth District Council’s policy committee meeting today.
“The building is not going to fall on your head, but floors are rotting.”
Councillors were aghast at the condition of the inside of the building, he said.
Not much of the original kiosk remained because it had been added to and replaced over the years. The worst affected areas were original parts of the building, such as the floor.
Previous leaseholders, Tom and Maggie Nagle, who ran the kiosk for 26 years, chose not to reapply for the lease when it expired in June this year.
TDN, AUGUST 24, 2005
STATE OF HISTORIC KIOSK SHOCKS COUNCIL OFFICERS
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK’S kiosk is in such a bad state it will have to be almost completely rebuilt—costing about $700,000.
After almost 30 years as lessees, park identities Tom and Molly Nagle have left.
The future of the kiosk is now being debated by the New Plymouth District Council. Following a close inspection with all its furniture and fittings removed, the state of the historic building has shocked New Plymouth District Council officers.
While the western wall can probably be retained, as well as the roof tiles and Georgian style semi-circular windows, the rest is ready for the scrap heap.
Not only is the floor rotting from water lying under the building, the eastern wall has settled substantially, along with the central columns to a lesser extent.
The building is lower than the surrounding ground, there is evidence of a roof leak in the toilets and the roofline on both the western and eastern sides of the gable indicates movement in the trusses.
All plumbing and electrical wiring appears to have been extensively modified, and in an ad hoc manner.
The kitchen service area is in extremely poor condition and does not comply with food hygiene standards. The Nagles had been issued with a notice of non-compliance for food hygiene, but they left before the end of their lease and before the due re-inspection date.
The Nagles have moved to Australia’s Gold Coast and are believed to be operating a similar business there.
Mrs Nagle told the Taranaki Daily News last night that the council had promised an upgrade some time ago.
“We worked under very cramped and inconvenient conditions for many years on the understanding that something was going to be done.”
She said they did the best they could under the conditions ” . . . working really in a domestic kitchen to do a commercial job.”
The council never supported them during the time they had run the kiosk, Mrs Nagle said.
“They really didn’t know the great service we provided.”
She was disappointed at the council report.
“It’s just muck-raking really.”
She was pleased to hear the upgrade was going ahead.
“It certainly needs money spent on it.”
Council property assets manager Gavin Thorley claimed the main reason the building needed complete reconstruction was not because of any lack of maintenance, but rather that the building was poorly constructed in the first place.
“This is not surprising given that the two major periods of construction were at the height of the Great Depression and immediately after the Second World War, both times of material and craftsman shortage.”
Mr Thorley was unsure why the building had not been structurally inspected on a regular basis, so the problems could have been picked up. New procedures had been put in place, however, to ensure such buildings were inspected in the future.
Attempts by some councillors at last night’s policy committee meeting to have the kiosk expanded—so it would include an information centre and be capable of hosting functions for up to 120 guests seated indoors—failed.
Instead, the new kiosk will be built in the same style and to the same size as the existing one, with the money coming from the council’s depreciation funds.
The council will talk with key stakeholders and the public about the proposal and the type of service that would be provided from the new kiosk.
“Our overriding goal is to provide a food and beverage service from the kiosk’s location that meets, if not exceeds, the expectations of the public while maintaining the environmental essence of this part of the park,” Mr Thorley said. The council will provide a temporary service—probably in the form of food and drink caravans—near the kiosk from Labour Weekend.
“That interim service will continue until we have a new permanent cafe operating from the new building by the end of next year,” he said.
The existing building has a New Zealand Historic Places Trust category two rating. This means the building has historic significance and consideration should be given to its protection.
As it stands today, the kiosk is the result of at least five major modifications and extensions. The first part of the building was constructed in 1931. The original architect was Inglewood-born, New Plymouth-educated Surrey Alleman, of Auckland.
TDN, AUGUST 24, 2005
MYSTERY ROOM HAD SHOWER—AND GIRLIE POSTERS
IT WAS what council inspectors found in the ceiling of the Pukekura Park kiosk that surprised them the most.
A space, which included a rudimentary shower, had been illegally constructed in the ceiling.
It had access through a manhole and was decorated with girlie posters.
Former kiosk operator Molly Nagle said they converted the area more than 20 years ago because there was a lack of storage space at the kiosk.
“We thought we’d have a look upstairs, and up there was this massive great area.
“It was just a dirty, old, filthy attic up there, and we just put some building paper up.”
She laughed about the posters being found.
“I think that some of the boys over the years might have shoved some pictures on the wall, but the public never went up there.”
She said the shower was installed as a way to better use the area.
“There was hardly anywhere to do anything when we first went there, but it never really got used.
“It was just a white elephant really.”
She said the room was there before nearby sheds were built and was used to store unused equipment and supplies, such as serviettes and placemats.
Park workers and curators at the park knew about the space, she said.
She said her husband, Tom, stayed at the premises on Christmas Eves to stop break-ins, but that was the only time it was occupied at night. “Nobody lived there.”
New Plymouth District Council property assets manager Gavin Thorley said the council’s lawyers were in talks with the Nagles’ lawyers over the situation.
“Even if they applied for consent, they wouldn’t have got one,” he said.
TDN, AUGUST 25, 2005
KIOSK MAN WEEPS AS HE RECALLS PARK LIFE
With photo
TOM NAGLE feels betrayed by the New Plymouth District Council after devoting 26 years of his life to the Pukekura Park kiosk.
The former kiosk proprietor broke down and cried yesterday remembering how much he loved the years he and his wife, Molly, spent preparing and serving food for visitors to the historic building.
Mr Nagle was in Taupo visiting his son when he learned that the council, in a report into the future of the kiosk, criticised aspects of how the Nagles had run their business.
He drove to New Plymouth yesterday morning to ensure his side of the story was put across.
A proud man, Mr Nagle said he usually shied away from publicity. But he now wanted to speak out, believing the council was painting him and his wife in a bad light.
He was hurt at the mention in the report of the kiosk kitchen being in an extremely poor condition and not complying with food hygiene standards.
Council criticism over an “illegal” room found in the ceiling also upset him, because he said council staff knew about it.
Not only did the couple run the cafe, they regularly went beyond the call of duty—maintaining and operating the mobility cart in the park, acting as information guides, and being security guards on more than the odd night, he said.
The council’s comments were like a slap in the face, he said.
“We loved the place. I feel that I have been the curator of the park over the weekends, because nobody else (from the council) is there,” he said.
Mr Nagle said he and his wife put their hearts and souls into the kiosk—with little or no thanks from the council.
They rarely saw any council officials at the cafe, and building inspections never occurred, he said.
Mr Nagle was particularly hurt by the council’s goal of improving the food and beverage services at all its facilities, including Pukekura Park. It gave him the impression that the food they had provided was not good enough.
“How would that make anybody feel? Terrible. People used to say to us that it was a nice place for people to go to. We had plain food . . . but it was reasonably priced.”
In relation to food hygiene, Mr Nagle said there had not been problems until recently. At the time that a non-compliance notice was issued, the Nagles were in Australia and staff were overseeing the kiosk.
He recognised the kitchen was well past its use-by date. Once all the chattels were removed from the kiosk, what was left was the tired building it was.
Mr Nagle said that, for years, he had wanted the council to upgrade the kitchen, with no luck.
The council would argue such work was the lessee’s responsibility.
Now operating a restaurant on Queenland’s Sunshine Coast, Mr Nagle said he and his wife were loving the lifestyle and the support from the council there.
NPDC community assets general manager Anthony Wilson said intensive research into council files had shown no evidence that the room in the kiosk ceiling was given approval.
Other research had shown the public wanted a change in food at the kiosk, Mr Wilson said.
“One of the very strong outcomes of the Pukekura Park research clearly set out the requirement for both a higher quality and greater diversity of food.
“Mr Nagle had this impression he had automatic right of renewal (of the lease). He didn’t. It came as a tremendous surprise to them . . . and they chose not to express an interest in carrying on any further,” Mr Wilson said.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
CALL TO MAKE KIOSK A FUNCTION CENTRE
A GROUP of New Plymouth District councillors is campaigning to convert the Pukekura Park kiosk into a function centre.
Last week the policy committee recommended the kiosk be reconstructed in the same style and size as the existing one.
At least four councillors are challenging that recommendation, which will be debated at the next council meeting on September 13.
“We need to be bold, whilst retaining the character of the park,” Gordon Brown said.
He believed a larger facility would help show off Pukekura Park, without ruining the environment.
“No way would anything be considered that would detract from the park.”
Phil Quinney said developing the site would create tremendous potential to make the kiosk even more popular.
“We are not talking about a major increase in size, though. There is lots of wasted space in the existing kiosk that could be used for an extension.”
Departing Venture Taranaki tourism leader, Dominic Moran, said Taranaki had huge potential to attract conferences and tourists because of unique locations such as Pukekura Park and the coastal walkway.
Mayor Peter Tennent said the kiosk needed renovation and this was an opportunity to recreate and enhance the building.
The recommendation was an interim decision, he said. “It’s going to council and really it’s up to the community to tell us what they think is most appropriate.”
The cost of the proposed reconstruction is about $700,000 and developers will use as much of the existing structure as possible.
The work would be financed by the council’s depreciation fund, rather than by ratepayers.
Legally, the council must have a depreciation fund to repair and maintain assets.
The original proposal, which was overturned by the policy committee, included an ice-cream shop, cafe, information centre and room for up 120 seated guests.
It would be almost the same size as Puke Ariki’s restaurant, Aborio, and would cost about $1.3 million.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 10, 2005
KIOSK SAFE
THE Pukekura Park tea house is a regional icon that the New Plymouth District Council is committed to retaining.
To that end, any reconstructed building will be in the same architectural style as is there now, utilising as much as possible of the existing structure—so correspondents and readers don’t need to worry about seeing a modern-style building in its place.
What the full council has yet to decide upon is the size of the building and its exact placement next to the main lake. The council will consider this at its next meeting on Tuesday, September 13, after which the proposal will be discussed with key stakeholders and the wider community.
PETER TENNENT
NPDC mayor
TDN, SEPTEMBER 14, 2005
COUNCIL CHANGES STEP OVER KIOSK
PUKEKURA PARK’S kiosk may be spared the demolition hammer.
At last night’s New Plymouth District Council meeting, Deputy Mayor Lynn Bublitz received enough support to have a new report written on the kiosk’s future—this time telling the council how it might be able to save the “iconic building” by retro-fitting it.
“I think if we are going to replace it, why don’t we just preserve what is there? Let’s get the report and then we can make these decisions,” Mr Bublitz said.
An earlier report to the council’s policy committee said the kiosk was in such a bad state it would have to be almost completely rebuilt—costing about $700,000. While the western wall could probably be retained, as well as the roof tiles and Georgian-style semi-circular windows, the rest was ready for the scrap heap.
But Mr Bublitz said consultation on the future of Pukekura Park was in full swing and it made sense that the kiosk should form part of that.
“The building is an iconic one and even though not the original building on the site, it’s certainly been part of the park’s scenery since the 1920s,” he said.
Earlier, New Plymouth Grey Power representative Marise Keat urged the council not to extend the kiosk into a 120-seat convention centre. She was concerned how the public would be catered for while a conference was on, and car parking was also inadequate.
Another issue for Grey Power was the food factor, she said. Elderly people with young children visited the kiosk and wanted “old-fashioned, traditional food”.
“Council shouldn’t make a decision until full public consultation has taken place,” she said.
Councillor Phil Quinney backed Mr Bublitz’ call for a new report, but he was concerned the council was shutting itself off from opportunities.
Venture Taranaki had said there was a need for more conference facilities in the region, and expanding the facility to cater for 120 people was not a huge change, he said.
“It would be a very small change in the nature of the building, hardly dominating and hardly ruining the natural ambience of the area. As for the food aspect of it, the market will determine what sort of food the public want,” he said.
Councillor Alex Matheson said he did not believe the kiosk was beyond redemption. In fact, it had about the same floor area as the New Plymouth Women’s Restrooms, and there was a furore when it was proposed that that building be demolished.
Bringing another report before council would give the public more time to have its say on the future of the building, councillor Alison Rumball said.
Meanwhile, a letter of thanks from the council will be sent to the former kiosk cafe owners, Tom and Molly Nagle.
Mayor Peter Tennent said he was concerned about the debate over the kiosk and the Nagles, who left several months ago after 26 years running the cafe.
“It has worried me that there have been two very special and patriotic Taranaki folk who have looked like bad guys in this process. It was never intended that the Nagles looked like bad guys,” Mr Tennent said.
The Nagles were upset at an earlier report into the future of the kiosk that criticised aspects of how they had run their business.
Mr Tennent said he and the council realised the Nagles had gone beyond the call of duty during their years in the park, their work had been appreciated.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 23, 2005
NEW ARRIVALS AT ZOO
NEW ARRIVALS: Zoo-keeper Jolene West feeds alpacas Sambuca and Cinnamon at Brooklands Zoo yesterday.
The two males arrived earlier this week, and manager of premier parks Bryan Gould was expecting them to be popular with the public.
“Alpacas are wonderfully docile and friendly, with a soft temperament,” he said. “They like to be petted.”
Mr Gould said the zoo had been designed for people to get close to the animals and interact with them, and alpacas were ideal for this.
“They’re great around children,” he said. “They’re very observant, easy to handle, and extremely curious.”
Alpacas are related to llamas and are bred for the very fine fibre of their coats.
They live for an average of 20 years and stand about a metre tall at the shoulder.
“We’ve been looking at options for new animals at the zoo, so that we can keep the attraction fresh and interesting to the public, and these alpacas became available at the right time,” Mr Gould said.
There would be more new arrivals at the zoo in the coming months, he said, and these would be announced once confirmed.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 28, 2005
EXPERTS AGREE PUKEKURA PARK TRACKS ARE IN NEED OF WORK
ALMOST a third of tracks in New Plymouth’s premier tourist spot, Pukekura Park, are considered by experts to be in poor condition.
A new report by consultants hired by the New Plymouth District Council goes some way to vindicating serious concerns raised by Pukekura Park enthusiasts about the state of tracks in the park.
Auckland-based track engineering firm, Frame Group, has carried out a survey and inspection of almost 17km of paths and tracks in the park.
While the majority of the tracks have been graded average or better—29% are considered by Frame Group to be of a poor standard, and 2% very poor.
A track in poor condition is still able to be used, but it shows signs of problems, such as corrugations and rutting, moderate potholes and vegetation growth, and significant loss of surface metal.
Large potholes and enough metal loss to cause “unacceptable” safety concerns describe tracks of a very poor standard.
The council plans a progressive upgrade of Pukekura Park tracks in the wake of the new report.
Council premier parks manager Bryan Gould said work had started on addressing the report’s key findings.
“Several sections of poor quality path or track—which were obvious and required urgent attention— have been rebuilt and upgraded.
“Essentially, what we have to do now is go through the data and pick out the lowest grade tracks and then build a works programme around that,” he said.
Mr Gould said that while he acknowledged about a third of the tracks were identified as being in poor condition, he was pleasantly surprised that the majority were classed average and above.
After much criticism during last year’s Pukekura Park Management Plan process, the council added an extra $100,000 to the park’s annual budget. The track survey and some track work came out of last year’s additional funding, while the extra $100,000 this financial year will enable the programmed track improvement works to continue.
George Fuller, Pukekura Park curator for 25 years until his retirement in 1990, has been urging the council to do something about the deteriorating state of the park’s tracks in recent years. His main concerns revolve around neglected paths, with some turning into drainage channels.
Yesterday, Mr Fuller said he was pleased something was being done to address the track situation.
Regular track maintenance, an integral part of park procedures in the past, when the park was considered among the best in New Zealand, was not expensive in the long run, Mr Fuller said.
“I was concerned that a mindset had come in that ignored the procedures of the past that had been so successful. It’s a nonsense to invite people to walk over the natural pathways, but they have to put on gumboots in wet weather.
“I am impressed with the efforts that have been made in the last 12 months to try to rectify what was a very serious situation,” he said.
Mr Fuller, with help from the Friends of Pukekura Park, has spent more than a decade compiling his own survey of the park’s tracks.
Friends of Pukekura Park president Heather Allen said she had not yet seen the report but any upgrade of the tracks would receive the group’s backing.
TDN, NOVEMBER 1, 2005
WHEEL’S RETURN SET IN MOTION
With photo
BIG WHEEL: Engineer Ken Kowalchuk cleans the shaft of Pukekura Park’s new giant waterwheel in preparation for the fitting of bearings.
The 3.6-metre high, 1.6m wide wheel is to be lifted into position by crane today.
It replaces a 30-year-old waterwheel—one of Pukekura Park’s most popular features—which was removed late last year because it was in a bad state of repair and constantly breaking down.
Designed by New Plymouth engineer Michael Lawley, the new wheel was constructed in a shed on Mr Lawley’s rural Kent Rd property and was carted on the back of a truck to the park yesterday.
The plan is to get the wheel back in motion in time for the Festival of Lights in December.
TDN, NOVEMBER 2, 2005
NEW WATERWHEEL GETS INTO GEAR
With photo
GEORGE FULLER’S involvement with the iconic Pukekura Park waterwheel turned full circle yesterday.
Thirty years after the former Pukekura Park curator helped install the original waterwheel on its axle in the park, its high-tech replacement was delicately lowered into position by crane.
Although the occasion was an exciting one for Mr Fuller, it was also tinged with sadness.
When Mr Fuller and fellow park staff put together the original waterwheel in a once neglected and inaccessible dell adjacent to the park’s playground three decades ago, the group dreamed the wheel would be spinning well into the future.
The original ironwork and bearings from the waterwheel that once powered the Omata Dairy Factory were used for the Pukekura Park feature, with Jones and Sandford constructing the remainder of the wheel.
“We were crowing it was going to go forever,” Mr Fuller said.
But it was not to be.
The original waterwheel—put together in kitset fashion by Mr Fuller and his team in the Pukekura Stream where it was to spin—was removed from the park late last year. It was in a bad state of repair, constantly breaking down.
“It was terribly disappointing when the old one went.
“There were mistakes we made. With the value of hindsight, I wouldn’t have put it in the middle of the gully, which in wet weather was a raging torrent. It did put the wheel under stress,” Mr Fuller said.
He was optimistic about the new wheel’s touted endurance.
“The new one is built to a more modern, and probably a stronger, design method. It seems to be very well constructed,” he said.
While the gears from the outside of the original waterwheel had been reconditioned and installed on the new wheel, it saddened Mr Fuller that the rest of the former wheel appeared to have been all but scrapped.
“The last time I saw it, it was in a yard next to the vehicle testing station. It looked like a shot elephant that had had its tusks removed. It was sad.”
Mr Fuller would like to see the old waterwheel resurrected and publicly displayed in some way as an example of Taranaki’s water power history.
He suggested the former flour mill site, adjacent to the Huatoki Stream, as a suitable location.
Parkscape manager Chris Connolly said there were no immediate plans for the old wheel. It would continue to be stored at the Parkscape yard until its future was decided.
He said it was fantastic to get the new 3.6-metre high, 1.6m-wide waterwheel, designed by New Plymouth engineer Michael Lawley, safely into place.
The plan was to have the waterwheel fully operational by mid-December, in time for the Festival of Lights.
TDN, NOVEMBER 10, 2005
THE TIRELESS CHAMPION OF NEW PLYMOUTH’S PUKEKURA PARK, JACK GOODWIN, DIES AT 93
With photo
THE MAN who succeeded in his mission to bring the people back to Pukekura Park has died in Napier at the age of 93.
Plantsman John “Jack” Goodwin took over the reins of the neglected New Plymouth park in 1949.
Friend and ex-curator George Fuller said the park had lost much of its attraction with many paths closed off because of unavoidable neglect during World War II.
Mr Goodwin was asked how he would bring the visitors back and so spent three months preparing a full report with 72 suggestions.
During Mr Goodwin’s tenure, he groomed the park for the Queen’s visit in 1954.
Her visit was commemorated the following year with the opening of the controversial illuminated fountain on the lower lake. This attraction sparked scathing opinions similar to the criticism over New Plymouth’s wind wand.
Also under his custodianship, the Bowl of Brooklands was developed, a lily pond was filled in to make the Hatchery Lawn, Brooklands Zoo opened and the children’s playground beside Victoria Rd was built.
The illuminated waterfall was commissioned in 1970 and the waterwheel in 1976.
At the same time, he was leading the resurrection of Pukekura Park in the 1950s, Mr Goodwin was also playing a pivotal role in developing another plant haven—Pukeiti.
Mr Fuller said the tireless worker made Saturday pilgrimages to the planned rhododendron sanctuary, where he provided horticultural expertise.
During his time there, he carried out the original survey, then played a major role in layout, landscaping, laying of pathways, and location and design of the buildings.
Mr Goodwin retired from his Pukekura Park role in 1977.
He and wife, Maude, moved to Napier in 1996 to be near their daughters. Maude died in 2001.
In November 2000, the Goodwin Block at Pukeiti was dedicated in his honour. In 2003, he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to horticulture.
He is survived by two sons and two daughters—and a rhododendron garden in Pukekura Park, called Goodwin’s Dell.
The city park always remained dear to Mr Goodwin’s heart.
“I never felt more content than on a winter’s evening when the ducks went to sleep early, the water was still and the sun was setting as I was going home from work and there was a pink glow of Mt Egmont reflected in the lake,” he once told the Daily News.
TDN, DECEMBER 10, 2005
NURSERY TO BE DEMOLISHED
BUILDINGS making up the former New Plymouth District Council nursery on Brooklands Park Drive are being demolished to make way for more public gardens. NPDC Parkscape manager Chris Connolly said yesterday the site, adjacent to the Brooklands Zoo and the Gables, would be grassed until a landscape design was carried out. The plan was to incorporate with the Kunming Garden. The nursery is now based at Parkscape’s Hobson St depot.
2006
TDN, JANUARY 20, 2006
FITTING MEMORIAL FOR BOWL FOUNDER
ERIC Handbury is at last being recognised as the driving force and brainchild behind the formation of the Bowl of Brooklands nearly 50 years ago. (I was his secretary at that time).
Thank you to Mayor Peter Tennent and his team for listening to my story and subsequently providing the excellent memorial to be unveiled tomorrow afternoon.
This is also a tribute to Brian Scanlan, Jack Goodwin and all the other unsung heroes, too many to mention, who slogged under the tireless and powerful leadership of the ambitious and very persuasive Mr Handbury.
Eric’s family, especially sons John and Eric Jnr, who have travelled from Canada to attend the unveiling, will be deservedly proud of their dynamic Dad.
Today’s Bowl of Brooklands is a far cry from the early days of 1958 when the first festival was a dream built of high hopes, No 8 wire and enthusiasm.
Good luck to the Doobie Brothers concert tomorrow night, and may this magic setting continue to delight many generations to come.
As Eric would say, in his north-of-England accent as he tore out of the office to attend to yet another task in his busy workday, we’re “away laffing”.
Sheila Connell
TDN, JANUARY 21, 2006
ROCK IN THE RIGHT PLACE WILL HONOUR ERIC’S VISION
If Eric Handbury were alive today, he’d be proud of this particular location.
It’s a spot on the audience side of the lake that fronts the stage at New Plymouth’s internationally-renowned Bowl of Brooklands.
It is also the very spot where in May 1957 Mr Handbury, then New Plymouth’s public relations officer, stood and quietly spoke to his personal assistant, Sheila Connell, who was positioned way up at the top of the hill overlooking what is now the Bowl—and she heard every word.
“He rushed up and said to me `There you go. This is a natural sound shell. “This is going to be the Bowl of Brooklands’,” recalled Mrs Connell yesterday.
“That was in May that year. Work began on developing the Bowl in June, and it was ready for us in February the following year.”
Today, the New Plymouth District Council honours Mr Handbury’s foresight in developing the idea to transform what was a swampy piece of land into New Zealand’s premiere outdoor concert venue.
A rock with a bronze plaque on it will be unveiled at the very spot where Mr Handbury stood when he spoke to Mrs Connell all those years ago.
Mr Handbury died in 2001, but his sons John and Eric Jr will be on hand for the big occasion.
The plaque unveiling will be at 2.30pm, just before international band The Doobie Brothers begin sound checks for their big concert tonight.
TDN, JANUARY 25, 2006
MAJOR STUDY FINDS STRONG SUPPORT FOR PARK PLANSDEVELOPMENTS GET BACKING, BUT – `NO DISNEYLAND’
With photo
THE majority of Pukekura Park users back major developments for New Plymouth’s jewel in the crown—but a cable car has received a resounding thumbs down.
One of the most comprehensive market research studies ever carried out for a public park in New Zealand also showed that most Taranaki residents supported developing and promoting Pukekura Park as an international attraction.
The year-long study, researched by Wellington’s Pistoll and Associates, was released to the public yesterday. The data is expected to help the New Plymouth District Council plan future developments in the park.
Ideas that received public favour included upgrading the park kiosk, extending and upgrading carparking, building a visitor’s centre, creating a cafe at Brooklands Zoo, constructing a look-out tower and developing a new main entrance at the racecourse. Almost half of residents surveyed also backed a treetop aerial walkway for the park.
Researcher Lynn Pistoll said he was surprised at the number of people who backed some form of future development.
When $17 million worth of major park developments were mooted in 2003, there was a public outcry, with some claiming the council was trying to turn the park into a type of Disneyland. Among the bold concepts proposed then was a cable car, an aerial walkway—incorporating a tower twice the height of the wind wand on the coastal walkway—and a park reception centre next to the TSB Stadium on Mason Drive.
“Roughly 20% of the population was against putting any structures at all in the park.
“When we asked the question to the wider population, we got the real answer. The majority of the people support various development options in the park.”
But the research showed that the concept of a cable car linking Mason Drive with the park was not a popular idea to address access issues, Mr Pistoll said.
“We tested the cable car concept and that got the thumbs down by every group. But the idea of an elevator was seen as a possible solution,” he said.
The market research was completed in four stages last year. Two snapshot surveys of people visiting the park were conducted—one during a week in January and the other in a week in July. The surveys saw 2411 park visitors interviewed or completing surveys.
A random household survey of 528 Taranaki residents was conducted in November, and a comprehensive review of 199 stakeholders was held in June and July.
The research found that about 350,000 people visited the park each year, with the vast majority of people being highly satisfied with the park.
John Leuthart, who was also involved with the research, said that was a significant number of visitors to an attraction for a district the size of New Plymouth.
“Pukekura Park is highly valued. That came through with bells on. The challenge is balancing the local needs with those of the visitors,” he said.
Food and beverages were also topical issues, particularly in light of the closure of the Pukekura Park kiosk last August, Mr Pistoll said.
Mr Pistoll said the majority liked the idea of a small cafe that retained the character of the current kiosk.
The need for information about the park and for the park to be included in the Taranaki regional gardens concept were also on the priority list.
New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent said the research made it clear that the community saw Pukekura Park as “the jewel in the crown”.
With the Pukekura Park management plan in place, there won’t be wholesale changes without a thorough consulation process. Fears in the past that we would turn the park into a Disneyland won’t happen because of the management plan,” Mr Tennent said.
TDN, JANUARY 28, 2006
ONE MAN’S VISION INTRIGUIING TREE GAVE FESTIVAL ITS NAME
With photo
Last weekend’s unveiling of a plaque honouring Eric Handbury, the guiding force behind creation of New Plymouth’s internationally famous Bowl of Brooklands, reminded us that it was exactly 50 years ago that the story of the Bowl all began. ROB MAETZIG traces how a bright idea turned into wonderful reality.
In 1956 former merchant navy seaman Eric Handbury arrived in New Plymouth, full of ideas. He had to be. As the city’s first official public relations officer, his job was to market New Plymouth as a place worth visiting; to entice travellers away from the traditional tourism hot spots in the centre of the North Island, and towards the province that jutted out into the Tasman Sea to the west. That in itself presented plenty of challenges. Taranaki and New Plymouth boasted natural charms, including Mt Taranaki and many beautiful parks and reserves, but not a lot of event venues—places that would attract visitors for an occasion rather than as simply something to look at.
Born and educated in Sheffield, England, Handbury had served as a merchant seaman during World War II before working as chief navigation officer with the Straits Steamship Company of Singapore. In 1949 he had immigrated to New Zealand where he became Dunedin-based regional manager with Castrol Oil Company. Then over the next five years his talents as an events organiser had begun to show through—he organised an international motor show, several car reliability trials, and a women’s tourist trophy event that was the first of its kind in Australasia. Then he took up the position as the inaugural public relations officer in New Plymouth.
When Handbury arrived in Taranaki, the thought had already been promulgated that maybe some form of outdoor sound-shell should be established in New Plymouth. The idea had been bandied about since about 1954 by the then Pukekura Park Committee, but it seems that nothing firm had developed from the talks. And at the same time, attempts had been made to hold musical events and other productions within Pukekura Park, including one on a barge that floated on the park’s main lake, but the chosen venues had been less than ideal.
At the southern end of Pukekura Park was Brooklands Park, a 21.5 hectare property that in 1934 had been donated to the then New Plymouth Borough Council by the estate of Taranaki business giant Newton King. This property had included a gracious two-storey home—promptly demolished by the council because it didn’t know what to do with it—that had overlooked a large valley.
This valley may well have been a nicely manicured area when Newton King lived in the mansion that overlooked it, but by the mid-1950s it had deteriorated into a largely neglected area lying between Pukekura Park and Brooklands. But the valley didn’t escape Eric Handbury’s attention for long.
New Plymouth’s Sheila Connell—nee Jones—was the inaugural Public Relations Office secretary, and recalled the day in May 1957 when Handbury walked into the office and ordered her to accompany him to the piece of land.
“He told me to stand at the top of the hill, and he went down to the bottom and spoke in a normal way. I could hear his words absolutely clearly,” she said. “He rushed up and said to me, `There you go—this is a natural sound shell. This is going to be the Bowl of Brooklands!’ “
On June 11, 1957, the proposal hit the public arena when the afternoon daily newspaper, the Taranaki Herald, broke the news that a special meeting was to be held that night. “An interesting proposal by New Plymouth Public Relations Officer Eric Handbury, for the use of the gully and lake between Pukekura Park and Brooklands, will be considered tonight by the Pukekura Park Committee,” reported the newspaper.
It added, rather prophetically: “With a natural amphitheatre provided by a gently sloping hill where some thousands could be seated, with its foreground the Brooklands lake and with a stage set upon a well-shaped and spacious island, a unique setting would result.”
That evening the committee embraced the idea, granting approval in principle to the project. The next day the Herald published an editorial that enthused about both the development plan and a vision by Handbury that the venue be used for an annual summer festival of music and drama that he wanted to call the Festival of the Pines.
“At last New Plymouth has been offered the promise of a distinctively artistic event without comparison in New Zealand,” the editorial enthused.
“An open-air theatre with the staging in a lakeland setting, the whole in a natural amphitheatre with adequate car parking space available, should satisfying the most discriminating.
“Not the least gain will be the purposeful development of a relatively neglected area lying between two of New Plymouth’s best-known scenic attractions in Pukekura Park and Brooklands.
“The project should therefore further the park committee’s objective of making the area for which it is responsible a living as well as scenic reserve for the fuller benefit of all.”
Buoyed by the committee’s approval, Eric Handbury and a rapidly-growing team of helpers immediately got stuck into an ambitious project—to have the Bowl of Brooklands developed and ready for use inside seven months.
Initially there were some minor hiccups, including an objection from one group of naysayers who argued that the title Festival of the Pines made the planned festival sound like it should be held in Kaiangaroa rather than New Plymouth. Instead, these people wanted the event to be called Fernland Festival.
The term Festival of the Pines had been created by Handbury because he had been intrigued by the regular shape of a group of pine trees that dominated the skyline above the native bush of adjacent Pukekura Park.
“They had a singular beauty, outstanding amongst the exotic growth of fern and ponga on the slopes below,” Handbury once wrote. Fortunately the public and the press agreed, and New Plymouth never did have to host an arts and music event called Fernland Festival.
On August 17 1957, physical work began on creation of the Bowl of Brooklands. Two big earth-moving machines began smoothing out the slopes intended as a spectator area, pushing the earth into a swampy area surrounding what would become the lake in front of the stage.
At the same time a party of volunteers began to cart away—by wheelbarrow because of the soft ground—a small island that lay in the lake area. This job took six men two months to complete.
Members of New Plymouth’s Junior Chamber of Commerce took responsibility for preparing the flat area on the “other” side of the lake where the stage would go.
The entire project was a huge undertaking, almost all of it requiring volunteer labour. As the weeks progressed through the wettest part of winter, enthusiasm began to flag—requiring weekly appeals through both The Daily News and the Taranaki Herald for help at weekends.
By the end of December, construction of the main concrete stage was complete, meaning the organisers could turn their attention to building the soundshell and spectator seating.
The soundshell was to be a parabolic arch made of timber, with four separate acoustic baffle boards suspended from a cantilevered tubular metal frame. It would be 10.6 metres high, with a 15.2 metre front opening.
By the end of January the arch had been fabricated in two pieces and, on the final Saturday of the month, four weeks before the festival was due to start, 25 volunteers gathered to hoist the structure into position using ropes.
At one stage part of the arch crashed to the ground during the lift, but eventually both parts were moved into position and secured in place. Work then began immediately on building the rear wall and installing the cantilever roof, and all was completed just two weeks before the official opening of the first Festival of the Pines.
Also completed just in time was the construction of enough seating to accommodate 4500 people. This project entailed volunteers driving a total of 13,000 stakes into the ground, then attaching 3.6m-long planks for use as the seating.
Finally, the new Bowl of Brooklands was completed and ready to host New Plymouth’s first-ever Festival of the Pines—and fittingly, the clouds cleared and the sun shone for the scheduled February 25 start to the most exciting week Taranaki had ever seen. And what a week it was.
Taranaki was a happy region that summer anyway, basking in the glory of its representative rugby team holding the prestigious Ranfurly Shield. But for seven days that community happiness went to a new level.
A total of 45,000 people viewed and listened to events at the Bowl, including open-air theatre, a performance by famed Irish tenor Patrick O’Hagen, ballet, massed choir, and a concert by the National Orchestra.
In addition, thousands more attended a Festival Games on the sports ground at nearby Pukekura Park, 21,000 flocked to a big air pageant at Bell Block aerodrome, there was a big parade of homes in New Plymouth, and many or all of these events were enjoyed by more than 500 delegates and their wives attending a southern North Island Rotary conference in the city.
“Can this be me?”, asked staid, conservatively-dressed New Plymouth in a cartoon that appeared in The Daily News at the end of it all. The newspapers themselves went wild trying to come up with superlatives describing the success of the Festival of the Pines.
“There was magic abroad in New Plymouth last night. In its web of enchantment it caught about 4000 people who fell happy captive to the unchallenged beauty of the Bowl of Brooklands,” said one reporter. “What a week!,” said another in his coverage of the festival’s final night.
“The moon-shadowed Bowl of Brooklands emptied for the last time and thousands walked away with their own impressions of fairyland. For six nights they had come and listened and watched and wondered at the sight that had been created in New Plymouth by New Plymouth. And every night the wonder grew that the city had such a place.”
Today, 48 years on, the Bowl of Brooklands remains the centre of Taranaki’s annual summer entertainment scene.
Naturally, there have been changes. The lake in front of the stage has been made smaller so spectators can get closer to the action, the stage area has been rebuilt and modernised, and the seating area has been made much more comfortable.
Despite all that, the very essence of the Bowl remains. The thousands who will watch Michael Crawford this summer will sit under the same sky, be in front of the same lake, and be walled in by the same trees as those who watched Patrick O’Hagen way back in 1958. And that’s what makes the Bowl of Brooklands such a unique and much-loved entertainment venue.
There is one difference, however.
In front of the lake there is a new a plaque on a rock that pays tribute to Eric Handbury and his helpers. It’s a nicely positioned, appropriately worded little reminder of how one person’s vision sparked creation of what is now a Taranaki icon.
THE term Festival of the Pines had been created by Eric Handbury, right, because he had been intrigued by the regular shape of a group of pine trees that dominated the skyline above the native bush of adjacent Pukekura Park.
“They had a singular beauty, outstanding amongst the exotic growth of fern and ponga on the slopes below,” he said.
TDN, FEBRUARY 1, 2006
PUKEKURA KIOSK’S REFURBISHMENT BILL DOWN TO $520,000
PUKEKURA PARK’S iconic kiosk is not in such a bad state after all.
New investigations presented at last night’s New Plymouth District Council policy committee meeting showed the tea house could be restored to its former glory for $520,000—which would come out of the council’s depreciation fund.
The committee recommended that the council have the kiosk restored in its current style and advertise for a food and beverage service similar to that which has been historically provided at the facility.
The latest report is in contrast to one tabled in September, when the policy committee was told the kiosk was in such a bad state of disrepair it would have to be almost completely rebuilt—costing about $700,000.
Consulting engineers Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner, and architect Jenny Goddard, then investigated retrofitting the building.
They found that while the kiosk’s external walls had settled, the existing rafters, lintels, posts and beams were adequate to support the structure, and the external walls were in a generally acceptable condition.
Work required on the building included some additional bracing of external walls, part of the floor needed replacing, while much of the internal linings, fittings, plumbing and wiring needed replacing.
The 75-year-old building also does not comply with building codes.
The facility would seat up to 65 people inside with the possibility of a further 20 on the western terrace in fine weather. There are no plans to bring back the plastic conservatory, which the previous lessees erected on the terrace.
Councillor Gordon Brown was unsuccessful in pushing for a $1.35-million redevelopment of the kiosk, which would be in the style of the present building, but include a function centre.
“Councillors are going for the easiest decision. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be bold,” he said.
Deputy mayor Lynn Bublitz and councillor Barry Finch did not believe the kiosk was the right place for a function centre, because there was no vehicle access.
“This is far from a sure thing. It’s still reliant on a provider who is willing to take it on,” Mr Finch said.
All the caterers who expressed an interest last year to running a cafe at the kiosk told the council that the size, location and configuration of the existing tea house was such that a year-round, daytime-only cafe was not financially viable.
They said the kiosk would either need to be supported by a reasonably sized function business or by rates.
Committee chairperson Elaine Gill backed restoring the kiosk, because that was what the public said it wanted during recent market research for Pukekura Park.
“There seemed to be more support for a tea house and not an upmarket cafe. If we are going to be bold, then we should be bold enough to listen to what our residents and visitors are saying to us.”
MIDWEEK, FEBRUARY 22, 2006
TEAHOUSE SET TO REMAIN FAMILIAR, GENTEEL HAUNT
SAUSAGE ROLLS and club sandwiches appear to have won the day over trendier modern fare in the debate over the future of the Pukekura Park teahouse.
But a question remains over exactly who will be doing the baking and slicing.
The teahouse will be refurbished in its present form for $520,000 and an operator sought to continue running it as a traditional daytime teahouse and ice cream shop, the New Plymouth District Council’s policy committee decided last week.
Councillors rejected $1.35 million plans for a larger facility which would be able to cater for functions with 120 guests.
The decision came in the face of a report from council staff that New Plymouth caterers believe running the teahouse as a daytime-only cafe and ice
cream shop would not be viable without income from catered functions or a council subsidy.
The teahouse has been closed since June when the previous lease expired and council staff found the building in a worse state than they had realised.
Initial reports put the cost of rebuilding at $700,000 but the estimate has been reduced after investigations by consulting engineers and an architect.
Councillors last week heard a plea from Grey Power spokeswoman Marise Keat for a continuation of the traditional teahouse service at Pukekura Park.
She said it was a much-loved and valued icon and there was already a “plethora of trendy food cafes close by” in central New Plymouth.
Mrs Keat says the previous operators were able to sustain a business there for many years.
Deputy mayor Lynn Bublitz, Cr Heather Dodunski and Cr Alison Rumbal were among those who supported her view but Cr Brown said maintaining the status quo would be the “easy decision”. He said the current state of the teahouse gave the council a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be bold, and all for a reasonable cost”. He said the proposed expansion would be very minor and “future generations would thank us for our boldness” if the teahouse was expanded.
He was supported by Cr Sherril George, who said the expansion plan would allow the council to keep what it had and added a little extra.
After a vote favoured rebuilding the teahouse as is, Cr Brown asked if lessees would be obliged to offer sausage rolls and club sandwiches.
The full council will decide the fate of the teahouse later this month.
TDN, FEBRUARY 22, 2006
ARSONIST ATTACKS POPULAR PARK VENUE
With photo
AN arsonist has caused thousands of dollars in damage to an outdoor stage at Pukekura Park, but things could have been worse, officials say.
The canvas walls on the Hatchery Stage Lawn stage were set alight about 2.15am yesterday, causing damage worth $12,000.
The fire was reported by a security guard who then helped firefighters to put out the blaze, using hand held extinguishers.
New Plymouth District Council events manager Ron Murray said it was fortunate the fire did not take hold in nearby trees.
“The trees are touching the roof, so we are lucky they didn’t catch fire, or it could have been much much worse,” Mr Murray said.
The stage, sponsored by The Taranaki Daily News, had been the venue for many performances during the TSB Bank Festival of Lights.
The permanent stage was installed in 2002 to provide a good quality, small outdoor venue.
“The canvas cover enabled entertainers to perform safely in all weather. Now it’s been ruined by someone’s thoughtless act,” Mr Murray said.
A new cover would be installed, but the type was yet to be decided.
New Plymouth fire brigade senior station officer Ian Drewery said two fire engines were sent to the blaze.
“It would have been a fierce fire on the stage area but I don’t think it would have generated enough heat to set the trees alight. But there is always that risk,” Mr Drewery said.
The police were investigating the attack and Mr Murray wanted anyone who knew anything about the fire to contact them.
TDN, APRIL 4, 2006
PARK INFO CENTRE IN PLAN
PUKEKURA PARK could have its first information centre within the next few years.
More than $1 million has been set aside for the project in the New Plymouth District Council’s draft 10-year plan.
Details are sketchy, but the council’s parks and recreation manager, Kelvin Shooter, said yesterday the centre could possibly be built at the park’s Rogan St entrance.
“It’s very early days,” Mr Shooter said. “It’s one of many measures taken in response to people telling us, in surveys, that they want more information in the park about its history and the botanical aspects.”
Three years ago, it was proposed that a reception area be developed near the TSB Stadium as part of a $17 million development package for the park.
Mr Shooter said the information centre was part of the council’s 10-year plan, that included a range of actions aimed at getting information about the park to its users.
The plan, which goes out for public consultation in the next few weeks, is expected to be finalised in July.
TDN, MAY 19, 2006
TUNNEL VISION
With photo
`It’s a matter of letting the plants themselves tell you what they like’
For 20 years Pukekura Park was Ken Davey’s workplace. The now-retired fernery manager talks to CATHERINE GROENESTEIN about his enviable job.
KEN DAVEY’S garden may be getting a bit more attention these days but he’s finding that life in official retirement is still pretty busy.
He has just hung up his secateurs after more than a quarter of a century working in New Plymouth’s best-loved garden, Pukekura Park.
For the last 13 years he was in charge of the fernery; before that he ran the council’s nursery at Brooklands Park.
“We lived in the house next to the nursery for 11 years. My kids grew up in the park,” he says.
But it wasn’t always a peaceful place to be. In those days he was regularly called out in the middle of the night by curator George Fuller, who lived in the curator’s house on Victoria Rd, to round up sheep. The animals grazed in the Bowl but sometimes got out. There was also an occasional callout to catch horses that had escaped from the racecourse.
Fortunately, he had worked with stock in the past. Ken came to New Zealand from England in 1960 to work on a sheep station near Gisborne. He had always been keen on plants, he says, and when a back injury forced him to find lighter work, he went to work for Duncan and Davies for five years, then on to a Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries research station at Levin for the next decade, before the move to New Plymouth.
“I came here in 1980 and I’ve been in the park up until a few weeks ago,” he says.
“It’s the sort of place you’ve got to love, you’ve got to have empathy for the plants. It’s the sort of job you can make as interesting as you like. It can be a job or it can be a lifestyle.”
Ken has been desk-bound, writing a series of guidelines on running the fernery, for the past few months, but he is obviously a well-liked, familiar face, judging by the greetings he gets from passing park staff during this interview.
The fernery is always a challenge to work in, he says. Each of the areas in the building has its own micro-climate, and they’re all different. On the day of our visit it’s decidedly chilly. The fernery is on the cold side of the park and shaded by a lot of trees, so it is freezing there in the winter.
The building was opened in 1928 after a mammoth effort digging the houses out from the hillside. It was hard work, in the days of steel-wheeled wheelbarrows. The hillside was terraced and three swimming pool-sized holes were chiseled out for the plant houses, connected by hand-dug tunnels.
The entrance to the fernery is pretty much unchanged from when Ken arrived. The tunnels remain—patched with concrete in areas where the clay has been damaged. There are glow worms and cave wetas living in them.
All but one of the fernery houses has been upgraded. The upgraded rooms are bigger and lighter, with improved conditions. In the top, heated Kibby house, a system of mesh blinds diffuses the summer sunlight so the plants grow evenly.
The final stage was deferred, to Ken’s deep disappointment; he had seen the fernery through the rest of the upgrading project.
“The park is full of half-completed projects and it’s understaffed,” he says.
The first house we enter is the one still awaiting renovation. It still has its original roof, which must be replaced because it is horticultural-grade glass and doesn’t comply with modern building standards for a public building.
With the sawdust floor and the house being sunk into the ground, it’s a silent place to work. There are more than 100 varieties and species of fern here. One huge Prince of Wales fern is visible in photos taken of the fernery when it opened in 1928. Many of the plants here are perennials, which can be recycled through the years, although not all as long as this one.
The fernery staff aims to have the place looking attractive all year round, so when flowers are scarce they have to be creative. We pass a lovely patch of purple, green and white coleus plants, with frilly kale and shiny velthemia leaves for contrast. Not a flower in sight but still colourful.
The displays in the fernery are chosen according to what plants work best in each area. The staff members confer and try out different combinations, Ken says. It’s a bit like the way most people do their own gardens.
“Put it in and if it does well, leave it. If it doesn’t, take it out and try something else.”
The fernery provides a round-the-world botanical trip for visitors. We pass a couple of banana trees flourishing despite the less than tropical temperatures. They are Abyssinian bananas, which don’t fruit but can tolerate frosts down to about 2degreeC.
On the other side of the path, we find a selection of Masdevallia orchids, which come from the high-altitude rainforest in the mountains of Colombia. Nearby is a patch of scarlet begonias, several fuchsias with tiny flowers and a dramatic vine with pink bells on it—a Chilean bell flower or Lapageria, along with some maidenhair ferns.
“We have a very eclectic collection here. Over the years it’s changed as plant fashions change,” says Ken.
QUITE a few of the plants have been grown on site, others were exchanges with other parks around the country, or imported seed. Often, people would bring a cutting to be identified and sometimes grown on.
Reading was an essential part of his role, Ken says.
“One of the challenges of this place is that many of the plant books are aimed at the Northern Hemisphere. We’ve got a different climate here, so it’s a matter of letting the plants themselves tell you what they like. Plants will often defy the book by being hardier than they’re meant to be, for example.
“One of the good things about this job is you never stop learning. You can never learn everything and you can’t retain all of it between your ears. The secret is knowing where to look and not being afraid to ask questions.”
He says some of the horticultural training offered now lacks the emphasis on practical knowledge of the past, things that can’t be gained while sitting behind a keyboard.
“How do you describe in print how you feel a plant’s leaf, to know if it is healthy or not?” he says, touching a fern frond.
Ken may have retired, but he is still immersed in botany and gardening.
“Once a plantsman, always a plantsman,” he says.
He belongs to various horticultural organisations, including the Royal Horticultural Society in England and the New Plymouth Orchid Society. He is also a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture and has served on the executive of Pukeiti. He recently joined the executive of an international group he belongs to called the Plant Propagators Society.
“It’s an international organisation with no political boundaries. Its motto is seek and share, and its members look for information on plants and share it with each other.”
The society will hold its conference in New Plymouth next year, so Ken is involved in organising that. In between, he is doing tour guiding for overseas visitors. He just returned from a trip leading members of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society on a nationwide tour.
However, he is maintaining his interest in the park.
“I miss the challenge. The fernery is a constant challenge, to keep the display up, to contend with what may happen. The constant unexpected things like visitors turning up out of the blue, or something flowering for the first time.”
Overall, he says, the most rewarding part of the whole job was a simple one.
“It was when people would come up and say thank you for a beautiful display.”
TDN, JUNE 21, 2006
PARK CENTRE APPROVED
A $1.2 MILLION information centre at Pukekura Park will go ahead, but an environment centre is still under investigation.
Funding to construct the Pukekura Park Information Centre was set aside for 2007-08 in the New Plymouth District 10-year plan last week, following 82 submissions in support.
However, a proposed Taranaki Centre for Sustainable Living may be located outside Pukekura Park, depending on an investigation looking at suitable sites. The house next to Brooklands Zoo is one option, but other sites will also be considered.
The proposed centre could also include a herpetological (lizards) area.
Council planning and design manager Grant Porteous said the information centre would include Pukekura Park’s history, plants, walking tracks and recreation activities.
A design and site for the information centre had yet to be finalised and that would take place in the next 12 months, he said.
The council also approved $65,000 for landscape improvements on the corner of Rogan St and Coronation Ave.
TDN, JUNE 22, 2006
FIREWOOD FLIES OUT
With pic
WEATHER WOES: A Torrey pine more than 100 years old was lifted by crane out of Pukekura Park yesterday because of the risk of it being blown over.
Last week, an arborist from the New Plymouth District Council discovered the 42m tall pine, weighing 40 tonnes and sitting next to the Bellringer Pavilion, was damaged by lightning and at risk of falling during a storm.
However, a large crane that was removing branches from the tree yesterday caused more problems when it damaged part of the road into Pukekura Park, causing the road to be closed.
Council premier parks manager Bryan Gould said it was unfortunate the pine had to be removed, but it was a danger to the public because of large splits in the trunk caused by lightning.
“We wanted to act quickly because there was a real risk that the forecast strong winds could cause the tree to fall . . . onto the pavilion or walking track,” he said.
It was thought the lightning struck about two years ago and also hit another pine which was removed at the time.
The main gate into Pukekura Park would be closed until the pine trunk was removed later today.
The road would be resealed, Mr Gould said.
TDN, AUGUST 2, 2006
HISTORIC TEA HOUSE FACELIFT WORK BEGINS
With photo
Work has begun on the $520,000 upgrade of one of the park’s most recognisable features, the historic tea house.
Known as the kiosk, the 75-year-old building on the main lake is having its interior stripped by contractors.
When completed, the tea house will meet building standards while retaining its character, New Plymouth District Council property assets manager Gavin Thorley says.
“The reconstruction will be in the same design as the original building and on the same footprint, but with modifications to make it easier to operate,” he says.
The building will have new floors, underfloor ventilation and strengthened walls. The exterior will have new patio decks, accessible ramps and a new main entrance from the lakeside, next to the ice cream kiosk.
It is expected the upgrade, paid for out of the council’s depreciation fund, will be completed by the end of November, in time for the TSB Bank Festival of Lights.
In February, the council’s policy committee recommended that the tea house be restored in its current style, and advertise for a food and beverage service similar to that provided at the facility in the past.
Mr Thorley says a contract will be signed next week for the food and beverage service, and will not disclose until then who the successful tenderer is.
The former kiosk proprietors’ 26-year tenure ended after a council report criticised aspects of their business.
The lessees, Tom and Molly Nagle, were hurt and upset by the comments. The council later sent a letter of thanks to the Nagles for their years of service to Pukekura Park.
TDN, JULY 1, 2006
FESTIVAL TRUST TO MANAGE THE BOWL, SHOWPLACE
TWO of New Plymouth’s most popular public venues are to be run by the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust (Taft).
The trust will manage the day-to-day operations and plan the events schedules for TSB Bowl of Brooklands and TSB Showplace, after the New Plymouth District Council decided to contract out the service.
Council customer services general manager Barbara McKerrow said yesterday the contract would enable the council to make use of Taft’s expertise and contacts to build on the district’s arts events programme.
Taft stages Womad, the Taranaki Festival of Arts and the Taranaki Rhododendron and Garden Festival.
Mrs McKerrow said Taft would use last season as a benchmark—up to seven international events and two community events a year at the Bowl, and 184 bookings a year at the Showplace.
The change would not affect any current bookings and it was business as usual, she said.
Taft chief executive Suzanne Porter, who was helping manage the council’s events and venues department before recently taking up her new position, said Taft wanted to take the two venues to the next level.
“We are also keen to work with the Friends of the Opera House, the Operatic Society and all of the wonderful community and volunteer groups who put so much effort into supporting these venues,” Ms Porter said.
Taft would also be required to operate the venues within the policies of the council’s 10-year plan.
The council remains the owner and asset manager of the venues and will continue to monitor their performance.
Meanwhile, the Parihaka International Peace Festival is to become an annual event. It is to be staged on the weekend of January 5 to 7 next year to avoid clashing with Womad. Up to 8000 people attended this year’s inaugural event, held during Taranaki Anniversary Weekend in March.
TDN, AUGUST 4, 2006
MUNGO QUICKLY MAKES HIMSELF AT HOME
With photo
HE’S so cute you want to take him home—the panda that is, not the silver-haired chap with the orange tie.
Mungo the red panda arrived at Brooklands Zoo last Friday and he’s already got everyone smitten, including New Plymouth District Council chief executive Rodger Kerr-Newell.
Getting acquainted at the zoo yesterday, Mr Kerr-Newell soon had Mungo eating out of his hand, in contrast to ratepayers’ reactions to recent fee rises.
Eight-year-old Mungo has been transferred from Hamilton Zoo and although he’s on his own, loneliness is not a problem.
Zoo keeper Shelley Swain says red pandas live alone in the wild and only come together for mating.
The panda’s gentle nature makes them the perfect zoo pet, she says. “Kids can relate to them because they remind them of cats. They’re easy to look after and kids can feed him and pat him.”
Mungo was conceived as part of a breeding programme at Auckland Zoo eight years ago.
In a fitting act of inter-city exchange, one kea that was in his cage has been sent to Auckland to mate.
Red pandas can live up to 14 years and love to eat bamboo shoots, fruit and the occasional egg, insect or small animal.
In the wild, they are found in the temperate forests of the Himalayas and high mountain areas of China.
A panda-monium fun day will be held at the zoo tomorrow from noon to 2.30pm.
TDN, AUGUST 14, 2006
KIOSK SHOULD BE OPEN FOR SUMMER
PUKEKURA PARK’S iconic kiosk is expected to open in time for the summer season.
The much-loved tea house has been closed over the past year.
It is undergoing a $500,000 refurbishment after earlier plans to pull it down were scrapped in favour of restoring the historic building.
The New Plymouth District Council has named the Compass Group, which operates Eurest, as the popular venue’s new food, beverages and functions contractor.
Eurest is the caterer at New Plymouth’s Yarrow Stadium and operates the kitchen at Taranaki Base Hospital.
Compass Group central regional manager Darron Read says the new range of services, which will be available from late November, will suit the average Kiwi’s wallet.
“We want the tea house to be accessible to families and senior citizens and also be a good destination for business people.”
It would also operate as a functions venue for events such as weddings.
“People will be able to order a meal from the menu or choose something smaller and have that with a glass of wine or a coffee,” Mr Read says.
The Friends of Pukekura Park lobby group was delighted with the announcement.
“It’s great news. This is evolving the park for future use,” the group’s president, Karl Rossiter, said last night.
“The council spent a great deal on visitor surveys as to what people wanted, so they should be able to get exactly the right services to match with the evolving needs of the park.
“I’ll be one of the first to have a cuppa there.”
Council asset management team leader Peter Handcock said Compass Group was chosen because of its strong catering background and its impressive proposal to integrate both traditional and contemporary fare.
“They are committed to providing a traditional cafe service in the Pukekura Park Tea House and will also bring in new elements such as mobile food and beverage outlets during the park’s summer season, as well as a dedicated functions team.”
Long-serving former caterers Tom and Molly Nagle, who operated the tea house for 26 years, are pleased with the promised facelift after years of delays.
The caterers will begin in time for the busy summer season, Mrs Nagle says.
“It sounds very exciting,” Mrs Nagle says. “The people in New Plymouth will be really pleased to have that service again.”
Mr Read said reconstruction of the tea house began at the start of the month to bring it up to modern building standards. He expected this to be completed by November.
The overall look of the tea house will be retained, with some new design features to enhance operations, Mr Handcock says.
In the meantime, ice creams, drinks and confectionery will continue to be available through the lakeside servery window, along with coffee and pre-packaged food such as sushi, salad and food wraps.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
WESTERN TERRACE MODS
With photo
A digger scours out earth at the base of the western terrace, just inside the gates of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
The first and second terraces on the western side of the sports ground are being reinforced because of slumping in parts of the road in front of them, New Plymouth District Council premier parks manager Bryan Gould says.
“We are trying to ensure the sports ground remains in good condition. It’s a great feature in the park,” he said.
Depending on the weather, the work is expected to be completed by the end of next month.
In a staged upgrade, the terraces on all sides of the ground will eventually be reinforced, the steps and seating improved, and new fences installed.
TDN, NOVEMBER 17, 2006
CURATOR TO RETURN IN COUNCIL REVAMP OF PUKEKURA PARK
NEW PLYMOUTH’S Pukekura Park is to get a dedicated curator for the first time in 12 years.
The New Plymouth District Council is restructuring its parks team and the return of a curator for the premier tourist attraction is among the changes.
The position was disestablished in 1994, when the park’s garden staff were reorganised into a contract unit of the council.
Further changes were made in subsequent years, and in 2002 the management of Pukekura and Brooklands parks became the responsibility of a premier parks team.
In 2004, members of the public criticised the council for not properly maintaining the park.
Parks manager Mark Bruhn says it makes sense to have a dedicated curator for the entire park, including the zoo and fernery.
“Pukekura Park is the jewel in the crown of the New Plymouth district and so much of our parks reputation, as well as our lifestyle, are based on the park.”
He says the intention is for the curator to be based at the park.
George Fuller, who was Pukekura Park curator for 25 years until his retirement in 1990, has praised the move to reintroduce the position.
“I’m all for it. It’s reverting to something that has proven successful in the past.
“If there is careful management and the right person is found, then we can look forward to a good future.”
He says the new curator will need strong leadership skills.
“I think most people regard the park as so important that it justifies the dedication of a clever individual.”
Pukekura Friends of the Park chairman Karl Rossiter agrees.
“The appointment of a curator allows the park to evolve as a unique stand-alone botanical and recreational entity.
“It enables dedicated leadership and direction, and the retention of horticultural expertise and plant knowledge as well as development continuity.”
Three months ago, the council merged its parks and recreation assets and parkscapes teams into a single unit.
Six new positions have been created, including that of park curator. Six senior positions have been axed.
Staff members who have had their roles disestablished will be invited to apply for the new management and curator positions first.
Mr Bruhn says the changes will involve utilising the skills of existing staff and encouraging them to develop their careers.
“We’ve got a great team and they do a fantastic job.”
There will be increased focus on the council’s apprenticeship scheme and reintroducing fixed-term cadetships will be investigated, he says.
“In addition, we want to improve how the council brings new staff into the parks sector.”
Park custodians and curators include William Smith (1908-24), Thomas Horton (1924-49), Jack Goodwin (1949-77), George Fuller, Alan Jellyman, Ian McDowell and Bryan Gould.
TDN, NOVEMBER 22, 2006
PARK TO HAVE ITS OWN CURATOR
PUKEKURA PARK will again have a dedicated curator under New Plymouth District Council restructuring.
But three manager positions and two team leader positions have been axed under the changes.
The restructuring follows a merger of the parks and recreation assets team AND parkscapes.
Six new positions have been created from the review. They include parks asset planning manager, parks programmes manager and parks operations manager, who will all report directly to parks manager Mark Bruhn.
The other new positions are Pukekura Park curator, reserves planner and a fixed-term position of asset assistant.
Six senior positions have BEEN disestablished – a landscapes manager, facilities manager, premier park manager, premier parks team leader, facilities team leader and landscape architect.
TDN, DECEMBER 8, 2006
TASTE COUNTS AT LAKESIDE TEA HOUSE
With photo
The charm of a traditional afternoon tea – British style – is expected to be a big drawcard for Pukekura Park’s much-loved tea house.
Following a $520,000 makeover, one of the park’s most recognisable features opens its doors again today, with a traditional afternoon and high tea on the menu.
Catering company Eurest is running the tea house and adjacent kiosk, and is promising a touch of yesteryear. As well as other fare, dainty cakes and other light refreshments will be delivered to tables on tiered cake stands.
“We are keeping the concept of a tea house. Everything will be home-baked on the premises,” Eurest area manager Mary Pettigrew said yesterday.
The tea house has been closed for more than a year while decisions were made over its future.
Upgrading the 75-year-old building began in early August after earlier plans to completely rebuild it were scrapped in favour of restoring the quaint building.
Using the same design as the original building and on the same footprint, the tea house has been updated without losing its old-world charm.
The building has new floors, underfloor ventilation and strengthened walls. Wooden joinery has replaced the former aluminium window frames.
Outside there are new patio decks, access ramps and a new main entrance from the lakeside.
TDN, DECEMBER 14, 2006
NEW CURATOR
PUKEKURA PARK has a new curator—for the first time in 12 years.
Former Parkscape manager Chris Connolly has been given the job after the New Plymouth District Council restructured its parks team.
Mr Connolly said it was a privilege to take on the role.
“It’s a dream come true to be involved in Pukekura Park, which is one of the foremost public gardens in the country and has a big reputation nationally and internationally.”
His initial focus will be on the care and presentation of the park, and Mr Connolly hopes to draw on the experience of people who have long been associated with the facility.
Mr Connolly’s appointment has met the approval of council parks manager Mark Bruhn and Pukekura Friends of the Park’s Karl Rossiter.
“I have no doubt Pukekura Park will go from strength to strength under Chris’ guidance,” Mr Bruhn said.
2007
MIDWEEK, JANUARY 10, 2007
ROT OUT, REFURBISHMENT IN FOR ICON OF PUKEKURA PARK
NOT too long ago, the Pukekura teahouse and kiosk
was earmarked for demolition with sunken floors and rotten timbers.
Today the lakeside building is drawing the crowds, who seem to be delighted with the fresh interior but essential art-deco touch.
A New Plymouth architect saved “the old lady of the lake”.
Pukekura Friends of the Park president Karl Rossiter says architect Jenny Goddard did a wonderful job with the design and refurbishment of the building that had sunk on its foundations.
Ms Goddard says the toilet floors had to be raised by nearly 10cm to compensate for the lean. “So if you look at it from the inside, the ceiling appears to be out of level.”
She says it is not uncommon for buildings to settle then twist in those circumstances.
Because of this, the tea house and kiosk had to be rebuilt from the inside out rather than the usual way about.
There was a lot of rot in the building which meant half of the framing timbers had to be replaced.
To lighten the interior, heavy columns were removed.
But the traditional 1930s atmosphere is retained through the use of rimu window framing and paneling, tiled borders in the toilets and heritage tiles on the terrace.
Visitors to the refurbished tea house and kiosk are enthusiastic about the building’s traditional style.
One mother with two children said she liked the way the tea house was in keeping with the style of the band rotunda close by.
A women’s walking group member approved of the design because of its similarity to the previous building. “It’s a lovely job. We didn’t want to see a glass and steel building here.”
MIDWEEK, JANUARY 24, 2007
NATIONAL NOD FOR ICONIC PARK
Pukekura Park and Brooklands have been assessed as a Garden of National Significance by the New Zealand Gardens Trust (NZGT).
In its assessment, NZGT made particular note of Pukekura’s and Brooklands’ superb natural landscape and how it contrasts well with the lake, pockets of horticultural delight as well as “quirky additions” such as the Chinese garden, a serene atmosphere and uniformly high maintenance levels.
NZGT also noted good use of the landscape’s natural form, with a logical flow through the park.
TDN, JANUARY 26, 2007
VANDALS HIT FOUNTAIN IN PARK ATTACK
With photo
EXTRA security is in place at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park after vandals attacked the historic 110-year-old Queen Victoria drinking fountain.
“It’s very disappointing,” New Plymouth District Council parks manager Mark Bruhn said.
“Someone has used a very heavy object to bust it.”
Mr Bruhn believes it was a deliberate act as the offenders would have had to bring the object into the park.
It was now expected to be a very expensive job to repair the damage to the decorative marble lions’ noses and the scalloped drinking bowls.
The drinking fountain was erected in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.
Friends of Pukekura Park president Karl Rossiter was disappointed by the vandalism and knew many other people would be too.
What hurt most was the fact that the fountain was erected by the city’s fore-fathers for the enjoyment of people today and generations to come, he said.
There was enough work to do just maintaining the park, without mindless vandalism, Mr Rossiter said.
Experts will be asked for a cost to bring the fountain, used by many generations of park users, back to its original glory.
“And we will do it properly,” Mr Bruhn promised.
“We will have to see what those experts say.”
The fountain, adjacent to the band rotunda, has a Historic Places Trust listing and it is also acknowledged as a heritage item on the NPDC plan.
Police had been told about the vandalism and been asked to help keep the park safe, Mr Bruhn said.
“And we have increased our private security patrols as well.”
The iconic central city park, open 24 hours to the public, has often been the target of vandals.
The display lights for the TSB Festival of the Lights are repeatedly damaged or stolen by a few vandals—and this has occurred again this year.
At the end of last year’s entertainment programme, an arsonist destroyed the canopy over the Hatchery Lawn stage. It cost $14,000 to replace.
“We are increasing our presence to try to stop this offending,” Acting Senior Sergeant Robbie O’Keefe, of New Plymouth, said.
He asks that all visitors to the park contact police if they see anything suspicious. “There appears to be groups of young people gathering in the children’s playground and on the Hatchery Lawn.”
The NPDC’s festival co-ordinator, Ron Murray, says the festival and its associated entertainment are a $500,000 annual project.
The costs are shared between council ratepayers and sponsors. The main sponsor is the TSB Bank Community Trust.
The entertainment programme finishes on February 11, but the lights will continue each weekend until after Womad, which runs from March 16 to 18.
TH, JANUARY 31, 2007
LAKE SCULPTURE A SMITHER REFLECTION
With photo
A SCULPTURE by renowned New Zealand artist Michael Smither may soon hover over a lake at Pukekura Park.
Smither has offered his sculpture, called Aotearoa, as a gift to New Plymouth, the city of his birth.
He asks only that the cost of materials and installation—estimated at $97,000—be met.
Last night, New Plymouth District Council’s policy committee recommended that the artwork and the proposed location—the lily pond next to the TSB Bowl of Brooklands—be accepted. If the full council approves the purchase and placement of the sculpture, the costs will be met from the council’s art in public places fund.
Smither’s Aotearoa comprises four white-painted bronze units shaped as clouds.
The units rotate to present different views. Each unit, to be mounted separately on a concrete pile, is 1.7m long by 1m to the highest point and 90cm wide, and weighs about 100kg.
Smither has worked on the sculpture for more than 15 years after being inspired by the changing structures of cloud formations while living in New Plymouth in the 1980s.
The sculpture has evolved to become “the long white cloud” and is designed to hover over and be reflected in water.
Smither has requested the sculpture be placed in Pukekura Park, a place to which he has strong links.
Friends of Pukekura Park president Karl Rossiter said that his group backed the sculpture plan.
“Quite frankly, I don’t think it can be flawed. It will be a huge asset,” he said.
The lily pond has been selected as the best site as the Fountain Lake already has the fountain and the Main Lake is used for rowboats and TSB Bank Festival of Lights features.
The council plans to manage the water lilies so that there is sufficient clear water around the sculpture for reflection.
NPDC customer services general manager Barbara McKerrow believed the sculpture would attract the attention of artists and non-artists alike.
More than 15,000 people visited the Smither exhibition, The Wonder Years, when it was staged at New Plymouth’s Govett-Brewster Art Gallery late last year.
Asked why the council could use the art in public places fund for the Smither work when the fund was not used to keep the whalebone sculpture on New Plymouth’s foreshore, Mrs McKerrow said the fund was set up to acquire major artworks for the district.
The council funds the art in public places budget at $50,000 a year, with the object of acquiring three major pieces of public art, including another Len Lye sculpture.
The council estimated it would cost about $42,000 to make the whalebone sculpture permanent and annual operating costs, including depreciation, would add up to $9500 more.
Operating costs were expected, however, to be minimal for the Smither sculpture, Mrs McKerrow said.
“The life of a bronze sculpture is well in excess of 100 years and, therefore, any depreciation will be minimal.
“The value of the sculpture will most certainly appreciate,” she said.
The council decided last month that it was too costly to make the whalebone structure permanent so it has been removed and put into storage, with its future to be decided mid-year.
The whalebones became a surprise hit after it was erected as a centrepiece of the Taranaki Rhododendron Festival.
TDN, FEBRUARY 10, 2007
WHO SAID OK
AS a long-time Friend of the Park I am appalled to learn that the president has indicated to the council that a consensus of members of the organisation are in agreement with the proposed erection of a Michael Smither sculpture in Pukekura Park.
Who are these who have approved this suggestion? Certainly not most of the Friends—many of whom only learned of this proposal through our local newspaper.
Many consider that, however generous the offer by Mr Smither, that Pukekura Park is a natural environment, not a fitting area for this sculpture, and that certainly a full consultation with the Friends should be undertaken.
Does the public understand that although the Art in Public Places account is funding the cost of erection and maintenance, a large degree of the finance is funded by New Plymouth ratepayers?
I would suggest (Friends of Pukekura Park president Karl) Rossiter consults with those who have put time and effort into nurturing the park before any final decisions are made.
JOY H. HALL
TDN, FEBRUARY 14, 2007
CLOUDS EXPLAINED
I WOULD like to correct some misunderstandings about Michael Smither’s sculpture, Aotearoa.
This is not a kinetic sculpture, but one comprising four units of the same cloud shape, each unit turned to a different degree so that the same cloud is seen from four different (static) perspectives. As such, no electricity or wind power is required.
The artwork is designed to hover over and be reflected in water. Mr Smither has requested the sculpture be placed in Pukekura Park—with which he has strong links—and the lily pond was selected for a variety of reasons.
Among them is that the pond is adjacent to the TSB Bowl of Brooklands, and its reputation as a site for international performing arts sits well with this major sculpture by a leading New Zealand artist.
No vegetation around the pond will be removed during the sculpture’s installation.
The Art in Public Places Fund was established in 2000-01 to fund three major public works of art by 2010.
If approved by the council at its February 20 meeting, Aotearoa would be one of these three works.
BARBARA McKERROW
NPDC general manager
TDN, FEBRUARY 21, 2007
SCULPTURE WILL GO THE DISTANCE, SAYS ARTIST
With photo
MICHAEL SMITHER is confident his proposed pond sculpture will outlast missiles, graffiti, hooligans and duck droppings.
The renowned New Zealand artist is
not fazed by concerns that his cloud installation, Aotearoa, could be the target of anti-social behaviour.
Former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller believes unsightly mould, tagging and bird droppings could prove major problems for the white-painted bronze sculpture, planned for the lily pond next to the TSB Bowl of Brooklands.
The sculpture could see people swimming over to it to have their photo taken, Mr Fuller says in submissions presented to the New Plymouth District Council yesterday.
It could even be the target for missiles, such as stones, bottles and other containers.
“The resulting resonance of hollow bronze being hit with a solid object will tend to encourage encores,” said Mr Fuller.
The New Plymouth District Council last night deferred a decision on whether to spend $97,000 on the Smither sculpture until its next meeting in six weeks, so it could assess all the possible issues.
Despite the setback, Mr Smither holds firm to his belief that the lily pond is the best place for his installation—designed to hover over and be reflected in water.
“The questions that Mr Fuller raised are all easily rebutted,” said Mr Smither, who was at the meeting.
“As far as drunks swimming out to it and posing on it for photographs, I think is a bloody good idea. He’s a bit worried about them throwing beer bottles at it and making it go bong—that could be good for Womad. They could all be out there throwing bottles at it. It will take that sort of punishment.”
As for mould and algae showing up on the white paint, the installation is painted with a special marine resin to ward off problems, Mr Smither says.
Mr Smither, who lives in the Coromandel, has offered his sculpture as a gift to New Plymouth, the city of his birth. It might be considered a gift, but the council will need to pay the estimated $97,000 for the materials and installation.
While the Friends of Pukekura Park executive committee has given the sculpture proposal and its lily pond location its blessing, a number of members of the extended group have voiced their disapproval.
Friend of the park Joy Hall believes Pukekura Park is not an appropriate location for the sculpture, which comprises four white-painted bronze units shaped as clouds.
“The natural aspects of Brooklands and Pukekura Park would not, in my personal view, enhance such a valuable sculpture, and perhaps less haste and greater consultation . . . may result in a more appropriate placement for this significant gift,” she says.
Another Pukekura Park enthusiast, Maureen Guc, suggests Lake Mangamahoe as a location for the sculpture.
“We already have enough man-made structures in the park and I feel we have already reached saturation point,” she says.
Council observer Marise Keat can not believe the NPDC is considering “desecrating the serenity and beauty of the lily pond by erecting an aptly described knuckle bone sculpture”.
“To me, the acceptance of this concept as clouds is like most modern art—reminiscent of the Emperor’s clothes,” says Mrs Keat.
Mr Smither is not concerned at the criticism.
“I would expect something like that.”
He hopes New Plymouth residents will enjoy the sculpture if it does go up.
“The problem is, if you want to get things done, you go ahead and do them. To get everybody to agree is not possible.”
TDN, FEBRUARY 22, 2007
NO HASTE NEEDED IN CONSIDERING SMITHER SCULPTURE FOR PARK
TUESDAY NIGHT’S vote by the New Plymouth District Council to defer a decision to purchase a sculpture by renowned former Taranaki artist Michael Smither, was a sound one, because a little breathing space is required to properly consider this proposal. Smither might be offering the sculpture as a gift to the city in which he grew up, but it will still involve the council spending $97,000 to pay for the sculpture’s materials and its installation, and more crucially the intention is for it to be installed in the city’s iconic Pukekura Park.
Ever since the public release of the proposal to purchase Smither’s cloud-formation sculpture Aotearoa and install it so it “floats” above the water at the waterlily lake adjacent to the Bowl of Brooklands, it has been the cause of debate—not so much for the cost, but for the fact that the plan is for it to be in the park.
While one suspects that some of the most vocal protests are coming from members of the Friends of Pukekura Park, who are miffed at not being privy to the plans in the first place, it is quite reasonable that citizens should voice concern over whether it is appropriate to place a large white artwork in the midst of the greenery for which Pukekura Park and nearby Brooklands Park are so famous.
The story of this latest Smither sculpture is a heart-warming one. During the 1980s when he lived in New Plymouth he was a keen observer of clouds and made a series of drawings and paintings that explored their rhythms and structures. As a result of these works he began to develop the concept of three-dimensional sculptures, first out of wax, then plaster of paris, and finally bronze—a project that took 15 years to complete. That’s what he now wants to gift to New Plymouth, and in his artist’s way he envisages the “long white cloud” hovering over the lake and being reflected in its water.
That’s nice. But so are the trees in the park. In fact, former park curator George Fuller is correct in a submission he has made on this issue that the major trees in Pukekura Park have now increased in their dominance to the extent that today everything else in the park tends to be subservient—and he argues that this should always be taken into account when contemplating the introduction of any new structures or activities.
So it is quite obvious that the district council will want to tread carefully in considering the Smither proposal. On one hand, a large white multi-piece sculpture hovering over the water of a lake certainly could be considered intrusive in terms of impact on pure natural aesthetics. But, on the other hand, Pukekura Park is a man-made attraction that should be continually modernised so it remains an attraction to all. All over the world there are excellent examples of how natural and man-made aesthetics can be combined. There are some lovely parks in Melbourne, for instance, where exactly this has been achieved.
And there isn’t a need for any rush. If Michael Smither took 15 years to perfect his Aotearoa sculpture, then another month or two to consider what to do with his offer is neither here nor there.
MIDWEEK, FEBRUARY 28, 2007
POND SCULPTURE HITS SNAG
A PLAN to install a cloud sculpture over Pukekura Park’s lily pond has struck a snag, leaving the future of the sculpture up in the air.
Well-known artist Michael Smither has offered his Aotearoa sculpture as a gift to the New Plymouth District Council.
The $97,000 installation costs would be met by the Art in Public Places fund, with the sculpture becoming the first of three major artworks to be secured for the city from this fund.
The proposal was accepted at January’s policy committee meeting, but needed final approval at last week’s full council meeting.
Councillor Alison Rumball asked for the matter to lie on the table until the next council meeting after concerns were presented in a letter from former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller.
In his letter, Mr Fuller questioned having a white feature close to the water. “It was realised many years ago that this is a costly and time-consuming aspiration because of the proliferation of moulds, algae and so on. Bridges and boats in the early days were white, but this proved impractical.”
Mr Fuller said duck guano and graffiti were other possible problems for a white feature, and he thought some people might be tempted to swim out to the sculpture.
“Many consider that the artwork would be ‘safe by location’. Forget it. I slept within the boundaries of the park for 25 years and could write a book about the human psyche and its endeavours in the outdoors after dark.”
In summing up Mr Fuller wrote: “I am somewhat undecided about the suitability of the park with its dominance of large trees as a location for Michael’s masterpiece. I feel that there must be somewhere between Back Beach and the Waiwakaiho where these clouds could frolic in the same zephyrs that caress Len Lye’s Windwand.”
Marise Keat and Joy Hall gave deputations expressing concerns at the placement of the sculpture at the lilypond, and Mr Smither also spoke.
“I spent a long time going around the park to see where it would work. It needed to be seen from a distance. I came to the lily pond. This would work. I had photographs taken. I am sure it is perfect. The more I visualise, the more I’m sure of it. As far as Pukekura Park is concerned, I lived in the park for many years in one of the buildings I helped to restore.”
Mr Smither’s connection with the lake started as a baby when he was wheeled around the park by his parents and grandparents.
TDN, MARCH 7, 2007
COUNCIL WANTS MORE PLANS FOR PUKEKURA PARK PROJECT
PLANS for an information centre for New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park may be put on hold.
About $1.27 million has been earmarked for the planning, design and construction of an information centre for the park over the next three financial years.
During consultation for the New Plymouth District Council’s 10-year plan last year there were 82 submissions supporting the centre.
But the council’s parks manager, Mark Bruhn, said councillors were now being asked to defer the money until future developments for the park are finalised.
Public consultation would take place, probably next year, on what direction the park will take before the centre can be built, he says.
There was also no preferred location or even agreed purpose for the centre at this stage. The delay would mean construction is planned for 2009-2010.
TDN, APRIL 4, 2007
SUN SHINES ON SMITHER’S CLOUDS AS COUNCIL BACKS INSTALLATION
With photo
MICHAEL SMITHER’S cloud sculpture has risen above the controversy and will make its home in Pukekura Park.
The New Plymouth District Council yesterday accepted the artist’s gift to the city.
Mr Smither first had the vision for the sculpture, called Aotearoa, 15 years ago after being inspired by the changing cloud formations in New Plymouth.
The council agreed with the renowned New Zealand artist that it should be placed at Pukekura Park’s lily pond next to the TSB Bowl of Brooklands.
Former park curator George Fuller is against the location and appealed to councillors to consider another site.
He said people would not be able to see the sculpture from a distance if it was at the pond. “For me his masterpiece would be held prisoner by giants of the forest and be a minion to vagrant water lilies.”
Sherril George was the only councillor who agreed and voted against accepting the artwork.
Prominent New Plymouth architect Terry Boon urged councillors to seize the unique opportunity.
‘We need to grasp them when they are available. The sculpture will be really enjoyed by a lot of people.”
After the meeting, Mr Smither told the Taranaki Daily News he was not confident the council would want his artwork.
He was tempted to change the preferred site or “hang it in the trees”, but decided against it. “My first instinct was right. I’m flattered New Plymouth has accepted the gift.”
Mr Smither, who was born in New Plymouth and now lives in the Coromandel, says the sculpture will attract people to the lily pond—one of his favourite spots in the park. He says criticism over placing the work at the pond, from people closely associated with the park, was disheartening.
Aotearoa, which comprises four white-painted bronze units, is designed to be reflected in water.
The materials and installation of the sculpture is estimated to cost $97,000 and will be met by the council’s art in public places fund.
TDN, APRIL 11, 2007
PARK SCULPTURE
CONGRATULATIONS to Sherril George for being the only New Plymouth District councillor to have the courage and integrity to respect the natural beauty and serenity of the beautiful lily pond near Brooklands Bowl by voting not to place the Michael Smither sculpture there.
Congratulations, too, to George Fuller for his excellent, very informative and knowledgeable dissertation relayed to councillors on March 20, detailing why the sculpture should not be in the lily pond and for the brilliant conception as to where, and how, this should be portrayed to obtain maximum value for ratepayers’ $97,000. MARISE KEAT (Mrs)
TDN, APRIL 18, 2007
CURATOR BASED AT PUKEKURA PARK
THE old curator’s cottage at Pukekura Park has been tidied up and is now the base for the current curator, Chris Connolly.
Mr Connolly was appointed to the role of park curator before Christmas and moved into his new premises last week. “The curator position has been re-established and is now based at the park. It is important to be effective in the role as curator. People who want to approach me or who have questions can do so. The rest of the team will be working at the park as well,” says Mr Connolly, who will be there from 7am to 5pm.
It has been a number of years since a designated curator was based at the park, the last being George Fuller, who retired in 1990.
The cottage is between the Tea House and Bellringer Pavilion.
TDN, JUNE 26, 2007
NP AND PN BOTH MAKE IT TO MONOPOLY
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK has emerged as the most exclusive site in New Zealand—at least in the new version of Monopoly.
The park, and its Festival of The Lights, has elbowed some of New Zealand’s best-known landmarks aside to claim the prestigious Mayfair square on the board game.
Today the new version of the game hits the shelves around the country—and puts an end to months of rivalry.
Earlier this year the games’ maker Hasbro invited people to vote online for their favourite landmarks to fill the spaces on the board.
This sparked a fierce battle between New Plymouth and Palmerston North, which wanted The Square featured.
In the end, The Square has also made the board—in the less valuable dark green section, and will cost $3 million to own compared with Pukekura Park’s $4 million.
The park topped the poll with 39,000 votes.
New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent was ecstatic.
“It’s just another reason for the world to look at our iconic park and it’s another signpost for Taranaki,” he says.
Mr Tennent was also pleased a spot had been found on the board for Palmerston North’s Square.
“Palmerston North is a special little town but there’s no competition between Pukekura Park and The Square.”
Palmerston North City Council deputy mayor John Hornblow says while New Plymouth got the top spot he was pleased both cities made it.
More than 230,000 votes were cast. Landmarks such as the Beehive, Auckland’s Sky Tower and Harbour Bridge, and Christchurch’s Hagley Park didn’t pass go.
The landmarks to make it on to the board are:
Dark Blue: Pukekura Park, Festival of Lights; Rangitoto.
Green: Cable Cars, Wellington; Cathedral Square, Christchurch; The Square, Palmerston North.
Yellow: Waitomo Caves; Mt Maunganui; Art Deco Buildings, Napier.
Red: Ninety Mile Beach; Golden Bay; Moeraki Boulders, Oamaru.
Orange: Fox Glacier; Milford Sound; Mt Cook.
Pink: Cape Reinga Lighthouse; Lake Taupo; Queenstown Ski Fields.
Blue: Te Papa, Wellington; Waitangi Treaty Grounds; Larnach Castle.
Brown: Ohakune Carrot; Giant Kiwifruit, Te Puke.
TDN, JUNE 27, 2007
CRICKET GROUND AMONG WORLD’S BEST PUKEKURA PARK MAKES IT INTO WISDEN’S TOP SIX
With photo
LORD’S, the Adelaide Oval . . . Pukekura Park.
The thrill of international cricket is again in New Plymouth’s sight with picturesque Pukekura Park being named one of the six great cricket grounds in the world.
Prestigious British publisher Wisden is set to bestow the honour on New Plymouth in a new publication to be released in October.
The news coincides with Pukekura Park becoming the most exclusive site in New Zealand in the new version of Monopoly.
While the other five cricket grounds are yet to be revealed by Wisden, Taranaki Cricket Association chairman Neil Sulzberger says the accolade could again put Pukekura Park in the position to attract top international games.
“It puts us in a very strong position. We are talking with New Zealand Cricket. I constantly talk to them about having some real meaningful games at Pukekura Park. This will just strengthen the cause,” Mr Sulzberger said.
Author Tim de Lisle last night explained to the Taranaki Daily News how Pukekura Park made it into the top six.
“When cricket writers discuss the world’s most beautiful grounds, it always seems to come up. I liked the fact that it was so natural.
“In some parts of the world, cricket has moved right away from that and become a very big, urban thing with huge concrete stands, so it’s great to include one international ground where it is still played in a gorgeous, natural setting.”
While Pukekura Park gets a good share of Central Districts matches, it is generally shut out from hosting internationals these days.
The last international was played in 2000, between Sri Lanka and a North Island XI. In 1992, Pukekura Park hosted a Sri Lanka versus Zimbabwe World Cup game.
Mr Sulzberger says work is under way to upgrade Pukekura Park’s cricket facilities to make international matches more viable.
The 7000-capacity ground has no player practice or corporate facilities, while changing facilities at the ground are substandard for first-class cricket.
“For us to keep playing first-class cricket at Pukekura Park, there are certain things we have to bring up to standard around the ground. We are in consultation with the council about what the requirements are,” he said.
MIDWEEK, JULY 4, 2007
SMITHER WORK COST COULD FORCE RETHINK
With pic
PLANS for the controversial Michael Smither sculpture at Pukekura Park may need to go back to the drawing board to avoid cost increases.
Engineers discovered on Friday that the foundations to support the sculpture would need to be twice as deep as initially thought.
They met New Plymouth District Council Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly, before carrying out the foundation survey.
Mr Smither donated his sculpture Aotearoa to the city, to be installed in the lake next to the TSB Bowl of Brooklands.
He asked that council meet the cost of materials and installation, estimated at $97,000.
Engineers carried out the foundation survey on Friday and discovered that instead of a depth of three metres to reach solid ground, the foundations would need to be six metres deep to support the four 150kg clouds that make up the sculpture.
“Because of the foundations’ depth there will be cost implications. We have the option of running with the original foundations or revisiting the design,” says engineer Chris Stayt, of Whitaker Civil Engineer.
Mr Stayt said he and fellow engineer Kevin Broadmore looked at an extensive area of the lake during the survey, but the six-metre depth to solid ground was the shallowest that could be found.
“What we were looking for was a hard section of the lake base to secure the foundations of the sculpture. We had the design, now we are looking at the depth.
We have got to have a substantial foundation to support the clouds if we are using the fixed design.” Mr Stayt is conscious of not alarming anyone with the possibility of costs escalating.
“We have to be careful. We don’t want to scare the ratepayers,” he told Midweek.
He suggests another option could be a floating platform, and says alternative foundations will need to be looked at if the project is to stay within budget.
NPDC parks manager Mark Bruhn remains optimistic. “With the survey work carried out, it is roughly in line with expectations. I am reasonably confident it can proceed with the original cost estimates.”
Mr Connolly says it is hoped to have the sculpture installed on the lake in a month or so.
Michael Smither had worked on his sculpture for 15 years, with it evolving to become the long white cloud. It was designed to hover over and be reflected in the water. He requested it be installed at the lily pond at Pukekura Park, a place he used to visit when he was a child.
Several groups voiced opposition about the placement of the sculpture in the lake, but Mr Smither said he would not accept any other location for it. The material and installation costs are coming from the Art In Public Places Fund, set up to secure art works for the city.
TDN, JULY 16, 2007
LEMURS THE NEW CROWD-PLEASERS
With photo
SUNNING themselves in the weekend rays, the three new inhabitants of Brooklands Zoo were crowd favourites.
The three female ring-tailed lemurs—Ashleigh, Sarah and Minera—were unveiled in front of a crowd of hundreds on Saturday, keen to see who the zoo’s latest additions were.
The unveiling was part of the Who’s New at the Zoo family fun afternoon, which had included a week-long competition for the public to guess who the new inhabitants were.
About 400 people turned up for the afternoon event. Sunday, too, was a busy day.
Native of Madagascar, the primates are distinctive for their long black and white-striped tails.
Known for their sunbathing, the three lemurs were regularly seen baring their bellies and opening their limbs to the warm rays over the weekend.
Minera has come from Auckland Zoo while the other two are from Hamilton Zoo.
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly says Minera was thrown out by her troop in Auckland. “Lemurs are very social animals that need companionship, so it was decided to bring her and two from Hamilton Zoo down here and try to create a new family group for them,” he said.
The smaller of the three, Minera, is aged about three, while the other two are about five years old.
Fed on a diet of fruit and vegetables, the trio quickly munched a banana dished out to them by zoo keeper Katrina Muir yesterday.
The friendly lemurs seemed unfazed by having the Taranaki Daily News photographer in their cage, capturing them on camera.
The animals are part of a national breeding programme.
“While these three are not actively breeding, they are part of the nationwide captive breeding programme. Brooklands Zoo’s role is to keep their genes available in case any of these lemurs are needed in the future,” Mr Connolly said.
Brooklands Zoo is also part of a nationwide breeding programme for cotton-top tamarins and an informal breeding programme for otters.
Lemurs do not use their tails to grip things, but their long limbs and flexible toes and fingers mean they are good climbers. Lemurs use their sense of smell, bushy tails and noises to communicate.
TDN, AUGUST 2, 2007
PROJECT PUTS PUKEKURA PARK ONLINE HISTORY TO BE THERE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
THE history of Pukekura Park is to be researched and documented online for future generations thanks to a $200,000 project.
The park and cricket ground are acknowledged as the among the best, both nationally and internationally. By popular demand it has also taken pride of place on the latest kiwiana Monopoly board.
Yesterday the Friends of the Park group said it had won a $101,000 Government grant bolstered by dollar-for-dollar support from Puke Ariki to ensure the park’s history is properly recorded through a digital archiving project.
Friends of Pukekura Park president Karl Rossiter said the award was a wonderful recognition of the group’s partnership with Puke Ariki “an outstanding example of the community working with local government in the public interest”.
The joint venture—Terrain (Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network) will see historical data compiled and made easily available through the website.
The grant, from the Digital Strategy Fund, will allow the employment of a fulltime Puke Ariki staff member to oversee the project.
Mr Rossiter said the project was seen by government as a pilot for similar undertakings.
It will include the lifetime collection of New Plymouth man, former park curator and Orchid Council of New Zealand patron George Fuller, and studies by New Plymouth historian and ornithologist David Medway.
Both are delighted with the project.
Scientist Elise Smith, a Friends of Pukekura Park executive member, has played a major role in steering the project, Mr Rossiter says. New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent and Deputy Mayor Lynn Bublitz are equally thrilled, Mr Rossiter says.
“George’s collection will be invaluable in building our history of Pukekura,” Mr Rossiter said.
Mr Medway has made a study of the park’s unique collection of common and rare botanical species and birds. “The relationship between Pukekura’s plants and the bird life that feeds on it deserves wider recognition,” Mr Medway said.
MIDWEEK, SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
SCULPTURE SOON
With pic
THE ducks may be wondering what’s happened to their lake levels at Pukekura Park but they can rest assured, it is all in a good cause.
Piles for the Michael Smither sculpture were put into place yesterday with the sculpture expected to be installed by the end of the month.
Workmen began lowering the lake levels in the Lily Lake and TSB Bowl of Brooklands lake on Friday and yesterday a crane dropped the eight-metre piles into place.
It is expected to be finished by the end of the month.
Maintenance and refurbishment of the Bowl’s lake will take place after the sculpture is in place.
New Plymouth District Parks manager Mark Bruhn says park users may notice a smell from the lake because of a lack of water.
“We are asking people for patience and we’re apologising.”
Other work is also under way at Pukekura Park. It includes repairing the northern bank of the Fountain Lake which had been damaged by heavy rain.
Public access on this section of track will be closed during the repairs.
Numerous other jobs, including repairs to the water wheel will be done in the next week or two.
“It’ll be great to have all of this work completed before the Community Fireworks Spectacular in the Bowl on November 3, not to mention the start of the TSB Bank Festival of Lights as well as the Elton John concert in December,” says Mr Bruhn.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 6, 2007
WHEELS TURNING TO GET PARK ATTRACTION UP AND RUNNING
With photo
A CLUNKING coming from Pukekura Park’s waterwheel has brought the spinning attraction to a grinding halt.
The New Plymouth District Council has put the brakes on the two-year-old waterwheel while investigations are carried out into a “funny sound” coming from the wheel, council parks manager Mark Bruhn says.
“We’ve shut it down as a precaution. The weighting is a bit out and the wheel is clunking as it turns.
“The contractor has built a platform across the stream to access the wheel and remove part of the structure for adjustments. We expect it to be back in operation next week,” Mr Bruhn said.
It is expected the repair job, including general maintenance on the wheel, will cost about $4000.
The new, hi-tech wheel was rolled out in late 2005 to replace the old waterwheel, which was in a bad state of repair and constantly breaking down.
Mr Bruhn is confident the latest waterwheel which, along with landscaping of the area, cost about $150,000, will not be plagued with the same issues. “I think it has been done properly. We shouldn’t have too many ongoing problems.”
Meanwhile, various other projects are under way in Pukekura Park ahead of the summer season.
The water levels in the TSB Bowl of Brooklands lake and the lily lake have been lowered to enable clean-up work to take place on the lake beds and for the installation of Michael Smither’s artwork, Aotearoa. The lake level will remain low for a couple of weeks until the sculpture is in place.
Work will also begin soon on repairing the northern bank of the fountain lake, which was damaged by heavy rain during winter. Public access on this section of track will be closed during the repairs.
“We have also cleaned the fountain filters and checked that the fountain itself is running well, and we’re replanting the main lake edge in front of the tea house as well as replacing the old bench seats with traditional heritage park seats,” Mr Bruhn said.
The entrance to the fernery and display houses is also being replanted and the parks main entrance, off Fillis St, is being cleaned and the wall replastered.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 13, 2007
MICHELANGELO MARBLE HEALING QUEEN
With pic
JUST like Michelangelo used.
Conservation stonemason Jerry Smith is carefully restoring Pukekura Park’s Queen Victoria drinking fountain with marble from north Italian city, Carrara.
“It’s the same marble Michelangelo used,” quipped Mr Smith as he worked on the fountain yesterday.
The Pukekohe-based craftsman is this week restoring the damage to the historic fountain’s decorative marble lions’ noses and scalloped drinking bowls.
The 110-year-old fountain was badly damaged by vandals in January.
The vandals used a heavy object to break bits off it.
Working on site, Mr Smith carves the individual pieces out of the marble before gluing them on to the jagged edges of the smashed fountain.
Mr Smith has been doing this sort of restoration work for 30 years, first in England before coming to New Zealand about 20 years ago.
“This sort of work on monuments like this comes around every two or three years.”
He works on other masonry projects between restoration jobs.
“This is the stuff you really enjoy doing.”
But he says the downside is completing a conservation job, only to have it quickly wrecked by vandals, something he’s had happen in the past.
The Pukekura Park drinking fountain was erected in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.
Mr Smith says a number of cities had monuments built to commemorate the date, usually when there was not enough money to pay for a statue.
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly says the work to restore the fountain, which includes cleaning, will cost $6000-$6500 and is due to be completed by the end of next week—weather permitting.
Mr Connolly says several other odd jobs and maintenance work are being done around the park, including restoration work on the fence near the Fillis St entrance, landscaping around the Tea House, new lighting and work on a bank of the fountain lake.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
CLOUDS GATHER—JUST ADD WATER
With photo
Aotearoa—Michael Smither’s cloud sculpture has been installed in Pukekura Park’s lily pond.
Its installation was completed on Monday, but the lake is likely to remain empty of water for a few days yet.
New Plymouth District Council parks manager Mark Bruhn says the lake will be “plugged” by the end of the week, then it’s just a matter of waiting for the rain to fill it up. The council agreed to accept Smither’s controversial sculpture in April. Aotearoa, which comprises four white-painted bronze units, is designed to be reflected in water.
TDN, OCTOBER 22, 2007
PUKEKURA PARK MARKS A CENTURY
With photo
NEXT month marks 100 years since one of New Plymouth’s more inspired decisions—the day it named its most famous tourism icon Pukekura Park.
Until November 6, 1907 the park had been known simply as The Recreation Ground or The Rec, mainly because at that time it was a bush-surrounded lake used for public swimming.
But as the park gained in both size and popularity, debate developed over whether it should be given a better name.
Argument raged for several months before its governing body, The Rec Board, decided by five votes to four to adopt the name Pukekura.
The name came from the Pukekura Stream which had been dammed 30 years earlier to create the lake.
“This anniversary is a good time to reflect on the generations of people who have grown up enjoying the park and its features,” New Plymouth District Council Pukekura Park curator Chris Connell said.
“The park is recognised nationally and internationally as a great example of a public park. Over the years it has won horticulture and event awards, and it has seen some of the biggest entertainers in the business on the Bowl of Brooklands stage.
“Yet it all started as a lake for public swimming.”
When The Rec was opened in 1876, it covered just 15 hectares—a little more than a quarter of the 52ha that comprises the modern Pukekura Park. “The park has grown over the years, both in size and in its plant collection, and its success is due to the commitment of successive councils, highly regarded curators, and the general public to continually develop its potential,” Mr Connelly said.
“Everyone who works in the park today knows they have a huge legacy to live up to. They are the caretakers of this magnificent park, and they are working not just for today’s visitors, but also for the generations of people to come.”
Note: This article stated the park was 15 hectares in 1876. This is incorrect, it was just under 20 hectares.
TDN, NOVEMBER 10, 2007
HERITAGE AWARD FOR TEAHOUSE ARCHITECTURE JUDGES PRAISE RESTORATION
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THE Pukekura Park Teahouse has gone from the brink of destruction to winning acclaim in this year’s regional architectural awards.
Instead of bowling the 90-year-old, dilapidated building two years ago, owner the New Plymouth District Council decided instead to restore the iconic building in good time for the park’s centennial year.
Architect Jenny Goddard’s long- awaited restoration, which has brought the teahouse back to its former glory, last night received a stamp of approval from the New Zealand Institute of Architects’ western region judges who awarded it the Heritage and Conservation category.
Judging convenor Jim Elliott, of Elliott Architects (NP) Ltd, said extensive historic research had gone into the restoration to ensure authenticity—and this was clear in the result.
“This is a much-loved building in a lush green area and which has a special place in the psyche of the people of New Plymouth,” he said. “The building was extremely dilapidated and a great deal of work was needed.”
The kiosk also won a Resene colour award for its palette of authentic period colours in cream, red and brown.
The regional awards attracted a much wider range of building types, all with very good quality of design, Mr Elliott said.
Gusto, on the waterfront at Port Taranaki, and recently praised for its good food, won the Hospitality and Tourism category.
The Ian Pritchard design was praised for its veranda-like space which made the most of its grandstand position and views.
Among the other 15 winning projects, was New Plymouth’s Whiteley Memorial Methodist Church, which won an Enduring Architecture Award.
Designed by Harvey and Bowering, with Abbot, Hole and Annbell, the church with its distinctive high-pitched roof, was built in 1963.
The judges said the church, which echoed the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, had stood the test of time and provided a commanding presence in a prominent location.
Additions to St John Bosco School by BSM Group won acclaim in the education category, while the Ahu Ahu Villas’ stage 2 by Boon Goldsmith Bhaskar Team Architecture took honours in the hospitality and tourism category.
A new house by Chapman Oulsnam Speirs, built in a restricted inner-city site, won the residential section.
TDN, NOVEMBER 21, 2007
TWINS MAKE THEIR MARK FOR THE FUTURE
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK’S young neighbours, Ethan and Mac Rowe (4), didn’t mind getting their hands dirty and made short work of planting a tree to mark the centenary of the park’s official naming.
The twins attend Pukekura Park kindy and were invited to join park curator Chris Connolly to plant the conifer on the Eastern Hillside above the kiosk.
Coincidentally, the kindy recently had its own celebration for turning 50.
“It’s most appropriate the next generation is represented today,” Mayor Peter Tennent told the gathering of about 50 Friends of Pukekura Park, New Plymouth district councillors and workers. In 60 years the boys would be able to look at the tree and take pride in the fact that they took part in the planting ceremony, Mr Tennent said.
Three conifers were planted in an area cleared of aging trees.
Friends president Karl Rossiter said the park was a wonderful asset. “It’s the environment that is so, so special. We totally support the endeavours to take it forward to the next generation.”
For plant lovers, the boys planted an Araucaria bidwillii (a close relative of the Norfolk Island pine). The other two are a Pinus nigra, subspecies laricio, a native of Corsica and southern Italy, and an Abies holophylla, a native of Manchuria and Korea.
Further planting is planned.
TDN, NOVEMBER 23, 2007
PARK HISTORY BOOK
A BOOK detailing the history of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park and its walkways was launched yesterday. Pukekura Park and Brooklands, A Guide to Walks, is a joint effort by Puke Ariki and the North Taranaki branch of the NZ Institute of Horticulture. Puke Ariki researcher Ron Lambert took a year to design and write the book.
2008
TDN, JANUARY 29, 2008
CELEBRATING IN STYLE
With photo
The park fernery’s 80th birthday party yesterday was a journey back to the —only the gas barbecue gave away that it was 2008. Mr Connolly, the curator, said he was impressed with the amount of people who came to celebrate the fernery’s birthday. “It’s been very good, a lot of people got into the spirit of the day,” Mr Connolly said. Children with butterflies painted on their faces ran around the Fred Parker Lawn while other party goers queued up for sausages, bread and tomato sauce. The festivities were complete with the cutting of a large birthday cake.
TDN, FEBRUARY 5, 2008
PARK UPGRADE STARTS AS FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS NEARS END
With photo
ALMOST 200,000 people have visited the Festival of Lights during its two-month season.
New Plymouth District Council team leader of events Melissa Devine estimates between 150,000 and 200,000 people visited Pukekura Park.
“I have been part of the festival for the last five years and I think every year it gets more popular,” Ms Devine said.
This summer’s fine weather has helped.
“The weather has obviously played a role in the huge crowds that have been attracted to the On Stage programme. The shift to an earlier start time saw families and friends gather on the Hatchery Lawn early with their picnic baskets. Most of the feedback has been good, people have really enjoyed themselves,” Ms Devine said.
They have received constructive feedback which Ms Devine says will improve the next festival.
“Most of it was to do with things we didn’t even think of. Different noises being too close together, just things like that.”
Surf and Skate Day Out was the most popular daytime event for the Summer Scene with 600 people attending. During On Stage, local band Shaskeen Reel and out of town group House of Shem, both atrracted crowds of 1200.
Although the TSB Festival of Lights officially finishes on Sunday, the lights will continue each weekend until March 23.
As the festival ends, work has begun on improvements to 1km of the park’s track. Maranui Gully, which until 2004 belonged to Highlands Intermediate, will be widened to two metres.
“The tracks have never been properly formed, so we are clearing the weeds and making a new grass track,” curator Chris Connolly said.
The track will be closed for two weeks until the work is finished.
TDN, FEBRUARY 27, 2008
BROOKLANDS ZOO GETS NEW TOP DOGS
With photo
A LEOPARD can’t change its spots but zoos can change their top dogs.
Brooklands Zoo in New Plymouth has taken on three new staff who will bring a wealth of global experience to the animal park.
Newly-appointed technical officer Eve Cozzi (30) has worked at the Vancouver Aquarium and the Greater Vancouver zoo.
Her soon to be co-ordinator, Sarah Holman (21), of Perth, has worked as a veterinary nurse for a practice famed for its treatment of exotic animals.
The pair will become the two top dogs at the zoo when current technical officer Carla Read takes maternity leave late next month.
Joining them at the weekends will be New Plymouth radiologist Linda Day, who has spent five years in the Moroccan highlands raising the exotic houbara birds.
“When I was in Vancouver, I missed New Zealand’s beaches. When I came home to Auckland, I missed the mountains. Now I have them both in one spot. It’s great,” Ms Cozzi said.
Fellow fulltimer Ms Holman has followed her partner back to New Plymouth from Perth and is expecting her horse and dog to join her soon.
She said one of the best things about New Zealand was the lack of deadly animals.
“It was really exciting to be able to go bushwalking and not have to worry about snakes. I can’t believe you don’t have anything that can kill you here,” she said.
Ms Read said the zoo was fortunate to have secured staff with such varied experience.
She said the zoo required their knowledge so it could meet new compliance requirements for dealing with exotic animals.
Ms Read said the new appointments gave the zoo one extra fulltime staff member.
It would allow them to further develop their education and community programmes.
TDN, MARCH 8, 2008
NATURAL SELECTION
This week, the Bowl of Brooklands turns 50. Helen Harvey reports.
STAR ATTRACTIONS AMONG THE BETTER- KNOWN ACTS TO APPEAR AT THE BOWL WERE:
Hogsnort Rupert, Alison Durbin,Creation, Suzanne Prentice, Happen Inn cast members, Vaughan Lawrence, Rob Guest, Lew Pryme, The Rumour, The Seekers, The New Seekers, The Sweet, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Bobby Rydell, Cilla Black, Jose Feliciano, Sir Cliff Richard, The Drifters, Sir Elton John, Glen Campbell, Sir Harry Secombe, Dame Malvina Major, Howard Morrison Quartet, John Rowles, Kenny Rogers, Little River Band, Lou and Simon, Lulu, Mary Hopkin, Roger Whittaker, Roy Orbison, Split Enz, The Hollies, The Platters, Val Doonican.
ONCE upon a time, a long time ago, nymphs and elves used to dance on the lake in front of the Bowl of Brooklands. Though some people might say it was only children dancing on a platform placed just under the water, others, especially the very young, know better.
In the early days, productions at the Bowl of Brooklands may not have had 21st technology, but they had a whole lot of creativity mixed together with some good old Kiwi ingenuity. And the lack of OSH regulations left Peter Pan free to fly. Rigged up on a trapeze contraption, with a rope and a harness, the boy who never grew up flew out of the trees and across the stage in a rolling bosun’s chair. Those were the days when the sound control room was an old Army hut, inter- Bowl communications were by way of flashing torch and schoolboy runner, and the main dressing room was a tent.
The Bowl is celebrating its 50th birthday this weekend and tales of dancing elves, flying boys and other stories will be told and retold at a dinner tonight.
One of the organisers is Sheila Connell, who was secretary to Bowl visionary Eric Handbury in 1958. In May 1957, Mr Handbury, who was New Plymouth’s public relations officer, took Mrs Connell to where the Bowl is now.
“He told me to stand at the top of the hill, and he went down to the bottom and spoke in a normal way. I could hear his words absolutely clearly. He rushed up and said to me: There you go – this is a natural sound shell. This is going to be the Bowl of Brooklands.”
Fifty years on, Mrs Connell has been collecting stories, like the one where workers Ted McLean and Doug Ward were marooned on the lake on a wobbly raft, “or when stuntman Jim Pickering dived into the lake to rescue a Miss Brooklands whose raft had caught on a snag, or the time the tape used for a dramatic production got out of sync with the performance”.
While one of the actors struggled to mount a skittery horse onstage, the sound of galloping hooves swept out into the night, she says.
“Facilities were extremely primitive, but such a novelty for New Plymouth, the people just loved it – or overlooked it.”
Weather could make or break such events. Once the audience dwindled to about 50 huddled under umbrellas while the performers stoically stuck to the motto The Show Must Go On.
The first festival in 1958 featured Androcles and The Lion. At the end, the orchestra played Beethoven’s 1812 Overture. In subsequent years, the Bowl had Army cannons and guns, but the first year organisers created the requisite explosion in an old tank. It made such a loud noise, the conductor’s score blew in the lake, so he couldn’t see what he was doing, and the smoke drifted across so those onstage couldn’t see anything at all.
Ten years later The Seekers’ 1968 concert drew the biggest crowd ever. It is estimated about 18,500 people were there legally and more were watching from vantage points in trees.
During the evening, the toilets overflowed. Later, an announcement was made telling people the loos were now fixed, but suggesting people only go if they had to. Nothing like that happened during any of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa’s three concerts.
Mrs Connell says at one of the concerts, Dame Kiri’s New Zealand music teacher, Sister Mary Leo, was invited. She stayed with some nuns in a Brooklands convent and took one to the show. “It was a magical night. In the second half and for the first time ever, Kiri sang songs from shows or pop songs. The audience loved it.”
However, immediately after the performance, the reporter from the Taranaki Daily News interviewed the sister, who was really angry with Dame Kiri for singing pop and show songs, Mrs Connell says.
And the next day, the Daily News headline was something like “Sister Mary Leo disappointed in Kiri”. The reporter got it wrong: it was the other sister who was disappointed.
At Dame Kiri’s first concert in 1967, adults had to pay 7/6 and children 3/-.
In 1972, a particularly noisy duck had to be removed from the lake in front of the Bowl stage because she insisted on joining in with the chorus with Dame Kiri, the Taranaki Daily News wrote in its January 28, 1972, edition. “The same duck later hatched 11 out of 13 eggs after watching three variety shows under seat 14 row D in the middle of the Bowl. The lawn had to be mown around her for three weeks while she sat on her eggs.”
Another newspaper report, though (details such as the date and whether it was the Herald or the Daily News are lost), talks about a shed that used to be at the entrance to Brooklands Park. Someone, Mrs Connell says, wrote a poem on it:
“See here this writing on the wall, done by vandals not at all.
“We think someone could do this chore, remove from this site this old eyesore.”
The hut was removed.
In the early days the Festival of the Pines, which ran each year for more than a week, was the main event. A feature of the festival was the Miss Brooklands pageant. The first Miss Brooklands, in 1958, was won by Maree Leadbetter, who was then 19. The last Miss Brooklands was in 1983. There were usually between 15 and 20 contestants, plus there were various events around town during the lead-up to the contest. The organisers didn’t want it to be a beauty contest. It was judged on the personal qualities of the girls rather than looks, Mrs Connell says. However, they were beautiful girls.
Miss Brooklands and her attendants would float across the lake on a barge or raft decorated to look like a swan, or sometimes a flower. The decorations were made by Mrs L. K. Grundy.
The barge was either punted across or pulled across with ropes. The ropes would sometimes get caught on something and the barge would go off in the wrong direction.
One year the rope got snagged on one of the telephone wires, Mrs Connell says.
“They had to cut that. It jerked to a stop and nearly tipped the girls into the water.” The Technology Museum at 13 Kent Rd has a display of Miss Brooklands memorabilia, including a toolbox presented to Miss Booklands 1965.
Museum director Chris Rickards says Jeanine Williams completed the normal duties of a Miss Brooklands, “but then went out of her way to do carpentry, painting, cleaning all sorts of things onstage”.
So she was presented with quite a flash toolbox and an accompanying script that admitted her to the (fictional) Ancient Order of Festival Workers.
Mr Rickards says in the early days of the Bowl, it was difficult to get bums on seats, because they were producing things like Anthony and Cleopatra, “which was all very fine for theatre buffs, but there wasn’t anything for people who wanted to listen to jazz festivals or things like that”.
So in 1965, the festival was dedicated to local artists and was produced by well-known local musician Galvin Edser.
All the festival had fireworks displays that make today’s display pale by comparison, Mr Rickards says.
There would be two tanks firing at each other in the lake, 12ft Catherine wheels on the stage and – a tradition at every show – a Prince of Wales’ Feathers, which was a huge waterfall of fireworks.
The Technology Museum has a display of the history of the Bowl of Brooklands. Part of the display will be a big screen showing various events at the Bowl, including shows.
The audio-visual show will run on a loop, Mr Rickards says, and will include historical footage from 1957/58.
MIDWEEK, APRIL 23, 2008
DELL GLORY RETURNS
IN the past few weeks a lot of work has gone into restoring the once overgrown Primula Dell area in Pukekura Park back to its former glory.
Park curator Chris Connolly says the Dell was once covered in the brightly-coloured flowers but, as the trees cut out the light overhead, they also cut the life out of the plants.
“We selected a few trees. Cut them back and we’ve planted more than 800 primulas,” Chris says.
More than 500 of those were donated from a grower
in Rotorua. Another 300 primula malacoides have been bought and planted and another 300 primula vialli will be delivered in the next few weeks.
All up it has cost about $3500.
Chris says hostas, ligularias, rodgersia, ajuga and hakonechloa will also be planted in the Dell area.
And although the little shrubs barely poke out of the ground now it’s expected they’ll be nothing short of spectacular in spring.
“It will be a special place in the springtime,” Chris says.
Just up the track is the upper Primula Dell, which was recently transformed into a beautiful lawn with a park bench that captures the sun in late afternoon.
“We’ve created a little lawn that’s like another room in the park,” he says.
Other work at the park includes widening the path into Pukekura Park beside Highlands Intermediate.
Once it was overgrown and the path was only a metre wide. Now the path is about two metres wide which is enough to let the park’s maintenance vehicles into the area.
The track is mostly popular with walkers and joggers.
TDN, MARCH 10, 2008
BOWL OF BROOKLANDS REUNION
With photo
The women were among about 160 who gathered to celebrate the bowl’s 50th birthday.
Friends of the Bowl chairman Lance Girling-Butcher said Saturday’s dinner on the bowl stage was essentially a reunion for people who worked hard to create the Bowl of Brooklands 50 years ago.
Mr Girling-Butcher said it was a night of nostalgia and everyone enjoyed sharing memories and stories.
“It was a very successful night; people came from as far away as Sydney and there were quite a number from out of town.”
TDN, JULY 30, 2008
MONKEY BUSINESS AT THE ZOO
With photo
THREE local lads are eagerly awaiting Friday night when they will be allowed to meet, mingle and possibly mate with six ladies trucked down from Hamilton yesterday.
New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo yesterday swapped its six female capuchin monkeys with six from Hamilton Zoo. The swap is to maintain the genetic integrity of the monkeys and give the primates a bit of amorous action.
The removal of the ladies caused the three remaining male capuchins, Boo, Crumpy and Bubba to literally climb the walls, ceiling and rope ladder with lovelorn anxiety.
Though only Boo has the capacity to bring the stork to town, the other two still enjoy the company of the ladies. Hopefully, even ones from Hamilton.
“Crumpy is certainly going to miss Clarissa. They had a pretty close relationship,” said the acting zoo technical officer, Eve Cozzi.
An unnamed attendant whispers that in human terms Clarissa’s habits might have been frowned upon as “fast”.
“She really was a one-man woman, but well . . . if you know what I mean,” she said with a wink.
Hamilton Zoo primate keeper Kelly Taylor said she expected her six girls to settle in nicely at their new home. She did not think the colder weather would affect their affections, but they would certainly appreciate the heated night den on site.
One lady the boys may want to look out for is Dolly, the dominant sheila of the Hamilton bunch. Aside from being bigger than the other girls, she has a nasty habit of telling people exactly what she thinks of them through the universal language of hand gesture.
“Yeah, well, she flips everyone off. Not that she means to. She must have broken her middle finger and it healed so she couldn’t bend it, and now it looks like she is giving you the finger all the time,” said Ms Taylor.
That may or may not be true, but try explaining that to the eager-to-please Boo, Crumpy and Bubba. The six new arrivals will be kept separate from the lads for a few days so each group can get used to each other’s smell and appearance before meeting face-to-face.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 12, 2008
TOUCH OF TROPICS IN FERNERY
A MYSTERIOUS benefactor with $4000 to spare has brought a piece of tropical Bali to the Fernery at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
The surprise donation was made to the park on the condition the money be used for park beautification. All departments were then asked to come up with ideas for ways to spend the money and the green-fingered bunch at the Fernery came out on top.
Fernery field staffer Judi Harre said the idea to put a Balinese pergola in the fernery and display houses came at the same time as the request for ways to spend the donation.
“We had been thinking something like this would be a good change and it just happened that it was the right amount of money for what we wanted.”
She says the coconut palm pergola will be surrounded by tropical plants and provide a platform for people to take a break and soak in the atmosphere.
Park curator Chris Connolly said that the colder months were a busy time at the park and the pergola was only a small part of the work going on.
A new irrigation system had been installed under the cricket ground, tracks had been worked on, gardens replanted and soils changed. “It’s our time when less numbers of people are coming through the park and it gives us an opportunity to do a lot of track maintenance without disturbing the public too much.”
The new pergola should be ready for use some time next week.
TDN, OCTOBER 22, 2008
NEW PARK PODS GO ALL ELECTRIC
With photo
TWO exciting new arrivals are causing quite a stir at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
They are new fibreglass vehicles, powered by battery and plugged in at night. They hum along and look a little like toys.
They are so sweet they deserve names, something like James or Thomas.
And they are obviously well loved even though they arrived in the country from China only last week.
The people-mover and truck, with metal flatbed, replace diesel vehicles which were noisy and smelly and bad for the trees.
“It was very important to get something a bit greener with less of a carbon footprint,” park curator Chris Connolly said.
“These are absolutely perfect. They are ideal.”
The vehicles are the perfect size for maneuvering around the park.
Also, the low hum means the sound of birds and rustle of leaves can be heard above the motor.
The eight-seater people-mover, designed to carry those who find walking around the park a bit much, yesterday had its first users.
“The group of elderly I took this morning thoroughly enjoyed it,” Mr Connolly said.
“It’s a wonderful experience, you can get them right up close.”
TDN, DECEMBER 9, 2008
TRIM FOR SICK TREE
A DISEASED section of a large Norfolk pine on Brooklands Lawn will be removed today. New Plymouth District Council staff will chop about nine metres off the top of the tree at 8am. Over the last month there has been a significant decline in the health of the tree with the top of it browning off and dying. It’s hoped that removing the diseased section will rejuvenate the tree and lead to its eventual recovery. The removal work will be carried out using climbers and a large crane.
TDN, DECEMBER 16, 2008
ZOO’S NEW ARRIVAL CREATES A STIR
With photo
CRUMPY reckons he’s the Dad but Rita’s last love was in a city to the north known as Hamilton.
Some time between sunset on Saturday and sunrise on Sunday, Brooklands Zoo’s youngest capuchin monkey gave birth. Six-year-old Rita is at prime breeding age although staff were not sure she was pregnant until the birth.
As Rita came to the New Plymouth zoo from Hamilton only a little over five months ago and the gestation period for capuchins can be five to seven months, the human staff are assuming the father is from that northern city.
In the monkey enclosure, it’s Crumpy the dominant male who reckons he’s the dad.
Zoo acting technical officer Eve Cozzi says that is highly unlikely. Quite aside from the issue of timing, poor Crumpy has had the dreaded “op”.
“He is pretty protective of his troupe so he will look after Rita. As far as he is concerned, he thinks the baby is his.”
Whoever is responsible for the baby is beside the point. Although Rita is looking after the baby now, in time all the monkeys will take their turn bringing up the young’un.
“We haven’t been able to ascertain whether it is male or female yet but we are pleased with the birth. That is the reason we exchanged monkeys with Hamilton, to get them breeding, so this is a very good start.”
Meanwhile, visitors hoping to get a glimpse of the ring-tailed lemurs Sarah and Manera will have to wait a couple of months.
The feisty young ladies had a bit of a domestic and have been isolated while Sarah recovers from a snapped Achilles and Manera thinks about what she has done.
TDN, DECEMBER 17, 2008
BABY MONKEY PUT DOWN AFTER FAMILY TIFF
With photo
A FAMILY squabble has resulted in the death of Brooklands Zoo’s newborn capuchin monkey featured on the front page of yesterday’s Taranaki Daily News.
The baby was born overnight on Saturday to Rita, a recent arrival from Hamilton Zoo. Brooklands Zoo acting technical officer Eve Cozzi said Dolly, Rita’s mother and the dominant female of the troupe, took control of the newborn—forcing Rita out.
“It happens sometimes that monkeys will reject their babies after they have been taken by another female,” Ms Cozzi said. The baby was not being fed and its condition deteriorated quickly, so zoo staff put it down yesterday.
“The zoo staff are quite upset. We are quite close to these animals so the death of any of them, particularly a baby, hits us all,” she said.
TDN, DECEMBER 24, 2008
MORE SCOOTERS FOR PARK
THREE new scooters are helping people with limited mobility enjoy Pukekura Park and the TSB Bank Festival of Lights. The mobility scooters were donated to Pukekura Park by TSB Bank, bringing the number available in the park to four. Use of the scooters is free but they must be booked in advance.
2009
TDN, FEBRUARY 12, 2009
BODY IN PARK
A badly decomposed female body was found in Pukekura Park last night. Police said a group of rogainers came across the body in the bushes near the back of the racecourse just before 7pm. Investigations were under way, but no foul play was suspected.
TDN, FEBRUARY 13, 2009
BODY BELIEVED TO BE THAT OF MISSING WOMAN
A DECOMPOSED body found in Pukekura Park is believed to be missing woman Cynthia Lynette Thompson.
Ms Thompson went missing from her Westown home in June last year and had not touched her bank accounts or contacted her family since.
CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward said police believed the body, which was found about 7pm on Wednesday by a group of rogainers, was that of the 53-year-old.
Rogaining is the sport of long distance cross-country navigation.
“Within a day or so we will be able to have that (the identity) confirmed,” Mr Coward said. Ms Thompson’s family had been advised, he said.
TDN, MARCH 10, 2009
KING DESCENDANTS PLANT REMINDER OF PARK LEGACY
With photo
NEW PLYMOUTH’S Brooklands Park was made a family home once again yesterday.
Generations of the King family gathered to celebrate with a lunch and a tree planting the 75 years since their patriarch’s home was gifted to the city of New Plymouth.
Newton King bought the property in 1896 and developed it into one of the most impressive private gardens in the country.
Upon his death in 1927 the financial burden of the estate proved too great for the family and it was given to New Plymouth in a ceremony attended by 5000 people and the governor-general.
“I was the little girl who gave flowers to the governor general’s wife. I was only six so I can’t remember it much, but I look scared stiff in the photo,” said Lynette Jolicoeur, one of Mr King’s granddaughters. “The pond is where the boys from Boys’ High used to come down and steal the boat and use flax stems to pole around. Our grandmother Mary would bring out a great big bell and ring it like mad and all the boys would go running,” said the dapper Vivian King, 94, son of Plunket founder Truby King.
“And Adrienne’s husband was one of those boys, ” he said of his cousin Adrienne Tatham, also at the ceremony.
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said gathering the descendants of the King family was an opportunity to remember the spirit in which the homestead was donated to the city and to maintain the King connection to the park.
At the tree planting, a Mexican pinus patula, New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent took charge just in case the family thought they had already done their bit.
“Right you’ve all had a lovely lunch,” he said while handing the shovel to the nearest King.
“Now you’ve got to work for it.”
TDN, JUNE 11, 2009
FRIENDS BATTLE FOR PARK TREESROAD PUSHED THROUGH ‘UNDER FALSE URGENCY’
With photo
A BATTLE has broken out over a new road to be built through native bush at the Bowl of Brooklands.
The road will improve access to the TSB Bank Bowl of Brooklands from the park’s racecourse end but in the way are numerous large native trees, including several more than a century old.
The group Friends of Pukekura Park claims the New Plymouth District Council is putting events at the bowl before the environment in approving the road under a sense of “false urgency”and with no public consultation.
President David Medway has claimed a decision made in “no more than half an hour” at a council meeting last Tuesday was bulldozed through and scare tactics were used to persuade some councillors who stated they had “been pushed into a corner” over the issue.
The road is to replace the current racecourse entrance which has been blocked by new Taranaki Racing Club stables, is in disrepair and does not allow emergency services such as fire and ambulance access to the bowl.
Mayor Peter Tennent has weighed in to the row saying while he understands the Friends’ concerns, events at the bowl would end if access was not fixed.
Mr Tennent confirmed there were “big acts” coming this summer and there needed to be a road for emergency access before the fireworks display in November.
“The decision had to be made yesterday if we want big acts over summer. The mayor would get lynched if the best outdoor facility in the world was unable to be used,” he said. Mr Medway said the park was recognised as a Garden of National Significance and in approving the road the council was ending 133 years of good management and care.
He said the decision to start “nibbling away” at its 49ha was “destructive”.
“It’s inconsistent with policies that have been in place for over 100 years. Who knows what else they’ve got planned,” he asked.
The road had been in the planning since the end of last year when the Taranaki Racing Club decided it needed to finish building stables which would block the entranceway.
The racing club planned the road with council officers and is paying part of the $235,000 cost.
Mr Medway said in planning there had been no consultation on ecological or environment impact and an arborist was called in only on the request of his group.
The main tree at stake is a large puriri tree estimated to be up to 400 years old.
The Friends said the planned road wiped out shelter belts, putting the tree in significant danger.
Secretary Elise Smith estimated the tree would be dead within 10 years of the road being built. An alternative route was suggested by the group which it said would take up less of the park and save a group of century-old kohekohe trees but this would cost more and has been called less environmentally- sound by council officers.
Ms Smith said the group was considering environment court action but this would be costly and stressful. “We’re a group of friends of this park, we don’t expect to be watchdogs with teeth.”
TDN, JUNE 15, 2009
PARK KEEPER’S PROTEST CAMPAIGN TO SAVE TREES
With photo
EIGHTY-YEAR-OLD George Fuller is launching a campaign to save a group of ancient native trees including a 400-year-old puriri at New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands.
Protesting against a New Plymouth District Council decision to carve a 6m wide road through the section of Pukekura Park, from next Thursday Mr Fuller will spend an hour a day for seven days standing in the path of the new road.
He hopes people will visit and observe the puriri as well as the 25 trees to be felled and imagine the gaps they would leave.
Mr Fuller was live-in curator of the park for 25 years from 1966. He is a respected horticulturist, pioneering tree-surgeon and holds an MBE for services to the community.
Mr Fuller said the focus of the “personal campaign” was to return a sense of values to an “ignorant council” whose environmental awareness was appalling.
The decision to allow the road was made last week at a council meeting attended by Mr Fuller who said it was “excruciating to watch” as councillors did away with public consultation.
“The insidious part of this project is it so grossly affects the features of the park and they were going ahead with it with so few people knowing,” he said.
Mr Fuller yesterday gained an ally in councillor Heather Dodunski who said the council needed more time to make the decision.
Mrs Dodunski described a council that was put under pressure to vote for the road after facing an “alarmist attitude” from officers who threatened the loss of events at the TSB Bank Bowl of Brooklands.
“I wasn’t happy for a few reasons. Really, I couldn’t understand the need for speed. It was the first time I had read the report,” she said.
The council believes a new road is necessary to allow emergency vehicle access to the bowl since the existing one, built 30 years ago, is now blocked by stabling developments at the New Plymouth racecourse.
Mr Fuller said the road makes a mockery of New Plymouth’s international environmental award for the coastal walkway and said the council should be “stripped of its laurels”.
While Mayor Peter Tennent was adamant last week the planned road would not affect the puriri tree, Mr Fuller said his years of research showed the tree was an “enigma” with roots only in a 180 degree semi-circle above it and all in the path of the new road.
A council-appointed arborist had not noticed this.
Mr Fuller said earthworks for the road would destroy a shelter belt planted over 30 years ago to protect the puriri. Its water supply would be cut off and the tree would be exposed to damaging wind.
Mr Fuller said a simple solution would be to re-route the road through a piece of racecourse paddock and then link it to the existing road, which would need to be stabilised, but the council had vetoed this option at the meeting.
“They need to retain the road, make it strong. I’m sure there are engineers who can see this done. It’s a joke we can send people to the moon and back but we can’t build the right road.” He also scoffed at the council’s decision to allow a large stable development to be built at the racecourse, blocking the entrance to the current road.
Mr Fuller said he was not anti-progress, but feared that a focus on the Bowl of Brooklands as a venue had overtaken Pukekura Park’s 133 years as a place of conservation. He described it as the tail wagging the dog.
“It’s growing very bushy, this tail, and it’s wagging an ailing dog,” he said.
Mr Fuller said the special feeling of the park and the joy of walking under towering trees was in danger.
During his campaign he hoped to bring back that awareness.
“I and the family lived close to the heart of the park for 26 years. In a sense I felt its pulse and I’ve never forgotten that, I still have an interest about what goes on there,” he said.
Mr Fuller’s vigil at the tree runs between noon and 1pm from Thursday, June 18 until June 24 and he is inviting people to join him. The access is via the Scanlan Lookout behind the racecourse grandstand along Mason Drive or via the existing track from the Bowl of Brooklands.
TDN, JUNE 16, 2009
COUNCIL OFFERS OLIVE BRANCHMAYOR URGES SPEED ON BETTER PROPOSAL
NEW PLYMOUTH Mayor Peter Tennent has promised his council will meet with 80-year-old tree campaigner George Fuller today.
The pensioner will be keeping vigil at Pukekura Park, where he was curator for 25 years, from Thursday in protest over a new road planned for a section of the park’s world-famous Bowl of Brooklands.
Mr Fuller is certain the road will mean a slow death for a 400-year-old puriri tree and is upset at the proposed felling of about 25 other native trees, some more than a century old.
Mr Tennent said if Mr Fuller or any other group could come up with a better proposition than the New Plymouth District Council’s current plan “real quick” it would be considered and he hoped a meeting would be held today.
However, he and council officers remain at loggerheads with Mr Fuller over advice by two independent arborists appointed by the council who stated the planned road was the best option to protect the puriri tree.
Mr Fuller has said they got it wrong and the road runs right over the ancient tree’s root-system.
“The rationale for option one [the current road design] was not based on price, it was based on the advice of tree experts. Whether or not they are up to Mr Fuller’s standard or not I don’t even want to debate,” Mr Tennent said.
The new 6m-wide road has been designed to replace a current access track built in the 1960s. That road has recently been blocked off by development at the New Plymouth racecourse. The road is slumping, endangering pipelines carrying water from the stables, and Mr Tennent said it could not cope with heavy vehicles including ambulances and fire engines.
While the mayor said he was open to better solutions, he was adamant they needed to happen quickly so this summer’s events would not be affected.
“That would be appreciated but we are in a position where the clock is ticking if the bowl is to be used for events contracted over summer. The other issue is the ratepayers aren’t a bottomless pit of money which means it has to be cost-effective. It would be fantastic if there was no limit to the amount of money but there is,” he said.
The Bowl of Brooklands is the home of the annual festival Womad, has hosted international superstars such as Elton John, Stevie Nicks, Cliff Richard, Jack Johnson and Kiri Te Kanawa and locally is gearing up for November’s popular Guy Fawkes display.
Mr Tennent said he was not willing to put these kinds of events, which attract crowds of up to 18,000, in jeopardy.
“I have huge sympathy for those who don’t want to place anything at risk. I feel a huge amount of sympathy for those who don’t care about shows that happen at the bowl. They care more about the integrity of the park, that’s cool, too.”
However, he was willing to look at a speedy new option if it was based on facts and echoes Mr Fuller’s statement the puriri tree was a priority.
“I have made the commitment but this should not be a political decision,’ he said.
“We need a decision that would minimise any damage and ensure planting benefit.”
Yesterday the council, Mr Fuller and Mr Tennent had all received numerous queries from members of the public interested in the road and trees.
Mr Fuller said he had people call from Wellington offering to join his campaign.
“It has really roused their interest, stirred people up, which is perfect because all I’m trying to do is educate and support any decisions made with more knowledge and expertise.”
TDN, JUNE 17, 2009
REACTION TO FRIENDS OF THE PARK ANGERS
HAVING read the article “Friends battle for park trees (June 11)”, I have to say I take exception to Mayor Peter Tennent’s scaremongering comments.
The Friends of Pukekura Park have never suggested the road not be fixed. No one wants to see the Bowl suffer through lack of access. The objection is to the rush to get it sorted without serious consideration to the preservation of valuable trees.
Surely NPDC was aware of the racecourse development plans 12-18 months ago. Why was planning for the access road not started then? The option put forward by the Friends utilises the existing road as far as possible, but the design put to the council is very over-engineered.
I believe a design can be delivered that does not require the destruction of so many trees.
To say that a road has to be in place to allow a fireworks display in November is a disgrace! One hundred-year-old trees cannot be replaced but fireworks displays can be shifted. In fact, since the racecourse development has been allowed to block the access, why not shift the fireworks to the racecourse? Yes the road needs to be developed, but only with a park-friendly design. DEREK HUGHES
TDN, JUNE 17, 2009
TREE CAMPAIGNER AND ARBORIST AGREE ON SOME ROAD CHANGES
A MEETING with the mayor has been labelled “amicable and fair” by 80-year-old tree campaigner George Fuller, but he’s not ready to give up his crusade yet.
Yesterday Mr Fuller met with New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent and council-appointed independent arborist Bruce MacDonald to discuss the ramifications of a planned road through a section of Pukekura Park.
At stake is a 400-year-old puriri tree, which Mr Fuller claims will die if the council goes through with a roading option voted for by New Plymouth District councillors last week.
His opinion is at odds with that of Mr MacDonald, a senior consulting arborist at firm Asplundh. He believes the council has voted for the plan that will work most in the tree’s favour.
This option is still being looked upon as the best by council but after the meeting with the “tree guys” Mr Tennent said there would be some adjustments.
“It’s more a Bruce-George solution now,” he said.
These changes included some overseeing of construction by an arborist as well as group Friends of the Park and a promise not to disrupt tarmac from the 1960s around the base of the tree but to let it break up naturally.
“It’s fair to say we’re all on the same page, whatever we do is going to be a compromise,” Mr Tennent said.
Another option suggested by Mr Fuller was to slightly suspend the road above the base of the tree so it did not interrupt any of the roots.
Mr Tennent said this was looked into by council officers yesterday but it was deemed an “arm and leg”, option which would cost too much. Mr Fuller still hoped an environmental engineer would be able to look into the idea.
“Really in the back of my mind I pray (and I don’t pray very much), I yearn for an environmental engineer to be brought in to give an opinion,” he said.
“I think it’s more important to retain the character of the area than save money.”
Mr Fuller is still in preparation-mode for his seven- day vigil at the site and will be there between noon and 1pm starting tomorrow.
“I haven’t given up hope. I still feel committed to not stir things up politically, just to get people knowledgeable and clued-up.”
TDN, JUNE 18, 2009
COUNCILLOR HITS OUT ON TREE DECISION
I was one of a small number of councillors who did not vote to have the new road put through the park in the route that was identified as being the best.
My reasons are that I believe this decision is being made in extreme haste in an attempt to continue the “vibrancy” that certain members of the public and council are hellbent on creating.
In the past we have seen decisions made and acted on in haste that have resulted in the public being bullied into accepting, regardless of consequences.
I believe we have a community that cares about its environment more than the vibrancy of the acts that may be attracted to the Bowl.
To be told by a senior officer that if we don’t do this road now we will not have Womad or any other big acts is ludicrous, in my opinion.
This is blackmail in its rawest form. I don’t accept blackmail any more than I accept bullying.
With the engineering staff we have and are able to access, we should have an alternative that works for all.
If a tunnel can be bored beneath mountains and seas, and roads and bridges can be made to cater for all types of vehicles in the most impassable terrain, then surely we can find a solution that protects the oldest and most sacred trees in our park, as well as providing access to a point that is used only on few occasions.
Let’s not be held to ransom and have our ratepayers funding the process as well.
There are too many conflicts of interest around the council table over a number of issues. SHERRIL GEORGE
NPDC Councillor
TDN, JUNE 19, 2009
GEORGE’S SUPPORTERS DON BLACK ARMBANDS FOR TREE PROTEST
With photo
IT was the very first day of a seven-day protest and George Fuller was 10 minutes late.
The ex-Pukekura Park curator and respected horticulturist had promised to spend an hour each day for the next week at the base of a 400-year-old puriri tree he believes is threatened by a proposed access road to the back of the Bowl of Brooklands.
He was supposed to begin at midday but by the time the clock struck 12 he was not to be found among 50 people gathered in support.
Many sported black armbands in reference to the 25 trees the New Plymouth District Council is proposing to remove to build the six-metre wide road deemed necessary to allow emergency vehicles and large trucks to access the bowl.
As well as requiring the removal of many trees, Mr Fuller believes the construction of the road would strangle the roots of the historic puriri tree, possibly sentencing it to a slow death.
“This tree, I pronounce, was growing right on the edge of a vertical cliff for most of its life so all its roots developed uphill, right where they want to put the new road. That would cut off the water supply to the tree,” Mr Fuller said.
He wants the council to instead widen and stabilise the existing road as he believes that would have a less detrimental impact on the tree’s root system and the surrounding vegetation.
For Lepperton farmer David Pigott the task of widening the existing road seemed the simplest, cheapest and most obvious option.
“I’m a farmer and I have made plenty of tracks and I know going where they [NPDC] want to go is ridiculous. Any other farmer would say the same thing. It makes you wonder if the engineers they used have got any brains,” he said.
But Bruce MacDonald, the independent arborist employed by the council to assess which of the two options would be best for the puriri and the park, believes widening the existing road would cause serious problems.
He favours building the new road. “I can’t express enough that I am completely impartial. I’m not going to sell my soul to anyone and what I found and recommended is what I believe will be for the long term benefit of the park and the community,” he said.
TDN, JUNE 19, 2009
THE GREAT PURIRI TREE DEBATE: THE TWO EXPERTS PUT FORWARD THEIR CASE
With photo
NEW Plymouth arborist Bruce MacDonald believes building the new access road is the best option for the park and the health of the puriri tree over the next 100 years.
While the new road would cover much of the anchor roots of the tree, it would avoid the all important drip canopy roots from which a tree draws much of its nutrition and water, he said.
The new road would necessitate the removal of 25 established trees and expose the puriri to easterly winds but he believed the tree would be able to withstand those winds.
“Those trees, remember, were only planted there in the 1970s so the tree has experience being exposed to them.”
It was most important to protect the tree on the side from which the prevailing wind blows, Mr MacDonald said, and the widening of the existing road would almost certainly destroy the trees currently providing that shelter.
“Also you would have to cut a massive limb off to allow trucks to get under the tree and that would create a significant wound where decay can get in. When you can avoid wounding a tree of this age, you do.” He said the new road would cause less disruption to the roots of the tree and none to the slower growing branches above.
“Early on this tree was identified as of utmost importance. The angle I took was the preservation of that tree and the overall ecology of the area for the long term.”
George Fuller GEORGE Fuller has agreed to disagree with the New Plymouth District Council’s plan for a new access road through Pukekura Park to the back of the Bowl of Brooklands.
He has focused his discontent on the 400-year-old puriri he believes will be endangered by the new road as it would cover most of its roots, starving it of water and nutrition.
Mr Fuller said the tree had somehow managed to grow on the edge of a cliff and then survive the construction of the existing road beneath its canopy. However, he is not confident it can withstand the disruption caused by another new road. “For the second time in its life it is going to have to deal with a considerable change in its rooting environment and suddenly be exposed to much greater winds when the shelter trees are cut down.”
He said he had carried out his own investigations and believed all the roots required for the survival of the tree were on the side to be covered by the new road and that no roots of importance were under the existing road.
“With the greatest respect, I suspect engineers and arborists have arrived at a conclusion without the benefit of sub-surface investigation.”
He said the proposed new road would create a wind tunnel that would put other trees in the park at risk. “Also there has to be a sloped edge to this new road, so it’s not just a six metre wide thing. It’s going to be much wider than that.”
TDN, JUNE 20, 2009
GEORGE’S TIMING IS IMPROVING
With photo
GEORGE FULLER’S timing is getting better. On Thursday he was 10 minutes late for his noon vigil – yesterday he was only five minutes late.
“I had to find a toilet to change into my suit,” the 80-year-old said.
Mr Fuller, a former curator of Pukekura Park, has vowed to spend an hour a day for a week beside a 400-year-old puriri tree that he believes is threatened by the council’s planned road.
Resplendent in grey suit with his MBE medal, Mr Fuller will be there every lunchtime until Wednesday, discussing the issue with anyone who turns up.
He said yesterday he has been thrilled with the public turnout and the response to a petition urging the council to change its mind. However, he was anxious that the issue did not turn into a Fuller versus MacDonald debate.
Bruce MacDonald is an arborist the New Plymouth District Council employed to assess the road options.
Mr Fuller said he is gathering more information about the “root profile” of the puriri and is happy to pass on any information that will be of help to Mr MacDonald.
TDN, JUNE 22, 2009
GEORGE OUT TO INFORM NON – BELIEVERS OF TREE’S VALUE
With photo
IMPASSIONED New Plymouth botanist George Fuller is summoning all believers and non-believers to head to Pukekura Park.
Mr Fuller, a long-serving former curator of the park, continues to run information sessions on site in a personal and passionate protest aimed at preventing New Plymouth District Council proposals to cut a new access road to Brooklands Bowl for emergency vehicles.
If the road goes ahead, Mr Fuller believes it will put at risk a “priceless” 400-year-old puriri tree and remove a stand of “miracle trees” kohekohe (New Zealand mahogany).
“I beg for them to come. It won’t take me long to convert them. I just want them to understand the magnificence of those trees. I can explain it in five minutes.”
New Plymouth is the furthest south that puriri trees grow naturally and they have a rich history.
Puriri milled in New Plymouth was used for the first bridge over the Whanganui River.
Mr Fuller said people should head to the back of the TSB Stadium carpark where ushers will be on hand to show them the way to the Scanlan Lookout.
“People don’t realise how important the vegetation is in some of the park. To have that is priceless. I can’t understand why they would cut down 25 trees when there’s an alternative. “
Last night, Mr Fuller said he was delighted that as many as 40 people gathered to hear his explanations yesterday and that the protest was gathering strength through information-sharing. “I think the tide has turned.”
Mr Fuller’s treatise will be repeated at noon today, tomorrow and on Wednesday.
TDN, JUNE 24, 2009
CHANGES AFOOT AT TEA HOUSE
With photo
THE popular portions of a favourite Oakura cafe will soon bring a new flavour to the Pukekura Park Tea House.
The owners of Snickerdoodles, Peter and Angie Orsborn, are taking over the lease for the tea house from Eurest on July 1, and Mrs Orsborn says changes are afoot for the business.
“We’re going to marry the old with the new,” Mrs Orsborn said yesterday.
“I guess the tea house is a bit different from many others because people feel like they own it because this is their park.”
Among changes planned are renaming the business “Tea House on the Lake”, a refurbished interior with black leather and chrome, a new menu similar to Snickerdoodles’ but also including features such as afternoon “high tea”, “platters in the park” and a return to serving ice creams in the cone.
They also plan to cater for events and functions.
“I’m sure an ice cream at the kiosk has been part of many a childhood so we’re bringing back the ice cream cones,” Mrs Orsborn said.
An ice cream in a cone was certainly part of Mrs Orsborn’s childhood.
“I decided when I was 10 years old that I wanted this,” she said.
“My mother always brought us here when we were children and I thought it was such a good place.
“It’s just so iconic, isn’t it? The park’s amazing, it’s a stunning place.
“You’re sitting here looking at this stunning view and you want to be able to have a stunning coffee and something else that delights you, too.”
Mr Orsborn, originally from Hawke’s Bay, couldn’t agree more.
“I think it’s an amazing facility and I’m very excited about it,” he said.
The couple decided to take on the business when they realised there was potential to run two cafes from their Oakura bakehouse.
“But it had to be a special venue, we didn’t just want to compete with the cafes in town,” Mrs Orsborn said.
She will manage the tea house while Mr Orsborn, a chef, will be based in Oakura.
It is their first expansion from their Oakura base and is likely to be their last, they say.
“We want to have a life too. We have children and grandchildren and everything else.”
The tea house will be closed from June 28 until July 4 while the changeover is completed.
Eurest ended its lease to focus on its events catering services, a New Plymouth District Council statement said.
On the menu Cinnamon rolls – Pumpkin bread
– Spinach, pinenut and feta rosettas – Toasted New York bagels – Daily hot pots (laksa, cottage pie, macaroni cheese) – Delectable cupcakes.
As well as:
The return of ice cream in a cone – High tea – Platters in the park.
TDN, JUNE 25, 2009
BATTLE TO SAVE TREE NOW FOUGHT ON TWO FRONTSENGINEERS WEIGH IN, COUNCILLORS – LOBBIED
With photo
TWO new methods are now being tried to force the New Plymouth District Council to change its mind on a new access road from the New Plymouth racecourse to the Bowl of Brooklands.
Earlier this month the council authorised the construction of a six metre wide access road to link with an existing road to the back of the renowned venue.
It was deemed necessary after the existing road was flagged as unsafe for emergency vehicles in a health and safety report.
Approval for the new $235,000 road was passed under urgency and since then public sentiment against the decision has been building.
This has largely come from former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller’s daily information sessions beneath a 400-year-old puriri he believes could be killed by the new road.
He favours shoring up the existing road, as did the Friends of Pukekura Park in a submission to the council.
Now that option has the backing of three respected engineers: John Matthews, John Kuindersma and Colin Bell.
The trio will submit a plan to the Friends of Pukekura Park, who will forward it to the council, and believe their ideas will cost less and be quicker to build than the option chosen two weeks ago.
It involves the construction of approximately 22m of retaining wall anchored by long bars underneath the road to reduce the depth retaining poles would have to be driven vertically into the ground.
“I’m pretty sure it will be cheaper than the one council proposes that bowls over 25 trees,” Mr Kuindersma said at a Friends of Pukekura Park meeting last night.
But Friends president David Medway warned against relying on the engineers’ plan to force the council to change its mind.
He said the battle needed to be fought at a political level because that was where the decision had been made. To this end all councillors had been sent a letter from the Friends of Pukekura Park formally requesting the road decision be revoked. It said councillors had been misinformed about the legality of their decision.
They have found at least one ally in councillor Heather Dodunski, one of four councillors who initially voted against the road.
“I’m trying to see if there would be support for a notice of motion to the mayor. I just think there has not been enough time to consult with every body,” she said.
Support from at least five councillors is needed to begin the process that could lead to the decision being revoked.
As of yesterday, Mrs Dodunski did not know if she had that support.
New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent said while he believed the decision to build the new road had been the right one, it was important to remember no trees had been removed, nor ground turned over yet.
“I was comfortable with the decision we made, but there are council officers working now to see if there is a better way of doing this and, if there is a better way of doing it, put your money on that happening.”
He said people were elected to council to try to do their best for the community although sometimes there was divergence as to what the “best” was. There was urgency to finding a solution to ensure events planned for the Bowl were not affected, he said.
TDN, JUNE 27, 2009
BY GEORGE, THEY’VE DONE IT
U-TURN ON PUKEKURA PARK ROAD
With photo
A CONTROVERSIAL plan to build a new road through Pukekura Park to the Bowl of Brooklands looks set to be overturned.
On Monday New Plymouth District councillors are expected to revoke a decision that would have seen a 6m-wide road cut from the New Plymouth racecourse to the Bowl.
Instead, they are likely to adopt a third option that will see the existing road strengthened and widened by the addition of a retaining wall, at least 22m long.
The new proposal has been brokered by respected engineers John Matthews, John Kuindersma and Colin Bell, and backed at a meeting yesterday by district council staff, Friends of Pukekura Park and former park curator George Fuller.
The council had wanted to build a new road as it said the existing one was unsuitable for heavy traffic and emergency vehicles.
Mr Fuller, who was instrumental in harnessing public support for an alternative option, said he was “simply overwhelmed” by the council turnaround. “It’s proved that an individual with a little bit of logic, enthusiasm or obsession can move people in big ways.”
He had also been surprised and the touched by the level of local reaction. Much of that was sparked by public concern over the fate of a 400-year-old puriri tree, and it was there that Mr Fuller maintained a lunchtime vigil for seven days.
Friends of Pukekura Park president David Medway was pleased but cautious, saying that councillors had still to revoke their decision.
He said the third option was what the Friends had initially proposed.
“This is our suggested alternative which the council didn’t accept.
“We are back to where we were at the beginning.”
A petition circulated by the Friends received well over 1000 signatures and forms were still coming in.
The petition called for the existing road to be realigned and improved and for council to reconsider its decision.
Yesterday’s meeting was a celebration, said Mr Matthews who prepared a memorandum of agreement in order to firm up the proposal prepared by civil engineer Colin Bell.
It was the least invasive option for trees and vegetation.
“I’m pleased with the end result and there has been no bad behaviour with the different parties involved,” he said.
Mr Matthews conceded that he helped bring the groups together, and put the consensus down to good timing. “I didn’t like either of the proposals considered and I thought that this would be a better way. I was simply happy to assist in the process where I could.”
Council parks manager Mark Bruhn said the proposal would be a late agenda item at Monday’s meeting, set down to consider the 2009-19 Community Plan. He expected that “everyone will be delighted with the outcome”.
The cost of construction was about $200,000 with the retaining wall estimated to be $50,000.
Asked if he was surprised by the strong public reaction Mr Bruhn said it was a reflection of local interest as well as the council’s inability to get its message out.
“We’ve had the same aim from day one of protecting the puriri tree.
“We did an arborist’s assessment that said we didn’t think the tree would be damaged. What the debate has been about has been the impact of the whole road.” The council had looked at shoring up the existing road but the unknown issue was the slope below the puriri tree and the fill underneath the surface, he said.
“Now we are all on the same page and we have the same objective,” he said.
New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent was thrilled that a consensus had been reached and praised all the parties involved.
He said there had been confusion about the road and the puriri tree, and he’d received outraged emails from people around the world who thought council was trying to kill Pukekura Park.
Asked if the turnaround was something the council should be embarrassed about, he said it wasn’t.
“You can bet your bottom dollar that if that puriri tree was to be put in jeopardy that would not have been a tenable choice for council,” he said.
He would be disappointed if option three was not supported on Monday.
Mr Bruhn said further design and engineering work was needed but the reconstruction was expected to be finished in time for a community fireworks display at the Bowl.
TDN, JUNE 27, 2009
WATER WHEEL WORK
Pukekura Park’s water wheel will be out of action for a week while it is refurbished. The wheel was lifted out of its site yesterday so its drive shaft and bearings can be replaced. A crane lifted the water wheel up on to sacks of bubble wrap material holding it in place while the refurbishment is carried out on site. The wheel is expected to be up and running again by Friday.
TDN, JULY 1, 2009
OLD MAN OF THE PARK
With photo
Helen Harvey finds that George Fuller and Pukekura Park are two sides of the same coin.
George Fuller is obsessed with Pukekura Park. When he retired as curator in 1990, after 25 years living and working in the park, he thought about getting in his car and driving as far away as he could.
Sometimes he thinks he should have. Nearly 20 years later, he still can’t pull himself away.
George, 80, has been in the news lately because he took on city hall and won. He saved a number of trees by helping to stop a plan to build a new road through Pukekura Park to the Bowl of Brooklands.
He’s not surprised he won. When people realised how significant the trees were, they would never let it happen. “The only thing I could do was to invite people to come there and talk to me under those trees.”
For the talks—one a day for seven days—George deliberately wore his medal, the MBE he was awarded in 1990.
“I got that for work with the community and orchids. I felt it my duty to serve the community in this way. So I did a melodramatic thing: wearing a suit and the medal. That is to signify my community service is not yet over.”
He’s been so busy with his campaign his wife, Doris, has had to water his orchids, something that has never happened before. Orchids are George’s passion. A Pleione he bred won orchid of the year in 2007.
He’s the patron of the Orchid Council of New Zealand and is involved with the Taranaki Orchid Society.
It was his passion for orchids that saw a young George work his passage to England in the mid 1940s to learn more about the plants. George’s neighbour when he was growing up was an orchid breeder. He told him that to learn more about plant nurseries, he needed to go to New Plymouth, and to learn more about orchids, he had to go to England. George grew up in Henderson in Auckland and when he left school at 15, he worked at the original Palmers in Glen Eden. But he soon followed his mentor’s advice and started work at Duncan & Davies, then the biggest nursery in the Southern Hemisphere, covering around 30 hectares.
In New Plymouth, George met legendary gardener Fred Parker.
“He was one of the most green-fingered people I have ever met. His garden is still, to me, the most intensively cultivated small garden, year round, I have ever seen. It had everything from orchids to pansies. He grew them brilliantly and displayed them wonderfully.”
George spent his weekends assisting Mr Parker in his garden.
“Down here was paradise in terms of horticulture.”
But George wanted to learn more about orchids. The problem was he had no money and England was a long way away.
It was 1947 and rationing was still in force in England, which was suffering the aftermath of war. So a lot of the British crew visiting New Zealand jumped ship. Sometimes 25 to 50 per cent of the crew deserted, George says. And the shipping lines had to fill the vacancies to get the ships back to England.
George got a job as a deck boy, the lowest rating on the whole ship – just a bit above the rats, he says. By the time he had been round the coast to four ports in New Zealand and was ready to sail to England, he had been promoted to assistant steward at the captain’s table.
By the time he arrived, he had seen half the world at 15 miles an hour and had gone from being a “very, very naive country boy to a young man of the world. It was a helluva big jump, I can assure you.”
George started work in St Albans, 32km north of London, at Sander’s, the biggest and most famous orchid nursery in the world.
He was there four years, during which time he helped stage a gold-medal winning exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show.
“It was a fantastic learning experience. A vertical learning curve. They were grooming me for higher places in the establishment. They made it possible for me to go to Kew Gardens as a student.”
George studied at Kew for more than two years, during which time he became engaged to Doris, who had been a workmate at Sander’s, but the rules said students at Kew had to be single. George had been living in England for six years, so he decided to go home.
Fate intervened. He was offered a job he couldn’t refuse by a Swedish millionaire. The Swede was looking for an orchid grower to grow plants under glass by hydroponic methods, which was quite revolutionary back then.
Part of the offer was to represent the company on a visit to Australia and New Zealand, which gave George the opportunity to take his fiancee to New Zealand to get married, which they did in Henderson on December 29, 1953.
“It was when the Queen was visiting New Zealand. She got in our way all the time. She was ahead of us in New Zealand and also in Ceylon on the way back.”
The Queen’s visit even messed with the transport George had arranged to get him to the church on time. George and Doris had found an ancient pony buggy in a dusty old shed in Henderson.
“It was perfect for the wedding. We said, Don’t mess around with it. We wanted it as it was.”
But the buggy was needed by the Queen, so it was painted pure white, like a sleigh.
“That was the last thing we wanted. The paint was still wet when we used it.”
After the honeymoon, the couple headed to Bastad in Sweden, where George worked for Elektroflora.
“I learnt so much about new techniques in horticulture. It was a wonderful experience, living in a Scandinavian country.”
Six years and two children later, George again decided to head home. Again, fate intervened.
“A guy from England came along. He was starting up a big propagation nursery in Malta because of the climate, cheap labour and assistance being offered by the government for new industry. Would I be interested in going out and pioneering the development of that nursery? He made it so I could hardly resist. At least it was step towards New Zealand from Sweden.”
Four years on, the nursery was producing a million chrysanthemum cuttings a week. The cuttings were sent to England and sold to flower growers in Europe.
By then, George had been away from New Zealand for 16 years and had three sons. This time, nothing would stop him from going home.
Back in Auckland, the family lived with George’s brother and his family, “swelling the place beyond reasonable limits”. George got a job assembling Volkswagens in Otahuhu. He was offered a gardener’s job in the parks division of the Auckland City Council, he says.
“I have a little bit of pride left. I’m not starting on the bottom rung. I declined, thank you very much.”
Instead, George headed to Palmerston North to look for work and on his way back to Auckland decided to go via New Plymouth to catch up with some mates. He arrived, unexpectedly, at Fred Parker’s place.
“Fred threw up his hands: ‘Good God, George Fuller, just the guy I wanted to see. I’m going to give my orchid collection to the council, but I won’t do it until they assure me they have a competent person to look after it. I didn’t want it to suffer. Are you interested?’ One telephone call, I was in.”
George moved into Pukekura Park in early 1965 to induct Fred’s orchid collection into the fernery. He was made curator in 1966. Because he lived onsite, he was constantly on call.
“I was in paradise. I was working and earning a living in one of the most wonderful city parks in the world. We lived so close to the heart of the park, I felt its pulse.”
George and Doris’s children, Christopher, Alec, Ivan, Claire and Linda, grew up with Pukekura Park as their backyard.
The couple now have grandchildren (George isn’t sure how many – he doesn’t keep those numbers in his head) and one great grandchild.
“I’m thinking it wouldn’t be inappropriate for me to dedicate my campaign to save those trees to my wife and family . . . . I was so obsessed with the park and my orchids. I was neglectful of the children and my dear wife. She is the most long-suffering person.”
And things really haven’t changed, he says.
While he’s won this battle in the park, he still has others to fight.
“I’m concerned about the water course in the park – flash floods when it rains heavily . . . but of most concern to me is the deterioration of the paths.
“I still can’t really pull myself away from the park. That’s an obsession with me.”
The big 5
What is your favourite song? Ol’ Man River [sung by] Paul Robeson.
What is the most money you have ever spent on a single piece of clothing? As little as possible. Fashion freaks me – it’s one of the most wasteful things in the world.
If you could meet anyone alive or dead, who would you like to meet? Can’t remember his name, Switzer, a philosopher. He was a guy who had an incredible sensitivity to nature. I haven’t seen any of his work for years and years. I seem to remember he would try to avoid tramping on an ant.
What hobby would you take up if money were no object? Whittling. In the park, there were always bits of wood falling. Some had beautiful timber, so I started putting pieces of wood aside for woodwork, started fiddling with it with my pocketknife.
If you were an animal, what animal would you be? A squirrel. They’re busy and ingenious little creatures. They sort themselves out well for the winter.
TDN, JULY 6, 2009
CONCERT COVER FOR LAKE
PLATFORM WILL BOOST SEATING AND SAFETY
With photo
A NEW platform covering the Bowl of Brooklands lake should make jumping in during concerts a thing of the past.
The 1044-seat platform, believed to be unique in Australasia, is being built partly in response to health and safety concerns arising from over-excited concert-goers jumping in the lake.
Last year’s Jack Johnson concert was a prime example of the dangers that posed, New Plymouth District Council manager business development events Garry Sharpe-Young said.
“We absolutely cannot have that scenario again,” he said.
“And this goes a long way to solving those problems.
“It was amusing for a few seconds and then the health and safety concerns kicked in.”
With hundreds of people in the water there was a real risk of people drowning, he said.
At the 2005 REM concert, a spectator was knocked unconscious while falling into the water.
The platform is for temporary use – able to be put in place for concerts and be removed by the next day.
It is also optional, so promoters who want the lake kept for an event have that option.
While numerous other ideas were looked at, keeping the character of the bowl was a primary consideration when designing the platform solution, Mr Sharpe-Young said.
“We must not lose the key elements of what makes the Bowl the Bowl.
“For concerts or community performances of any kind it goes in pretty quickly and then the day afterwards the lake looks exactly the same as it did the day before.”
Other factors behind the decision include the additional capacity and helping performers connect with the audience.
Mr Sharpe-Young said they had received feedback from recent performers at the Bowl who said the lake had made it difficult to engage the audience.
The platform would be helpful attracting even bigger acts to New Plymouth, Mr Sharpe Young said.
The first step to installing the platform is to get resource consents from the Taranaki Regional Council and drain the lake.
A large amount of mud, silt and duck faeces will be removed from the bottom, an aggregate will be laid on the bed and concrete foundations, invisible from the surface, will be installed.
The good news for the ratepayer is that, while total costs won’t be known until the designs for the platform itself are finalised, the platform will cost them nothing as it is being funded from the TSB Bowl of Brooklands naming rights fund. Work on the platform will get under way as soon as the consents are received and will be timed around events such as the fireworks display in November.
District councillor and chairman of the Friends of the Bowl (not to be confused with the Friends of Pukekura Park) Lance Girling-Butcher said the organisation supported the move.
“A lot of early productions used the lake extensively and this still leaves that option open,” Mr Girling-Butcher said.
“The lake’s not going away. It will still be there even for people wandering through to have a picnic or to feed the ducks or whatever.”
The new platform is the second major change to the Bowl announced in recent weeks.
Council attracted a huge amount of publicity over its decision to put a new access road into the Bowl, which critics claim would kill a 400-year-old puriri tree.
Council officers are re-visiting that decision and looking at an alternative option to improve the existing access road.
TDN, JULY 8, 2009
COUNCIL TRIO CRITICISE BOWL DECISION-MAKING
THREE New Plymouth district councillors are criticising the decision-making process behind a new seating platform that will cover the Bowl of Brooklands lake.
Craig McFarlane, Sherril George and John McLeod say they had no idea the platform had been given the OK until shortly before it was announced and the proposal should have gone before the full council for approval.
The council announced the decision to put in a 1044-seat temporary platform covering the Bowl lake in front of the stage – partly in response to concerns about concert-goers jumping into the lake – without the idea having gone before a council meeting.
The announcement came hot on the heels of another controversial decision to build a new access road into the Bowl.
That decision is being reviewed after outraged locals protested, saying the new road would kill a 400-year-old puriri tree.
Councillors McFarlane and McLeod hold the council’s parks portfolio and Mr McFarlane said being left in the dark over the platform left him with “egg on his face”.
“I have a neutral opinion on the platform, I just don’t like the way it went through,” he said.
But yesterday deputy mayor Alex Matheson defended the process, saying because it was a temporary infrastructure, the platform solution was a management decision for council officers, not a governance issue councillors needed to be involved in.
Mr Matheson said the platform option had been investigated by the council’s events team, not the parks team.
Councillors Phil Quinney and Jed Rowlands hold council’s events portfolio.
He said he didn’t think there was any similarity between the platform decision and the recent access road decision.
“It’s no different than if the need had arisen for lighting towers or something, at the bowl or any venue, for health and safety purposes,” Mr Matheson said.
Both the Friends of the Bowl and the Friends of Pukekura Park had been briefed before the decision was made public, Mr Matheson said.
He also said the matter had been discussed more than once at monthly councillor chat sessions.
Other councillors spoken to by the Taranaki Daily News had been aware of the project.
Mr McFarlane is known to attend the monthly councillor meetings regularly, but Mr McLeod said he never attended them and Ms George said she went about once a year. Nevertheless, she said the proposal should have gone before council anyway and been included in the recent 2009-19 Community Plan.
“It’s a significant change to a significant asset and it should have been included,” she said.
“It’s about due process. If this had gone through the process and been approved, then fine.”
But Mr Matheson maintained the decision was not one for council to make.
“The process we went through and the formal release of information to the media and the Friends of the Bowl and the Friends of the Park was the correct one.”
At a press conference announcing the platform decision last week, councillor Lance Girling-Butcher said he supported the platform idea.
Mr Girling-Butcher is the chairman of the Friends of the Bowl but yesterday he said the statements were his own opinion and were not made on behalf of the Friends.
The topic is likely to come up at the Friends’ next AGM, on Friday, July 24.
TDN, AUGUST 12, 2009
BOWL LAKE WORK STARTS
WATER is now being drained from the TSB Bowl of Brooklands lake so work on a new seating platform can begin next week.
Contractors will begin removing silt from the drained lake bed on Monday before an aggregate layer and a grid of concrete blocks to hold the 1044 seat platform is laid. The project is expected to take three to four weeks and the lake will then be refilled. Once finished the only noticeable difference when the platform is not in place should be cleaner water, New Plymouth District Council projects manager Jeff Bondy said
TDN, AUGUST 21, 2009
PARK’S GRAND OLD LADY FINALLY GETS A BED BUILT JUST FOR HER
With photo
A 101-YEAR-OLD wisteria tree behind the Pukekura Park Tea House is set to scale new heights on a specially designed and purpose-built pergola.
National engineering firm Tenix Robt Stone is building the pergola as a community project to celebrate its 60th anniversary last November.
The wisteria – a climbing plant – was planted in 1908 and is believed to be one of New Zealand’s oldest.
As it has grown, the supporting structures have been added to the original frame higgledy-piggledy, and this will be the first time it has support designed specifically for it.
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said the new pergola would be a big improvement and would be built higher so there was more room for people to relax beneath.
Lights will also be installed, so it is lit up at night, and picnic tables will be added to the area.
Tenix Robt Stone general manager Craig Brydon said the company wanted to mark its 60th anniversary with a community project.
“We wanted the project to showcase our people’s skills as well as provide a long-lasting legacy for the community,” he said. “We specialise in fabrication and installation of steel structures, so this pergola project is a fitting contribution, reflecting our expertise and giving something back to the community.
“It’s been a wonderful project to be part of with some unique challenges.”
The pergola is being installed at the moment and is expected to be finished next month.
Building the new frame is a step-by-step process because each column and beam is removed and replaced before moving on to the next one. The work had to be done in winter, when the wisteria is dormant.
TDN, AUGUST 22, 2009
ACCESS CURBED WHEN BOWL ROAD WORK STARTS
THE last hurdle on a road of controversy appears to have been jumped.
Construction of a new route into the TSB Bowl of Brooklands will begin next month for a cost well within the budget set by the New Plymouth District Council.
Fulton Hogan Ltd has won the $183,000 contract and has scheduled about eight weeks to build the new route from Pukekura Raceway to the rear of the Bowl’s stage.
The work, which will include widening the existing road and building a new retaining wall, should be finished in time for the annual fireworks show on November 7.
In June the council had said it would accept the plan if it was able to be completed for $250,000 or less.
Councillors had initially decided on a shorter more direct route but former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller led an impassioned protest against this plan because he believed it endangered a 400-year-old puriri tree.
The new design has been completed with input from Mr Fuller and independent arborist Bruce Macdonald from Asplundh, to ensure the impact on all vegetation – including to the puriri tree – is minimised.
No public access will be possible on the existing road during the construction project, so people walking to the Bowl from Coronation Ave are advised to use the List St or Rogan St entrances during that time.
TDN, AUGUST 26, 2009
READY TO RESOW
The surface of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park sportsground is about to turn brown and staff are happy. The entire field has been sprayed to eliminate the poa annua grass which comprises 70 per cent of the turf cover. Mark Bruhn, manager of parks, said workers would start resowing from scratch once the dead grass was removed. Work was also about to start on the wicket block damaged with weedkiller by vandals earlier this year.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009
PILING INTO BOWL WORK
With photo
Work on the controversial $183,000 road got under way late last month and is expected to be finished by October 23, marking the final chapter of a stormy process that began in early June.
The New Plymouth District Council had originally proposed to use a more direct route for the road, enraging a large group of Pukekura Park lovers who claimed the route would endanger a nearby 400-year-old puriri tree.
Yesterday, council’s parks manager Mark Bruhn said the contractors were making good progress in the fine weather, with most of the piles for the retaining wall now in place and cutting out the top section had also started.
It was pleasing the road was being built “because of the demands of the summer season we’re having at the Bowl,” he said.
“The true value of the road will be known once the set-ups and take downs for those events have taken place.”
This summer the Bowl of Brooklands is hosting big name acts Fleetwood Mac on December 19 and Sir Cliff Richard and The Shadows on February 27.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
DRILLERS GO TO GROUND
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK staff want to know just what is running under their feet.
Stratford’s Interdrill Ltd has been contracted to bore 10 ground water monitoring holes around the park to allow staff to review how ground water and surface water interact, and how much the ground water affects lake levels.
“The water levels and water available to the park is pretty important in terms of the health of the park, not just for the aquatic lake but obviously the trees,” curator Chris Connolly said.
Two holes were drilled last week and work continued yesterday in the southern end of the park.
“Ground water level data will start being collected next month, and will continue for a year,” said Mr Connolly.
“Then they’ll be able to be mapped so for any time of year we will be able to establish what we feel is a normal ground water level.
“Obviously we’ll be able to relate it to the weather patterns.”
The depth of the holes will vary from two metres when close to the lake, to 8-10m when up on the banks.
“There has been some testing done for water quality levels, we suspect there are quite high levels of iron because of the rusting you can see in various places where there are springs and water seeping out of the ground,” he said.
There is also work going on cleaning the metal frames and replacing some timber decking on the Poet’s and Boatshed bridges on the northwest side of the property.
Fletcher Construction Company has put up scaffolding around Poet’s Bridge, which is closed to the public while material from underneath is cleared away.
“We’re doing both bridges this time so the idea is this one [Poet’s] will be hopefully completed before the rhododendron festival and then we’ll start on the other one and try and get that completed before the main holiday period,” Mr Connolly said.
“It is weather dependent, but we won’t have both bridges closed at the same time.”
TDN, OCTOBER 21, 2009
PARK BRIDGE MAJOR UPGRADE FALLS FOUL OF SOGGY SPRING
With photo
ROMANTIC types in town for the coming rhododendron festival can probably forget about a kiss and cuddle on the iconic Poet’s Bridge at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
The extensive refurbishment of the famous red bridge has been constantly delayed by bad weather since scaffolding went up last month.
It had been hoped it would be open in time for the start of the festival on October 30.
It is from then until November 8 that thousands of tourists pour into the province, the park and usually over the Poet’s Bridge.
New Plymouth District Council parks manager Mark Bruhn held out a glimmer of hope, retracting an earlier emphatic statement the bridge would not be open.
“I thought it would not be finished but the contractors now say it is only likely it won’t be finished,” he said.
More than a simple repaint, the work involves some major structural work and cannot be carried out in the rain, which seems to have fallen every day since spring began in September.
The bad weather has also seen construction of the new access road to the Bowl of Brooklands fall 10 days behind schedule.
“The rain in September put them well behind so they put on more workers to catch up, then the rain came again and they fell behind again,” Mr Bruhn said.
Work on the road was to be finished on Friday, well before the annual fireworks display at the bowl on November 7.
The revised completion date is now getting dangerously close to that time but Mr Bruhn said even if rain further delayed work the road would be able to be used by heavy trucks and emergency vehicles. “If we get good weather it will be finished and sealed, if we don’t it will just be compacted gravel, but either way it can be used,” he said.
TDN, NOVEMBER 10, 2009
BOWL ROAD TO SAVE PURIRI NEARLY FINISHED
With photo
WORK on the controversial $183,000 road into the Bowl of Brooklands is almost complete with only one final seal needed.
The completion of the road ends the turbulent process in widening the road into the Bowl.
The New Plymouth District Council had initially wanted to use a more direct route for the road, infuriating a group of Pukekura Park lovers who claimed the route would endanger a nearby 400-year-old puriri tree.
Leading the protest was former park curator George Fuller.
The design has been completed with input from Mr Fuller and independent arborist Bruce Macdonald from Asplundh to ensure the impact on all vegetation was minimised.
Council parks manager Mark Bruhn said the road would be sealed in the next couple of days but there were no plans to name it after Mr Fuller.
“He already has a lane in the park named after him, but we do have a tradition of naming parts of the park after former curators, so you never know what the future will hold,” Mr Bruhn said.
TDN, NOVEMBER 17, 2009
TREE TESTING
TESTS have confirmed the sick kauri trees in Brooklands Park in New Plymouth are indeed suffering from disease but for now their illness is not the dreaded kauri rot.
Last month six of the trees were found with suppurating lesions at the base of their trunks, one of the symptoms of kauri rot—the disease killing kauri forests in Northland and Auckland.
Tests have now confirmed the trees have a disease but one of less serious nature than kauri rot.
However that does not mean they are in the clear.
Further tests are being carried out and the results are expected next month, Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said.
TDN, DECEMBER 3, 2009
KAURI TREES TAKING MEDICINE NEW TREATMENT USED TO COMBAT DISEASE
With photo
A NEW treatment technique is being tested in two of New Plymouth’s kauri plantations after confirmation of at least one tree-killing disease.
At least 13 trees in Pukekura Park’s kauri grove, and five in the Fred Cowling Plantation in Barrett Domain, have been infected with Armillaria sp, or honey fungus, a wood decay fungus causing trees to weep sap from their trunk.
These symptoms, which were caught early, are also similar to the extremely serious Phytophthora taxon Agathis (PTA), a microscopic fungus-like pathogen found in Waitakere kauri in April last year.
New Plymouth District Council took immediate action by testing for PTA, or kauri rot, and treating for both PTA and honey fungus with a new phosphorus-based pill, recommended by a bio-deterioration consultant.
Arborist Conrad Pattison has been drilling three or four holes in the infected kauri and then dropping in about eight of the pills per tree.
It was the same principle as giving a human an aspirin, he said.
“Phosphorus is a real common chemical used in fertiliser,” Mr Pattison said.
“The tree breaks it [down] because it’s got a coating on it.
“It’s just like a pill that you swallow.
“The coating will break down and then the chemical will get distributed through the vascular system, that’s the transport system for all the nutrients.”
Mr Pattison said the thickness of kauri sap often made using other treatments ineffective and such diseases were often caught too late.
It will take time to extract the fungus from the New Plymouth samples to test for PTA, while there is no known study on stopping honey fungus.
“I’ve done other conifers before and used chemicals in liquid form – an injector – the gum just blocks them up real quick so you don’t know how much chemicals are actually getting in there, so this is a real good way to do it.”
After inserting the pills the holes are plugged to stop insects and pathogens getting in.
Mr Pattison said it would take up to six months to see the results and more pill doses would be administered every three years to remove all traces of the disease.
“This is all new, apparently they use it a lot in the kiwifruit industry, and they want to use it in the avocado industry because they get a lot of PTA diseases.”
Signs were placed in both plantations advising the public to keep themselves and dogs to the walking tracks, and to wash shoes thoroughly before visiting other forest areas.
2010
TDN, JANUARY 1, 2010
BY GEORGE, HE DESERVES IT
He doesn’t look much like a superhero: He’s 80, feels the cold, walks a little gingerly and the closest thing he has to a cape is an old suit and an MBE medal pinned to a pocket.
But to many around Taranaki and the rest of the country, George Fuller, our Taranaki Person of the Year, is a hero. And when it comes to saving trees, not a man to cross. Just ask Mayor Peter Tennent and the New Plymouth District Council.
For weeks the former curator of Pukekura Park kept Taranaki folk and many around the country enthralled with a one-man campaign to save a stand of native trees, including a 400-year-old puriri, safe from a council plan to build a new road down to the TSB Bowl of Brooklands. It was the archetypal struggle: David versus Goliath; the little guy taking on city hall; a clash of the old versus the new; the purveyors of progress butting up against the protectors of tradition.
George could have made a bit of noise then respectfully withdrawn, his moral convictions and reputation intact. But he believed in the cause and happily traded the comfort of an afternoon nap on the couch for a daily hike to the park, “bitter” winter winds and the possibility of humiliating failure.
“It could have been a farce,” he said to the Taranaki Daily News when told of his nomination for Person of the Year, “some silly old bugger standing by a tree in a suit in the middle of winter.” But it wasn’t. Far from it.
Others were inspired to join George’s vigil, write letters to the paper or contact the council.
And soon it was no longer the bizarre story of the old man and the tree, but a seachange of outrage and ideas that gave some intellectual swell to his moral crusade. The council’s arborists and engineers were swamped and eventually sunk by ideas that came from George’s growing team. City hall’s hand was forced, although both George and the mayor were keen to portray the outcome as a victory for good community debate rather than one for the little guy against the big council.
That’s an important part of why this octogenarian is the man we selected to take the torch handed on by the similarly inspiring Ben Hekenui.
George could have used his victory as a stick with which to beat the council, pummelling it over perceived transgressions and blunders.
But he was as gracious in victory as he was in the fight to secure it. This wasn’t about him, he would later say.
“The trees won, George Fuller didn’t.”
Fair enough, George. Thanks to you, the trees had their victory.
But you deserve the title of Taranaki Person of the Year.
This one’s just for you.
TDN, MARCH 30, 2010
STARS BACK NETS AT PARK FULLER BLASTS ATTEMPTS TO TRIFLE WITH TREES
With photo
A LINE-UP of top New Zealand cricketers, including Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori, have gone into bat for new practice nets at Taranaki’s Pukekura Park.
But in former park curator and people’s champion George Fuller the big-name cricketers might just find an opponent as passionate, proud and feisty as any Australian wearing the baggy green.
The pristine park, ranked by cricketing authority Wisden among the world’s top six, and its future as a top cricketing venue is set to become as intriguing as the final day of any tightly-contested test match.
The Taranaki Cricket Association [TCA] wants to build new practice nets so the park meets New Zealand Cricket “warrant of fitness” standards to host first-class matches.
Not building them could spell an end to now familiar summer scenes of packed crowds enjoying top matches.
But for the facility to go ahead on the proposed site – next to the Pukekura Kindergarten on Fillis St – native trees would need to be trimmed or even removed.
Mr Fuller’s stand on tree removal at the park is well known and as anyone who watched last year’s “puriri incident” unfold could tell you, when he talks, Taranaki listens.
His successful campaign to protect a stand of 400-year-old puriri trees from New Plymouth District Council plans to build a new access road into the Bowl of Brooklands earned him the Taranaki Daily News person of the year award.
But this time he’s facing some high-profile opposition – Vettori, Jacob Oram, Mathew Sinclair, Taranaki’s own internationals, Black Cap Peter Ingram and White Ferns captain Aimee Watkins, Central Districts captain Jamie How and former Taranaki test cricketer Gary Robertson have all put pen to paper to support the nets.
Vettori’s hand-written submission said: “Pukekura Park is one of the iconic cricket grounds in New Zealand cricket and it would be sad to not have top level domestic cricket there due to the fact that it does not have net facilities.”
Big-hitting Oram, who understandably enjoys a whack on the small-bounded ground wrote: “I fully support the development of the new practice area as it is imperative Pukekura Park is able to stage first class cricket.”
Robertson, a test player during the 80s, said many international cricketers had rated it their favourite ground over the years.
“Pukekura Park is recognised by the international cricket community as one of the most picturesque grounds in the world,” he said.
And there’s the rub, Mr Fuller said in his own submission.
The proposal, coming so soon after the puriri stand-off, will once again test the conflicting interests of sharing a botanical reserve with recreational and entertainment facilities.
“I have a concern that those now responsible for entertainment and recreational pursuits tend to have a disregard for those dynamics of the park which are the very reasons for the activities being held there proving to be so successful.
“The tail is beginning to wag the dog.
“. . . I cannot support the proposal as it stands mainly because of the incompatibility between the trees and the structure.”
The council’s policy committee is set to debate the issue tonight and make a recommendation to the full council.
At least six deputations, including one from Mr Fuller, are scheduled to be considered before the debate.
None of the big-name cricket submitters are scheduled to make a deputation.
Of 39 submissions the TCA received during the consultation period, 30 were in favour of the nets going ahead, eight opposed the plan and one had no opinion.
If the proposal is approved, the TCA will pay the cost of building the nets and will lease the site off the council for a concessional lease of $500 a year.
The council has already budgeted $50,000 to install an automatic irrigation system at the park.
TDN, MARCH 31, 2010
MORE DEBATE AHEAD AS PARK NETS PLAN SENT FOR APPROVAL
With photo
PUKEKURA PARK could host international match cricket against the likes of the West Indies or Pakistan if new practice nets are approved, a senior cricket boss says.
Heath Mills, executive manager of the powerful New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association told the New Plymouth District Council policy committee the ground could host second tier matches if the net facilities went ahead.
The proposed nets, essential if Pukekura Park is to meet New Zealand Cricket “Warrant of Fitness” standards for first-class cricket, took a step forward last night when the committee recommended the full council approve the facility.
The outcome was no certainty though and the proposal is bound to create plenty of debate before a final decision is made.
Six deputations were made to the council, including the Taranaki Cricket Association’s, which included Mr Mill’s comments, and five opposing the proposal, including one from former park curator George Fuller.
Several concerns were raised.
On the one hand, Mr Fuller and the other opponents questioned the effect the nets would have on the attractive appearance of the proposed site, the impact of removing trees to ensure enough light, the impact on Fillis St residents and perhaps most importantly the potential for water “ponding” in the naturally wet area to make the clay pitches not feasible.
On the other, Mr Mills warned that failure to put the nets in could result in no top cricket being played at the park in coming years.
He said while the standards currently only applied to first- class cricket, he could see a future where grounds had to comply in order to host popular domestic twenty20 and one-day games.
He said his organisation was already concerned the standards were not already demanded for the shorter forms of the game.
He said the warrant of fitness came about because of concerns New Zealand’s playing venues were not up to scratch and that warrant of fitness standard grounds were included in the players’ last collective agreement negotiations.
“The reality of the role I do and the job I have is we need to get our players and teams operating in world class grounds.
“It’s a workplace for us.”
But the councillors were in two minds and the Maurice Betts-moved recommendation to give the nets the go-ahead almost failed for want of a seconder until Mayor Peter Tennent backed it and it was eventually passed.
Concerns raised by councillors included the ponding issue, whether or not the nets would be the first of an ongoing set of upgrades required, whether the nets would in fact attract a better standard of cricket and what the impact would be on Fillis St residents.
Countering that was the view it was not necessarily about attracting better cricket, but maintaining the current standard of cricket into the future, with the potential to be in the running for better games and that the ponding issue was a technical matter for TCA to resolve.
Also important to note is approving the nets now is no guarantee they will actually go ahead.
The TCA would require sign-off from the council’s chief executive on the facility’s design – including elements addressing drainage concerns at the site – and would also need funding for the entire project before construction could begin.
TCA will pay all costs associated with the nets and their future maintenance.
The council will consider the proposal again on April 20.
TDN, APRIL 3, 2020
FULLER DELIVERY HITS MARK FORMER PARK CURATOR ENSURES DEBATE ON CRICKET NETS – DELICATELY POISED AFTER FIRST SESSION OF PLAY
With photo
IT WAS actor Robin Williams who said, “Cricket is basically baseball on valium.”
It was perhaps a little unfair, but given that Williams is American, you could understand his lack of appreciation for the finer points of the game. Subtlety is an art entire nations can fail to grasp.
On Tuesday night, New Plymouth District councillors had a similar challenge. Members of the policy committee needed to grasp the finer points of the game as far as either granting or denying the Taranaki Cricket Association the right to put up cricket nets – permanently – in the park. The final decision will be made at a full council meeting this month, but after listening to the debate it will be a close thing. Almost certainly a lot closer than the New Zealand-Australia test matches are proving.
On Tuesday night, the deputations and submissions resembled two teams about to take the field. Those in the Nets in the Park (NIP) team had some of the biggest cricketing names in the country in its line-up, including Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori, Peter Ingram, Matthew Sinclair, Jacob Oram, Jamie How and Gary Robertson.
Numerically they had the advantage, but the opposition, Nyet to the Nets (NTN), had an inspirational skipper in George Fuller. You may well remember St George as the man who slew, if not the dragon, then the council, with his campaign to save a (possibly) endangered puriri tree at the same park.
So he knew the ground well. Now, George may well be a sprightly octogenarian these days and some would say past his best but, as he showed in the last test of wills at the Bowl of Brooklands, he can’t be taken lightly.
He has a similar stature to Australian captain Ricky Ponting, and while comparisons are odious, he nevertheless is at least as valuable to his side. Form is temporary, class is permanent.
And on Tuesday he played a blinder. He opened the batting when it came to submissions on the issue and immediately proved the benefit of local knowledge.
He pointed out that there was a spring underneath. And not just any spring, but a “perpetually flowing spring”. This was news to councillors and even the brain-box engineer consultant-type chap employed by the Taranaki Cricket Association. George had them interested.
He also went on to outline the site’s history as a dump, albeit a dump for “hard rubbish”. That they knew about, but putting the two things together, along with questions about the aesthetic impact of the cricket nets on the park meant councillors were becoming increasingly nervous. Clearly, no one was relishing another scrap with St George.
The Friends of Pukekura Park had been earmarked as a yes, but spokesman David Medway’s submission fell somewhat short of that. “We share George’s concerns, and while we don’t oppose the plan, we are not saying we support it either.”
It was a bit like having France or Italy on your side in the war.
After five submissions, four of which were against the idea, it was the turn of Taranaki cricket boss Neil Sulzberger and his deputation. New Zealand players’ Association boss Heath Mills was with him, and the pair gently pointed out that it was a case of needing practice nets permanently at the ground, or risk losing some of the big games.
Sulzberger is a detail man who gets things done, while Mills was fascinating to listen to as he described the park as “a workplace environment” to his members and the need for it to be safe.
The process of grading grounds was referred to as giving them a warrant of fitness and it was revealing to learn that many grounds had been dropped from rep cricket status because they failed.
Mills spoke in glowing terms of the progress made at the university Oval in Dunedin, where they take their cricket seriously. That ground had been upgraded to international status.
He said it also had short boundaries, but they were going to be lengthened by the removal – of all things – of a museum, part of which had historic places status. Surely not? Quelle sacrilege.
Be sure of one thing, though. We would never sacrifice our duck pond for boundaries!
And speaking of ponds, it was that master of reassurance, Anthony Wilson, engineer par excellence and colonel in the territorial army, who gently pointed out that there were more than 60 underground ponds all over the park. From an engineering point of view, building stuff on top was “doable” and if there were any problems the cricket bods would be paying for it anyway. Minefields have never been a deterrent to Colonel Ants.
There were some intelligent, probing questions from councillors. And then there was the other sort. With Crs Lance Girling-Butcher and Alison Rumball putting in apologies for the meeting, there were only six voting members of the committee and they seemed resigned to leaving it to the full council to make the decision.
Head monitor Heather Dodunski chaired the meeting in her usual brisk fashion, and she finished off the debate by saying she had a problem with the noise that would be generated from the use of the practice wickets, which would be close to houses.
“I know none of the neighbours have mentioned it, but if I was living there, it would bother me.” It wasn’t formally registered as a submission, just a thought, but it did seem to indicate that at this stage at least, the head monitor is closer to being a nyet than a yes, to the nets.
So at the moment it would be an even first day, delicately poised, with the deciding moments in this test still to come.
TDN, APRIL 21, 2010
CASTING VOTE GOES IN FAVOUR OF NET
IT CAME down to the last ball of a nail-biting match to find out whether Pukekura Park would gets its new cricket nets or not.
In the end the ball that confirmed the controversial Fillis St practice nets would go ahead was bowled by New Plymouth District deputy mayor Alex Matheson, who used his deciding vote to break a six-six deadlock at last night’s council meeting.
The council was told last month the practice nets were needed to meet New Zealand Cricket standards for first-class cricket, and last night they had to decide whether those nets would go on Fillis St – the only option up for consideration.
Six councillors supported the recommendation the nets be built there and six supported Heather Dodunski’s amendment the decision be deferred while alternatives were investigated.
Mayor Peter Tennent removed himself from the debate because of a perceived conflict of interest, due to his family’s sponsorship of cricket in Taranaki, but said he believed the right decision had been made.
Phil Quinney, Shaun Biesiek, Jed Rowlands, Maurice Betts, Marie Pearce and Mr Matheson voted for the nets to be built.
Against were Craig McFarlane, Heather Dodunski, Alison Rumball, Sherril George, Andrew Judd and John McLeod.
Councillors Neil Wolfe and Lance Girling-Butcher were absent.
Before the decision was made, the council heard lengthy and impassioned deputations from both sides of the debate.
Taranaki Cricket Association chairman Neil Sulzberger delivered his argument without spin. If the nets were not built, Pukekura Park could kiss goodbye to Twenty20, one-day matches and the three to four day versions of the game, he said.
“This is the indication that the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association and New Zealand Cricket have given us in letters. There is no bluff about it. If you say no today, first-class cricket won’t come to Taranaki,” he told the councillors.
But Fillis St resident and self- confessed cricket supporter Frank Hutchins suggested the council should not be bowled over by such pressure and hold out for alternative solutions.
In a well-prepared submission he argued that quite apart from the practice nets being an ugly addition to the park, their construction on land zoned residential B and open space B would be in breach of the council’s district plan.
Though the decision has now been made it could be some time before the nets are built Mr Sulzberger said. One of the conditions for allowing the nets on Fillis St was that TCA secure funding for the entire project first.
Mr Sulzberger said $300,000 was the amount being talked about right now, but until designs were finalised they would not know how much the nets would cost.
TDN, APRIL 23, 2010
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT A LENGTHY INNINGS FEATURING BIG-HITTING QUOTES AND DIFFICULT BOUNCERS COMES DOWN TO A SINGLE VOTE
IF TUESDAY night’s New Plymouth District Council meeting had have been a game of cricket, it would have been a test match.
It would have been a typical one too. You know the sort – a five-day affair with long periods of boring play with little action, but with a thrilling finale. Ultimately, one of the sides won, but only by the narrowest of margins.
The main debate was whether to allow permanent practice cricket nets at Pukekura Park. The Net team was led by Taranaki cricket boss Neil Sulzberger. The Nyet team had several co- captains, with Heather Dodunski, Sherril George and Alison Rumball all having turns.
Many of the Nyets were at pains to explain it wasn’t so much that they were against the nets per se, some just didn’t want them on Fillis St. And there was part of the problem. Often the state of the pitch effectively decides the result. In this case, it was the location of the pitch that almost handed victory to the Nyets.
This debate began at the Policy Committee meeting a couple of weeks ago. That was pretty much a draw, with both sides saving their best efforts for the decider on Tuesday.
Mind you, councillors had to wait some time before actually taking part in the action themselves. At the start of this term, some 2 1/2 years ago, councillors voted to double the speaking time for members of deputations. That was done in the name of democracy, but in reality it’s become an exercise in stamina as deputations have taken maximum advantage of the new rules. What was a 50-over match has now become a five-day test.
At the start of the meeting there were nine deputations advised. Dear Leader Mayor Peter Tennent raised hopes, momentarily at least, of stumps being drawn earlier than anticipated with the announcement that three deputations had withdrawn. Alas, just as quickly, he then dashed those hopes by advising that another four late ones had been given the OK to speak.
The meeting started at 4.30pm, and at 7.08pm, the cricket deputation finished. To their credit, all councillors remained awake. Just. Dear Leader, ever alert, picked up on that and declared a two-minute break for everyone.
“We’ll reconvene at 10 past 12,” he announced. Laughter broke out and the time was quickly corrected to 10 past 7. But we knew how he felt.
When they came back, the debate quickly turned to just where the buses should turn. The original recommendation, made by the staff, had quickly been challenged at a previous meeting. For some councillors, any recommendation made by the staff, or officers, as they are known within the council, is suspect.
Those same councillors now routinely do their own investigation, and despite any lack of science or method, declare the staff stuff to be wrong, based on their anecdotal findings. This is what passes for governance these days.
Cynicism is healthy, but for some councillors, all we know is what they’re against; there is little evidence of what they are for.
All too often it is just a case of tossing round slogans like ‘transparency’.
Interesting though, Dear Readers, Dear Leader was one who challenged the recommendation and sided with the most unlikely ally, Cr Horse McLeod, and opted for the new route encompassing lower King St. It was a reasoned debate in many ways, with Mayor Pete having to use his casting vote to break the deadlock.
If that was the end of the first innings, the tempo was certainly raised in the second, with the Nets v the Nyets occupying most of the debate from that point.
Prominent valuer Frank Hutchins launched an impressive onslaught on the whole idea of the nets being at Fillis St. Councillors reacted like the Black Caps opening batsmen facing Australia’s new-ball bowlers – distinctly uncomfortable.
But it was left to the flinty Sulzberger to set about restoring the innings. He played with a straight bat and bluntly told councillors there was only one option and that was at the Fillis St end. Hit that for six and you can kiss goodbye to top cricket at the park, he said.
“And I’m being honest with you,” he said as he eyeballed the council. An interesting concept if that approach ever gained some traction.
The beauty about deputations, though, is that most of them are there to push for an outcome that is in their favour. And fair enough.
Head monitor Heather Dodunski bowled the first bouncer when she moved an amendment that would effectively put everything on hold while the cricket bods went away and came back with a fuller report (no relation to George) from their expensive consultants on what options were available.
Council had been told the alternative, band-room option was too small and uphill. But frankly, the Nyets didn’t accept that and slammed the cricket bods for not providing more information. They had a point. The unimpressive contribution from the consultants didn’t help their cause one bit and Councillor Craig McFarlane did a more than passable imitation of Perry Mason as he cross-examined Sulzberger with some aggressive questioning.
You almost waited for someone to stand up and say “objection!” in the best of court-room traditions.
“I don’t believe New Zealand Cricket should be telling the New Plymouth District what to do the park,” he said.
Cr Phil Quinney looked and sounded eminently mayoral as he tore in to the Nyets. “We are signing the death warrant of top cricket at Pukekura Park,” he said with some feeling.
The lines were drawn and, finally, the scores were tied. The fate of cricket in Taranaki fell upon the broad shoulders of the Deputy Mayor, Alex Matheson, who was chairing the debate after Dear Leader withdrew, because of a perceived conflict of interest.
There’s a bit of the Clint Eastwood about our deputy though, and as he stared down the opposition he coolly declared the amendment was lost and the nets would go ahead.
We may not have peace in our time, but we will have cricket.
At 8.46pm, the meeting closed, four hours and 16 minutes after it started. Long enough for a twenty20 match.
TDN, MAY 14, 2020
ROTTEN WOOD SHUTS PAVILION
With photo
ROTTING wood has caused the closure of the Kunming Pavilion at Pukekura Park until the middle of June.
Decay was found in the wooden structure and it has been closed to allow the damaged areas to be replaced and strengthened.
The Chinese garden was created by craftsmen who brought the material for the project from China.
It was opened in February 2005, and was a gift from Kunming’s mayor to mark the Sister City relationship with New Plymouth.
“It turns out that some of the wood isn’t suitable in our climate, so we’re replacing the decayed timber with tanalised pine and strengthening other areas of the pavilion,” said Mark Bruhn, manager parks.
No decorative panels are affected. Repaired sections will be repainted in the original red.
TDN, JUNE 25, 2010
PARK CRICKET NET PLANS STRIKE A STICKY WICKET
With photo
Controversial plans to build cricket nets at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park could already be in deep water.
Soil tests at the proposed Fillis St facility were carried out this week and a freshwater spring was uncovered just metres under the ground.
The discovery could prove costly for the Taranaki Cricket Association, which has to find funding for the project but came as no surprise to George Fuller, the former curator of the park.
Mr Fuller said building the structure on the site could prove complex.
“The fact is that there is a perpetual spring there that flows all year round, combined with a situation where it is not known how that valley drains,” Mr Fuller said.
Compounding the problems further, the site was previously used as a dump.
Drainage issues would need to be addressed in the final plans.
TCA chairman Neil Sulzberger said the association was determined to push ahead with plans to build the 50 metre long by 10 metre wide and 4 metre high structure, to comply with national standards to host first-class matches.
Without the nets, any hopes of holding more international matches would be lost, he said.
The final plans and application to the New Plymouth District Council are still a long way off. The council has already decreed the association has to pay all costs.
“We’ve got to get a whole lot of ducks in the right row first,” Mr Sulzberger said.
Testing will enable final plans and costings to be drawn up after the soil structure is analysed and it is clear what needs to be done.
“Until we do this work we can’t work out what it is going to cost to do the foundations for the net structure,” Mr Sulzberger said.
“Consultants Beca will be able to give us a final costing for the structure and the project. The association will then be in the position to apply for funding to raise money for this net facility.”
Mr Sulzberger said the association remained positive the facility can be built.
TDN, JULY 14, 2010
DEATH OF BROOKLANDS ZOO’S RED PANDA
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Loveable little Brooklands Zoo resident, Mungo the red panda, has died.
The cheeky wee chap had been sick for some time, but took a particularly bad turn just over a week ago and never really recovered.
Brooklands Zoo’s technical officer Eve Cozzi said a vet had been treating Mungo for his illness, but he wouldn’t respond to medication so yesterday morning he had to be put down.
“It’s a really difficult day for zoo staff today,” Ms Cozzi said.
“He was a cute little munchkin and he’s going to be so missed by both the zoo staff and the public.”
Mungo was 11 years old.
He was born at Auckland Zoo in 1998 as part of the red panda breeding programme, and then transferred to Hamilton.
The cuddly critter was well-known for his love of his keepers – and his hatred of his own kind.
While at Hamilton Zoo, a malicious Mungo would dig under his cage or chew a hole through it so he could fight a neighbouring red panda.
“But that’s not untypical of the species,” Hamilton Zoo spokeswoman Morele Rand said. “Male pandas are loners, they like the females when it’s mating time but you can’t really keep them together, they have too much testosterone.”
However, due to his relentless warring ways, Mungo was moved to New Plymouth in July 2006.
He lived in an enclosure by himself and became a favourite with the zoo’s visitors.
“He seemed really happy and contented at Brooklands,” Ms Cozzi said.
“All the staff worked with him and he would hand-feed from the keepers.”
Mungo was considered an “aged” panda, although some of the species live until they are 16 years old.
He was never bred, so does not have any children, but possibly a surviving sibling.
TDN, JULY 21, 2010
WATERWHEEL IS REMOVED FOR REPAIRS
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Pukekura Park’s waterwheel will be out of action for the next few weeks after it was removed from its perch yesterday.
The waterwheel, installed in 1976 to mark the centenary of Pukekura Park, has a broken shaft and needs to be removed and inspected, park curator Chris Connolly said.
“They can’t take a proper look at its inner workings while it’s installed in the park so we’ll move it to a place where it can be gone over with a fine-tooth comb,” he said.
The waterwheel, which was also removed in June 2009 to have its bearings replaced, is not the only feature in the park to get a look- over this week.
After 55 years’ use, the coloured fountain in the lower lake is starting to show its age and also needs some attention.
“The old girl is a little sad at the moment,” Mr Connolly said.
“A whole lot of the side ones [jets] aren’t working and there are gaps in the display.”
The fountain, which has 14 combinations of sprays and 22 colour schemes, is supposed to come alive in a 45-minute cycle, but this has been reduced to around five minutes.
“We will be working to get that right as well,” Mr Connolly said.
“Once the work is done we are planning to have the fountain going all the time so it is all lit up at night.” The popular attraction was opened in 1955 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s coronation and her visit to the park with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1954.
A favourite with park users, the water features will be back to their best in a few weeks, Mr Connolly said.
TH, JULY 28, 2010
MIDWINTER MAKEOVER FOR PUKEKURA PARK FEATURES
With photo
GETTING A SPRUCE UP
Palm Lawn
Goodwin Dell
Bowl of Brooklands stage
Sunken Dell
Japanese Hill
Waterwheel
Fountain
Children’s playground
Improved signs
Pukekura Park is in the midst of a midwinter makeover.
Following the removal of the waterwheel last week, the park’s famed coloured waterfall is next in line for a bit of attention.
It is one of several sites being revamped in time for spring with all work expected to be finished in about six weeks, park curator Chris Connolly said.
“We are enhancing the area for more impact; hopefully the people will enjoy what we have done,” he said. “It’s a dynamic landscape that is always changing.”
Safety is one of the priorities in the waterfall refurbishment.
“We want to take out the bricks, flatten it [the platform] out to make the surface safer for the kids and bring a step along the top of the entrance instead of the boulders,” Mr Connolly said.
“We are also hoping to reconfigure the boulders, for the safety of the children.”
Vegetation is being cut back from viewing points and tracks.
“Sometimes these important views are wasted due to the trees becoming overgrown,” Mr Connolly said. “When it’s opened up it draws you, if it’s completely blocked out you don’t know it’s there.”
Staff also plan to resurface the walking tracks, downsizing the gravel stones, after concerns raised about the size of the gravel being unsafe for children.
Mr Connolly hoped once the sites are finished, visitors will enjoy the park’s new look.
“We want to make the park colourful and exciting for those who walk through.”
TDN, AUGUST 11, 2010
GLASS TO PREVENT MONKEYING AROUND
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Brooklands Zoo is making it safer for children to look at its nine capuchin monkeys.
The viewing platform that looks down on the monkey enclosure, which at present is open- air, will be fitted with a glass window by the end of this month.
The platform was built high to create a better outlook for zoo-goers and to ensure the monkeys cannot escape through the viewing gap.
Immediately beneath the viewing platform is a large rock-filled pond.
“The problem we’ve been having is people lifting children up on to the ledge,” Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said.
“The health and safety issue is the one that gives us great concern.
“We’ve had signs up to warn about the danger [and] we’ve put chains up but it hasn’t worked.
“It’s the fall that we’re worried about.
“We’d much prefer to prevent it than have a situation where there’s an unfortunate accident.”
Technical officer Eve Cozzi said the decision to put the window in came from observations from zoo staff about children leaning over the railing.
The zoo considered other options such as mesh and perspex, but Mr Connolly said glass would provide the best protection.
Visitors aren’t convinced that the change is necessary.
“I think this is good, to be able to lean over and have a look,” said Wanganui’s Kim Paio, who was at the zoo with nephew Corbin Serlanke.
New Plymouth mother Tracey Lord and her 16-month-old son Micah both enjoyed watching the monkeys with an unobstructed view.
“If no-one’s ever fallen off, why change it?” she asked.
“It’s quite nice not having the glass. The monkeys seem closer.”
Mr Connolly says regardless of any issues with the platform, the enclosure is one of the best for capuchin monkeys.
“See how happy and content they are, just going about their business,” he said.
The capuchins vary in ages – the youngest, Macaco, was born last September.
Ms Cozzi believes 44-year-old Crystal could be the oldest in captivity.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 22, 2010
FERNERY UPGRADE RESUMES
With photo
New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park fernery and display houses are in for a major upgrade.
The project, the third stage of an upgrade that began 12 years ago, will see a new roof on one of the houses, new irrigation and ventilation systems and improved staff areas.
“The new roof is for House One, the small fernery that people step into first from the main entrance. House One’s roof dates from the 60s, is in poor condition and needs replacing,” parks manager Mark Bruhn said.
“None of the earth tunnels will be touched in the upgrade, but we will have a better growing environment for one of the facility’s oldest sections.”
The fernery and display houses opened in 1928 and are internationally recognised.
Construction is likely to start in 18 months to fit in with the plants’ growing cycle and professional proposals are being called for.
“We’re calling for qualified providers to submit proposals on how best to achieve this upgrade of the fernery and display houses, keeping in mind that we want to minimise any effects on the plants and disruption around major events in the park,” Mr Bruhn said.
In 1998 the roofs over the fernery’s second and third houses were replaced and raised, disabled access was built between Kibby House to the second house and a hothouse for growing plants was added.
The second stage was done in 2000 with a revamp of Kibby House.
TDN, OCTOBER 29, 2010
ZOO SHOWS BEAUTIES OF BUG AND BUTTERFLY IN BACKYARD GARDEN
With photo
Wetas aren’t the most attractive insects on the planet, but monarch butterflies are, and you can see both close up at Brooklands Zoo’s new backyard garden attraction.
The friends of Pukekura Park were at the zoo yesterday planting swan plants, on which monarch butterflies lay their eggs and releasing a male weta as part of the display area.
Bev Moratti, who released the weta into its new home, said she was not afraid of the ugly critters.
“We have them at home. They come in the window at night and crawl over you.
“They are a little scratchy,” she said.
Friends of the Park donated the swan plants to the zoo especially for the backyard garden.
“We have about 56 plants but will only put in a third of them. We save the rest for when the caterpillars have eaten all the others,” John O’Sullivan said.
The garden section of the zoo provides information on how to create the right habitats for insects in your backyard.
“It’s just a really good way to have interpretive information and then a live display,” zoo technical officer Eve Cozzi said.
The display has information on how to increase the number of insects and creepy crawlies in your backyard.
Children will be able to see wetas, monarchs, lizards, spiders and worms in just a short time.
“It won’t take long at all. There are butterfly eggs on the plants already and they will soon be caterpillars, chrysalises and then monarchs flying around,” Ms Cozzi said.
“There are already lots of baby wetas in the garden but the next step is to build them a hotel. A wooden home for the nocturnal creatures.”
TDN, NOVEMBER 3, 2010
TIDY UP FOR TINY MONKEYS
With photo
There will be a little less monkeying around at Brooklands Zoo this week while the cotton-top tamarin enclosure gets a revamp.
The zoo’s two tamarins, Lorenzo and Nephrite, have been moved from display until later in the week, but the capuchin monkeys can still be seen swinging from the trees, zoo technical officer Eve Cozzi said.
The enclosure’s airlock, a double-door area that keepers walk into before entering the main enclosure, will be removed and a new one built off to the side.
“The existing airlock is right in the view of the public so by taking that out the monkeys will have more room and the public will be able to see them better,” Ms Cozzi said.
Meco Engineering began work on the enclosure yesterday and will finish by the end of the week.
“Hopefully it will all be done in a few days and we can get the tamarins back on display,” Ms Cozzi said.
TDN, NOVEMBER 10, 2020
SURVIVING LEMUR MISSING BEST FRIEND
With photo
LEAPING LEMURS
Found on the island of Madagascar
Have a life span of 18 years in the wild
Live in groups known as troops of up to 30 animals
Their average tail length is 55cm (Source: National Geographic).
Manera the ring-tailed lemur is pining for her best friend Sarah while facing an uncertain future herself.
Sarah, a favourite at New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo, was put down on Monday by the vet who had been looking after her for the past week.
“We aren’t sure what caused her illness,” Brooklands curator Chris Connolly said. “She had been under veterinary care, but her health continued to decline.”
A decision was being made on what needed to be done with Manera.
“Lemurs are social animals so we won’t let Manera be alone for long,” he said.
“We are working with the Zoo and Aquarium Association to decide whether to bring more lemurs to the zoo or transfer her to another zoo so she can join another lemur troop.”
The animals had proved to be very popular with the public and it’s quite possible this fondness jumped after their cartoon comrades were seen moving their hips in the Madagascar movie series.
However, zoo technical officer Eve Cozzi said that while the animals are social they can’t actually “move it, move it.”
“They can’t dance, but we do get members of the public singing the song to them,” he said.
Not being able to keep a beat didn’t mean they were boring and the cheeky creatures could often be seen performing their tummy warming ritual in the sun.
“It’s called the sun worshipper pose and they perch in the branch in the lotus yoga position to warm their bellies,” Ms Cozzi said.
Zoo keeper Jo West, who was comforting Manera yesterday, said she will miss feeding Sarah her favourite food.
“She loved banana,” she said.
“She would sit on your knee for banana.”
While friendly most of the time, zoo staff said they had also felt her sharper side.
“They have teeth like needles, we have all felt the end of them,” Ms Cozzi said.
TDN, DECEMBER 24, 2010
MEERKATS ADAPT TO TARANAKI CONDITIONS
With photo
Things have just got a whole lot cooler in New Plymouth with the arrival of five burrow-happy meerkats at Brooklands Zoo.
The mob arrived in town on Tuesday night and love eating bugs, standing lookout, peering curiously at onlookers and digging. Especially digging.
“They settled in really well and are having a ball going through all the tunnels and over the rocks. But we can’t get over how much they love digging. They are just digging and digging and digging,” said Pukekura Park curator and meerkat fan Chris Connolly.
Comprised of two nine-year-old females and three six-year-old males, the mob have come to New Plymouth via the Wellington Zoo.
The females, Fupi and Mtoto, are slightly bigger, darker and have shorter tails than the three males, Imani, Zuri and Zambesi.
The mob fills the gap and the enclosure left by the death of Mungo the red panda in July.
Curious creatures, meerkats continuously talk to each other with low squeaking sounds.
When threatened they will change it up to a bark, said zookeeper Eve Cozzi, who was unwilling to imitate the sound that is apparently similar to the woof noise made by a Shih Tzu.
A non-breeding group, the five meerkats needed a new home when Wellington Zoo brought in a new group and decided against mixing them up.
Though cute and cuddly looking, meerkats have a nasty bite, sometimes kill younger members of their mob and can be aggressive when threatened.
But their darker side is unlikely to be seen in New Plymouth as their enclosure is predator-free and a glass wall prevents curious fingers being poked into their home.
“We think it’s fantastic having them here and we know people are going to love them,” Ms Cozzi said.
So that the meerkats continue to love New Plymouth, their enclosure includes a number of heat lamps to replicate the temperatures of their homeland in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. They will be fed a variety of bugs, mice, chicken necks, eggs and some vegetables.
“But not too much of those,” Ms Cozzi said. “They’re not really big vegetable eaters.”
2011
TDN, JANUARY 14, 2011
SPECIAL ORCHID HAS PARK LINK
An orchid special to Taranaki will make its debut at the Taranaki Orchid Society’s summer show this weekend.
A Disa hybrid called Pukekura Park will be unveiled in its first official showing since it was registered in England late last year.
The bloom is a spectacular red, which is unusual in Disa varieties.
It was bred by orchid expert and former Pukekura Park curator, George Fuller.
The annual orchid show runs tomorrow and Sunday at Highlands Intermediate School hall, starting at 10am both days.
Noted Australian orchid grower and writer David Banks will speak at a number of presentations during the show.
He is a regular visitor to New Zealand and a fan of Disa, which are always a feature of Taranaki displays.
TDN, JANUARY 25, 2011
NATURE DEALS A BLOW BEECH TREE HIT BY STORM
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One of Brooklands Park’s most magnificent trees could be doomed after being badly damaged in Sunday’s storm.
About a third of the 120-year-old copper beech tree on the lawn at Brooklands has splintered off and fallen to the ground.
Council acting parks manager Steve McGill said the tree was of national significance, but the biggest concern was for public safety.
“It could fall further in fine weather as well as when it’s windy, and there’s always lots of people around it. The kneejerk reaction is to take the tree out but there’s lots to consider.”
District arborist Conrad Pattison had done an assessment of the tree yesterday and that would be considered by council staff in combination with an independent report over the next couple of days.
Mr Pattison said there were several options available for managing the tree including fencing, signs, and planting a replacement tree to ensure a “succession plan.”
However, he said there was no way to prop up the tree or repair the damage, with a massive crack running down the opposite side to where the splint came off.
Mr McGill said the reports would tell them how much it had been compromised and they would work with the Friends of Pukekura Park to find the best solution.
Extensive perimeter fencing would be the most expensive option and a decision about its future had to be made in the next couple of days, with concerts and events planned in that area soon.
The tree was listed as category one notable tree under the district plan and was on the Notable Trees of New Zealand register.
It was believed to have been planted in the 1890s and is about 26 metres high, with a canopy spread of about 27 metres.
Friends of Pukekura Park president David Medway said the damage was an act of nature, but disappointing after the chestnut tree on the same lawn was knocked down a few years ago.
“It’s unfortunate that this tree has suffered that damage after all these years. It would be a great pity if it had to come down.”
He said the tree was well-loved, especially by people who went to the Womad music festival.
Taranaki Arts Festival Trust artistic director Drew James said the tree was a favourite of the crowd. “We had plans for decorating it, so we need to go and have a look and assess it.”
Womad organisers had planned to light the tree up this year and at this stage that would still go ahead, he said.
Mr James said the tree played an important role in providing shade and a place for people to eat lunch underneath it.
“It’s the best place for us to set up around and I certainly hope we won’t lose the whole tree.”
Former Pukekura Park Curator George Fuller said it was an outstanding example of an English beech and had been in excellent health.
It was special because of its lower limbs, which children played on.
“We normally clear the ground around the big trees but we didn’t with that one because they swept right down to the ground and the kids used to have wonderful fun.”
He was concerned the damage may have destroyed the symmetry of the tree, which was one of its great features.
If the damage was from ground level it would considerably weaken comparable branches arising from a certain point, he said.
The tree has been roped off as a precaution while a report on the damage is put together.
Mr McGill asked that people stayed a safe distance away if they wished to view it.
TDN, FEBRUARY 1, 2011
KNOCK ON WOOD THAT IT’S USED WELL
With photo
Today’s tree, tomorrow’s armchair.
New Plymouth tree specialist and former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller hopes that will be the fate of the wood gathered from the historic copper beech tree that was cut down yesterday.
“It’s precious wood for woodworkers.
“It certainly should not be burnt, it’s too good for that,” Mr Fuller said.
About a third of the 120-year-old tree snapped off during high winds more than a week ago. To ensure the public’s safety, council arborists began removing the 26 metre-high tree limb by limb.
Mr Fuller said beech was one of the most important furniture timbers in England and Europe, so it should be used for carpentry here.
“It has great value as it’s strong, resilient and attractive. Every effort should be made to make use of it.”
Mr Fuller had tracked the progress of the tree since the 1970s and said although it had to be removed for safety reasons, it was still very sad. “Any tree that’s survived more than 100 years of buffeting and provided such great pleasure to people, it’s sad that it’s no longer with us.”
It had been the favourite tree of many children who had visited the park, he said.
When he last measured the tree in the early 2000s there was no reason to suspect it was unstable.
“It masked its internal decay very well.”
Council acting parks manager Steve McGill said the wood would be made available for community use. “The door’s open for its usage. We’ll hold onto it for a few weeks and if no one claims it, it will be used for firewood.”
Some woodturners had indicated interest and the council would decide what to do once all applications were in.
TDN, MARCH 15, 2011
LONELY LEMUR OFF TO NEW HOME
With photo
Manera the lonely lemur is heading north for a new life and hopefully lots of new friends.
Brooklands Zoo’s sole ring-tailed lemur leaves New Plymouth today for the Franklin Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary near Auckland, where she will join four new furry friends.
Manera has been a sad and lonely lemur since she lost her partner in crime, Sarah, last November when she became ill and had to be put down.
“Lemurs are very social animals that need companionship and it hasn’t been ideal having Manera on her own at Brooklands Zoo,” Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said.
“While we’re sad to see her go, we’re really happy that she’ll get to socialise again.”
Mr Connolly said zoo staff are on the hunt for a new attraction for the lemur enclosure.
NTM, MAY 4, 2011
FRIENDSHIP PLAQUE UNVEILED
Photo
TDN, AUGUST 20, 2011
KUNMING PAVILION CLOSED
A rotting support post has forced the closure of Brooklands Park’s Kunming Pavilion while repairs are carried out. Scaffolding has been erected to support the structure and it will take three or four weeks to replace the damaged wood.
TDN, AUGUST 24, 2011
COUNCIL FLOATS PLASTIC LOOKALIKE FLEET
A romantic row in one of Pukekura Park’s traditional wooden clinker boats may soon be a thing of the past.
Plastic moulded lookalikes will replace four of the boats this summer, as the New Plymouth District Council looks to renew the ageing fleet.
Park curator Chris Connolly said that after numerous refurbishments, four of the 10 historic row boats were now considered beyond repair.
“The old wooden boats, a lot of them are rotten and we’ve been trying to repair them for a number of years now. We’ve repaired them as much as we can,” he said.
Mr Connolly said the boats, which were of varying ages and timbers, cost about $3000 a year to keep afloat.
Auckland company Mac Boats is supplying the plastic replacements which retail for about $3400 each.
Mr Connolly said the council had looked at its options and decided to trial the plastic boats which were considered hardy and cost effective.
“We were happy with the stability and the size of them,” he said.
Friends of the Park president David Medway said he trusted the council to find the right replacement for the wooden clinkers but it was vital boating remained a part of the park.
“It’s important to have facilities for boating on the lake. Friends are supportive of the continuation of boating activities. It’s been on the lake for over a hundred years,” Mr Medway said.
Mr Connolly said it had been important to retain the clinker- boat style and he wanted the new vessels to fit the atmosphere of the park.
“One of my big concerns was the visual look of it. I wanted to retain the traditional wooden boat look in keeping with the traditional look of the park,”he said.
The council would monitor the plastic models this summer, and if the boats proved popular it was likely the remaining wooden boats will be replaced as they went out of service, although it was possible new wooden ones would be sought.
The boats pulled from service are in storage and the council is yet to decide their fate.
Members of the public spoken to by the Taranaki Daily News said their main concern was that plastic boats would not go with the traditional look of the park.
“My first reaction is that’s awful,” Sue Cunninghame, of New Plymouth, said. “The world is full of it [plastic]. It really won’t suit the atmosphere. Plastic will make it look like Disneyland.”
TDN, NOVEMBER 26, 2011
WE WILL FUND NETS. HOWZAT!
With photo
PATH TO PRACTICE NETS 2008: NPDC approves Fillis St in principal. 2009: Black cap captain Daniel Vettori writes in support. 2010: Fillis St OKed at Taranaki Cricket Association expense. 2011: August: TCA says it can only raise $100,000 of the $425,000 needed. September: TCA hands responsibility for rest of funding back to council.
November 8: NPDC votes against funding nets. Agrees to include it in 2012 Long Term Plan.
November 9: Cricket bosses say top level one-day matches will not be played at park. November 21: TSB Community Trust offers grant of $100,000 and to underwrite $112,500 if NPDC decides to fund nets. November 25: NPDC votes 8 to 6 to fund nets.
Pukekura Park will get its cricket nets.
In a fiery and often angry debate, New Plymouth District councillors yesterday voted eight to six to pay $212,500 towards the $425,000 Fillis St cricket practice nets.
The decision comes just 17 days after the council decided against funding the nets when their share would have been $325,000.
The turnaround comes courtesy of a $212,500 TSB Community Trust offer and means Pukekura Park retains its New Zealand Cricket “warrant of fitness” as a first-class venue and therefore keeps top domestic cricket games.
And while that should please cricket fans, it has ripped the council right down the middle. There are those who say council process has been disrespected and the rest who believe process should not trump progress.
At the heart of a matter is a $212,500 offer by the TSB Community Trust to cover half the cost of the nets. The problem with the offer is it came nearly two weeks after the council decided against building the nets. Councillor Andrew Judd was booted out of yesterday’s meeting for accusing his mayor and council chief executive of manipulating the council’s decision-making process in putting the new proposal before council.
“To me the trust has disrespected a decision of the council,” he said, an hour after his departure.
Mr Judd said council officers had pursued the trust’s offer and went well past their brief to follow out council decrees which, as of November 8, had the nets being considered in next year’s Long Term Plan.
“If this is what is done for cricket nets what else happens that we don’t see or hear about. That is why we need transparent policies.”
Mr Judd was joined by councillors Sherril George, Craig McFarlane, Shaun Biesiek, Pauline Lockett, John McLeod and Heather Dodunski who voted against funding the nets.
It was Mrs Dodunski who, as chairwoman of the council’s policy committee, was most perturbed at the turn of events and asked her mayor if the council’s decision to go against policy was a veiled request she resign.
It was not and mayor Harry Duynhoven defended his move to have the council consider the new proposal even if it meant the November 8 decision was eventually rescinded.
The council had received a lot of feedback on the decision and he understood the TSB Community Trust had as well, prompting them to seek a meeting with him and Mrs McKerrow.
“That is the process of government. Central government does this many times. It has a decision which isn’t popular. It looks at it again and thinks “Hmm, what was the right thing to do, we will fix it,” Mr Duynhoven said.
That council even had a second chance come thanks of mediator and lawyer Tony Lendurum. One week after learning the council had decided against the nets he called Heath Mills of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association. From that call he was given assurance Pukekura Park would not lose its top-class status if the council committed to building the nets in time for next season.
A cricket fan, Mr Lendurum said he brokered the deal because if Pukekura Park lost top-class cricket it would never get it back.
“The reality is someone else will pick up the slack. Why would the other venues say “Let’s give New Plymouth three or four years to get their act together and then we will give the games back,” Mr Lendurum said.
Mayor Harry Duynhoven and councillors Phil Quinney, Alex Matheson, Lance Girling-Butcher, Howie Tamati, Marie Pearce, Maurice Betts and Lynn Bublitz voted to fund the nets.
2012
TDN, FEBRUARY 13, 2012
FIREBUGS TORCH BOWL TOILET BLOCK
Furious New Plymouth park officials say an arson attack on a toilet block early yesterday morning could have seriously endangered the city’s world famous Pukekura Park.
Firebugs torched the toilet block at the northern entrance to the TSB Bowl of Brooklands at around 4am yesterday.
The area is so heavily wooded and hidden from view that the first anyone knew of the blaze was when a policeman smelt smoke while on patrol in New Plymouth’s central business district about a kilometre away.
He followed his nose and eventually discovered the toilet block well ablaze. Two New Plymouth Fire Brigade appliances went to the scene, but there was little firefighters could do other than dampen down the smouldering ruins.
Yesterday, New Plymouth District Council’s parks manager Mark Bruhn said the arson couldn’t have come at a worse time because this weekend the Bowl is scheduled to host Tropfest Australia, the world’s largest short film festival, and will then host the Womad festival of music, arts and dance from March 16 to 18.
“It’s going to change the park experience, because there now won’t be a permanent toilet block there,” said Mr Bruhn.
“But perhaps even worse, that toilet block is situated right in the middle of a wooded area that obviously contains a lot of very flammable material. It could have been disastrous for Pukekura Park.”
What is upsetting park staff even more is that this latest incident continues a run of vandalism and drunken behaviour in Pukekura Park and adjacent Brooklands Park all summer.
“Last weekend we had a break- in at Brooklands Zoo, which potentially could have created a very serious biosecurity issue for us. Fortunately the police caught the little sods responsible,” said Mr Bruhn.
Mr Bruhn said park staff will now have to move quickly to get the site tidied in time for Tropfest. He added that the only good news was that the district council planned to replace the toilet block this winter anyway.
Peter Handcock, the district council’s manager of property assets, said he was called to the park at daybreak yesterday to find the toilet block “totalled” and cordoned off by police.
Staff would now need to work quickly to arrange temporary toilets.
“But it makes you wonder who would do this sort of thing. It just goes on and on. We have break-ins at the Pukekura Park teahouse, and vandalism through the park.
“And last year we even had someone reverse a car into the back of the TSB Stadium and then set fire to the vehicle. There are issues all the time.”
New Plymouth detective Nicky Spicer said anyone with any knowledge about who was responsible for the latest arson attack should contact police.
TDN, FEBRUARY 14, 2012
SECURITY UPGRADE FOR PARK AND BOWL
Security measures have been upgraded in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park and Bowl of Brooklands after a toilet block was razed during the weekend.
The toilets, at the northern entrance to the TSB Bowl of Brooklands, were torched by firebugs early on Sunday morning.
The attack also has the New Plymouth District Council exploring long-term solutions to protect its reserves.
Police say they will support the council in its endeavours.
The facilities will not be able to be rebuilt before the venue hosts the Womad festival from March 16 to 18.
The arson was the latest incident in a spate of vandalism and drunken behaviour that has plagued the park and bowl all summer.
NPDC parks manager Mark Bruhn said a further surveillance camera had been rented to complement systems already in place, including security patrols and cameras.
“The challenge is we can’t have security guards and cameras covering every inch of our 1300 hectares of park estates at any one time,” Mr Bruhn said.
“We are always considering the best way of policing the whole of the reserve estate that we look after.”
The constant damage was costing ratepayers dearly but fencing off the entire area was not a practical solution, he said.
“Vandalism is something that unfortunately we have come to expect when we come to work on Monday,” Mr Bruhn said.
“For some reason we end up spending a lot of money on a very small percentage of our population who think that they should wreck things, rather than spending money on positive constructive things. That is the disappointing thing.”
Mr Bruhn said he would be meeting with Womad organisers, the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust, this week to work out a temporary solution for the venue.
“After Womad we should be constructing something new but it certainly won’t be before Womad. There is no way we can construct a decent facility there in that time.”
Mr Bruhn urged anyone who knew who was responsible for the damage to come forward.
He said the council wanted to see the offending treated seriously by the police and judicial system.
Police area commander Inspector Blair Telford said he would be happy to discuss options, including a permanent liquor ban in the park, to improve safety with the council.
TDN, FEBRUARY 22, 2012
BOLIVIANS HERE FOR MONKEY BUSINESS
With photo
A troop of five Bolivian bachelors moved into Brooklands Zoo yesterday.
The single and social immigrants are Bolivian squirrel monkeys – part of a group of 30 who were shipped to New Zealand from zoos in Europe.
The monkeys will be bred in Auckland and Wellington zoos with New Plymouth’s zoo holding the bachelor males.
Brooklands Zoo assistant curator Eve Cozzi said our Bolivians will hopefully be used as breeding stock.
For successful breeding it was best to rotate the males between the groups every two or three years, so it was likely the bachelors would be transferred from Brooklands to different areas as needed.
This is the first time Bolivian squirrel monkeys have been imported to New Zealand.
Mayor Harry Duynhoven said Brooklands Zoo was pleased to help Wellington and Auckland zoos breed Bolivian squirrel monkeys.
The zoo team has a good reputation for their work with exotic animals, he said.
Ms Cozzi said the monkeys are small and very active.
She expects them to be a hit at Brooklands.
“I’ve worked with them overseas,” Ms Cozzi said. “They will each have their own personalities and they’re super cute. They’re excellent climbers and really good at jumping and leaping.”
Squirrel monkeys can live up to 20 years.
The Brooklands Zoo monkeys were quite young, ranging in age from one and a half years to just under four years.
Although the monkeys arrived yesterday they will not be on public display until mid to late March, once the former lemur enclosure has been renovated for their use.
TDN, FEBRUARY 24, 2012
ZOO PLANTS A BOTANICAL ADVENTURE
With photo
New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo is a treasure house of rare plants.
Years ago a lot of these were planted in the animal compounds to protect them. A lot have gone now, but there are still a lot of gems there.
My wife, Gail, and I know the place well, as we lived next door for three years back in the 1970s. The house went with my job with the parks department. It was a fabulous place to live, right next to the Bowl and inside a huge park. It was magical.
It sounds strange, but in those days the zoo focused on birds alone. Most were noisy during the day, but three birds gave us sleepless nights. We’d no sooner got used to the peacocks screaming in the middle of the night, when the kea would have a session of night time screeching for two months. Finally the wekas would decide they would take the night shift. It’s a wonder they didn’t all end up in a pie.
Now all those central bird cages have gone and the focus is much more on the animals like capuchin monkeys, otters and meercats. They’re all so cute and it’s worth coming here just to see the pleasure these animals bring to the kids.
As you enter there’s a green sign in front of you. Slightly to the right of the sign is a rare small tree coming into flower, Poliothyrsis sinensis or Chinese pearl-bloom tree. The sprays of white flowers do look a bit like pearls until they open to pale egg-yolk yellow. I know sinensis means China, but I had no idea what the genus name meant until I looked it up as grey panicle. White panicle or flower head would be more accurate, but either way it’s still a hard name to learn.
Behind this small tree is a handsome, wide-spreading tree with long racemes of white flowers. This is the Sourwood or Oxydendrum arboreum from the Appalachian Mountains in eastern America. It’s related to the Pieris and Ericas as you can see from the bell-like flowers. We’ve got two of these small trees in our garden and they turn the most incredible fire red foliage in autumn time. Again quite rare, but very ornamental.
Turn to your right and it is the capuchin monkey cage. If you can tear yourself away from the monkey antics there’s tractor seat Ligularias on your right and a Puriri tree in flower with silver tree ferns to your left. Graham Smith of Pukeiti fame pointed me in the right direction, when he said these tractor seat plants are misnamed in New Zealand. Instead of Ligularia reniformis as we call it, reniformis meaning kidney shape; it should really be called Farfugium japonicum “Giganteum”.
After that I forgot about plants for a bit, concentrating instead on the otters and monkeys. I did notice the big white mulberry tree to the left is dying. White mulberries taste disgusting compared to the red or the black. You’ll never find the fruit in the shops because they’re like squishy raspberries. You only have to touch them and they start to disintegrate, leaving inky stains on your fingers. Mulberries have a vital use, as the fodder for silkworms. You can feed the caterpillar on other trees, but for quality silk it must be mulberries. The caterpillar spins a thread to create a cocoon and this is dunked in hot water and unravelled to obtain the silk threads.
The free flight cage is a good way to see birds all around you rather than through wire mesh. The native plants in here look very healthy despite the ravages from parrots and so on. Look out for the two types of griselinia and the wide leaf cabbage tree Cordyline kaspar named after one of the Three Kings. As in the Christmas carol, “we three kings of orient are”. Somehow they changed the c to k, the three being Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
Head up towards the farm animals and you’ll see a huge dark evergreen tree, a relative of the magnolia. This is Manglietia insignis from the Himalayas. Although the flowers look like a magnolia, they’re a bit drab. Nearby is another large tree, this time from India, though I suspect it’s the cooler Himalayan parts rather than the hot plains. This is the Indian horse chestnut, Aesculus indica, with huge pink flower heads in the spring. Now this rare tree is showy.
Head back to the gate beside the border on your right and you’ll find an array of rare trees. It’s easy to miss them because the monarch butterfly display is more exciting. Beside the fence you’ll find a host of milkweed or Asclepias plants named after Asclepius the Greek god of medicine. Watching these greedy caterpillars munching away is fascinating for kids of all ages. I had to drag Gail away.
As for the plants, well the first shiny evergreen is Euonymus myrianthus. We used to use Euonymus as street trees like in Somerset St, but they’re very out of fashion now. The TRC has even banned some of them.
After the pink and yellow abutilons there is a huge leaf tree called the Mexican Hand Tree and at the front are two upright evergreens with shiny leaves.
Schima argentea and the larger leaf Schima khasiana are related to camellias and have small white flowers in summertime. Argent means silver and the other comes from the Khasia Hills, the wettest place on Earth and the worst posting in colonial India.
You’ll also find two South African five-finger relatives with floppy multipatterned leaves and fleshy stems in this area. Cussonia paniculata is the blue leaf one and the green one closer to the gate is Cussonia spicata. These are young, but they’ll get more and more exciting as they grow. They are a terrific shrub if you want to create a tropical feel in your garden with their flamboyant foliage.
TDN, MARCH 30, 2012
WETA HOTELS WELCOME ROMANTIC LIAISONS
With photo
Taranaki’s newest hotel chain is set to accommodate some interesting creatures of the night.
Three weta “hotels” were installed in the gardens at Brooklands Zoo yesterday in the hope that insect guests will move in and multiply.
The wooden hotels, designed from Conservation Department plans and sponsored and built by the Friends of Pukekura Park, boast several spacious, private holes in which weta can sleep the day away.
Brooklands Zoo assistant curator and hotel manager Eve Cozzi said weta are largely misunderstood and could do with some help to survive.
“Their natural habitat is declining in the wild through development and predators.
“We’ve got a display so people can see how they can make a weta house at home and learn a bit about them,” she said.
Because the hotels are closed in to keep out the sun, a model has been made from a salvaged hunk of the old copper beech tree that fell on the Brooklands Park lawn last year so people can see what the inside is like.
Although the hotel was hardly booked out yesterday, Miss Cozzi said she expected tree weta would be the most likely to check in.
“We might get the occasional cave weta though,” she said.
John and Susan O’Sullivan, of the Friends of Pukekura Park, attended the opening of the hotel yesterday.
“Eve suggested the project and I took it to the committee and we thought it was worthy, so one of our guys, Ray Jury, knocked up a prototype and we went from there,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
The hotels cost about $50 each and were funded by donations to the Friends’ buggy service.
WETA FACTS
Weta are nocturnal
16 of the 70 species are endangered
They’re only found in New Zealand
Survivalist Bear Grylls ate one last year and compared the taste to human excrement
Their ears are on their front legs
Mountain rock weta can survive at temperatures down to -10°C, even when 82 per cent of their body water has frozen
The Little Barrier weta is the biggest of the species
Weta mainly eat plants, but are known to eat other insects
TDN, APRIL 13, 2012
MONKEYS MOVE HOME
Five Bolivian squirrel monkeys have moved into their new enclosure at Brooklands Zoo’s giving the public their first look at the high-energy primates. Brooklands Zoo assistant curator Eve Cozzi said the squirrel monkeys were always on the go and would be a hit with visitors. The monkeys are a bachelor group that are part of a breeding programme with Wellington and Auckland zoos plus other Zoo and Aquarium Association members in Australia.
TDN, JUNE 18, 2012
SPRUCE-UP FOR PARK FERNERY
Part of the jewel in Taranaki’s crown is about to get a polishing.
Work on Pukekura Park’s fernery and display houses started last week as the third part of a major upgrade that began 14 years ago.
The front entrance to the park will be closed for months while a new propagation glasshouse and staff areas are built, one of the display houses is re-roofed, and new irrigation and ventilation systems are installed.
Before work begins on the fernery, a track from the TSB Stadium to the Fred Parker lawn will be improved to give vehicles better access.
The upgrade is expected to take five months to complete and all going well the public areas should be done in time for the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular in late October.
New Plymouth District Council parks manager Mark Bruhn said the fernery house getting a new roof was one of oldest sections of the facility. “The roof dates from the 1960s and is in poor condition so it needs replacing,” he said.
Mr Bruhn said there was no need to be worried about the tunnels around the fernery.
“The public can rest assured that none of the tunnels will be touched,” he said.
In 1998 the first stage of the upgrade saw the roofs of two other fernery houses replaced and raised 2.5 metres, disabled access built between Kibby House, and the second house and the addition of a hothouse for growing plants.
Kibby House was renovated in the second stage of the upgrade in 2000 and was made 25 per cent bigger, had a new roof put in to trap light and heat, an indoor propagation area was built and disabled access was improved.
The fernery and display houses opened in 1928.
TDN, JUNE 28, 2012
PARK WINS CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE
With photo
The world’s largest travel advice website has given its highest accolade to Pukekura Park.
TripAdvisor has awarded Pukekura Park the Certificate of Excellence for being an exceptional performer in its global business community, receiving consistently top ratings from the public.
Though it simply reaffirms what most Taranaki people already know, the certificate came as a pleasant surprise to the park’s curator, Chris Connolly.
“We haven’t gone out to win this award,” he said. “We’ve just been doing our job every day, making sure Pukekura Park is presented well and operates smoothly and it turns out the public think we do a pretty good job.”
TripAdvisor features more than 60 million reviews and opinions for attractions and accommodation worldwide. Pukekura Park has an average rating of five stars, with 85 reviews.
“The really great part about this is that the recognition is driven by visitors’ experiences,” Mr Connolly said.
Reviewers gave strong words of praise for the park, including “a rare piece of tranquillity”, “the city founders were smart”, and “best in New Zealand”.
One reviewer had a wonderful trip there, describing a Pukekura Park experience as being “lost in space”.
Another summed it up aptly with one word: “Peace”.
The reviews on TripAdvisor come from international and Kiwi visitors as well as Taranaki residents. Of the 85 reviewers, 65 rated it excellent, 20 very good and zero ranked it average, poor or terrible. Both the coastal walkway and Mt Taranaki were given an average rating of 4.5 stars.
TripAdvisor sites work in 30 countries, and the company operates websites under 19 other travel media brands.
Together the sites attract more than 69 million unique monthly visitors.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
WORK BEGINS ON NEW TOILET BLOCK
With photo
Visitors to the Bowl of Brooklands will be relieved work on the park’s new toilet block is under way.The old toilet blocks were destroyed in a suspicious fire in February, just before the Womad festival.
The new unisex toilets would be made of concrete and although they wouldn’t be “bulletproof” they would be less susceptible to vandalism, New Plymouth District Council’s park manager Mark Bruhn said.
Mr Bruhn said while the replacement toilet block wouldn’t feature any expensive bells and whistles, it would be wheelchair friendly.
“They’re our standard model. We will, however, be re-positioning them slightly to better fit in with the layout of the park.”
Mr Bruhn also said the toilets at the southern end of the bowl stages were being upgraded.
In other restroom-related news, work has begun on new loos at Ngamotu Beach and a portaloo that was knocked over by a vehicle at Ahu Ahu Reserve will not be replaced.
Mr Bruhn said the council hoped to get the work on the Bowl of Brooklands project wrapped up before the summer events season.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
CHANCE TO OWN, OWN, OWN YOUR BOAT
With photo
Three leaky old boats from Pukekura Park are getting a new lease on life as potential garden ornaments.
The New Plymouth District Council began replacing the park’s unusable wooden boats with moulded-plastic boats in the same style late last year.
The council is now selling three boats retired from the aged fleet. Two are four metres long and one five metres.
The boats, which are being sold individually, went up for auction on Trade Me yesterday with a $1 reserve. The auction will run for seven days.
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said boating had taken place on the park’s main lake for more than a century.
‘Generations of people have rowed on the lake in these wooden clinker boats and this is a unique opportunity to own one,’ Mr Connolly said.
“These ones have been repaired so often over the years that to make them usable again would cost far too much, so we’re offering them up for anyone who is keen to have a piece of the park’s history in their back yard.’
Mr Connolly said though the boats were no longer suitable to go in the water in their current state, in the right hands they could be made seaworthy again.
‘They no longer float, so don’t expect to be able to use them in a private lake. However, they’ll make great garden features.’
He said the new boats worked well and cost less to maintain than the old wooden ones, which were getting expensive to repair.
“They’ve proved to be very popular; it’s great to see them on the lake. They are part of the character and ambience of the park.”
Mr Connolly was not sure how much the boats would sell for but said people had already been making inquiries about them.
“Other people have been asking about them to use as sandpits or in their gardens.”
Two of the boats retired last year had already found new homes.
One is in the otter enclosure at Brooklands Zoo and one is used as a prop in the park’s Fernery and display houses; another will soon become a feature at the East End Reserve playground.
TDN, OCTOBER 2, 2012
BOAT BONUS FOR PARK
Pukekura Park’s three surplus wooden clinker boats have sold for a whopping $2765 on Trade Me. Each boat, which used to operate on Pukekura Park’s main lake, was listed with a $1 reserve. The blue 5m boat went for $906, the blue 4m for $856 and the red 4m for $1003. Options on how to spend the money within the park are being considered.
TDN, OCTOBER 4, 2012
LAKE LEVEL TO BE LOWERED
The Bowl of Brooklands lake level is to be temporarily lowered on Monday while work that will eventually improve the water quality of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park’s lakes is undertaken there. A small dam-like structure will be built to trap silt before it enters the streams that run into the park’s lakes.
TDN, OCTOBER 10, 2012
PUKEKURA FERNERY TO GET NEW ROOF, GLASSHOUSES
With photo
Wet weather might have delayed the $1.5m Pukekura Park fernery’s extensive upgrade but a sneak preview indicates it will be well worth the wait.
The fernery is finally getting its 60-year-old damaged and dangerous glass roof replaced and there are even more unique glasshouses being built on the roof of an adjacent new building.
The building will serve a dual purpose with offices for the park curator, Chris Connolly, and staff underneath.
“We’re ecstatic,” fernery technical officer Donna Christiansen said during a walk around the building site yesterday.
To the north-east a potting, implement and chemical shed is also under way.
“And the potting shed will have a hopper on it. We’re getting quite hi-tech.
“Until now we’ve been doing it by wheelbarrow.
“It’s all going to improve productivity and make it a lot easier to grow plants.”
The curved block walls of the office and glasshouse are being covered with red bricks in the style of an English walled garden, as befitting the world-renowned park’s overall theme.
Once finished, large transplanted nikau palms and other plantings will soften the walls. Full consideration has been given to a mature kowhai tree with the new building design wrapping around it.
The caved entrance to the fernery will remain the same.
“The fernery entrance is not changing because it is so iconic,” she said.
The need to build into the bank on the north-eastern side has already had 600 cubic metres of soil removed from the site, with many more still to come.
All the improvements, the plans for which have been moving through the New Plymouth District Council’s 10-year long term plan for several years, have been agreed to through close liaison with the Friends of the Park.
“We were excited when we heard it was finally under way,” Ms Christiansen said.
Initially the improvements were expected to be completed in time for the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular at the end of this month.
But the contractors – Inglewood firm ICL – have been stymied by winter rains and the work was now due to be finished by the end of November, parks manager Mark Bruhn said.
The completion date would still be weather-dependent.
While much of the area through from the kiosk to Pukekura Raceway had been closed off to the public because of the need for heavy machinery to use the track, it was expected to be re-opened next week in time for the festival.
TDN, OCTOBER 13, 2012
CRICKET NETS TO BE IN USE SOON
With photo
The third and final layer of clay is going on and the cage will start going up around New Plymouth’s controversial $425,000 cricket nets on Monday.
With all construction and most of the pitch work set to be complete by November 4, the Fillis St facility is within budget and on track to be ready in time for Pukekura Park’s first Twenty20 match on December 29.
The green coloured nets and practice pitch ensure the park retains its status as a top class cricket venue able to host top class matches, but came at a cost arguably greater than the construction bill.
After New Plymouth District councillors green-lighted the construction of the nets last year the project appeared to come unstuck when the Taranaki Cricket Association was unable to find the money to pay for them. But after some last minute manoeuvering and help from the TSB Community Trust, councillors voted to use surplus funds to pay for half of the nets despite a policy such funds be used to pay down debt.
That decision started a chain reaction of events that resulted in the council spending tens of thousands of dollars on legal advice on how to discipline councillor John McLeod for insulting Mayor Harry Duynhoven and council chief executive Barbara McKerrow on Facebook.
Pukekura Park will host its first match of the season on December 29.
TDN, NOVEMBER 3, 2012
WETLANDS DEVELOPMENT
Construction of a wetland will require part of Struan Walkway off Brooklands Rd in New Plymouth to be closed for up to seven weeks from Monday. The wetland is being created by the New Plymouth District Council to reduce the amount of sediment that flows into Pukekura Park’s lake system. As part of the project, the closed-off section of Struan Walkway will be improved so construction vehicles can gain access.
TDN, NOVEMBER 10, 2012
LAKE FULL OF SILT
Pukekura Park’s main lake is murkier and smellier than usual owing to an overflow of silt. As part of the wetland construction along Struan Walkway, the silt buildup in the Truby King Dell pond is being removed. The fresh flush of silt has reached the park’s main lake and will take a while to work its way through the lake system. So far about 12 truckloads have been taken away, and this stage of the project is expected to be completed by Monday.
TDN, NOVEMBER 16, 2012
BOOK CELEBRATES BOWL OF BROOKLANDS
With photo
A book documenting the who’s who of Taranaki entertainment went on sale last night.
Many well known Taranaki faces attended the book launch of the Bowl of Brooklands: Friends of the Bowl of Brooklands at Puke Ariki last night.
A slide show featuring more than 500 images of the Bowl’s history flashed on a big screen as people gathered to celebrate the occasion.
The book’s co-editor, Lance Girling-Butcher, who gets around with the help of a guide dog, said it was a daunting experience creating a book he could not see.
“It’s very scary I have to say, as a blind man, to produce something you can’t see,” Mr Girling-Butcher said.
The book was the result of more than five years work, he said.
Its creation was similar to that of the Bowl in that it was put together by volunteers.
“We think it’s a fitting tribute to the people who built and maintained the Bowl.”
The book’s 220 glossy A4 pages feature more than 400 hundred pictures of the Bowl, he said.
“We hope it captures the quintessential essence of the Bowl.”
Book producer Chris Rickards said he trawled through the best part of 3000 photos to select the final 500. “These photos we’ve got in here are the who’s who of the entertainment world,” Mr Rickards said.
The book can be bought from Benny’s Books for $65 with all proceeds going to the Taranaki Hospice.
TDN, NOVEMBER 17, 2012
PARK’S LAKES IN FOR A CLEANOUT
With photo
Birds, fish and people are set to benefit from a plan to remove tonnes of sediment from Pukekura Park’s lakes next year.
As deep as 1.5 metres in some places, the sediment is made up of some of the 90 tonnes of suspended matter estimated to flow through the lake system each year.
“Our aim is to have a lakes system that is cleaner, looks and smells nicer than it does now and is better for the birds and fish that live there,” park curator Mr Connolly said.
“We’ll focus on the sediment removal on the main and fountain lakes – starting in the upper reaches of the main lake where the sediment accumulation is the greatest.”
Known to have a healthy eel and goldfish population, the lakes also support an unexpected amount of native fish thought to have entered the lake system from feeder streams as a water wheel blocks its outflow.
The council is already developing wetlands along two of the feeder streams which will help reduce sediment getting into the lakes system.
The lakes’ water quality has progressively worsened since the 1950s, along with the growth of urban development in the catchment areas of the park’s feeder streams.
The enclosed and poorly flushed nature of the park’s lakes make them particularly vulnerable to water pollution.
No sediment will be removed from the lakes until the wetlands are finished. It has not yet been decided how the sediment will be removed.
TDN, NOVEMBER 28, 2012
A MILLION MORE FOR PARK AND WETLAND MAKEOVER
Cleaning up Pukekura Park’s mucky lakes could cost nearly $1 million more than was estimated four years ago.
The New Plymouth District Council’s Monitoring Committee last night voted to increase the budget for cleaning up the park’s lakes and overall water quality from $1.2m to $2.08m.
Parks boss Mark Bruhn said the change was necessary because the last estimate for the work had been undertaken four years ago.
A new estimate done after the 2012-2022 Long Term Plan was finalised concluded the work would cost $2.08m over the next four years.
The work to clean up the park’s main lakes includes the creation of a wetland beside Struan Walkway to trap sediment before it enters the park’s waterway and the construction of a forebay in the Bowl of Brooklands lake to do the same.
Once these projects are complete, work will begin on getting the sediment out of the lakes. The contracts for that are expected to go out for tender in March next year with work to take place between June and September.
A council report on the park’s water quality said progressive urban development in the park’s wider catchment area since the 1950s was behind the degradation of its water quality.
In some parts of the main lake, sediment is more than one metre deep.
The park’s lakes were excavated from former swamps for swimming and aquatic sports in 1876.
The water improvement project is being paid for from the council’s renewal fund of money set aside each year to cover depreciation of its assets.
TDN, DECEMBER 4, 2012
PLANT HOUSES TO BE CLOSED
The fernery and display houses at Pukekura Park will be closed to the public for the next 10 days during an upgrade. The houses will be closed for up to two days while roof fans are installed in houses two and three. A new roof has been installed over house one, windows will soon be installed, and the metal framework for the new plant propagation area is almost finished. The contractor’s equipment has been moved from the Fred Parker Lawn and the lawn’s reinstatement will begin next week. Signs on the access paths will indicate whether the fernery is open or you can check the council’s Facebook page.
TDN, DECEMBER 12, 2012
Controversial cricket nets prove their worth Venue keeps top level games
With photo
It tore the community and council apart but Pukekura Park’s new cricket nets have done their job and kept top-level games at the iconic venue.
With the pitch laid, cages up and grass growing, the $425,000 Fillis St nets will be ready to use when the Central Stags play the Otago Volts on March 10 next year.
The match is the third of five national top-level cricket games scheduled for the park this season. Three of those are Twenty20 games and two are A-list one-day matches.
That schedule is proof enough that the New Plymouth District Council was right in its decision to fund the nets late last year, Taranaki Cricket Association chairman Neil Sulzberger said.
“You cannot go past the fact the investment has sown rewards already with the amount of top level cricket we have been able to bring to Pukekura Park, and there is a secure future,” he said.
In a split decision last year, councillors controversially decided to pay for half the nets from end-of- year surplus after a late offer to cover the other half came through from the TSB Community Trust.
Without the nets New Zealand Cricket said the ground would lose its “warrant of fitness” and they would no longer schedule top-level matches there.
Despite that, the decision to plough ahead with the nets split the council as it came just days after the council had decided not to fund the nets prior to the trust’s offer and when their share was $325,000.
Andrew Judd was thrown out of the meeting and John McLeod infamously took to Facebook to vent his frustrations. There he stated mayor Harry Duynhoven “had no balls” and chief executive Barbara McKerrow was a “piece of skirt”, which led to council spending approximately $43,000 on legal advice about how to deal with such comments.
In the community there was widespread scepticism the nets could be built within budget, were in the right place or that they were needed at all.
The Taranaki Chamber of Commerce said the decision showed the council had a “complete disregard for economic times”.
Yesterday, Mr Duynhoven said that the nets appeared far lower than original drawings seemed to indicate and the controversy around their construction would definitely be worth it to cricket supporters.
“And the green colour is a lot less harsh then the galvanised we were originally shown. It’s not as intrusive as many feared,” he said.
Council parks manager Mark Bruhn said the project came home within its $425,000 budget but wet winter weather had put it one month behind schedule, meaning it would not be ready for Twenty20 games as originally planned.
Franks Hutchins, who lives across the road from the nets and had proposed an alternative location for the facility, yesterday said that he would still rather they weren’t there, but he “wasn’t losing any sleep over them”.
2013
TDN, JANUARY 10, 2013
NETS FOR INSPECTION
Cricket fans have a chance to check out the new practice nets at Pukekura Park today. The Taranaki Cricket Association and New Plymouth District Council are holding an inspection session starting at 10.30am so people can see how the facility on Fillis St operates. Head Pukekura Park groundsman Craig Hitchcock will be there to explain the science behind the new facility.
TDN, FEBRUARY 1, 2013
Expert eyes on kauri killer Park beauties to be checked for fatal fungus
With photo
Kauri trees in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park will today undergo a health check for a disease killing thousands of the much-admired native in the north.
Scientists will inspect a stand of kauri trees off Brooklands Rd in Pukekura Park for phytophthora taxon agathis disease (PTA), a microscopic fungus-like pathogen also known as kauri dieback or kauri rot.
Auckland Council biosecurity principal adviser Dr Nick Waipara said they were only monitoring the trees and did not suspect they were infected.
In 2009 some of the Brooklands trees were found with suppurating lesions at the base of their trunks and were tested for PTA, but it was found they were blighted with Armillaria sp, or honey fungus, which also rots wood.
The trees were treated with by drilling holes into the trunks and dosing them with phosphorus- based pills.
But there is no cure for PTA and nearly all trees infected with the disease die.
Dr Waipara said testing techniques for PTA had become more reliable since the trees were tested last.
Over the last decade PTA has killed thousands of kauri in New Zealand.
The disease prevents nutrients from being absorbed and can kill saplings in a matter of weeks.
The Waitakere Ranges are most affected by kauri dieback, with 11 per cent of the kauri population infected.
It has also been found in several forests in Northland, and Auckland and was first discovered in the 1970s on Great Barrier Island.
Dr Waipara came to Taranaki with kauri dieback research and operations specialist Lee Hill and Waikato Regional Council biosecurity officer Jeanie McInnes.
The trio yesterday visited the Fitzroy home of Ted Burrows, who was concerned his prized and beloved kauri tree could have the disease.
“About three years ago I noticed the top of the tree was dying and it’s lost about 2 metres from it now.”
Leaves on the tree were also turning brown and yellow, another symptom of kauri dieback.
Growing steadily more concerned, last year Mr Burrows got in touch with the Taranaki Regional Council who couldn’t help him, but put him on to the Department of Conservation who came to take photos to send to kauri dieback experts and put him in touch with Ms McInnes.
After an initial inspection of Mr Burrow’s tree yesterday, Dr Waipara said it was unlikely to have PTA as it did not have lesions weeping a phlegm-like substance around the base.
“I’m 95 per cent sure it’s not, but to be 100 per cent sure we’re taking soil samples.”
They would know the results of the test in 6-8 weeks, Mr Hill said.
Dr Waipara said the disease mostly infected kauri plantations, but could also affect individual trees, especially ornamental trees that have come from nurseries.
He said knowing where infected trees had come from could help them trace the spread.
“We’re trying to keep track of the points of origin.”
Kauri dieback is spread mostly through soil, so in infected areas like Waitakere, people walking on kauri roots are encouraged to disinfect their shoes to prevent transporting the disease elsewhere.
“It’s not going to blow down to Taranaki on the wind.”
Mr Burrows said he had watched the tree grow since he bought it as a 7-year-old seedling from a nursery in Rotorua around 40 years ago.
“I’m quite attached to my little kauri tree.”
Taranaki Daily News gardening columnist Glyn Church said kauri trees were not native to Taranaki and did not expect the death of those here would bother people much.
“I’d be surprised if anyone noticed.”
TDN, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
Heady upswing for playground price tag
With photo
A half million-dollar playground to be built in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park this winter will include a $200,000 German-made climbing structure called the “New Zealand Wave”.
The $550,000 budget for the new Fillis St entrance playground was close to five times that of any other playground built in the district, New Plymouth District Parks manager Mark Bruhn said.
“The most money we’ve spent on a playground is about $120,000,” Mr Bruhn said.
The playground was being rebuilt because some of the older equipment was non-compliant under the New Zealand Playground Standards.
Energyworks Ltd donated $100,000 to the project and the New Zealand Community Trust donated $50,000.
A remaining $417,000 is budgeted in the New Plymouth District Council 2012/2022 Long Term Plan.
The playground, located near the water wheel, will be completely rebuilt and will include an interactive water feature, flying fox and the 20-metre long “New Zealand Wave” rope climbing structure.
The New Zealand Wave, which is 2.85 metres at its highest point, was custom-made by German company Corocord.
Mr Bruhn said no other play item of this type or scale was manufactured in New Zealand.
“The cost of this thing is very expensive.”
The playground will also feature in-ground trampolines, a wind wand sculpture, a “keyhole swing”, a nikau palm grove and various animal and insect sculptures.
Children from New Plymouth schools were asked to contribute ideas of what they wanted in a playground, Mr Bruhn said.
He said the council had chosen high-quality equipment to extend the life of the playground.
“It’s a very high-use site. We want to make sure we have good quality materials that will stand the rigorous use.”
The existing playground is the oldest of the three playgrounds in Pukekura Park, with its oldest structure dating back to 1987.
Other sections were added in the late 1990s and more recently in 2005.
The playground was now outdated, with certain parts of the original wooden structure not being compliant with current playground standards such as handrail heights and insufficient safety fall surface area.
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said he was thrilled with the news.
“It’s another great moment for the park. The old playground was getting pretty tired. To get this sort of money spent on it is huge.”
The only part of the existing playground which would be incorporated into the new design was the old covered slide.
TDN, MARCH 16, 2013
Rotunda deemed of national importance
The man sitting on the steps of Pukekura Park’s band rotunda was Chris Cochran, a member of the Historic Places Trust’s classification committee.
The photograph was published in the Taranaki Daily News on August 1983 after his committee had decided the rotunda was of national historical importance.
Band rotunda were symbols of Victorian and Edwardian times when one of the most popular forms of entertainment was to attend outdoor band concerts.
Several were build at various locations in Taranaki and a start was made to build the one at Pukekura Park in March 1887, more than a decade after the park itself was created.
It took time to complete as in the early days the park was run by a private board which was often short of funds.
Then, when it was finished, the rotunda was often the cause of controversy. On one occasion the town’s band asked for permission to play sacred music on a Sunday only to have the request rejected after 44 influential citizens protested on religious grounds. Protest and controversy over planned cultural activities and facilities for New Plymouth?
It seems some things never change.
TDN, APRIL 11, 2013
UPGRADE AT PARK
Work will begin next week to revamp the 19 entrances to Pukekura Park.
The first to get redone will be the Kaimata St entrance to Brooklands Park.
Improvements will include new wooden gates and bollards. As well, the grass area in front of the gates which is sometimes damaged by vehicles, will be covered with asphalt. Six new car parks will be created, angle parking will be established, there will be better access for those in wheelchairs or mobility scooters and two flowering cherries being removed as part of the redevelopment will be replaced.
“This is a popular entrance to the park and we want to smarten it up and make it easier for the less-able to have access by putting down a hard, smooth surface,” Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said.
The public will be able to use this entrance during the two-week work period.
TDN, APRIL 17, 2013
PARK GETS SMART
A programme to smarten up many of the entrances to Pukekura Park started this week.
Work began on Monday at the Kaimata St entrance to Brooklands Park to establish angled car parking and to make access easier for those in wheelchairs or mobility scooters.
The grass area in front of the gates, which needs to be reinstated from time to time because of damage caused by vehicles, will be replaced with asphalt. Six parking bays will be created, new wooden gates installed and bollards put in place.
Two flowering cherries will be removed as part of the redevelopment, and replacements will be planted during the project’s landscaping.
The public will be able to use this entrance during the two-week work period.
This is the first of 19 formed entrances to Pukekura Park that will be upgraded as part of an ongoing programme.
TDN, APRIL 19, 2013
Band rotunda closed for restoration work
with photo
Spruce up: Pukekura Park’s band rotunda – one of its oldest features – is getting a makeover. Work has begun on cleaning, painting and repairing the band rotunda, which first opened in 1891. The work includes repairing the damaged finial on the roof, cleaning and repainting the roof and the iron supports, replastering the steps and renewing the electrics. The rotunda, which is one of the oldest band rotundas in the country, will not be open for public use until the work is finished by the end of May, depending on the weather.
TDN, JUNE 5, 2013
MUD LAKE
With photo
Nicholas Razbeau’s niece Noa didn’t quite get the sights she had been promised on a walk around Pukekura Park’s usually picturesque main lake yesterday. Partially drained so workers can make repairs to its crumbling sides, the lake resembles a mud pit. Once work is completed, the lake will be refilled and dredged of silt. About 10,000 cubic metres of mud is expected to be removed from the park’s three lakes. The $1.2 million repair and dredging project is expected to take up to four months.
TDN, JUNE 21, 2013
SHOW-OFF ERNIE HISSES AND POKES OUT HIS BLUE TONGUE
with photo
Brooklands Zoo’s latest arrivals have borrowed more than their names from Sesame Street’s resident odd couple, Bert and Ernie.
Just like Bert, who’s famous for his bad temper, these Australian skinks behave badly when upset – poking out their iridescent blue tongues and hissing.
Assistant zoo curator Eve Cozzi said the behaviour was a defensive mechanism for the eastern blue tongue skinks, which arrived from Hamilton Zoo last month.
“When they feel like they need to defend themselves they will hiss or they will poke their dark blue tongue out,” she said.
Head keeper Louise McKenna said the tongue was quite a sight but it was not there just for show.
“It’s a nice blue colour. They don’t have teeth as such but they have a very strong jaw with bony ridges in their mouths in place of teeth and they can give you a good nip.” They can grow up to 60cm long and weigh up to 500g and visitors are often quite surprised at how big they are.
Ms Cozzi said the two males, both 23 years old, were settling in well at Brooklands but were quite shy. In the wild they were solitary creatures. Only Ernie is currently on display.”
Depending on their personalities, either Bert or Ernie will play a more public role.
“The long-term aim is to develop one blue tongue that is used to being handled so that we can bring him out from time to time and let the public get a closer interaction with him,” she said.
Mrs McKenna said even though they came with dietary information from Hamilton, Brooklands staff were trialling different foods to see what the skinks’ favourites were. “We have just discovered that Ernie loves mushrooms.”
And Ms Cozzi was suspicious they might be backing the French. “They love eating snails.”
TDN, JUNE 25, 2013
last post or popular playground fort
With photo
Pukekura Park’s much loved playground has been fenced off and torn down.
It will soon be replaced with a $560,000 play area that will include a climbing frame nearly three metres high and 19 metres long, as well as a water feature, swings, slides, an in-ground trampoline and tunnels.
Updated safety and disability standards mean the wooden forts attached to the existing slide at the playground must be removed.
It will be replaced with a structure featuring two towers, one with a double junior slide and the other with an enclosed senior slide.
The new playground should be finished within the next four months.
The work is being carried out at the same time as the park’s three lakes are to be emptied, have their sides repaired and be dredged of silt.
TDN, JUNE 26, 2013
NEW BIRD AT BROOKLANDS ZOO
Brooklands Zoo is welcoming a new Aussie inhabitant. Mulloka the brolga will arrive from Auckland Zoo today and make his home in a newly renovated enclosure near the farmyard.
The juvenile bird, part of the crane family, is 1.3m tall and has been ousted by his flock as his parents are breeding.
“Brolga live quite happily alone but if a pair mate, they will stay together for life,” said assistant curator of Brooklands Zoo Eve Cozzi.
“They are a common wetland species in tropical and eastern Australia and they’re the official emblem of Queensland.
“We’re very happy to get Mulloka as he’s a new species for zoo visitors and we can use his presence to talk about the loss of wetland habitats, which is one of the biggest threats to cranes in the wild.”
Mulloka, which is aboriginal for “water spirit”, was hatched at Auckland Zoo in August last year.
TDN, JULY 6, 2013
LAKE IMPROVEMENT IS IN THE BAG
With photo
Fish are expected to be the big winners from improvement work being undertaken in the main lake in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
The lake has been largely empty for the past month, while workers have been reinforcing its crumbling edges with gravel-filled geotextile bags.
The interlocking bags are attached with spikes and held to the edge with metre-long pegs.
“It’s a structural wall. The lake edge was quite eroded from wave action. Some was eroded up to a metre back … So in some places we have had to backfill with gravel,” New Plymouth District Council team leader Victoria McKay said.
The work has also given the council a chance to create a better environment for the fish that inhabit the lake.
Always known for its large eels, such as Boris, and glittering goldfish, a survey last year found it was also a hotbed of native fish activity. The latest discovery came last week when workers building the wall found freshwater mussels underneath Poet’s Bridge.
“The wall allows us to create habitats for the fish. Little nooks and crannies that the fish will really like. We are always trying to make it more fish-friendly,” Ms McKay said.
Bags that sit above the water line will be half filled with top soil and seeded with plants. Work on the main lake’s reinforcing wall will be finished by the end of the month. The lake will then be partially filled and dredged of thousands of cubic metres of silt.
The fountain lake is to get the same treatment. All work on the park’s lakes will be finished by the end of September.
TDN, JULY 12, 2013
MAGICAL ROTUNDA
While on the subject of standards we may as well move to Pukekura Park’s band rotunda. A recent spruce up of the historic shelter has the thing looking quite spiffing and just begging to play host to a civilised concert. This would be a welcome change, if the contents of the guttering recently removed was anything to go by. As well as the normal leaves and clumps of grass, the spouting had been playing host to dozens of cans of magical Woodstock and Cody’s bourbon and cola. We call them magic because a few cans of this stuff and you’re magically turned into a moron. Or so evidence would suggest.
TDN, AUGUST 12, 2013
SPRUCE-UP FOR PUKEKURA PARK
With photo
Heavy-duty cleaner: A crane moves a dredge into the main lake at Pukekura Park to start work on the removal of tonnes of silt and weeds. The latest work is part of a campaign to clean up the park’s waterways. Work, which is well under way on the main lake’s reinforcing wall, is expected to be completed at the end of the month. The fountain lake will be next in line to get the same treatment. All work on the park’s lakes is due to be finished by the end of September. The park’s rotunda is also getting a facelift and remains under cover.
TDN, AUGUST 21, 2013
LAKE DREGS YIELD COFFEE MACHINE
Contractors dredging Pukekura Park’s lakes have made a bizarre find and solved a mystery.
One of the many odd items pulled from the silt at the bottom of the main lake over the last week was an industrial coffee machine.
“It’s come out of the Teahouse coffee cart that we have during the Festival of Lights,” park curator Chris Connolly said of the discovery.
The coffee cart was broken into last year and the machine went missing.
“We thought someone must have taken it home to use so we were a bit surprised to find it at the bottom of the lake.”
As well as the coffee machine, the contractors found a saw, cellphones, tyres and a shopping trolley among the debris.
Contractors are sucking tonnes of silt out of the lake with a dredge on a boat.
“I expect we’re probably going to find a bit more yet,” Mr Connolly said.
An arborist who worked in the park recovered a saw he had accidentally dropped in the lake.
“It was in perfect condition. It had fallen straight in the mud and there’s no oxygen in there so it hadn’t corroded at all.”
Mr Connolly said a large number of old pinecones had also been dragged up.
“There used to be lots of pine trees in the park and the pinecones have just been stuck in the mud.”
Water levels had been lowered in order to fix the edges of the lake and had made items sitting on the lake floor more visible, NPDC project manager Victoria McKay said.
“We also put CCTV into the sewer and we found a few cellphones there.”
For the last week more than 20 contractors have been setting up equipment at the park and this week began to use a vacuum-cleaner-like dredge which will suck up around 10,000 cubic metres of silt.
“It’s quite noisy and a bit hazardous,” Ms McKay said.
The silt will be pumped through a pipe to a de-watering station set up at the back of the Bowl of Brooklands that will remove the moisture from the soil.
The dry dirt will be spat out on to trucks and carted off.
Mr Connolly said some tracks in the park had been shut off for safety reasons during the dredging project, which is due to end next month.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013
PARK LAKES CLEANUP MAKES AN EVEN BIGGER MESS
With photo
Pukekura Park’s $2 million lake cleanup has been abandoned after the process to remove tonnes of stinky lake bed sediment actually pumped it back in.
A dredge has been at the New Plymouth park’s main lake since last month pumping sediment to a dewatering station near the Bowl of Brooklands. It was here that the stinky sludge was to be removed and trucked out.
But things have not gone as planned and a significant proportion of sediment was actually pumped back into the lake system. The section known as the Serpentine is now clogged with foul- smelling mud and the main lake is chocolate brown.
“It’s really disheartening to see the state of the Serpentine, and the sediment that has been flushed back into the main lake will take a few weeks to settle again,” said council parks manager Mark Bruhn.
“We’ve called a halt to the work because the process being used just isn’t doing the job.
“We’ll require the contractor to come up with an environmental remediation strategy to repair the damage to the Serpentine, then we’ll consider where to from here.”
Removing the sediment from the parks lakes is part of a $2m project that has so far involved creating a wetland to trap silt before it enters the lakes and extensive repairs to the edges of both the main and fountain lakes.
The de-sludging of the lakes was to be completed in time for the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular in November but will now be put off until next year.
“There isn’t time this year to decide on a new removal process and get it done before the festival season starts in the park,” Mr Bruhn said.
“Instead we’ll concentrate on tidying things up so that the park looks great for the big events coming.”
Two weeks ago the dredging operation found an industrial coffee machine that had been stolen from a coffee cart last year.
In some places in the main lake sediment is a metre deep. Council estimated as much as 10,000 cubic metres of mud needed to be removed.
The park’s lakes were excavated from former swamps for swimming and aquatic sports in 1876.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
SLUDGE GIVES COUNCIL HEADACHE EMBARRASSED ENGINEERS STUCK
With photo
Council officers are locked in negotiations with contractors on how to clean Pukekura Park’s sludge-clogged lakes now that the dredging approach has failed.
At $600,000, Whitaker Civil Engineering Ltd’s was the cheapest of three tenders to rebuild the lake edges and remove tonnes of toxic sediment that had built up in the waterways in the past 50 years.
The lake edge repairs went off without a hitch and are all but completed. However, the subcontractor tasked with cleaning out the sludge was shut down on Tuesday when it was discovered tonnes of mud sucked out of the main lake was actually being pumped back in because of a failure in the dewatering process.
New Plymouth District Council park boss Mark Bruhn said he was “gutted” at the failure of the dredging project.
He said he believed the contractors had made the tender in good faith that the dredging process would work but would not say if its failure would cost the council.
“All I can say is we have a contract in place and there are contractual terms that need to be met before payment will be made.”
Depending on the terms of the contract, it could be up to Whitaker’s to pick up the bill.
With dredging seemingly unviable, the next option could excavating the sludge.
The removal of the sludge is part of a $2 million project to improve the quality of the park’s water systems. Metres deep in places it is highly toxic, containing, among other things, decades worth of leaded petrol runoff.
Whatever happens with the current contract the mud will not be removed until next year at least, as no work can be done during the park’s festival season from November to March.
However, before then, contractors will have to remove the tonnes of mud inadvertently pumped back into the lake system and now clogging up the section of water above the boat shed known as the Serpentine. Council officers are locked in negotiations with contractors on how to clean Pukekura Park’s sludge-clogged lakes now that the dredging approach has failed.
At $600,000, Whitaker Civil Engineering Ltd’s was the cheapest of three tenders to rebuild the lake edges and remove tonnes of toxic sediment that had built up in the waterways in the past 50 years.
The lake edge repairs went off without a hitch and are all but completed. However, the subcontractor tasked with cleaning out the sludge was shut down on Tuesday when it was discovered tonnes of mud sucked out of the main lake was actually being pumped back in because of a failure in the dewatering process.
New Plymouth District Council park boss Mark Bruhn said he was “gutted” at the failure of the dredging project.
He said he believed the contractors had made the tender in good faith that the dredging process would work but would not say if its failure would cost the council.
“All I can say is we have a contract in place and there are contractual terms that need to be met before payment will be made.”
Depending on the terms of the contract, it could be up to Whitaker’s to pick up the bill.
With dredging seemingly unviable, the next option could excavating the sludge.
The removal of the sludge is part of a $2 million project to improve the quality of the park’s water systems. Metres deep in places it is highly toxic, containing, among other things, decades worth of leaded petrol runoff.
Whatever happens with the current contract the mud will not be removed until next year at least, as no work can be done during the park’s festival season from November to March.
However, before then, contractors will have to remove the tonnes of mud inadvertently pumped back into the lake system and now clogging up the section of water above the boat shed known as the Serpentine.
TDN, OCTOBER 8, 2013
LAW CAREER FUNDED ORNITHOLOGY PASSION
With photo
David Medway was such an expert on the ornithology of the voyages of Captain James Cook, his research took him all over the world.
The well-known ornithologist and lawyer died last Thursday.
Mr Medway had a long association with the Friends of Pukekura Park and spent time working with the New Plymouth District Council identifying plant life in the park.
Ask him anything about Cook’s voyages and he would know, daughter Natalie Smith said. His interest in birds started when he was 14.
“He would catch injured birds and try and fix them, but he discovered he didn’t like them being caged. His father built him an aviary but he’d set them free.”
The family has found an article from when Mr Medway was 17. He was involved in a worldwide study recording morning and evening bird calls.
Mr Medway started out studying science, she said.
“He worked part time in the courts and the people there thought he would be a good lawyer, so he changed tack.”
That worked out really well, because his work as a lawyer funded his hobby. He had a career he was good at and enjoyed and then was able to go home and follow his passion, she said.
When Mr Medway retired at 59 he was a senior partner at Billings.
“He basically spent his retirement working on many projects relating to his bird and nature work. We feel grateful he had those years doing what he loved.”
Mr Medway was born in New Plymouth in 1939, went to Westown Primary School and New Plymouth Boys’ High.
He studied law at Victoria University and met his wife Carole in Wellington in 1965.
The couple settled in New Plymouth in 1969.
They have three daughters and six grandchildren, with another one on the way.
“He loved his family. He was a private man, even though he did all of these things, and the family circle was very important to him. He was proud of us all. The grandkids loved him and he doted on them,” Mrs Smith said.
Mr Medway was a notary public, and a fellow of the Linnean Society of London, the world’s oldest biological society. The former Ornithological Society president received the Robert Falla Memorial Award for services to the society and ornithology.
His achievements included climbing Mt Taranaki 52 times (he used to take guided walks), photography, and he was the author of three books. Mrs Smith said her father was involved in many organisations and had many skills. “Sorry Dad, if we’ve missed anything important.”
TDN, OCTOBER 17, 2013
BOWL’S BACKERS BOWING OUT AFTER 10 YEARS
With photo
A bunch of friends have split up after dedicating 10 years to the Bowl of Brooklands.
“We’ve done what we set out to do” Friends of the Bowl chairman Lance Girling- Butcher said yesterday.
The small group of volunteers, set up in 2003, published a 230-page book documenting the Bowl’s story.
Volunteers spent thousands of hours researching, collating, and sourcing funds for the project.
“It’s been 10 years of my life this job. It’s been very painful at times,” the group’s founder, Sheila Connell said.
Mrs Connell was secretary to the Bowl of Brooklands creator Eric Handbury in the 1950s, and said she watched the Bowl grow from the “seed of his imagination”.
The group arranged a plaque to be laid in recognition of Mr Handbury’s contributions, and organised a 50th reunion in 2007 for TSB Bowl of Brooklands enthusiasts.
Book sales raised $6000 and will be donated to the Taranaki Hospice, along with around 400 unsold books.
The remaining books will be sold for $45 from Te Rangimarie Hospice reception.
TDN, OCTOBER 18, 2013
PLAY AREA REBUILD SET FOR OPENING
With photo
After a four-month rebuild of Pukekura Park’s playground will officially open today.
Building of the $560,000 playground was finished this week and it would be formally opened by New Plymouth District councillor Heather Dodunski at 11am this morning.
Work began in June after some of the older equipment was found to be not up to New Zealand playground standards.
The new playground’s cost was about five times more than any other playground in the district but drew in sizeable donations, with $60,000 granted by New Zealand Community Trust and $100,000 from Energy Works Ltd.
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said a Taranaki kaumatua would bless the new playground at today’s ceremony and because new mayor Andrew Judd was unavailable to head the ribbon-cutting event Ms Dodunski would have the honour.
Mr Connolly said a lot of hard work had gone into the rebuild and it was money well spent.
“Everyone’s made an effort to make it successful,” he said.
A water feature had been introduced to the play area in time for summer and other key features included a series of play zones, an ant hill, tunnels and an in-ground trampoline.
Mr Connolly said a giant climbing frame, designed specifically for Pukekura Park, called “New Zealand Wave” would be one of the main attractions.
“It’s such a new type of apparatus it will attract a lot of attention,” he said.
The climbing structure, which allows children to creatively climb, was manufactured in Germany and would singly be the most expensive piece of equipment at the playground.
Two new slides, which were a late addition to the design would be installed next week.
“I think the playground is important to the park. We have kids coming in and enjoying it and it helps them develop an appreciation for the park as a whole,” Mr Connolly said.
The park’s old play equipment that was still deemed safe had been installed in other playgrounds around the district.
Mr Connolly said the grass area around the new playground had been laid in stages and sections were still soft due to the rain.
“In the meantime we would appreciate children and parents keeping off it [the grass],” he said.
Students from Highlands Intermediate and Central school would be invited to have the first play at 11am before it was opened to the public.
TDN, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
PARK PLAYGROUND TO GET NEW SLIDES
Three new slides will be put up in Pukekura Park’s new playground and net repairs to the vandalised New Zealand Wave climbing feature should be finished before Christmas.
From Monday work will begin on building two towers: one two-storey with a nine-metre enclosed tube slide for older children, and one single-storey with two open half-tube slides for young children. They should take a week to put in and after landscaping work is finished, the slides would be ready by the end of the month, park curator Chris Connolly said.
New netting for the New Zealand Wave, vandalised by an arsonist the night before the playground opened, will be put in during the last week of November or first week of December.
“We’ve had such a lot of positive comments from kids and parents about the playground so far, and we’re looking forward to having the slides and New Zealand Wave up and running so that families can enjoy the entire space,” Mr Connolly said.
TDN, NOVEMBER 8, 2013
SHARING PUKEKURA’S IT SECRETS
With photo
The story begins with a twenty- something American grad student and a visiting New Plymouth plantsman. It was the mid-1970s; there was shared interest in alpine botany and common connections with friends.
Now, 36 years on, she’s made her first trip to New Plymouth to see Pukekura Park, and to learn first-hand about digital cataloguing of significant plants, already under way by the Friends of the Park.
Mary Burke is director of planning and collections in the vast arboretum that’s part of the University of California (UC Davis) campus in the city of Davis.
When we catch up in the park she’s barely stepped off the plane. It’s her first trip to New Zealand. New Plymouth is stop No 1, with attendance at the global botanic gardens conference in Dunedin the other purpose of her October journey.
“I’ve never been here until today. I’m so excited,” she exclaims. “When I was 23 I saw photos of the mountain that George had. I’d heard about Taranaki. I’m an alpine botanist.”
She’d also been warned that three days in the region might not yield views of the mysterious maunga.
“I’d got myself organised for that, but I flew in today and there was Taranaki and when I got to the park, it was framed at the end of the lake. I was so happy.”
She’s gleeful, like a girl with an unexpected gift.
It’s significant because alpine botany initially linked her and Dr George Mason, a local entrepreneur and identity in the native plant, bird and conservation communities.
Back in 1977 he was visiting American friends Jack and Mary Major. Jack Major was Burke’s graduate adviser at UC Davis, as well as being a renowned botanist.
Mason used to source plant material from the arboretum and later bequeathed funds to establish a New Zealand garden in the American campus. It was to represent Gondowona flora, also associated with South Africa and America.
Burke returned to the arboretum in 1982, working as a curator in plant collection and development. Testing went on of plant material suitable for use in home gardens. The programme sought to find sustainable vegetation for hot, dry environs typical of inland California.
Among those trialled were native NZ plants like hebes, koromiko and veronicas – those typical of rugged coastal locations.
Mason’s links with the UC Davis Arboretum included subscription to a Friends newsletter. He read about work to develop new digital online mapping tools for botanical gardens. A national grant was helping fund the exploration. The aim was to harness technological capability at the university and create a free GIS tool.
It was midway through the 2000s. Down Under in New Plymouth similar research was taking place. The late David Medway was among those collecting information about significant plants and features in the park, as was Elise Smith.
In 2007 Mason put Burke in touch with the Friends of Pukekura Park. They hooked up.
“We had UC Davis Arboretum, San Diego Zoo and San Francisco Botanical Gardens [in this public gardens alliance] and then Elise and Pukekura Park joined, so we had this cluster of dots up here [in the US] and this one dot in New Zealand.
“Pukekura Park was our first international partner in the APGG and now we have about 400 members around the world.”
Members access a website with an array of free GIS information on it: Guides, suggested social media sites, a data model to download, suggestions on recruiting and training staff and an open source web map application template.
The latest stage in the project is developing cloud-based tools for botanical gardens, large and small. Large US research company Esri, whose founder Jack Dangermond is an advocate of worldwide plant biodiversity, is backing this pilot. He’s funding Burke’s Kiwi trip.
These initiatives – sending geeky IT tools into the outdoors – are exciting. They aim to help garden staff and visitors access collection maps and images from mobile devices.
“Pukekura Park was part of those beginning moments of building this first data model. I’ve come to consult with them, talk about some possible collaborations . . . it’s like I’m returning to those origins.”
Burke is impressed with the Friends’ data collection work to date, with its emphasis on the stories and the narratives behind plants.
“This suite of tools is going to transform how botanical garden staff get their work done. The hardest thing is that they have to go indoors to finish off work. We’re building technology so they don’t have to. They can leave their muddy boots on and keep working and not have to be chained to a computer. We want to liberate people, to make their jobs and visits easier and frictionless.”
2014
TDN, JANUARY 9, 2014
PUKEKURA PARK RECOGNISED AS WORLD CLASS
Taranaki has lost one environmental award but gained another.
The blue flags that once acknowledged the quality of Fitzroy, East End and Oakura beaches have been removed because of the new and complex award criteria.
The parks manager for the New Plymouth District Council, Mark Bruhn, said the quality of local beaches and water had not deteriorated, but applying for the award for another year would not be worth the effort.
However, New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park impressed the International Parks Forum, and has been accredited with a green flag.
Pukekura Park was one of 23 in Australasia and 16 in New Zealand to receive the award for 2014. The award rates the management, condition and appearance of parks, through site visits and a look at management documents.
“The good thing about the green flag is they’ve offered us an international benchmark and peer review,” Mr Bruhn said. “They’ve given us positive and constructive feedback.”
Mr Bruhn said the feedback would help make any necessary changes and improvements.
“As locals we all know what a great park we have, but it’s fantastic to have this recognised by an external body of such standing as the Parks Forum.”
The council will fly the flag for 2014, and will then be required to reapply next year for $1670.
The judges praised the maintenance of facilities, grounds and heritage buildings, as well as community engagement at the park.
The final comments noted “upon arrival the photogenic quality of park assets and their maintenance proudly announce ‘this a world class park of the highest calibre’.”
TDN, FEBRUARY 26, 2014
JOYRIDERS DITCH BUGGY IN THE BOWL
With photo
Vandals who stole a mobility buggy from a locked shed at Pukekura Park have caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the machine.
The hooligans used the buggy to do doughnuts around the park before ditching it down a bank at the Bowl of Brooklands.
They also damaged part of the Golden Bearing, a golden glitter tree created by Govett-Brewster Art Gallery artist in residence Reuben Paterson.
A security camera overlooking the tree caught the joyriders in action on Saturday night, and footage has been passed on to police.
The eight-seater mobility buggy, which was used to drive people around the park and during Womad, was left unusable.
“It’s very popular and enables the elderly and less-able to still enjoy Pukekura Park, but it’s out of commission for the foreseeable future while the damage is assessed,” Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said.
The vandals cut a lock to get in to the shed between the Tea House and the Brian Bellringer Pavilion and hotwired the buggy. At least two offenders were involved.
Mr Connolly said the vehicle had panel damage and a bent chassis. Its battery and electric drive motor were being checked.
“Whether it is repaired or replaced depends on what the damage is, but if we are able to repair it the bill will be in the thousands of dollars,” Mr Connolly said.
There are currently four single-seat mobility scooters available for people to use in the park.
Mobility options for Womad are being discussed by the council and Taft.
Govett-Brewster staff are repairing the golden glitter tree.
TDN, APRIL 2, 2014
PUTRID LAKES TO BE LEFT TO FESTER FOR ANOTHER YEAR
Cold water has been poured on the proposal to pump more money into improving the water quality of Pukekura Park’s lakes.
The New Plymouth District Council monitoring committee instead recommended re-tendering the project’s contract, estimated at $1.2 million, be considered as part of the long-term plan.
Chairman Craig McFarlane said the committee believed it was better to consider the project alongside all other proposed projects during the long-term plan.
Need for improvements to the water quality was identified in the Pukekura Park Management Plan 2004 and work was carried out in July 2013.
Repairs to the lake edge were successfully completed in September 2013.
However, the main contractor was unable to complete the sediment removal work as their equipment was not suited to the “significant and unexpected gross contamination” in the lakes.
Park benches, coffee machines and car batteries were among the inorganics found in the lake.
The main contractor was in the process of submitting an alternative method when their sediment removal sub-contractor ceased trading.
Research had shown the sediment levels of copper, lead and zinc were above the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council guidelines.
If left untreated, it would result in “continued accumulation of organic and inorganic contaminants and heavy metals”.
Persistent weed growth and anaerobic settlement would cause odour issues in the summer. Boats would also have a hard time navigating the main lake as it would be too shallow for rowing.
Keith Allum said there was no rush in getting the project completed. “Because we have got the forebays and wetlands in place, we can take more time to consider how we’ll set it out.”
John McLeod said the contractors should have known there would be “general garbage” in the lake.
He said the Bowl of Brooklands lake had shopping carts in it. “This lake should’ve been no different. It should have been a given that it was in there. To default and say ‘I didn’t know the garbage was in there’, I felt it was very wrong.”
McLeod was also unhappy about how the discussion had progressed. “This is now the second or third report, it should have been done and dusted by now.”
Deputy chairperson Marie Pearce said the lake has got “more and more” unclean over the years.
“If we delay the work, I think the sediments will build up even more.”
Gordon Brown said it was appropriate for the park’s future to be considered under the council’s next long-term plan.
“The reality is yes, Pukekura Park is a jewel in the crown but the water is not a great part of it.”
Visitors neither swam nor drank from the lake, Brown said.
“They actually go in boats, and they look at it and they photograph it. It’s been putrid for years. I don’t see big dramas in delaying it for another year,” he said.
The recommendation will be put forward to the full council on May 6 for a decision.
TDN, MAY 12, 2014
LAKE CAN WAIT: JEWEL IN THE CROWN HAS GONE TO THE BIRDS
Councillors have faced off over the main lake in Pukekura Park and it has been described by some as “just a duck pond”.
The New Plymouth District Council is looking to re-tender a contract, estimated to be at $1.2 million, to improve the water quality of Pukekura Park’s lakes.
While councillors last week voted to delay the decision to the Long Term Plan, others hit out at the situation, saying New Plymouth’s “jewel in the crown” needed shine again, rather than continue to “stink”.
Craig MacFarlane tried to get his fellow councillors to trudge ahead with the lake work immediately, but his suggestion was voted down.
Pukekura Park and the lake were a vital part of the districts infrastructure, he said.
However, first term councillor Len Houwers disagreed.
“The fact of the matter is this is a million dollars,” he said.
“This is a significant amount of money. It’s a lake. It’s not used for recreation. It’s a duck pond.”
Councillor Gordon Brown also thought of the lakes as giant playgrounds for ducks.
The lake was not used for swimming and people did not drink from it, he said.
“This has become something that is a want. It is not a need,” he said.
However, $1m of the money for the project had already been budgeted for.
But the extra $200,000 that is now needed on top of the $1m did not impress some.
John McLeod said the projects budget had been “ever increasing ever since its conception”.
Delaying the decision about the continuation of the work until the Long Term Plan was the best option, he said.
“Let us hear from our people.”
Councillor Richard Jordan also said the lake would not get any worse if the council waited two years to finish the dredging, which was the last part of the process.
“The duck pond will still be there. It will still be a duck pond,” he said.
“Yes, it is the jewel in our crown, and it will still be the jewel in our crown.”
Richard Handley said the problem was the dirty water and the sludge and the effect it was having on the environment.
“The real issue to the council is around the smell of Pukekura Park,” he said.
Councillor Marie Pearce supported MacFarlane’s push to see the work completed as soon as possible, and said New Plymouth had thousands of tourists walking around the lake every year.
“I visit the lake regularly and it’s a dirty duck pond.”
“We need to fix this and we need to fix it now. This is the heart of our city. We spend more on kids’ playgrounds,” she said.
“This is part of our tourism trade and I think it’s really important,” she said.
Howie Tamati echoed the concerns of MacFarlane and Pearce.
“There is a job half done and it needs to be finished. The longer you leave it the more it is going to cost,” he said.
Need for improvements to the water quality was identified in 2004 and work began in July last year.
However, after the main contractor was unable to complete the sediment removal work the council had to re-tender the job.
Research had shown the sediment levels of copper, lead and zinc were above the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council guidelines.
TDN, MAY 13, 2014
PARK’S REPLACEMENT MOBILITY BUGGY
With photo
Nearly $13,000 has been spent on a replacement mobility buggy for Pukekura Park.
New Plymouth District Council has bought a second-hand eight-seater buggy to replace the one that was destroyed when vandals took it for a joy-ride in February and left it on the bank of the Bowl lake.
Electrical and structural damage to the old buggy resulted in it being written off.
A $7000 insurance payment went toward the replacement vehicle’s nearly $13,000 cost, and council is seeking reparation for the costs involved.
One of the vandals who wrecked the motorised cart appeared in the New Plymouth District Court last week. Joseph John Drent, 17 and two others broke into the cart’s locked shed and hot-wired the cart.
In the end they crashed at full speed into a tree.
Drent was ordered to pay $2333 at $30 per week, which was his share of the reparations.
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said the replacement buggy had solar panels on the roof that helped to keep it charged.
“They also mean the buggy can go a bit further than the old one could,” he said.
“We have had this buggy available to us on a week-by-week basis since Womad, and it’s great that we’ve been able to buy it and offer a permanent service again.”
Council staff have also improved storage shed security.
TDN, MAY 14, 2014
PARK’S LAKES ‘MORE THAN JUST A DUCK POND’ ‘WATER WILL SUFFER FROM WORK DELAY’
With photo
The Friends of Pukekura Park have slated councillors for labelling the main lake just “a duck pond”.
Last week the New Plymouth District Council voted against re-tendering a contract to improve the water quality of Pukekura Park’s lakes.
Instead they delayed the decision until the long term plan, with some councillors saying more money shouldn’t be spent on the lake as it had no function except housing ducks.
Adrienne Tatham president of the Friends of Pukekura Park said if nothing was done about the state of the main lake then ducks could die in the future.
“The lake was originally a swamp so yes, it has silt in it, but if you don’t do anything about it then it will become very unhealthy, it will smell, the ducks will die and there will be so many weeds that the boats won’t be able to go out,” she said. “And it is not just a duck pond, it is the jewel in the crown.”
“They [councillors] just don’t realise how overseas people view the lake. They are absolutely blown away by the bush and the ferns reflected in the water.”
She also believed the council would have saved money had it moved to complete the lake work sooner rather than delaying the decision until the long term plan.
“I consider this as a maintenance job and they have to get around to it sooner or later.
“They are just creating a false economy to put off a job as big as this. They have only done half the job. It’s unfinished, it’s a half-baked effort.”
Need for improvement to the water quality was identified in 2004 and work began in July last year.
However, after the main contractor was unable to complete the sediment removal work council had to reconsider re-tendering the job.
Instead of re-tendering the contract, councillors debated about the cost of the work and voted to delay the decision about the future of the lake until the long term plan next year.
The lake has been a key part of Pukekura Park since 1878 when it was made for competitive swimming and aquatic sports, Tatham said.
A red flag used to be hoisted on top of Cannon Hill to signal when ladies were bathing in the lake.
Women and girls could go swimming in the lake only between 8am and 1pm, during which time men and boys would be excluded from the vicinity.
As well as having significant history, the lake, which was also used for competitive boat races, is a vital part of the tourism industry in Taranaki, Tatham said.
TDN, JUNE 30, 2014
CHANGES AT PUKEKURA PARK
Changes are being made to one of the public areas in the fernery and display houses at Pukekura Park. House two is having two large wooden display stands removed so that the area can be opened up for visitors. Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said once the work was done, bigger specimen trees would be able to fit and the plant displays would be more colourful. The work will take another two or three weeks to complete. The area will remain open to the public during the works.
TDN, JULY 1, 2014
$1M DREDGING WASTED ON LAKE – EXPERT
With photo
Spending $1 million of ratepayers’ money to clean up Pukekura Park’s main lake won’t work, a former council manager says.
“To adopt a million dollar dredging solution to the Pukekura Park Lake water quality issue at this time is unlikely to provide desired long-term results,” Dex Knowles, a former Taranaki Regional Council manager, said.
He has a lifetime of experience in water quality management.
A year ago attempts to dredge the Pukekura lake failed.
New Plymouth District declined to approve $1.2m for a new dredging operation, but the proposal will be considered in future long-term plan discussions.
The sediment levels of copper, lead and zinc in the lake have been found to be above the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council guidelines.
Knowles said there was no affordable or practical way to eliminate the cause of pollutants entering the lake.
“The lake is in a stream and is a settling pond that traps material carried by stream flow,” he said.
Urban streams generally carried a high level and wide range of pollutants which wash in from surrounding lands or are discharged from stormwater systems.
While dredging would provide some relief in the short term it would be a high-cost, high-risk task. “Silt, sand and pollutants settle to the lakebed. Lake water warms as it stays in the lake for a long time adding to the water quality problem by enhancing aquatic weed growth and further deterioration.”
The most effective way to deal with the problem, as shown in other parts of New Zealand and further afield, is to put long term control and management plans in place, Knowles said.
New Plymouth District parks manager Mark Bruhn said the council had a number of strategies aimed at improving the lake water quality.
Traps had already been placed within the system – such as had been done with the installing of a holding bay within the Bowl of Brooklands lake.
Recently, council members decided not to proceed with re-dredging work and to consider re- tendering the work in the next long term plan process, Bruhn said.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
DUCKLING DARE
With photo
Whether or not this duckling’s 15 fellow brothers and sisters dared it to jump on the back of Boris the eel at Pukekura Park’s main lake yesterday will never be known. Nonetheless, regardless of its motivation the little chap showed a plucky courage that gave hope to some of the people watching nature takes its course in front of the kiosk that the ducklings had a fighting chance of survival. Hundreds of ducklings are hatched in the park each spring but most don’t make it to adulthood, falling prey to cats, other ducks, hawks and, of course, eels such as the park’s beloved Boris.
TDN, November 27, 2014
OTTER ARRIVAL
A new otter is coming to Brooklands Zoo today to keep its male otter Jala company. Jemima is being flown to New Plymouth from Wellington Zoo because her mate Bud was put down this week due to illness. The arrival is perfect timing for Brooklands Zoo because its female otter Aqua is 18 years old and could soon die, leaving Jala on his own. The otters at Brooklands Zoo will not be on display for a couple weeks while maintenance takes place in their enclosure.
TDN, DECEMBER 3, 2014
OTTER INTRODUCED TO NEW MATE
A new otter has joined the resident couple at New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo.
Jemima was flown from Wellington Zoo last week and was being gradually introduced to Jala and his female mate Aqua.
“Jemima is coming here because her mate Bud had to be euthanased this week due to illness and as otters are social animals they need to be with other otters,” the zoo’s assistant curator, Eve Cozzi, said.
“Her arrival is great timing because our male Jala is going to be in a similar situation soon as Aqua is 18 years old, which is extremely old for otters and basically every new day with her is a gift. But when she finally goes, we’ll have Jemima already in place to be with Jala.”
The otters will not be on display for a few weeks because planned maintenance will be taking place in their enclosure.
Bud was originally imported to New Zealand from Mooloolaba, Australia by Brooklands Zoo six years ago, and was later sent to Wellington Zoo for breeding.
“It’s wonderful that we’re now able to look after Bud’s mate after having had Bud at Brooklands just a few years ago,” Cozzi said.
2015
TDN, MARCH 24, 2015
BLACK SWANS MAKE PARK LAKE THEIR HOME
With photo
The swans are back.
After a decade’s absence Pukekura Park again has two of the long-necked water fowl in its main lake.
One flew in of its own volition six weeks ago while another was introduced to the New Plymouth park days later, after being rescued, confused and battered, from the surf in Onaero.
“The SPCA rang me and asked me if it was possible [to house] the swan in the main lake. Just as a coincidence, about a week or two before we had a wild one turn up. So I said we could bring it in and see what happens,” park curator Chris Connolly said.
The pair, of as yet undetermined gender, quickly became great mates, swimming and eating weed together for some weeks.
The status of their relationship may have recently changed as they now occupy separate ends of the inner city waterway.
With the return of the swans the park now has four types of birds calling the main lake home. As well as 30 to 40 ducks and an unknown number of shags, there are also seven Canada geese, four of which were hatched at the park in spring.
“We’ll have to reduce them at some stage. Seven Canada geese are proving to be a bit much.
“They make a lost of mess and come out of the water and scare kids,” Connolly said.
This move would involve a transfer to another pond rather than a trip to the big lake in the sky, he said.
TDN, MARCH 30, 2015
POSSUM CONTROL PLAN FOR PARK
Efforts to rid Pukekura Park of furry pests will be ramped up this year.
The Taranaki Regional Council’s urban possum-control programme in New Plymouth is about to extend into Pukekura Park.
The first stage of the programme was carried out in the Waiwhakaiho catchment early in 2014 and has been very successful, TRC’s manager of environment services Steve Ellis said.
“The council is now working with homeowners in the programme to make sure they continue to carry out the control work needed to keep possum numbers at low levels,” he said.
“Control took place on 92 properties in the Waiwhakaiho catchment, accounting for an estimated 85 per cent of the possum habitat. Subsequent monitoring has revealed a significant reduction in possum numbers.”
The regional council is now expanding the programme to the catchments of Te Henui and Huatoki Streams, including Pukekura Park.
Warning signs are being installed to advise the public to keep dogs and children away from possum poison in the bait stations, Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said.
“In Pukekura Park, the possum baits will be in bushy areas away from pathways.
“Dogs must always be on a leash in the park but it’s more important than ever to keep them under control while the poisons are being used,” he said.
The new baiting builds on years of the district council’s own possum, rat, and stoat control activities in the park, and will continue for the next couple of months.
Connolly said there had already been bait in the park for a very long time and he had not seen a possum in there for years.
The possum bait is Pestoff, which is widely used for pest control in urban and rural areas across New Zealand and internationally. The cereal bait contains the anticoagulant poison brodifacoum. Fewer possums will benefit native birds, lizards, insects and vegetation, Connolly said.
TDN, APRIL 17, 2015
PUKEKURA PARK LAKE WEED HAS TO GO
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Sludge and rampant oxygen weed are choking Pukekura Park’s main lake and something needs to be done about it before it is too late, former New Plymouth councillor Maurice Betts says.
The former four-term councillor said he has watched over the last two years as councillors have cut budgets and the level of maintenance at the park had dropped.
He said he understood why councillors were holding on tightly to the district’s purse strings but it was time urgent attention was given to the lake, its weed problem and the growing sludge issue that was causing it.
“We’ve got to look after the assets we’ve got,” he said.
“This problem is not going to go away. It just detracts from what is a prime part of a great attraction.”
Need for improvements to the water quality was identified in the Pukekura Park Management Plan 2004 and work was carried out in July 2013.
However, the main contractor was unable to complete the sediment removal work as their equipment was not suited to the “significant and unexpected gross contamination” in the lakes.
Last year the council debated re-tendering the contract but instead delayed the decision until the Long Term Plan 2015-2025 process.
However, late last year the project was axed from the proposed Long Term Plan when the council set its 3.5 to 3.9 per cent rates cap for the next decade.
Betts is calling for the council to set aside money to control the oxygen weed until a permanent solution is found.
“There’s been 100 years of hard work in Pukekura Park and it was voted as The Mayfair on the New Zealand Monopoly board.
“Now, there’s weed everywhere in the lake. The boats are struggling to get through it.
He said there were a number of interim solutions that should be looked at, including cutting the weed.
“Yes it might grow back in two years, but the real solution may be found by then.”
The council’s chief operating officer Sue Davidson said the council was aware there was a problem with weed growing in the summer.
“This year nature has given us some help as the swans have been feeding on it,” she said.
“In the longer term council needs to desludge the lake.”
She said the ultrasonic soundwave technology being trialled in other bodies of water in the district would not work on the oxygen weed in Pukekura Park as the weed was far more substantial than algae.
TDN, APRIL 21, 2015
PROUD MONKEY MUM SHOWS OFF BABY
TDN, APRIL 30, 2015
BABY MONKEY DIES AT BROOKLANDS ZOO
TDN, JUNE 8, 2015
PONGY COMPLAINTS ABOUT PUKEKURA PARK LAKE
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A plea has gone out to the New Plymouth District Council to fix a stink in Pukekura Park.
President of the Friends of Pukekura Park, Adrienne Tatham, told councillors to sort the issue out and put the rehabilitation of the lake back into the Long Term Plan.
“The lake stinks,” she said.
“It was a swamp and swamps have a habit of silting up, it is a natural process. Over the years this area has been dredged and this should be factored in as a maintenance item.
“Last year you had a contractor dredging the lake, so this has been in the budget.
“No doubt this money has been spent on something else, when another contractor could have been employed.”
When the contractor could not complete the work, the council declined a new $1.2m dredging operation, and instead said it would consider its options during its Long Term Plan discussions.
However the lake rehabilitation project never made it into the proposed plan and Tatham blames this lack of work for the musty, unpleasant odour particularly noticeable around the waterfall near the main lake.
Tatham said the maintenance was important for the park’s aesthetic and ecological values, and also for visitors.
There was an accumulation of contaminants as well as a thick, sometimes metre deep, layer of sediment in the lake, she said.
“You as councillors will have to bite the bullet and address this issue.”
The council’s manager of Parks, Mark Bruhn, said there was a comprehensive work programme under way for improving water quality in the park.
“The water quality issue has many causes and we’re working our way through each of them.”
Councillors will deliberate on all submissions on June 9.
TDN, JUNE 22, 2015
FIERCE PROTECTOR OF NATIVE TREES AT PUKEKURA PARD HAS DIED
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A former Pukekura Park curator who successfully fought local bureaucrats to save native trees has died.
George Fuller, who was awarded an MBE for service to orchids and the community in 1990, died suddenly at the home of a New Plymouth relative on Friday. He was 86.
The respected horticulturist was known for his love of the 52-hectare city park and was quick to confront the New Plymouth District Council if he felt native trees in the park needed his protection.
The New Plymouth man retired as park curator in 1990 after 25 years of caring for, and residing in, the grounds.
Despite his retirement, Fuller never lost his connection with the park and he continued to concern himself with the estate’s upkeep.
In 2009, he campaigned to preserve more than two dozen native trees that stood in the way of the council’s proposed new entrance to the Bowl of Brooklands.
Fuller won the battle and the council, instead, reconditioned the existing pathway.
When he was not lobbying council or working at the park, Fuller could be found tending to his countless orchid plants. He was the patron of the Orchid Council of New Zealand and was involved with the Taranaki Orchid Society.
Fuller’s daughter, Claire Russell, said orchids were his passion. “Right from when he was a young boy he was very interested in horticulture. He went to England when he was 16 and trained at Kew Gardens.”
However, there was more to Fuller than just his green thumbs. Russell said he was a “fantastic” father and an “all-round good guy. He was a giving, loving and helpful person. He was always out to help other people and the environment in particular.”
In 2010 Fuller was named Taranaki Daily News Person of the Year.
Fuller was survived by his five children, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His wife, Doris Fuller, died 18 months ago.
A funeral service will be held for Fuller at the Taranaki Cathedral of St Mary in New Plymouth on Tuesday at 1.30pm, to be followed by a private cremation.
TDN, JULY 27, 2015
CHARLIE PERCHED TO RETURN TO ZOO
TDN, JULY 31, 2015
WIZARD LIZARDS TREAT FOR ZOO VISITORS
TDN, AUGUST 12, 2015
CLIMATE CHIPS AWAY AT GIFT
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Timeline 2003: Kunming mayor Zhang Zhenguo announces gift of a pavilion, moon gate and garden to be built in Pukekura Park.
2004: Chinese craftsmen complete the work using material from their home country. 2005: Formal opening in February.
2010 to 2013: Repairs needed owing to untreated timber.
Kunming Garden pagoda may stand proudly in Pukekura Park but Taranaki’s wet climate is proving a challenge to the colourful structure.
In December 2004 craftsmen from New Plymouth’s Chinese sister city, Kunming, erected the painted pavilion with materials brought from their home country.
But the wood was not treated and over the years the pagoda has needed $12,000 worth of repairs.
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said the New Plymouth District Council would continue to maintain the asset.
“We get regular visits from delegations from Kunming. All of them come up here and have a look.”
He said the project was initiated by the Kunming local government and cost $300,000 at the outset.
“Unfortunately, it turned out that the wood wasn’t suited to the New Plymouth climate.”
Maintenance so far includes repairs to some of the columns, latticework and hand rails, which had begun to rot.
The first repair was done in 2010 and the last in 2013. None of the high, painted panels have begun to degrade yet, but if they did the council would liaise with Kunming for replacements, he said.
After the build, spare items such as tiles were left behind by the craftsmen. Engineers check the structure every three years and park staff keep an eye on it too.
In 2003 Kunming’s then mayor, Zhang Zhenguo, visited and planted a tree in the park to commemorate the sister city agreement, Connolly said.
“That evening Mayor Zhang announced during the official signing ceremony that the Kunming government would provide a pavilion, moon gate and garden in Pukekura Park as a gift to the city.”
In 2004 a team of eight Chinese craftsmen worked with Taranaki landscapers and builders.
“The garden layout is of typical Yunnan design and symbolises friendship between our two cities,” Connolly said.
It was opened in February 2005. Friends of Pukekura Park president Adrienne Tatham said it was a well used asset and she remembers the craftsmen made their own paint and didn’t use power tools.
“They laid the paths. When the concrete was wet they put each little pebble in by hand. It was fascinating to watch.”
As a reciprocal gift, last year New Plymouth District Council opened a New Zealand garden in Kunming.
TDN, AUGUST 26, 2015
BIG STEPS FOR NATURE WALK
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Plans are afoot to update the Brooklands Park Nature Walk and reintegrate it in schools.
Almost 30 years ago a manual was written for intermediate and high school students about Brooklands Park, New Plymouth, with areas of interest matched to numbered pointers.
Over the years since, as the plants have enveloped the markers, feet on the walk itself have diminished.
Propelled by Friends of Pukekura Park (FOPP) president Adrienne Tatham, steps are now being taken re-establish it starting with input from participants on a recent organised walk.
“I used the walk for finding out other people’s ideas, what could be added in,” she said. “The original nature walk was out of date.”
As participants were led around the back-paths of Brooklands, she was surprised how many had never set foot there before.
Tatham has a personal interest in recreating the walk. Her grandfather, Newton King, owned the land which became Brooklands Park and many of the trees there were planted by him.
“I was brought up on Shortland St. I played in the park. We had a great time. I swam in the pond. I didn’t like that much.”
She loves the park and wants to share her passion. “I want them to see more than just the lawns and the events and a few trees and lakes.
“I want them to see the little things like the borer holes in the trees, and leaves and seeds and all that stuff. Everybody in New Plymouth owns that park. They should treasure it.”
Park curator Chris Connolly said the New Plymouth District Council was working with FOPP and Forest and Bird to re- establish the walk.
“We are in discussions with them on how best to do this,” he said. “Council would like to ensure that when the revised nature trail is installed it is done in a way which enables schools to use it to support the school curriculum.”
Development of the trail’s information signs can only be agreed once the council has revised and finalised its sign design format for Pukekura Park and Brooklands, he explains.
Funds are not set aside by council to re-establish Brookland’s trail, but it’s hoped Forest and Bird will chip in for signs.
TDN, NOVEMBER 18, 2015
ROYALTY MEETS, GREETS
TDN, NOVEMBER 18, 2015
CAMILLA PAWSES TO MEET RICA
TDN, DECEMBER 8, 2015
ZOO’S NEW BUG HOTEL OPENS FOR BUSINESS
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The vacancy is sign is all but lit up at Brooklands Zoo’s new bug hotel.
The structure is the latest addition to the New Plymouth zoo’s Backyard Wildlife display, and was created to encourage a bit more curiosity when it came to the creepy crawlies living in our ecosystem, assistant curator Eve Cozzi said.
The wooden frame has been broken up into sections filled with pine cones, bamboo cylinders, dead or rotting wood, bricks and other items, to create a varied environment for different insects and bugs to utilise, Cozzi said.
“There’s more than 1 million different species and those different spaces will just be encouraging a better variety.”
There is an “ick” factor for a lot people when it comes to bugs and insects, which means their importance in nature was often overlooked, she said.
“What most people don’t realise is that they’re pollinators, particularly of foods that we eat. So without them we could be in a lot of trouble.
Cozzi said whilst some insects would nest in the structure others would use it for shelter.
Similar to the zoo’s weta hotels, it would take time for the insects to establish themselves in the hotel, but it was likely to be teeming with crawlers in no time, she said.
The bug hotel was part of their development of the Backyard Wildlife area of the zoo, for which a native plants section has been added, as well as the extra planting of flowers and bushes that attract butterflies to the area, Cozzi said.
The zoo had Keeper Talks specific to the Backyard Wildlife area which would now include information around the bug biodiversity being created, she said.
It would be easy enough for people to make a similar structure in their own backyard, or create an environment to attract different insects in, Cozzi said.
It was important that if people wanted to build one, they use untreated wood which different insects could feed off, she said.
TDN, DECEMBER 18, 2015
RUST-LIKE BINS APPEAR AT PARK
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Pukekura Park.
The 23 new bins are already in place and the first of the 10 signs is up at the Fillis St entrance.
New Plymouth District Council’s manager of parks and open spaces Stuart Robertson said all of the bins and the signs were made out of corten steel.
“The beauty of corten steel is that it’ll last up to 35 or 40 years and its really easy to clean and maintain,” he said.
“The material oxidises to an earthy rust colour, although it actually doesn’t rust.
“It’ll last a long time and has been designed to complement the natural aspect of the park.”
Robertson said the signs would include an up to date map of Pukekura Park, to help people get more out of their visit. The number of rubbish bins in the park has been reduced, with about 12 under-utilised bins removed.
A remaining nine signs will be erected at various key entrances in February.
The council is yet to respond to a request about how much the new bins and signs have cost.
TDN, DECEMBER 22, 2015
POSITIVE RECEPTION FOR NEW RUBBISH BINS
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Even at $1000 per bin and $7300 per sign Pukekura Park’s newest additions are receiving positive praise from park users.
President of Friends of Pukekura Park Adrienne Tatham said the bins looked capable of doing their job.
“They certainly look indestructible,” she said.
“The rusty look makes them meld with their surroundings. I think a lot of council’s are starting to go with the rust look so graffiti won’t stick to them.”
The signage had been overdue for renewal for some years and park goer Hayden Stokell said they suited the area.
“You sort of notice them and they look natural in the environment,” he said.
“They definitely blend in.”
Local sculptor Renata Verbrugge said she worked with corten – the metal the bins are made of – and said it was durable.
“Corten doesn’t rust through it just gets that nice rust colour and that’s it. So for the park it’s ideal,” she said.
“I like the design anyway it almost looks like a flower on top.”
Elsie harris said even if the bins do start to rust further they would still fit in, in the park.
“If you look at a dead fern or the trunk of a punga they’re very similar colours,” she said.
Tony Wise was visiting New Plymouth from England and said he liked the rusting aspect of the bins and how they blended with the park.
“The only thing that seems a bit strange is the chrome bit round the top,” he said.
2016
TDN, FEBRUARY 24, 2016
FUTURE WORKERS BUILD THE ZOO A BRAND NEW OFFICE
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Staff at Brooklands Zoo will no longer be holding their morning meetings at a picnic table.
The popular New Plymouth zoo in Pukekura Park now has a new office built by 10 students of the Taranaki Futures programme.
Park boss Chris Connolly said that none of the staff knew how old the last office was because it was there before they all started.
But they all knew how small it was because staff meetings had to be held outside as it was not big enough to fit everyone in.
“It will be nice not to have to have our meetings at the picnic table outside,” Connolly said.
Taranaki Futures general manager Warwick Foy said the 10 students who built the new office had been working under the supervision of a project manager and skills tutor.
Foy said it was a bit of a balancing act between wanting to get as many students participating and providing quality tutelage.
“We could take three at a time but we want as many as possible to have a shot at employment,” he said.
Foy said Taranaki Futures’ key benefit to the students was its close link to industry and all the students who worked on the Brooklands Zoo office had found jobs.
“They achieve NCEA level two as well as a qualification from Witt, which makes them pretty attractive to prospective employers,” he said.
Foy said the programme started three years ago with the ‘Build a Bach’ project.
“Some of these kids didn’t have bright futures and were wagging a lot and are now turning up every day,” he said.
“We represent a changing face of schooling where kids don’t have to be in the classroom to have a valuable learning experience.”
He said Taranaki Futures would still be doing their Build a Bach scheme but was also looking at more creative options.
New Plymouth District Council senior project manager Jeff Bondy said Taranaki Futures was chosen for the build to support the work they did in upskilling young workers.
“We needed a new office up there pretty badly, the current one was pretty ratty,” he said.
TDN, MARCH 5, 2016
NEW GATES FOR PARK
The Brooklands Drive entrance to Pukekura Park and the Bowl of Brooklands may soon be graced by new gates.
The Friends of the Park group is working alongside the council with the idea that the gates would provide extra security and prevent unwanted traffic – as well as honour Newton King.
Electric bollards would be raised at night. Alongside them would be a fancy set of gates through which pedestrians could pass. There are two options: wooden or wrought iron with a scalloped or level top.
A plaque on the gates would acknowledge the role that King played in the area’s early development. “He was my grandfather so I have a vested interest in getting on with this,” says Friends of the Park president Adrienne Tatham. “It’s driven by the Friends of the Park but it’s also been on the to- do list of council.”
The plans were on display last weekend as part of the Friends’ 20th anniversary celebrations. Feedback was positive and the iron gate version seemed to be most favoured.
“It’s about consultation. As far as I’m concerned if you are doing something different in the park it should be talked about to see what people think so they are not driven to complain.”
TDN, APRIL 9, 2016
PUKEKURA PARK HOLD ON TO FIVE-STAR RATING
New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park has retained its status as a high profile and high class public garden.
The park has been confirmed as Garden of National Significance for another three years, a rating its held since the national system started in 2004.
Curator Chris Connolly said the independent rating allowed the park to maintain its high profile among international visitors.
“We know just how special this park is.
“What this rating does is give the park more recognition nationally and internationally.”
Home to the TSB Bank Festival of Lights, the central city park has been heralded as one of the jewels in New Plymouth’s crown.
Pukekura Park was to host notable guests Prince Charles and wife Camilla for a tour of the fernery late last year, but a delayed flight saw that part of their New Plymouth visit cancelled.
In 2007, Pukekura Park emerged as the winner of the coveted ‘Mayfair Place’ spot on Hasbro’s New Zealand Monopoly edition.
Taranaki has one six-star garden, Te Kainga Marire, in Merrilands, New Plymouth, and six five-star gardens; Pukekura Park, Hollard Gardens, Oakley Garden, Pukeiti, Puketarata Garden and Tupare.
According to the New Zealand Gardens’ Trust who administers the ratings, a five-star garden achieves and maintains the highest levels of presentation, design and plant interest throughout the year.
TDN, APRIL 13, 2016
MONKEY BUSINESS…- MONKEY BUSINESS
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When five Bolivian squirrel monkeys were first let into their renovated enclosure they ran and hid in their den.
But, seconds later they were swinging around checking out their new home, Brooklands Zoo assistant curator Eve Cozzi said.
Keepers have built in 22 upright poles and added six millimetre manilla roping at different levels in the monkey enclosure to give them something fun to do, Cozzi said. “We also added some new camellia shrubs, grasses and fresh mulch, which will provide foraging opportunities for the monkeys. They’ve been exploring ever since and have been using every inch of it as far as we can see.”
The existing enclosure was kept, but the internal furnishings had been changed, Cozzi said. “The new rope is thinner than what was in there before, so we can have more rope and therefore a more complex travel system. “They are arboreal, they live in the trees. There are no natural trees in there so the posts and the ropes are for them to climb all over. They can travel all over the enclosure with the ropes.”
It’s definitely being well utilised, she said.
“We’ve got fixings on the posts, so we can hang lots of things.
“We put some pulley systems in so we can add more enrichment things at different heights. Enrichments are things we put in for them to interact with.”
They planted camellias in the enclosure, because they knew from previous experience that the monkeys wouldn’t destroy them, Cozzi said.
The cost of the new enclosure was less than $1000. The poles were recycled, but the rope and cement were purchased, she said.
“The labour was inhouse – two keepers and two park staff, who did the posts. The camellia trees came from parks and gardens.”
TDN, APRIL 27, 2016
$73,000 SPENT ON NEW RUSTY SOIGNS FOR PARK
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New, rusty signs worth $73,000 are being installed in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
One of the signs, which cost $7300 each, was installed at the Fillis St entrance last December and after a positive response the New Plymouth District Council decided to go ahead with installing nine more at various entrances.
The new signs were made of corten steel which oxidises, turning a rusty colour, and was supposed to last for up to 40 years.
It was the same metal 24 rubbish bins, installed around the park in December last year, were made of.
Park manager Chris Connolly said the reception to the first sign had been good.
“We’ve done quite a bit of discussion over the last year and got a sign made up, put it up and saw how it looked and got some feedback from the Friends of the Park,” he said.
The council had gone through the park and decided which entrances needed them.
Each sign would have information about the park and a map, which showed where the sign was and points of interest.
“There’s also a panel where we can put some information that might only be current for a little while,” he said.
That could include information about the Festival of Lights or other events happening in the park.
Connolly said they had consulted with the Friends of the Park group throughout the process.
“We talk to them often and they give us feedback,” he said.
“They’re a very handy group to keep talking to and get some ideas off.”
On Tuesday a sign was installed at the Rogan St entrance, which the council was trying to get more people to use, Connolly said.
“We’ve got a little bit of landscaping to do at that entrance,” he said.
Signs had already been installed at the Kaimata St, Brookland Rd, Gilbert St, Fillis St and Victoria Rd entrances.
TDN, MAY 16, 2016
GATES TO BE GIVEN REMODEL
First it was new bins, then it was signs, now Pukekura Park is getting eight new entrance ways.
While the design isn’t finalised for the entrances, they won’t be made of the same rusted corten steel that has been used for the new rubbish bins and signs at the New Plymouth park.
Work has already begun and should be completed on all eight entrances by the end of June.
Pukekura Park lead curator Chris Connolly said revamping the main entrances was part of standardising the park.
“It’s just about them all looking the same, from a thematic and practical point of view,” he said.
“At the moment we have metal ones, wooden ones and some low barriers, we just want them all the same.”
Connolly said some of the new entrances will have removable bollards and paving, and some additional landscaping would be done in the surrounding area.
Pukekura Park recently saw a revamp of its bins and signs which were moulded in corten steel – steel which visibly rusts without actually deteriorating.
The bins cost $1000 each while the signs went for $7300 apiece.
TDN, MAY 18, 2016
NEW HOME FOR HOLY TREE
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Pukekura Park is now home to a Buddhist holy tree.
Several years ago the monks of Auckland Buddhist Temple presented a peepal plant to the Sri Lankan community in New Plymouth.
This plant was initially kept in a private home in Urenui, before the New Plymouth District Council was approached and the park put forward as a possible planting venue.
“It was the park authorities who nursed it back to health for nearly a year, and readied it for planting,” explained Ramitha Fernando, who was present at the planting.
A dozen members of the Sinhalese and Buddhist community got together and planted the tree between the Eastern Hillside Lookout and Tea House on the Lake.
Park spokesman Ian Hutchinson said that the particular spot was carefully chosen, in a high and sheltered area and protected from frosts.
The peepal, also called the Bodhi tree, can grow up to 30 metres in height. Its massive trunk, which can grow up to three metres, is often the site of Buddhist shrines.
The young tree is now in a pristine spot, surrounded by New Zealand natives like the kauri and the Himalayan and European pines.
It is believed that Lord Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism gained enlightenment under a peepal tree and so it has exalted status.
Also known as Ficus Religosa or the sacred fig, the peepal is a native of the Indian subcontinent, south-west China and Indo China.
The peepal tree is considered sacred by the followers of not only Buddhism, but by Hinduism and Jainism as well.
NTMW, JUNE 29, 2016
CHINESE TREE PLANTED IN PARK GARDEN
New Plymouth has another golden tree in the park, planted to celebrate volunteers.
Pukekura Park’s Kunming Gardens received a ginkgo pavlova – an old Chinese tree – after community and voluntary sector Minister Hon Jo Goodhew visited New Plymouth for National Volunteer Week.
“Lending a helping hand and being prepared to contribute to your community is part of what it means to be a Kiwi. We should celebrate all those who give their time and effort to help others, and consider pitching in ourselves,” Goodhew said.
June 19 to 25 was a week to recognise volunteers and this year’s campaign goal was to encourage more people to dedicate time for their community.
About 1.2 million New Zealanders volunteer for at least one charity or non-profit organisation, which adds up to more than 157 million hours donated each year, Goodhew said. “Kiwis are amongst the most generous in the world when it comes to volunteering their time, skills and helping others. This generosity means not-for-profit organisations contribute $6 billion worth of time and skills to our GDP every year.”
TDN, JUNE 30, 2016
EXTRA ACCOLADES FOR PUKEKURA
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One of the world’s biggest travel companies has given New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park its highest possible rating.
American-based website Trip Advisor has 60 million members and more than 170 million reviews and opinions of hotels, restaurants, attractions and other travel-related businesses.
It awarded Pukekura Park a certificate of excellence earlier this month for a string of consistently good reviews.
Park curator Chris Connolly said park employees were always pleased to get positive feedback.
“And generally it is. Normally we don’t have anything too negative about the park,” he said.
The park has received 865 reviews on the Trip Advisor website. It is ranked number one of 48 attractions in Taranaki.
Of those reviews, 685 rate the park as excellent, 149 as very good, seven as average and two as poor. By comparison, New Plymouth’s Coastal Walkway, at number two on Trip Advisor’s list of Taranaki attractions, has 822 reviews, 629 rating it as excellent.
Mt Taranaki, Puke Ariki and Brooklands Zoo round out third, fourth and fifth rated attractions.
Connolly said he met visitors from around the world every day.
“They are always pretty amazed at what is in the park, the size of the park and that it’s right in the heart of the city. If they find The Fernery they are blown away at the sort of displays in there,” he said.
Pukekura Park is no stranger to international and national recognition. Earlier this year it was reendorsed as a five star garden of national significance and on Tuesday its cricket ground was named top domestic cricket pitch of the year.
It is also home to the TSB Bank Festival of Lights and in 2007 was the winner of the coveted ‘Mayfair Place’ spot on Hasbro’s New Zealand Monopoly edition.
TDN, JULY 1, 2016
ZOO REWARDED FOR ANIMAL CARE
New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo has been recognised for its high standard of animal care.
The zoo is one of a few in New Zealand to complete the Zoo and Aquarium Association’s (ZAA) Animal Welfare Accreditation Programme, which takes a new approach to the health and welfare of captive animals.
National representative Karen Fifield said the new accreditation was a world first in the industry as it focused on delivering positive animal welfare rather than just eliminating negative factors.
“The wider community can be certain that ZAA member institutions provide the best level of care for their animals, not just a minimum standard,” Fifield said.
Zoo coordinator Eve Cozzi said the facility still worked on the broad principles of good welfare including making sure the animals can choose their food, move around and express their natural behaviours.
“But this new accreditation builds on those principles by delivering positive welfare outcomes based on five welfare domains: nutrition, environment, health, behaviour and mental affective state,” Cozzi said. “The accreditation is quite detailed and I’m proud that Brooklands Zoo has been confirmed as meeting that high standard of care.”
The accreditation notes gave particular praise for the variety of environments provided to the animals and how they had choice over microclimates including sun or shade, being at height or on the ground and their diet.
The zoo’s accreditation lasts for three years.
ZAA represents the zoo and aquarium community throughout Australasia. The association has 91 member organisations, 86 of which are zoos, aquariums and museums, with the remainder comprising universities, technical and further education institutions and government departments.
TDN, JULY 11, 2016
MEERKAT MOB FOR CITY’S ZOO
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Meerkat Facts They stand about 30cm tall They live in family groups of between 20 to 50 animals These groups are called gangs or mobs They live in underground tunnels They are omnivores and eat mostly insects, but also eat small rodents, fruit, birds, eggs, lizards, and even poisonous scorpions. They live in the Kalahari Desert.
ttp://www.animalfactguide.com
There’s a new mob being formed at New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo, with the arrival of three new meerkats.
The three females came from Wellington Zoo and went on display on Friday, after spending a month in quarantine.
The trio replaced the zoo’s last two males, which were euthanised due to age-related illnesses. Zoo coordinator Eve Cozzi said the animals have been popular with visitors since the species first arrived at the zoo in 2010.
“The most common reaction is surprise at how small they are – people have a different impression about their size from seeing them on TV and they ask if our animals are baby ones, but no, they’re adults,” Cozzi said. The new meerkats are named Nala (beloved or successful), Lindiwe (watchful or guard) and Zola (love or tranquil). Cozzi said the three were young, at around 3-years-old, and she expected them to be very active in their enclosure.
The zoo plans to acquire more female meerkats as they become available with the aim of increasing the group to eight. In the wild, meerkat mobs can be anywhere between three and 50 individuals.
A new den has been built next to the enclosure to free up space for the meerkats. The den will be kept warm with a heat pump – a more efficient system than the heat lamps that were used previously.
TDN, AUGUST 9, 2016
NEW GATES TO HONOUR KING
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Fundraising has started for a new set of gates to honour a former New Plymouth businessman and protect the park he created.
Plans were drawn up for new gates worth $57,000 to be installed at the entrance to Brooklands Park Dr, with a plaque dedicating them to Newton King.
Born in 1855, King created Brooklands Park which was donated to the council in 1933 after his death in 1927. King’s granddaughter and Friends of Pukekura Park president Adrienne Tatham said they wanted to build something in honour of King.
“We want to put these gates up in memory of him while we’re still about, because we’re all getting older,” she said.
“And the other thing is a lot of plants get pinched from the park, people come up here with trailers to get the good stuff that’s been planted and just help themselves.”
The gates, which will feature electronic bollards that rise out of the ground at the push of a button, will be closed at night which Tatham said would stop people causing trouble in the park overnight.
They would also be used for traffic control during events at the Bowl of Brooklands, such as Womad.
The New Plymouth District Council paid for the plans and is leaving it up to Friends of the Park to raise the money to build the gates.
Councillor Colin Johnston, one of of two council representatives with The Friends’, said they were in the initial stages of getting the funding.
“We’re starting to get the plans organised so we can start applying for funding,” he said.
He had recently returned from a trip around the United States and said while overseas he was surprised to see the number of statues, monuments and plaques paid for by the public.
“So we’re going to be asking the people to support this and it’s amazing how many people out there would support this,” he said.
“A lot of people know Newton King and what he did for New Plymouth and it would be great if people have the opportunity to donate to this cause.”
TDN, OCTOBER 3, 2016
PUKEKURA PARK’S SIGNS ‘UNREADABLE’
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Community members have pushed back at a district council’s $70,000 spend on rusty park signs.
New Plymouth woman Mia Carroll said she never had a problem with the old blue, red and white wooden signs, but the new metal ones were not easy to read.
“This is my park and I adore it, but I got such a fright when I saw them,” she said. “For people with different abilities, this is a pretty thoughtless approach to signage.”
She called the new signs – which started being installed in April – a “travesty” and said in the evening’s there was no way people with visual impairments would be able to make out what the signs were directing you too.
“Everything we do should be increasing access, that means signage.”
The council announced in April they would be installing 10 signs, worth $7300 each.
The new signs were made of corten steel which oxidises, turning a rusty colour, and was supposed to last for up to 40 years.
It was the same metal 24 rubbish bins, installed in the park in December, were made of.
Louise Cochrane, 51, said she went to the park almost every second day and had had enough.
She said the signs looked as though they had mud smeared all over them.
She couldn’t read the signs until she was way up close and was irritated with the council’s “frivolous spending”, Cochrane said.
“People pay thousands of dollars to get rid of rust and the council’s paying thousands of dollars to put it in,” she said.
“It looks like an unkept sign.”
Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said they had been evaluating the signs since they were installed and had some changes planned to improve the readability, as well as better provide directions.
Council started investigating the new signage system “a few years ago” and took into account durability, maintenance, readability and the ability to change information on the signs in the long term and short term, Connolly said.
“There is a suite of signs planned for the park from the large signs at the main entrances, with the maps and red location indictors to show visitors where they are entering the park and where they are in relation to other park features,” he said. “Yet to be installed are twenty five signs with specific information about key points of interest such as the Band Rotunda, Horton Walk, Kauri grove, etc. these will be installed over the next few weeks.”
TDN, NOVEMBER 11, 2026
BAD DRIVERS COST PARK ITS SCOOTERS
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Disability advocates have slammed New Plymouth District Council’s decision to remove mobility scooters from Pukekura Park.
The council has announced it will no longer offer the four, single- seat scooters to members of the public because of the dangerous situations scooter drivers were getting themselves into.
However, age and disability advocate Lance Girling-Butcher said this was another decision made without council consultation which would disadvantage many residents.
For the past 13 years, the park has had four mobility scooters available through the Tea House on the Lake, but these machines were too often taken into areas that were unsafe, council recreation and culture manager Teresa Turner said.
“They’re meant to be operated on slopes that are no more than seven or eight degrees, which is pretty modest,” she said.
“However they’ve been taken up the steep road at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands – which is particularly dangerous when coming down – and on to side-paths that look gentle at the bottom but become steep and impossible to turn around on. Some have also gone ‘off-road’ and come back damaged.
“There comes a point when we have to put a stop to a service that is repeatedly putting vulnerable people in unsafe situations.”
While the council was looking into more “feasible” solutions, an eight-seat buggy is now the only vehicle available at the park for those with limited abilities.
Girling-Butcher, the chair of the New Plymouth Positive Ageing Trust, said council shouldn’t be making these decisions alone.
“This is what’s frustrating to me. We do have the accessibility and aged issues working party but it seems as though there hasn’t been council consultation that’s happened, of any kind.”
He admitted the working party had only just been reformed and wouldn’t be sitting until February, but said that didn’t mean council couldn’t ask members to weigh in on the issue.
He said it had been previously suggested the council install signs indicating the difficulty and terrain of the tracks around the park so people could assess for themselves.
Taranaki Disabilities Information Centre Trust general manager Brian Eriksen said while he understood the scooters were causing a health and safety issue for the council, that shouldn’t stop them from finding a solution rather than removing the scooters.
“How do you control the people that use them as there is no licence requirement to drive a scooter?
“It would be a pity if we abandoned the scooters from the park because of a few bad operators. It will certainly affect a lot of people.”
Park curator Chris Connolly said the mobility scooters were heavily used by the public and it was a shame the council had to remove them. “It’s a big concern [removing accessible options at the park]… now we’re getting into a busy period and we certainly will be working on it to try and get them back.
“I don’t have any immediate solution to that, but it’s better to withdraw them until we can actually get on top of this issue.”
When they loaned out the scooters, staff at Tea House on the Lake would give the riders a map of areas where they could go and instructions on how to safely use the scooters, but they were unable to monitor the scooters’ use around the park, Connolly said.
He said while the council’s scooters wouldn’t be available, that shouldn’t stop others with mobility scooters using them around the park.
TDN, DECEMBER 5, 2016
ORANGE ADDITION MAKES PARK SIGNS READABLE
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In an effort to make their signs more readable, a council has shelled out $2000 for a “high-vis” orange solution.
The New Plymouth District Council was criticised this year for its $73,000 spend on ‘rusty’ signs at the award-winning Pukekura Park which were virtually unreadable – particularly for those with visual impairments.
The corten steel signs will now be backed with “high-vis orange” vinyl, which will show through the carved-out letters.
It will cost $2000 to add to the signs, bringing the total cost for the 10 metal signs to $75,000.
Friends of Pukekura Park president Adrienne Tatham said it was good council had chosen to do something about the “illegible” signs but it could’ve avoided the problem altogether.
“Earlier consultation would have been good, but none of the friends of the park experienced those signs beforehand. By the time we were shown them, the contract was lined up and they were already making them, I think.
“We’ve fielded a lot of complaints and people are up in arms because they can’t be read easily,” Tatham said. She was pleased a solution had been found.
“They had to do something, they have to repair that one way or another.”
Despite the $75,000 price tag, council parks and open spaces manager Stuart Robertson said the project was still within budget.
To decide on improvements to the signs, a range of park-goers were asked their preference between a white or orange backing for the signs, Roberston said.
Roughly 80 per cent of those asked preferred a “high-vis orange”, he said. “It improved the visibility. It was remarkably more visible than the white option.”
Aesthetically, the orange would also fit in better with the corten steel, which oxidises, turning a rusty colour, and was supposed to last for up to 40 years.
The vinyl sheets would be screwed onto the back of the existing signs, making them easy to clean and replace in time, Robertson said. The corten steel signs are the same metal as 24 rubbish bins, installed around the park in December last year.
TDN, DECEMBER 14, 2016
PARK’S HUGE PINE IS CRACKING UP AND COMING DOWN
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An almost 50 metre tall pine tree will be removed from Pukekura Park this week because of safety concerns. The tree, on the side of Cannon Hill overlooking the Hatchery Lawn, has an 11m spiralling crack that goes 30 centimetres into its trunk, New Plymouth District Council manager parks and open spaces Stuart Robertson said. Work to remove the pine tree began on Tuesday, he said. “We’ve had three arborists inspect it and they all have significant concerns about the condition of the tree and say it should be removed as soon as possible because it could fail. At a bit more than 47m tall, that’s a lot of unstable tree to have alongside public walking tracks. We can’t afford to take risks.” The removal, which is weather-dependent, will take three days to complete. During this time the public will be directed to alternative walking routes outside the work area.
2017
TDN, JANUARY 28, 2017
THE RUSTY SIGNS OF THE TIMES AT PUKEKURA PARK
I’ve written about my fair share of screw-ups over a long journalistic career. Easily the best came in the early stages when I was sent to a New Plymouth street that hosted a couple of churches.
One congregation had scrimped to get money to have its driveway sealed, and engaged a contractor to do the work. Trouble was, he did the wrong church, whose congregation attributed this miracle to their god’s mysterious ways.
I can’t recall the outcome, but will assume the contractor went back and sealed the right driveway as well, charged for only one, and the congregations shared the cost. That would be the only outcome you’d want from a blunder like that.
The internet these days is full of much less appealing mistakes. “Biggest screw-ups” websites agree the greatest of all time happened in 1914 when Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s chauffeur took a wrong turn that delivered the heir apparent to the Austro- Hungarian throne into the path of his assassin.
The indirect result was World Wars I and II.
I’m not saying the Pukekura Park steel signs screw-up is on that kind of scale, but they are less than useful if you want your signage to be legible (as stipulated by Section 9.1, Part 7, of the district council’s own 2008 bylaw).
They cost the district more than $70,000, according to Taranaki Daily News reports, plus a few thousand more in attempts to right a problem caused by rusting steel faces that have indecipherable letters cut into them.
It was an idea that might have been imported from Auckland; I saw something similar at that city’s Victoria Market recently.
The Auckland ones work better because their backgrounds are the urban glare of buildings and sky, whereas the New Plymouth variety has mostly been set up with backdrops of light-sucking bush.
After some experimentation and public consultation, the council has started to back the signs with ply sprayed with iridescent orange paint, which helps a bit.
Unfortunately, whoever cut the letters into the signs seems to have used a different (bigger) font for the ampersands (& – the short version of “and”) and these stick out like the proverbial, well before you get close enough to decipher the signs. There’s another problem already apparent.
The beguiling rust finish is showing signs of leaching down over those signs that incorporate details about park features.
They may become unreadable in the time it takes for rust to never sleep.
I presume all these attempts to update the park signage are still a work in progress, because there are some inconsistencies.
For example, one sign designates Smith Walk, but doesn’t tell us anything about Smith (he was an early park curator, Walter William Smith).
That information is a few hundred metres away on an obscure brass plaque stuck to a rock at ground level near the band rotunda.
Brian Scanlan – a park stalwart from last century and former editor of the Taranaki Herald – has a detailed sign devoted to him at the foot of Scanlan Walk, a path from the impressive new Victoria Rd gateway opposite Scanlan’s former residence on the corner of Shortland St, down to the lake.
Until recently, there was sign calling it Scanlan Walk, but that’s disappeared, and no mention of it is made on the new Scanlan sign, despite numerous references to Scanlan Walk on park-related websites.
One of Scanlan’s newspaper contemporaries, Don Saxton, has his name on a new steel sign denoting the walk named after him around the southern side of the main lake, but it includes no explanation of who he was.
He chaired the parks committee for 20 years to 1968, according to a weathered brass plaque hiding further along the path. When you take a close look at the park’s labels, you can see other contradictions – some features are named after past park notables, others not. Former city councillor Brian Bellringer lives on forever because almost every sign mentions the Bellringer cricket pavilion, but the man who donated the tea house, Charles Burgess, missed out on naming rights, as did Leah Graham, whose bequest largely paid for the lake fountain.
There’s not much park staff can do about such convoluted history, but they could be more vigilant about anything new.
For instance, the plaque on a new seat near the fountain lake says it was given by the “decedent” of early settlers.
A decedent, according to legal terms, is a dead person. Did they mean “descendant”?
TDN, MARCH 13, 2017
RATTING OUT THE RODENTS IN CITY PARK
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After a rat ran up his leg a few years ago, Pukekura Park boss Chris Connolly decided to do something about it.
And since the anti-vermin programme was launched there has been significant growth in native wildlife in New Plymouth’s world famous inner-city park.
Connolly said it was hard to judge just how many pests were within the park boundary, but contractors ran programmes to catch everything from stoats and rats to possums and the occasional wild cat.
There were 65 bait stations high up in the trees to catch the possums, while 35 wooden boxes baited with eggs were stationed strategically around the park to catch the stoats, rats and other rodents.
“We also do poisoning of our own. There’s a little black box with poison in it and we put those under the deck and around here where there are a lot of public,” he said, pointing to the lake-side deck beside the park’s tea house.
“The biggest problem is the rats with the water and the cover, but also food which, you know, people bring it in and feed ducks so it has to be an ongoing programme otherwise they get out of hand very quickly because in a way it’s a perfect environment for them.”
The odd rat is still seen in the park and some people who commented on Facebook said they had spied the little furry rodents .
But Connolly said it would be a very difficult task to clear the park completely of pests because of its location – surrounded by residential houses.
There had been sporadic pest control programmes in the past, but Connolly had decided to bring in something a bit more permanent about four years ago.
It was also important to eradicate the pests to encourage native birds such as morepork, tui, pigeons, wax eyes and fantails.
“A lot of our strategy is about protecting the bird life, the native bird life in the park and over the last four years we’ve worked quite hard to do that,” he said.
“A lot of people often comment on the bird life and the bird song in the park so it’s quite noticeable, it’s really good that it’s had that positive response.”
TDN, APRIL 26, 2017
JALA THE OTTER DIES THREE DAYS AFTER BIRTHDAY
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Just days after celebrating his birthday with pilchard cake and fishy treats Jala the otter has died.
The otter died in his sleep at Brooklands Zoo in New Plymouth.
Zoo staff posted news of the 16-year-old otter’s death on Facebook on Monday.
“Zoo staff are taking extra good care of Jemima while we arrange a new companion for her,” they wrote.
Jala died just three days after his birthday at the zoo on April 20, which was celebrated with cake, prawns and shelled peanuts.
While the day was not technically Jemima’s birthday, as she turned 14 on April 7, 16-year- old Jala didn’t seem to mind sharing his special day.
At the time, zookeeper Eve Cozzi said the pair of otters were “getting up there” in age.
“Otters typically live to be 14 to 16 in the wild but in captivity, they’ll live to be at least 20 years old.”
The death of Jala is the second close friend Jemima has lost.
In 2014 it was flown to New Plymouth from Wellington after its mate Bud was put down due to illness.
At the time Jala’s mate Aqua was also in a poor way and expected to die, leaving Jala without a mate. On Facebook many users have responded to Jala’s death with sadness.
“We love visiting Brooklands Zoo when we are in New Plymouth on holiday from the UK. Such sad news my boys [and myself] love the otters. RIP Jala,” Emma Louise Whiteley wrote.
“Very sad….we were at the zoo Saturday looking at the birthday boxes they were playing in. We watched them swim and dry themselves on a mat….so cute. Jala and Jemima looked happy and healthy. Rip Jala,” Karen Atkinson wrote.
Asian short-clawed otters are the smallest otter species in the world and form monogamous pairs for life.
They are seriously threatened by rapid habitat destruction, hunting and pollution and their population trend is decreasing despite being a protected species.
TDN, JUNE 7, 2017
$150 TO BE SPENT ON GALLERY ROOF
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A leaky roof has seen a gallery temporarily shut its doors for the first time in its 32 years of operation.
The Gables Gallery, which is the home of the North Taranaki Art Society, will shut for more than a month to repair its shingle roof that “is leaking to the point where the building is cold and damp”, society president John Sargeant said.
“This is the first time the society has had to close for any length of time in its thirty two year history at the Gables.”
Sargeant said the gallery would be shut for six weeks starting June 12 and the society would be “better off” once repairs were complete.
“We can hang art works which we previously couldn’t hang in the winter, such as pastels, as they were affected by the damp,” he said.
“A lot of people come to the gallery to see this beautiful building and we are privileged to have it in New Plymouth as a part of our proud heritage. So to see the roof being replaced is fantastic.”
The final day of opening coincides with the Taranaki Arts Trail, which runs June 10 and 11.
“We are expecting a big crowd through the doors,” Sargeant said.
“Committee members will be busy clearing the building of all art works from 3.30pm that afternoon, so it will be all hands on deck.”
New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) decided in January to use shingles instead of corrugated iron under recommendation of Heritage New Zealand, partly due to the building’s significance.
The colonial roofing will be replaced at a cost of about $150,000, funded through existing budgets.
Adjacent to the Brooklands Zoo and the Bowl of Brooklands, the gallery was one of four colonial hospitals Governor George Grey commissioned in the late 1840s to provide medical help for both Maori and Europeans.
It was originally located on the northern banks of the Te Henui Stream but had been relocated to Brooklands Park in 1904 and gifted to New Plymouth by former owner Mary King in 1934.
It is now listed as category one building with Heritage New Zealand and owned by the NPDC.
TDN, JUNE 12, 2017
KICKING UP A STINK OVER PARK’S LAKE
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It is Taranaki’s most photographed spot but the lake that tourists flock to could become better known for its stink than its beauty, park advocates say.
Friends of Pukekura Park president Adrienne Tatham said the New Plymouth District Council needed to act now to remove silt from the park’s main lake, because if next summer was hot and dry there was a good chance the lake would emit an unpleasant stench.
“That warm weather smell is unmistakeable and unnecessary. If this summer is dry or hot it will stink. You bring all your visitors here and during the Festival of Lights you have thousands of people here marching around the lake and they smell that smell,” Tatham said.
The lake is at the centre of the renowned inner city park and is popular with photo snapping tourists, especially on clear days when Mt Taranaki is visible through the trees across the lake.
The last attempt in 2013 to clear the lake of metres of mucky sediment failed spectacularly when a botch-up saw tonnes of the mud removed only to be pumped back in again.
The council had the money then, so should have gone to another contractor at the time, Tatham said.
“All they are doing is spraying the weeds. The weed wouldn’t be there if the lake was dredged.”
Under the bridge it should be 2.5 metres and by the Tea House, where there used to be a diving board, it should be 4.5 metres, she said.
“But the silt has built up over the years. It has been neglected. You cannot neglect this place, it is a treasure.”
People used to swim in the lake, she said.
“They would put a flag up to say the women were swimming and men weren’t supposed to be anywhere near them.”
In 1966 the lake was cleaned using high pressure sluice hoses and in 1979 a drag line scoop was used. And in 1997 a suction dredge was used, she said.
Dredging silt from the lake won’t be done this winter, but it will be considered during as part of the draft Long-Term Plan 2018 – 2028, Pukekura Park curator Chris Connolly said.
“If the project is approved, we’d ask interested firms to send in tenders that include the methodology they’d use.”
In 2012 the council launched a three-stage project to improve the water quality and general environment of the park’s lakes, he said.
This involved construction of fore-bays (a small dam-like structure) in the Bowl Lake and the Struan Walkway stream, and development of the Struan Walkway wetland.
“These trap silt before it enters the park’s lakes system,” Connolly said.
At the same time substantial repairs were made to the edges of the main and fountain lakes. And silt was dredged from the Main Lake, Fountain Lake and the Serpentine (between the main and lily lakes).
“Dredging also began in 2013 but unfortunately the method used by the contractor was unsuccessful.”
The fore-bays and wetland have been doing a good job of reducing the amount of silt that enters the lakes system, and have stopped the continual build-up of silt and contaminants in the lakes, he said.
“We’ve also done riparian planting along one of the main tributaries along the Struan Walkway as part of this project. If we can get a good amount of the existing silt out of the lakes, their water quality should improve substantially.”
TDN, JULY 22, 2017
LAYING 20,000 SHINGLES ‘TIME CONSUMING’
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Tens of thousands of cedar slabs have been laid side-by-side to replace the roof on one of Taranaki’s oldest buildings.
The Gables Gallery in Brooklands Park has had a make-over, keeping in line with its heritage.
The New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) decided in January to use shingles, at a cost of $150,000, instead of corrugated iron on the Gables, under recommendation of Heritage New Zealand.
Shingle Roofing Taranaki’s John Gallagher, who also recently replaced the roof on the Richmond Cottage outside Puke Ariki, said it had been “a big job”, with around 20,000 shingles used on the Gables, while another 10,000 were placed on the cottage.
The shingles come bundled up from Canada, before being laid out and stapled down to the roof, with copper flashing folded around the chimney and on other spots on the roof.
“That’s been very time consuming. We haven’t quite finished yet, doing all the copper work,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher, who had also replaced the roofs on the buildings at Tupare, said there wasn’t too many buildings around still using shingles – especially new builds.
“There’s a bit of work on new homes in Auckland, and around the country, but it’s mainly heritage buildings,” he said.
“When heritage is involved you have to adhere to very strict guidelines and you can’t veer off that at all,” he said.
While it was more expensive than the modern alternatives, it was the best choice for the buildings.
“For heritage, for looks, for coolness,” he said. Adjacent to the Brooklands Zoo and the Bowl of Brooklands, the gallery was one of four colonial hospitals Governor George Grey commissioned in the late 1840s to provide medical help for both Maori and Europeans.
It was originally located on the northern banks of the Te Henui Stream but had been relocated to Brooklands Park in 1904 and gifted to New Plymouth by former owner Mary King in 1934.
It is now listed as category one building with Heritage New Zealand and owned and maintained by the NPDC.
TDN, OCTOBER 31, 2017
POND BARRIER TO STOP FALLING KIDS AND COIN THIEVES
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A barrier erected around Pukekura Park’s fernery pond has been dubbed “health and safety gone mad” by its visitors.
But park curator Chis Connolly deemed the transparent blockade a necessity following multiple reports of children falling into the pond.
The popular water feature in the New Plymouth garden house is home to a number of fish and used as a wishing well by park-goers who toss money into it.
Having the barrier installed had been on the park’s to-do list for awhile, Connolly said.
Previously there were metal bars in place which worked to keep visitors from the water’s edge.
But throughout the years many incidents had occurred where children had made their way past the bars and fell into the pond, including a preschooler just recently, he said.
“The mother retrieved the child without any incident,” he said.
“It just gave us a reminder that around water it can be dangerous and we thought we would be proactive.”
The solid barrier, which measured about one metre in height, was put in last week.
The decision moved one woman to leave a note in the fernery’s visitor book calling it “health and safety gone mad”.
Another woman took to social media expressing a similar sentiment.
“Our much loved fish pond at Pukekura Park has had a health and safety makeover,” Kate Facey posted to the New Plymouth District Council’s Facebook page.
“My boys used to love looking at the fish, and throwing their coin in. It was one of their favourite spots.”
She was disappointed with the change, she said in her post.
But Connolly said it was a needs must as young children would try and get too close to the fish.
“It’s a special situation here.
“Being able to see the fish right there – they’re tantalisingly close.”
He said the barrier was a “one off” and visitors should not expect there to be more installed around other water features at the park.
Connolly said it would also work to stop people from stealing money that was thrown into the pond.
“That will be an extra bonus,” he said.
Penny-pinchers have long been an issue for the park with the most recent spate being reported in July this year.
A handful of fernery break-ins has seen about $15 lifted from the pond, with the clean-up costing hundreds of dollars and many hours of time.
The break-ins resulted in a hike in security.
2018
TDN, JANUARY 13, 2018
PUKEKURA PARK RUST DISCOVERY
Myrtle rust has been found in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) confirmed the discovery yesterday after contractors surveyed the park on Thursday.
Myrtle rust, thought to have blown in to New Zealand from Australia, attacks various species of plants in the myrtle family, such as pohutukawa, manuka, rata, kanuka, swamp maire and ramarama.
So far, 210 sites across the country are confirmed to contain affected trees. Almost half – 101 cases – are in Taranaki, while four are in Northland, 32 in Auckland, 47 in Bay of Plenty, 22 in Waikato, and four in Wellington.
MPI myrtle rust response controller Catherine Duthie said in a statement that myrtle rust had infected an exotic Agonis flexuosa – commonly known as peppermint tree, peppermint myrtle or river myrtle – in Pukekura Park.
It is one of the hundreds of trees of the myrtle species in the attraction.
Duthie said a field surveillance team will now check all myrtle species within a 500-metre radius of the infected tree in Pukekura Park.
She said if additional infections are found, the surveillance area may widen. MPI senior communications advisor Victoria Moss said the teams were assessing the situation and would then decide how to deal with the affected tree.
New Plymouth District Council chief operating officer Kelvin Wright said there were no plans to close any part of the park and the ongoing TSB Festival of Lights is unaffected.
The discovery comes after an investigation in December found that the cost of myrtle rust to New Zealand’s economy could stretch into the thousands of millions and cause some regions’ economic activity to fall by up to 10 per cent.
The appearance of the fungus has prompted the largest seed banking of the vulnerable native species ever conducted by the Department of Conservation (DOC), with nearly six million manuka seeds collected alone.
The prediction, contained in a presentation delivered by MPI senior adviser for conservation Rebecca Martin in May, said the fungus could lead to a 10.5 per cent drop in GDP, putting possible losses as high as $1390 million.
ASB rural economist Nathan Penny said the industry was monitoring myrtle rust closely, with the devastating effect of PSA on the kiwifruit industry still fresh in economists’ memories.
The predicted impacts were at the smaller end of the scale in terms of the broader economy, Penny said, and most Kiwis would not be affected, but smaller communities and those that relied on horticulture may feel the sting.
MPI director of readiness and response Geoff Gwyn said the response was in an active operational phase and projected economic impacts had not yet been completed.
“We continue to be fully focussed on trying to contain and slow the disease spread.
“Early assessments were developed for a range of different outbreak scenarios, however it is still too early to accurately know which scenario New Zealand can expect and therefore, the level of economic, environmental and cultural impact.”
In late November Stuff reported that the total number of infected sites in the region was 82 since the disease was first detected in Taranaki in May.
The fungus was first discovered in the region in a Waitara nursery.
By June there were restrictions on moving myrtle species plants in and out of North Taranaki after the disease infected more than 50 properties in the region.
The Manukorihi Golf Club was temporarily closed and eight pohutukawa trees were destroyed after myrtle rust spores were discovered there too.
By December biosecurity staff checking for myrtle rust outbreaks were being given full powers to go onto private property without prior warning to the owner.
TDN, MARCH 2, 2018
LARGE TREES COMING DOWN
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You may not have heard lumberjacks yelling timber, but trees were coming down at Brooklands Park on Wednesday. Large pines at the entrance to Brooklands Park off Brooklands Rd, New Plymouth, were being removed due to a number of branches falling in recent years. New Plymouth District Council spokeswoman Jacqueline Baker said the parks team constantly monitors trees, particularly those near footpaths. “These pinus radiata were unaffected by ex-cyclone Gita but a number of limbs have come away in recent years,” Baker said. “These are not protected trees and the project to finish the removal should be finished in the coming days by a contractor. We have a removal plan in place which involves cranes and arborists.”
TDN, MARCH 19, 2017
GREEN FLAG AWARD
Pukekura Park has received the Green Flag award, the international mark of a quality park or green space, for the fifth year. Experts use eight criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, sustainability, community involvement and providing a warm welcome, to assess parks for the award.
NTMW, MAY 23, 2018
BROOKLANDS WELCOMES FORMER AUSTRALIAN
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The newest resident at New Plymouth District Council’s Brooklands Zoo has faced a tougher vetting test than most new housemates, including a trip across the Tasman.
Three-year-old otter Takumi took more than a month to get from Mogo Zoo, in New South Wales, to New Plymouth’s free-entry zoo which is home to a diverse range of species from farm animals, to reptiles to amphibians.
NPDC’s Brooklands Zoo brought Takumi in from Australia because no New Zealand zoos had any spare otters.
On the way he had about four weeks in quarantine before leaving Australia and another four weeks in quarantine at Auckland Zoo before flying to NPDC’s Brooklands Zoo which is visited by 113,000 people each year.
Then he had to be weaned gradually into his new surroundings while getting to know his new companion, Jemima.
“It was certainly a long journey for him but he went first-class for otters all the way and he’s adapted wonderfully. He’s full of energy, gets on great with his new playmate Jemima and he’s made a splash with visitors,” says NPDC External Relations Manager Jacqueline Baker.
The introduction to Jemima, who’s been at Brooklands Zoo for four years, was a private affair out of the public eye. It started with scent swapping between enclosures before they graduated to meeting each other through a mesh fence, and, after a couple of weeks, sharing an enclosure.
“Otters are social animals so it was important the relationship began on the right footing and now they’ve bonded well,” says Ms Baker.
Jemima, 15, has been living alone since her previous companion, Jala, died in April last year.
NTMW, JUNE 6, 2018
DECK EXTENSION WILL ENHANCE THE VIEW
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The deck on the Main Lake in New Plymouth District Council’s Pukekura Park will be extended to enhance the views towards Mount Taranaki.
The work is part of a NPDC project to upgrade the landscaping between the Tea House On The Lake and the lake and will include a gazebo for shaded seating, new planters, the levelling of the tiled area and footpaths that are safer and easier to use.
The public may notice work in the area and NPDC thanks visitors in advance for their patience. The work programme is expected to be finished by the spring.
Pukekura Park has flown the Green Flag, the international mark of a quality park, for five years running.
Experts assess a park for a Green Flag award using eight criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, sustainability, community involvement and providing a warm welcome.
The Tea House On The Lake, which opened in 1931, will remain unchanged.
TDN, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018
LAKE DRAINED FOR NEW DECK
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You can’t move Mt Taranaki if you want a better view, but you can lower a lake.
And that’s exactly what’s happening in Pukekura Park, where the main lake is being drained so workers can carry out a $500,000 landscaping project.
The deck opposite the Tea House on the Lake is being extended over the main lake to give the 470,000 visitors to Pukekura Park each year a better view of the mountain. The New Plymouth District Council landscaping upgrade will include a gazebo for shaded seating and the levelling of the tiled area and footpath.
“Pukekura Park’s Main Lake is one of our district’s iconic places and this work is about making the view to our mountain even better,” NPDC infrastructure manager David Langford said in a statement.
The lake is being lowered for two weeks while work on the deck takes place, with water draining into the Huatoki Stream via the Fountain Lake.
“Lowering the lake makes it easier and safer for NPDC’s contractor to build the new viewing deck. We aren’t looking for anything in the lake itself, but we’ll take the opportunity for a spring clean if we see any rubbish,” Langford said.
The Tea House on the Lake is closed while upgrades happen but will reopen on September 15.
TDN, OCTOBER 2, 2018
LIONS DO THEIR BIT FOR THE ZOO
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A New Plymouth zoo has received a $23,000 new shelter – and it’s not for the animals.
Brooklands Zoo’s new green-roofed, permanent picnic shelter has been donated by the Pakeke Lions Club as part a project to celebrate 100 years of Lions Clubs around the world.
David May, from the club, said the money was raised from the ‘Puff ‘n Stuff’ train, a two-carriage vehicle which the Lions have run for 20 years and which takes people around Pukekura Park and the zoo. It was a two-year project which required co-operation from the Lions Club, the zoo and New Plymouth District Council.
The shelter is to protect zoo-goers from rain and sun and has a picnic table underneath, something that the public asked for in a recent survey.
“We really have served our community,” former Lions Club president Mavis Richmond said.
Richmond along with Jack Martin, another former president, both helped develop the idea of a shelter and were honoured with cutting the big red ribbon on Thursday. However, May said the shelter was not fully completed, with the zoo wanting to collect run-off water from its roof to use around the zoo.
Mayor Neil Holdom was at the ceremony and spoke to the small crowd about his fond memories of his father being in a Lions Club when he was younger.
“I’ve seen first hand the things Lions Clubs do,” he said.
The shelter was not the only spruce-up for the zoo, which attracts 113,000 visitors each year. Three new bins have been set up in the past week for recycling, compost and rubbish.
2019
TDN, JANUARY 22, 2019
PUKEKURA PARK CURATOR HANDS THE FLAG TO NEW LEADER
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After 12 years in charge, the curator of New Plymouth’s premier park is moving on.
Chris Connolly has been in charge of Pukekura Park since 2006 and is now retiring, after a “fantastic” stint.
“New Plymouth’s founders had great foresight to create such a fantastic and lasting asset back in 1876. It’s nationally significant,” Connolly said.
He said it had been an “absolute privilege” to look after the park.
During his time he has overseen the upgrading of the Queen Elizabeth II fountain, a new lookout platform over the main lake and new playground, a pest management programme and upgrading the fernery and display houses.
Under Connolly’s leadership the park also won the international Green Flag award for six years running, a measure of the world’s top parks and green spaces.
He had previously worked as a teacher in Auckland, parks worker at Gore Borough Council, parks supervisor at Manukau City Council, and Parkscape Services Manager at NPDC.
Married with three sons and two grandchildren, Connolly said he was looking forward to more time with his family and at his favourite surf breaks.
New Zealand ex-pat Kristian Davies will take over the reins this month after returning from 15 years in London running his own landscaping business.
He previously worked at the Auckland regional botanic gardens, where he developed an expertise in camellias, magnolias and Asiatic plants.
“I love the history of Pukekura Park,” Davies said.
“It’s a fantastic conservation asset and seed bank. I’ll be looking to carry on the vision and keep the Green Flag flying.”
Council chief operating officer Kelvin Wright said they would like to thank Connolly for the great job he had done looking after and improving Pukekura Park.
TDN, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
TERRACES UNDERGO REVAMP
The terraces at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park are getting a $550,000 revamp.
“We’re putting in new facing walls on the south and east terraces to ensure they remain in good nick,” New Plymouth District Council chief operating officer Kelvin Wright said in a written statement. “We’re scheduling the work around sports games to keep disruption to a minimum.”
Work on the terraces, which surround the cricket ground, began in January and is expected to be finished later this year.
The cricket ground was established in 1880 and was named as one of the six greatest cricket grounds in the world by British cricket authority Wisden in 2007.
The park will remain open while the work is completed.
TDN, FEBRUARY 6, 2019
STROLL OR ROLL IN PUKEKURA PARK
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Mobility scooters have been reintroduced to New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, more than two years after they were taken away because of health and safety concerns.
The New Plymouth District Council has made four scooters available for public use on a three-month trial.
Scooters operated in the park for 13 years until 2016, when they were removed because of the dangerous situations the drivers were getting themselves into, including going off-road and up steep inclines that the vehicles could not cope with.
Park curator Kristian Davies said the new system would see users providing photo identification, signing in and undergoing an induction.
“We’ve now got a map that you’ll be issued with at scooter hire and that will show you where you can’t go,” he said.
“There are also, on the ground, little signs that tell you that the scooters can’t go down that track.”
The scooters, which are hired through the NPDC and Taranaki Disabilities Information Centre, can be used for four hours and only go up to speeds of 3 kilometres per hour.
Davies couldn’t reveal how much they cost but said the money came from the $55,000 allocated to Pukekura Park and the Todd Energy Aquatic Centre in the council’s Long-Term Plan.
He believed it was unlikely that the scooters would be removed again and more could eventually be introduced.
“I feel they are here to stay because the demand is there. It’s getting people with mobility issues out there and into the park and areas of the park they might not have been able to see before.
“The NPDC recognises there is a need for them and for the public who have mobility issues.”
Age and disability advocate Lance Girling-Butcher said he was thrilled that that the scooters have been brought back.
“They’re just a logical way to get around the park,” he said.
“With the sort of processes involved, it will be emphasised that they need to be considerate to other park users.
“I’m sure to have the ability in your own way and speed is going to be quite attractive.”
NTMW, MARCH 20, 2019
WORK ON TERRACES WELL UNDER WAY
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The $550,000 Pukekura Park terraces upgrade is well under way and is set to be completed in the middle of the year. This week, diggers and cranes worked atop the terraces and new wooden cladding was installed at the New Plymouth sports ground. “NPDC is putting in new facing walls on the south and east terraces and the project is on time and on budget,” New Plymouth District Council chief operating officer Kelvin Wright said. The work began in January and has been scheduled around sports games to keep disruption to a minimum, he said.
TDN, MARCH 25, 2019
BRIDGES IN NEED OF REPAIR
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Eighty-five per cent of the bridges in New Plymouth’s parks are in need of repair, a district council committee has been told.
Last week’s Te Huinga Taumatua Committee meeting, which began with a moment’s silence for the victims of the mosque shootings in Christchurch, funding approval for a backlog of $505,000 worth of work was discussed for 63 of the council’s 74 park bridges.
“In order to remain safe, a high proportion of this (work) is classified as either high or urgent, which means it should be carried out within three months or twelve months respectively,” infrastructure manager David Langford told the committee.
Under current funding levels, the full work would take 13 years, but there is a risk the actual costs may come out higher than the $505k, he said. “We currently have 29 bridges which need high priority repairs and this includes a number of bridges in Pukekura Park, including Poet’s Bridge, the bridge near the water wheel and the bridge by the boatshed.”
The repairs include deck beams, hand rails, corroded bolts and fixings, repairs to foundations and undermining, and full replacement of certain bridges. The report, prepared by Langford, said that prior to July 2018 the council had no routine programme of inspecting any of the parks’ structures other than general observations made by staff when carrying out their normal operational duties.
“Going forward, parks bridges will be subject to a general inspection once every two years and a full detailed structural inspection once every six years.”
The idea to only do urgent work, and give some of the rest of the funding to the reinstatement of the steps at Back Beach, was raised, but chief executive Craig Stevenson said it was possible to do both.
Changes are also being made to annual renewals and maintenance budgets to ensure future repairs are not deferred. The committee recommended that council approve the full $505,000 be allocated, which would see the repairs completed within 18 months.
TDN, MARCH 26, 2019
CONSERVATION IDEA FOR CITY’S FREE ZOO
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Farm animals at New Plymouth’s free zoo could be replaced with native species as part of a new focus to help conservation, a report suggests.
New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) brought in a consultant, at a cost of $13,000, to consider the future of the Brooklands Zoo, and his ideas include breeding native species for release back into the wild.
This could see the farm animals replaced with native species such as giant weta, tuatara, lizards and skinks, blue duck and other birds such as kakariki (New Zealand parakeet), North Island kaka and ruru (morepork).
However, the proposal is only a draft discussion and there are no definite plans in place, council’s group manager of strategy Liam Hodgetts said in an emailed statement.
Other ideas for the zoo, which is owned and operated by NPDC, include a cafe/gift store, an education centre for school groups, interactive displays, a Maori carved entrance with a motion-sensored voiceover, establishing a conservation trust and animal-themed playground equipment.
“Brooklands Zoo has been free since it opened in 1965. No entry fee has been considered,” Hodgetts said.
“Any eventual zoo developments would be put out for public consultation and considered in the next Long Term Plan.
“About 113,000 people visit each year and we want to make sure it stays popular and relevant.”
Other proposals include a learning outside the classroom (LOTC) teacher or using Puke Ariki museum educators, extended hours during daylight saving and a parking and bus zone.
All the proposals are to align with the goal “to refocus the Brooklands Zoo, at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, into a Taranaki-focused, globally relevant centre for selected species of fauna and flora, conservation and restoration education”.
The next steps in 2019 will be to discuss the concept with current stakeholders and partners, create a development group to oversee the project and developing a brief that will inform a feasibility study including costs, drawings and development options.
TDN, MAY 21, 2019
LEGLESS LIZARD’S NEW HOME
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Marcella, a female scheltopusik, has come from Wellington Zoo and will be meeting the public at her habitat next to the Brooklands Zoo barn building this weekend.
The European legless lizard is the latest species to join New Plymouth District Council’s inner-city New Plymouth zoo and while Marcella looks like a snake she has two very tiny stubs of legs at the base of her tail. Unlike a snake, she also has eyelids and earholes.
Marcella is the second new species to make a home at Brooklands Zoo this year, after the successful introduction of two red-rumped agouti, large South American rodents, in February.
Council external relations manager Jacqueline Baker said scheltopusik usually ate insects, but keepers had also discovered Marcella liked her veges, especially mashed up fresh peas.
Marcella’s parents came from Amsterdam to Wellington Zoo, where she was found as an egg in November 2017. She hatched on 22 January last year.
TDN, JUNE 18,2019
KAMBA AND KOBE’S NEW HOME
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TDN, JUNE 26, 2019
LAKE SLUDGE TO BE REMOVED AFTER 23 YEARS
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More than 20 years after they were last cleared of built-up sludge, a ‘Swiss Army knife’ has been brought in to clean the lakes at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
A Truxor Clean Stream machine, imported from Sweden by the council’s winning contractor, will be trialled over the next couple of weeks.
While it is natural for the lakes to fill up with silt, in some areas the sludge is almost breaking the surface.
The machine, which uses biodegradable oil, takes the sludge out of the lake so it can be separated from the water. The clean water is then returned to the lake and the sludge is dried out and taken away.
“It’s a Swiss Army knife,” Cole Glasgow, of Glasgow Contractors, which won the tender to do the work, said. “It’s even got a heated seat for the Swedes.”
New Plymouth District Council, which owns and manages the park, would not reveal the cost of the tender due to commercial sensitivity. But there is total budget of $2.45 million for the work in the council’s Long Term Plan.
The silt has not been cleared since 1996, with an attempt in 2013 failing spectacularly when a botch-up saw tonnes of the mud removed only to be pumped back in again.
The council then declined to retender the work, with some councillors labelling the lakes “just a duck pond”, and instead the matter was put into the Long Term Plan basket.
The matter has been debated for some years and the Friends of Pukekura Park have often called for action for the “jewel in New Plymouth’s crown”, particularly with odour issues in summer.
With the budget approved, the council could move ahead, parks curator Kristian Davies said.
They had been looking more for the right methodology and technology so the job could be completed, rather than price.
But they probably ended up with the lowest cost as well, Davies said.
From next week the contractors will carry out some trials and, all going well, move on to the main contract. The work will take another two years to complete because it can only take place in winter.
TDN, AUGUST 7, 2019
DE-SLUDGING TRIAL AT PARK A SUCCESS
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The trial run to de-sludge the waterways of New Plymouth’s most famous park has been successful, the district council says.
The Truxor Clean Stream machine, imported from Sweden by the New Plymouth District Council’s (NPDC) winning contractor, Glasgow Contracting, had a trial run in Pukekura Park last month and infrastructure manager David Langford said it worked better than expected.
The machine, which uses biodegradable oil, takes the sludge out of the lake so it can be separated from the water. The clean water is then returned to the lake, while the sludge is dried out and taken away.
In an emailed statement, Langford said council was working towards rolling this out next year. The project would be completed over two years to minimise disruption to park users and aquatic life. “It’s important we get this right which was why we carried out this thorough trial.”
NPDC, which owns and manages the park, did not reveal the cost of the tender because of commercial sensitivity, but there is a total budget of $2.45 million for the work in the council’s Long Term Plan.
The silt has not been cleared since 1996, with an attempt in 2013 failing spectacularly when a botch-up saw tonnes of the mud removed only to be pumped back in again.
While it is natural for the lakes to fill up with silt, in some areas the sludge is almost breaking the surface. The fore-bays, which were put in as filters, have filled up and stopped working.
Once cleared, council should not have to dredge the main lakes for some time.
2020
TDN, JANUARY 15, 2020
TREE FALLS AT BOWL OF BROOKLANDS
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An investigation is under way after a 120-year-old horse chestnut tree, the last of its kind in New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands, came crashing down less than a month before 15,000 people are set to fill the venue for a concert by the band Six60.
The tree, on the hillside of the tree-lined natural amphitheatre, came down some time overnight on Tuesday.
By 8.30am on Wednesday a New Plymouth District Council team was assessing the fallen tree and preparing to cut it into smaller pieces for removal.
Council workers at the scene were not allowed to talk to reporters but, in a written statement, council external relations manager Jacqueline Baker said initial investigations show the tree had internal decay.
“It’s early days and our investigation continues but it looks like there may have been decay inside the tree,” she said. “This tree appeared in good health with a full canopy, no cracks, and, as all gardeners will know, it’s difficult to spot decay inside a tree.”
It was the only remaining horse chestnut tree in Pukekura Park and Baker said it was a “sad loss”.
The Bowl had been due to host a concert on Saturday featuring 1970s bands such as KC and The Sunshine Band, but the promoters of A Summer’s Day Disco cancelled the nationwide tour back in December.
On February 1, the Bowl is set to be packed for the sold-out Six60 concert, and Baker said the tree would have no impact on the event.
The council has an ongoing assessment programme to manage the quality of trees in the park, which it checks daily, Baker said.
“Our team has an ongoing tree monitoring programme in place and it’s business as usual for all events at the Bowl, with public safety coming first.”
An arborist, who did not want to be named, said it was hard to detect whether a tree had internal decay but there was a density test, which involves hitting the trunk with a mallet and listening for a hollow sound that signifies a problem.
“For a tree like that to fall over, it would have had to have a significant amount of internal rot in it.”
The hot and dry weather, along with heavy rain and wind would also have an influence on the condition of the trees.
“As an arborist, I’ve always said if I went to the Bowl of Brooklands and it was raining or windy, I would not sit under any of those trees.”
A large hole at the base of the tree will be filled in and grassed over and a cordon will be in place for the next few months so the grass can grow.
Like other trees in the park, the horse chestnut was a popular place for visitors to find shade.
It was also a much-needed source of sun cover at the three- day music, arts and dance festival, Womad NZ, which takes place from March 13 to 15.
The Taranaki Arts Festival Trust, which runs Womad, declined to comment on whether the tree will affect Womad and its health and safety guidelines.
In 2018, the council removed large pines at the entrance to Brooklands Park off Brooklands Rd after several branches had fallen off.
Baker urged the public to get in the touch with the council at enquiries@npdc.govt.nz or 759 6060 if they see any tree damage or have concerns.
TDN, JANUARY 21, 2020
ASSESSMENT OF PARK’S TREES FOLLOWS COLLAPSE
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The unexpected collapse of a 120-year-old tree at New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands has prompted health checks on others in the area.
Since the horse chestnut, the last of its kind in Pukekura Park, was found toppled on January 8, a New Plymouth District Council-employed arborist and an independent specialist have assessed the trees within the park, NPDC acting chief operating officer Teresa Turner said.
“They suggested removing a small puriri tree and two ponga as a precaution, as well as pruning and removing epiphytes, such as small ferns, growing on some trees and further monitoring of other trees,” Turner said in an emailed response to questions.
Initial investigations showed the tree had fallen due to internal decay, and further analysis concluded that was the cause of its collapse.
The tree, which stood on the hillside, had no outward signs of poor health, which can make internal decay hard to spot, Turner said.
It came down less than a month before 15,000 people are due to fill the venue for a sold-out concert by pop band Six60.
The wood has since been mulched and will be used in NPDC’s parks and reserves.
In response to whether NPDC has a risk register on trees in the area, Turner said staff identified work needed on trees in their every day duties around Pukekura Park’s 52-hectares and through regular inspections, rather than with a register.
NPDC has mentioned an ongoing assessment programme to manage the quality of trees in the park.
When asked what the checks involved, Turner said staff are trained to notice changes such as a lack of vigour, a thinning canopy at the top of the tree or fungal growth.
TDN, JANUARY 27, 2020
HOLY TREE CUT DOWN
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Caption: Ramitha Fernando and Tiran Mendis with the damaged Buddhist holy tree in Pukekura Park. GLENN JEFFREY/STUFF
Vandals have cut down a sacred Buddhist holy tree gifted to Pukekura Park in New Plymouth.
The Bodhi tree, or “Enlightenment tree”, was gifted by the Chief Monk in New Zealand, Venerable Walgama Munindrawansa Nayaka Thero, in October 2012, but over the weekend it was hacked at its root and had branches lopped off.
Tiran Mendis, a member of the Sri Lankan Buddhist community, said he was very disappointed.
“What was the point? It is just a tree. But it’s not an ordinary tree. It belongs to our religion.
“At the moment this is the icon for Buddhist people in New Plymouth. The people come here and worship this tree and make vows.”
Buddhist community spokesman Ramitha Fernando said he was shocked when someone rang yesterday to tell him about the damage.
He regularly goes to the park and waters the tree and said he would be contacting park staff today.
“I’m not going to even touch it, because it was a gift to the park so the park is responsible to look after it.”
The tree was first planted on private property in Urenui until it was gifted to Pukekura Park.
The tree then spent time in the fernery before being planted out in May 2016.
Fernando said he had worried that something could happen to the tree and offered to pay for a fence to surround it as it grew, but was not given permission.
“The park people chose this place for protection from the big trees, so it doesn’t get the frost.”
Buddha received enlightenment under a bodhi tree and also passed away under the tree, he said.
There are about 74 families in the Buddhist community in New Plymouth.
“It is very significant for us,” Fernando said.
TDN, JANUARY 29, 2020
CUTTING WILL BE USED TO REPLACE VANDALISED HOLY TREE
A holy tree vandalised in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park is set to be replaced with a cutting, the district council says.
Over the weekend, the bodhi tree, or “Enlightenment tree” for the Buddhist faith, was snapped almost in half at the base of the trunk trunk and branches were ripped off.
It was initially thought that the damage had been inflicted with an implement, but the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) has confirmed that this was not the case.
The holy tree was gifted by the Chief Monk in New Zealand, Venerable Walgama Munindrawansa Nayaka Thero, in October 2012.
The NPDC staff have taken cuttings, while the damaged trunk will be staked in place, just in case the cuttings don’t take and more need to be taken.
“Any vandalism is upsetting and we feel for the Buddhist community over the loss of this special tree,” NPDC external relations manager Jacqueline Baker said in an emailed statement. “We have a number of significant trees in the park and it is very rare for them to be damaged. However, we will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
Buddhist community spokesman Ramintha Fernando previously told the Taranaki Daily News he had offered to pay for a fence to protect the tree but did not receive permission.
“We don’t put fencing around individual trees as this wouldn’t be in keeping with the design and ambience of the park, while another factor is we are constantly juggling competing priorities for budget while balancing the need to keep rates affordable,” Baker said.
Fernando said he had called the council on Monday morning to report the vandalism.
“I’m really happy with the response they actually gave to me,” he said.
People had wanted to go and help repair the tree but he said he had told them to leave it to the park.
The tree was first planted on private property in Urenui until it was gifted to Pukekura Park. It then spent time in the fernery before being planted out in May 2016.
There are about 74 families in the Buddhist community in New Plymouth.
According to Buddhist history, Siddhartha Gautama became deeply absorbed in meditation under the Bodhi tree and finally achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha.
TDN, MAY 22, 2020
LAKE DREDGING BEGINS AT PARK
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New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park waterways are undergoing a winter clean-up which will benefit vegetation and fishlife – as well as park users’ noses.
New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) has begun desilting the waterways for the first time since 1996, using a Swedish-made dredge to suck up tonnes of rotting vegetation.
The budgeted $2.45 million, two-year project started recently after trials were carried out last year. The one-person Truxor amphibious dredge uses biodegradable oil to remove sludge and separate out the water.
The sludge is dried and disposed of, and the water is returned to the lakes.
NPDC infrastructure manager David Langford said the park was a rare urban habitat for native fish and plants.
The lakes are home to eels (tuna), freshwater crayfish (koura) and small carp as well as bird species such as little shag (kawau paka) and paradise shellduck (putangitangi).
Previous attempts to desilt the lakes have incurred technical problems, including in 2003 when the sludge was removed and then mistakenly returned to the lake.
TDN, AUGUST 6, 2020
TWO-YEAR LAKE CLEANING PROJECT BEGINS
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Desludging of the lakes in New Plymouth’s most famous park is under way.
As lakes go, Pukekura Park’s are on the murky side and the last time New Plymouth District Council tried to clean them, in 2013, the $2 million job was abandoned as stinky sediment ended up mistakenly being pumped back in.
The 2020 lake clean-up is part of a $2.45m water quality project at the park.
The machines, imported from Sweden by Glasgow Contracting, began clearing sludge from the main lake this week. The contractors have already cleaned up the ponds at Bowl of Brooklands and the waterway along Struan Walkway.
Called the Trexor Clean Stream, the desludgers chug along like home built tugboats, puttering across the lake before sitting in place and dredging up muck. The machines suck up the silt and water, which is then mixed with an agent that causes the silt to settle. The clear water can then be pumped back into the lake.
Kade Glasgow, a director of Glasgow Contracting, said if both desludging machines were working it was possible to remove 100 cubic metres a day. If everything went to plan.
On Wednesday morning, a twisted piece of metal got stuck in the front of the machine and had to be cleared before dredging could resume.
At this stage the machines will be at the park until early Summer, he said.
Across the whole park, there was 17,000cum of silt to remove – more than six Olympic-sized swimming pools. For the main lake it was 8600cum.
In 2014, following the failed desludging project, district councillors argued over whether to re-tender the work.
Several said the lakes did not warrant the spending as they were “duck ponds”. The council declined to retender the project but left it to the Long-Term Plan.
Apart from a trial run last year, the silt has not been cleared since 1996.
The current project will be completed over two years to minimise disruption to park users and aquatic life.
TDN, NOVEMBER 25, 2020
SILT REMOVAL FUNDING NEEDED
More money will be needed to finish the job of desilting the lakes in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, the district council says.
The work is part of a two-year, $2.45m water quality project at the park, and follows complaints of bad smells from the water on hot days.
At a recent meeting, councillors were told that about 60 per cent of the desilting work had been completed.
“Whilst the approved budget will be sufficient to substantively achieve the project outcome of addressing the summer time odour issues, it will not be sufficient to desilt the lakes in Pukekura Park,” the report to last week’s New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) Strategic Projects Committee said.
“The budget for this project was set as part of the 2018 Long-Term Plan prior to a suitable methodology being agreed, and before the quantity of silt that needs to be removed was assessed.”
In a statement, NPDC manager of infrastructure and assets David Langford said the $2.45m was always to get the project under way.
The money included trialling a Truxor dredge machine imported from Sweden.
The machine takes the sludge out of the lake so it can be separated from the water, dried out and taken away.
“We’re very pleased with the progress with about 6500 cubic metres of sludge removed and about 60 per cent of the desilting now complete,” Langford said.
But it was never the intention to remove all the silt, which forms part of the ecology of the lake, he added.
The project is now on hold for the summer, and the next step will be to consider additional funding in the upcoming 10-Year Plan to get the job finished.
The report said ways of enhancing the lakes’ ecological habitats and better managing silt build-up will be suggested for next year’s Long-Term Plan (LTP).
“The work done so far has made a big difference to the water quality and their habitats,” Langford said.
“We’ll be monitoring the ecosystem to check for any changes and we’re considering more sustainable ways to maintain the water quality, but we haven’t made any decisions yet.
“An on-going regular maintenance programme will be introduced to avoid major build-up of silt and keep things at a manageable level.”
2021
TDN, JANUARY 9, 2021
WATCHDOG FEARS FOR PARKS’ ANCIENT TREES
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A watchdog group says New Plymouth’s Brooklands and Pukekura parks are paying a heavy price for their popularity and it is calling for boardwalks to protect ancient pukatea trees in the reserve. The Friends of Pukekura Park say the roots of the swamp-dwelling pukatea – which need to be aerated – are being trampled under the feet of the thousands of visitors to the park, which includes the Bowl of Brooklands concert venue.
Up to 100,000 people visit the annual TSB Festival of Lights, while the 15,000 capacity Bowl of Brooklands has hosted Womad for more than a decade, as well as huge crowds for Six60, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac and Sir Elton John.
According to botanist and Friends of the Park member Lynn Bublitz, pukatea in the Maranui gully access to the Bowl were suffering as a result.
“There are a whole lot of trees there which have aerial roots and need that oxygen. And the track … the heavy walking on the track has quashed the soil to the point that there’s no air in it, so I think that in parts you might need a boardwalk so you’re not compressing the soil.”
Bublitz said tree cover in the Maranui gully had become thin, as trees had died or been brought down by council arborists.
He said it was part of a wider problem in the 52-hectare park, which included remnants of ancient forests.
“Maturing and senescence and death and decay of a tree is part of the natural process, but I think we and what I’m concerned about is that we don’t want to hurry that process up by removing trees when they don’t need to be removed.
“There might be a better way, changing the path or doing something else.”
Friends of Pukekura Park president Adrienne Tatham is a great-granddaughter of Newton King, a local businessman who bequeathed Brooklands to the city in 1934.
“It was my playground. We all had pocket knives and we’d cut the supplejack and swing across the gully,” she said.
Tatham said the culling of trees sometimes had unexpected consequences.
“There’s recently been an example where they took some conifers out from the morgue behind the Gables and that released a tree that they wanted to keep as a specimen tree but the wind came in and ripped that out. Just took the lot. Right down to just below ground level.
“Removal of trees because they are a little bit diseased or the current curator or the staff think they should take it out for some other reason opens up a gap and then the wind comes in, swirls around and does a lot more damage.”
Tatham would like to see any notable trees that require culling replaced – and if possible – by a sapling propagated from the same plant.
The district council said there was no evidence the Maranui pukatea were being affected by foot traffic, but that some have had a fungal disease.
It was not considering installing boardwalk there, but had previously done so in other areas of the park where trees had needed protection.
When it came to removing trees, the council said its arborists had to balance the health of the trees against public safety, and sought independent advice if necessary.
Meanwhile, Bublitz was keen to remind council of the treasure entrusted to its care 144 years ago when the Taranaki Provincial Government was first convinced to buy 12 hectares of “wasteland” as a recreational reserve.
“We’re in the upper end of Brooklands Park in an ancient remnant forest and I think the trees here are probably a thousand years old or older, and there are not many cities in the world which can boast a primeval forest in its centre.
“So I think what we’ve got to do is to ensure its protection which means a light hand [form of] control.”
The TSB Festival of Lights continues at Pukekura Park through to January 31 while the Bowl of Brooklands hosts chart- toppers L.A.B tonight, and then the Auckland Symphony Orchestra’s Synthony production, Six60 and Crowded House over the summer. – RNZ
TDN, JUNE 11, 2021
NO MORE CASH FOR LAKE CLEANUP
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Pukekura Park is often described as the jewel in New Plymouth’s crown, but a two-year, $2.56 million cleanup job on its lakes hasn’t left them shining quite as brightly as their champions had hoped.
A report on the work to New Plymouth District Council’s strategic projects committee states the dredging project saw the removal of 70 per cent of the silt buildup from the park’s lakes, resulting in an improvement in the “health” of the waterways.
However, because of “budget restrictions”, the popular Main Lake was only partially dredged, while the Fountain Lake wasn’t dredged at all during the operation in 2019 and 2020.
The result, which the report is wary of terming a success, is not good enough for Adrienne Tatham, a long-time member of Friends of the Park, a group formed 22 years ago due to the poor state of the Pukekura lakes.
“We’ve got a job half done,” she said. “We’ve got millions of dollars spent on what they did do. It was very successful, what they did, so it looks good, but it just won’t last.”
Tatham petitioned the council during the long-term plan submissions to “finish the job”, but her pleas for an extra $1.2m for that work did not make it into the spending plan.
The man-made lakes, which are fed by dozens of springs, are prone to silting up due to stormwater runoff from roads, footpaths and residential housing. In summer, the silt has been known to lead to unpleasant odours, and detract from the visual beauty of the lake.
While overall water clarity has improved, silt is clearly visible in Fountain Lake and in areas above Poet’s Bridge on the main lake.
Attempts to clean the lakes up in the 1970s and in 2013 did not go smoothly.
A 2013 effort, costing $500,000, saw silt removed from the lake inadvertently pumped back in by the contractor and had to be aborted.
This “affected the council’s reputation negatively”, states the report to next Wednesday’s meeting of the committee.
That the latest attempt was completed within five per cent of the approved $2.45m budget, with no issues of bad odour from the lakes last summer, “could be considered a success”, added the report, which was released this week.
But confirming this “success” and any associated benefits was difficult “because of the lack of a business case for the project”.
The report said an area on the western side of the main lake, below Poet’s Bridge, was not dredged in order to protect a population of freshwater mussels. It even features a picture of the bivalves with a set of car keys “included for scale”.
The report also states the silt trapping “forebays” at Struan Dell and Bowl lakes are working well in keeping silt out of the main lakes, and that the dredging project, which used an amphibious “Truxor” machine, was a demonstration of a successful method.
The council could consider additional funding for the dredging of the main lake above Poet’s Bridge, and the Fountain Lake now that there was a proven way to remove the silt, it added.
New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom said he thought the lakes’ quality was significantly improved by the project, but councillors had to prioritise what was included in the long-term plan.
More dredging was not on the cards. “We just don’t have funding available to do that work,” he said. “As somebody who goes through the park two or three times a week, I think the park’s looking good and I think the issues raised have largely been dealt with.”
TDN, OCTOBER 23, 2021
UPGRADE PLANS FOR BRIAN BELLRINGER PAVILION
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Plans are under way to upgrade Pukekura Park’s dated Brian Bellringer Pavilion to attract higher level cricket matches.
Built as a single-storey building in 1924, it saw significant upgrades in the 1950s and 1980s. Further planned developments 10 years ago fell on deaf ears but it was dripped fed funds for small upgrades.
A working group was formed and includes representatives from the Taranaki Cricket Association (TCA), building owner New Plymouth District Council and park users to assess its options.
TCA operations manager and group member Travis Stewart said the current pavilion is not fit for purpose and has severe structural issues.
“The working group have identified three possible locations for a new pavilion and are currently awaiting some concept drawings from the architect,” he said.
It’s not clear yet where the locations at the picturesque ground are or costings. The group is also discussing potential redevelopments for the park as part of the development plan.
“That will go out for public consultation sometime in the new year.”
Pukekura Park struggles to attract international men’s cricket given its short boundaries and lack of facilities. It is a popular venue for Central Districts matches in the one-day and Twenty20 domestic formats.
Once work is complete, Stewart said the intention is to gain higher- level matches.
TCA’s website says 20 match days were scheduled at Pukekura Park last season, and the pavilion was likely used for those.
Community organisations also use the building and it is a meeting place for running groups.
It is named after TCA life member and long-time administrator Brian Bellringer, who died in 2012.
Expansion of the Sulzberger Indoor Centre on Hobson St is also on the cards. Currently, the facility doesn’t allow for full run-ups for bowlers.
Stewart said neighbour New Plymouth Boys’ High School is happy for TCA to use more land towards the city end of the building.
Other sports will also benefit from the expansion.
“We’re also working collaboratively with the Taranaki Turf Trust as there are no changing rooms available to hockey teams. The extension will include four changing rooms on the end.”
A plan will be presented to a facilities steering group in the coming months.
Winter work is preferred to avoid clashes with team trainings and pre-season, Stewart said.
2022
TDN, MARCH 5, 2022
OTTER SIBLINGS SET TO MAKE A SPLASH AT ZOO
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You otter be in love with the new mammals at Brooklands Zoo.
Five sisters, aged one and two, are now splashing and dashing their way around the zoo’s enclosure having arrived safely in New Plymouth after a flight over the ditch from the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.
It’s been more than two years since Brooklands Zoo has housed otters and their absence had been noticed, New Plymouth District Council zoo lead Eve Cozzi said.
“Otters are hugely popular among our visitors and we’re frequently asked if we’re ever getting more of them – really, they’re the superstars of all our animals,” she said.
The one and two-year-old small-clawed otters, the smallest members of the otter family, have already been named Katara, Rani, Suki, Luna and Akira.
Visitors to the zoo will find them between the capuchin and cotton-top tamarin monkeys.
Cozzi said the otters were highly social and communicate with each other by noise and scent.
TDN, MARCH 26, 2022
CYCLE TRACK A LONG-TERM OPTION FOR PUKEKURA PARK
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Building a commuter track for cyclists around the outskirts of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park is likely to be one option put out for public consultation in the near future.
Despite it being banned by the New Plymouth District Council, the pathways through the park are popular with cyclists, especially among students who for generations have been biking the tracks to get to and from school.
Although it is banned, the council does not issue infringement notices to cyclists who ignore the rule.
A council spokesman said it prefers instead to stop and educate anyone on a bike as to the potential danger to pedestrians in the park.
Plans for a potential commuter track are part of the Pukekura Park draft management plan due to go out for public consultation.
The council will not release any details about what exactly was contained in the plan until then, but the commuter track is included along with a potential new pavilion for the cricket ground and improvements to the Bowl of Brooklands.
“We’re working on a plan and we’ll be asking the public for their feedback,” NPDC acting group manager of planning Juliet Johnson said in a written response.
“Early investigations indicate that we need to ensure the park’s walking tracks remain safe for pedestrians,” she added.
“One of the questions we’ll be asking is what locals feel about cycling in the park and whether there’s a need for a dedicated commuter route along the park’s outer edge.”
The council have been using working groups with the park’s stakeholders over a period of time and have asked representatives of those groups not to discuss any plans in public until it has gone out for consultation.
However, members of the Friends of Pukekura Park have said privately they would not support any cycle track within the park given the importance they put on pedestrian safety.
Taranaki Cricket Association chairman John McElroy said they had also agreed not to talk publicly about a replacement centre for the earthquake prone Bellringer Pavilion, which is aged and no longer fit for purpose under New Zealand Cricket’s warrant of fitness regulations for first class and List A matches.
However, plans have been drawn up by New Plymouth firm Boon with three potential sites identified – above the caretaker’s rooms where the women’s toilet block is situated, the vacant Dell corner and the existing players’ entrance.
McElroy did stress, however, that any new pavilion would be a community facility and not solely cater for cricket.
He did not know what any potential cost would be or any potential timeframe, other than to say it was “overdue” by at least five years.
The extent of any improvements to the Bowl of Brooklands also remains unclear.
In the NPDC’s long-term plan, which covers project funding through until 2031, there is no reference to Pukekura Park or Bowl of Brooklands in its parks and open space’s category, apart from the $3.6 million set aside for the Brooklands Zoo strategic implementation.
TDN, MARCH 29, 2022
LOW LAKES WON’T LAST
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The lakes at New Plymouth’s renowned Pukekura Park might not be picture perfect at the moment, but the low water level will not last for long.
Park visitors are greeted with more mud and sludge than water, and at the weekend the man- made waterfall was waterless.
The New Plymouth District Council, which drained the lakes, said they should be returned to normal in about three weeks.
That’s after contractors have reinforced the outlet stream with boulder walls and created a safe passage for fish.
The reinforcing was necessary because areas had been scoured out over the years, and a large hole had been created when a tree fell in the stream, the council’s Pukekura Park lead, Kristian Davies, said.
There had been some complaints about the smell in some parts of drained main lake, but Davies said that was now disappearing.
Council staff would also take the opportunity while the lake was lowered to undertake some minor maintenance work, some weeding and some rubbish removal.
Meanwhile, Davies held no fears for the park’s ducks while the repairs took place.
“The ducks are having great fun feeding naturally on the mud banks,” he said.
“It could be difficult to throw any food far enough to reach the ducks, so maybe hold off until the lake levels rise again.”
TDN, APRIL 9, 2022
WILL A BIGGER BOWL BE BETTER
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A plan to explore increasing the capacity at the iconic Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth has been backed by one of the country’s leading concert promoters, who says it could be a game changer for attracting major international acts to the region.
The New Plymouth District Council is investigating what could be done to increase the capacity at the Bowl from 15,000 to 20,000.
The plan is among a raft of things the council is investigating, including building a permanent structure over the lake in front of the Bowl stage, increasing seating, improving the entrance and access routes to the venue, while also improving facilities for emergency services and staff.
Those options have been included in a lengthy questionnaire sent to members of the Friends of Pukekura Park.
When approached for comment, NPDC manager of planning Juliet Johnson said while the council had shared some draft ideas with the Friends of Pukekura Park, that was as far as it had gone.
“To be clear, we have not decided what will or won’t go out for public feedback,” she said.
“Therefore we do not have costings or design details as it is still very early days.”
Johnson said the council hoped to be in a position in the coming months to release potential plans for public consultation.
The Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth is one of the country’s most picturesque concert venues, beloved by locals and often commented on for its beauty by visiting artists.
A natural amphitheatre surrounded by mature trees, it has been hosting huge crowds for decades.
In 1967, a Kiri Te Kanawa concert there was attended by 15,000 people. New Plymouth locals still talk of The Seekers concert in 1968 that was attended by 17,500 people, a record that stood for more than 40 years.
More recently it has played host to such international and nationally famous music acts as R.E.M, Elton John, Six60, L.A.B, Jack Johnson, and Fleetwood Mac, who performed two soldout concerts there in 2009.
It is also the location for the annual three-day Womad festival.
And though it has been cancelled for the past two years, it is usually attended by as many as 17,000 a day.
One of the most striking features of the venue is a large but shallow lake in front of the stage.
For decades one measure of a concert’s success has been how many fans ended up singing along to songs while standing, or sometimes swimming, in the lake.
The lake has also been at the centre of some of the venue’s most memorable moments. In 2015, Irish singer Sinead O’Connor stopped her performance after she was interrupted by a duck that had been paddling in the lake.
While performing at the Bowl with Split Enz in the 1980s, Tim Finn took to a row boat in the lake to sing the hit single Dirty Creature.
While the council declined to go into more specific detail on potential changes, the questionnaire it sent out included specific options around reducing the lake width in front of the stage and building an event audience platform and bridge.
Leading New Zealand promoter Brent Eccles, who will bring multiple Grammy-award winning artist Lorde to the Bowl next year, said increasing the Bowl’s capacity would make it a far more attractive venue to the entertainment industry.
“It then becomes a destination venue where an artist can come and go if it is 20,000 – they can even play two nights,” he said.
“The stage is a lot better than a lot of people realise because it is big enough to put big productions in there.”
He believed trying to preserve the lake would not help the council attract major acts in the future.
“While it is beautiful to look at when the venue is empty, it is no fun trying to run a show there, especially as health and safety regulations come more into focus,” Eccles said.
“It is more and more of an issue. I have stood there and watched fans by the lake thinking any minute now someone is going in there and they are going to swallow something bad, get hurt or worse.
“We don’t want that to happen, no-one does.” From an artist’s perspective, Eccles said, most wanted to see the “whites of the audience eyes” and that was vice versa, with concert goers wanting to get as close as they could to band members. “If you have got a moat in between them, I think there are some artists now who will think that is quite a problem. To have water so close to a live stage, that is a problem.”
The council has been erecting temporary platforms across the lake for some concerts in the past few years but it would not divulge just how much it cost each time.
Eccles supported a permanent fixture. “If the council or city could handle not having that moat and instead built some infrastructure around the venue, that would be good. The venue is far from bad but it could do with some work.”
Other improvements he envisaged included designated access for production crews “so the big trucks can get in and out” without impediment, he said.
“I also think there are too many entrances to the venue, it should be limited to one, maybe two. At the moment there are four, which is a problem because you have to set up facilities for four and it is just too much. You have pedestrians and cars mixing, which is a no-no.”
While promoters were keen to see improvements made to the Bowl, history suggests there could be considerable pushback from some sectors.
In 2009, former Pukekura Park curator George Fuller led protests against improving road access to the back of the Bowl because it endangered native trees, including a 400-year-old puriri tree.
The improved access was promoted as vital to the venue’s future as it would allow production crews significantly safer and quicker access to the stage.
However, after weeks of protest action, including a petition and tree-side vigils, the council changed its plans and strengthened the existing road instead.
Friends of Pukekura Park president David Bruce declined to comment on what sort of reaction the latest proposals have had with its members. He was still waiting on feedback from the questionnaire before he would say anything.
Despite the entertainment industry being hit extremely hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and rumours abounding that New Zealand would pay the price for being slow to lift mandates and border restrictions, Eccles said there was no shortage of major international acts lining up to head to Australasia to perform.
“We can see the light on the horizon and with outdoor shows, we are opening up for business now. They are lining up, they are ready, waiting and willing,” he said.
“New Zealand does fall in with Australia and it is very rare for an artist to come and play in New Zealand only. They want to come here, it is a good market for them and it is also good money for them.”
TDN, JUNE 9, 2022
PUKEKURA PARK CHANGES – PUBLIC TO HAVE SAY ON PROPOSED
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A potential multi-million dollar makeover to key areas of New Plymouth’s famed Pukekura Park and Bowl of Brooklands is likely to go out for public consultation in less than a fortnight.
The discussion document – Our Pukekura Park, Guiding the next chapter – will go before the New Plymouth District Council’s strategy and operations committee next week for approval before the public will get a two-month window to provide feedback from June 17.
The document proposes a raft of improvements to the park, including terraced seating at the Bowl of Brooklands, a detachable platform to sit over the Bowl’s lake, a new community pavilion at the park’s sports field, revamping the historical Tea House, and creating an off-road commuter cycle track.
An environmental hub next to the zoo is also suggested. This could be used by groups and individuals to promote sustainability and feature classrooms and display gardens.
No costings have been carried out on any of the proposals, and if any of the high- ticket items were eventually approved by council, they would not be included in any budgets until the next long-term plan was approved in 2024.
NPDC manager planning Juliet Johnson said all the proposed improvements were designed to keep the character of the park while making it more modern and user-friendly.
She also stressed they were “flexible options” and public feedback was vital to giving the council an understanding of what the community wanted for the long-term future of the park’s spaces.
“We want to make sure that any potential developments enhance those parts of it that make it special,” she said.
Some options had already been canvassed with community groups such as Friends of Pukekura Park, who have previously objected to major changes at the Bowl of Brooklands.
However, increasing the Bowl of Brooklands’ capacity to 20,000 and temporarily sealing off the lake in front of the main stage would be welcomed by some of the country’s leading promoters who have publicly called for the changes.
“It then becomes a destination venue where an artist can come and go if it is 20,000 – they can even play two nights,” promoter Brett Eccles said.
Eccles, who is bringing multiple Grammy-award winning artist Lorde to the Bowl next year, also said promoters were now reluctant to stage shows when the lake was not covered due to health and safety reasons.
It costs the council $70,000 every time a temporary platform over the lake is constructed.
Other proposed improvements to the Bowl include the construction of an illuminated walkway near the racecourse entrance and the development of a plaza area near the main entrance.
Aside from the Bowl, another major feature of the proposal was the construction of a new community pavilion above the sports field where the staff equipment sheds and women’s toilets are housed.
It would replace Bellringer Pavilion which has major seismic issues, including a sinking floor.
The construction of a new pavilion has been front of mind for the Taranaki Cricket Association (TCA) for a number of years.
TCA chairman John McElroy said construction of a new community facility was needed urgently.
He hoped it could be done before the next long-term plan was adopted because he feared the park could potentially lose major association cricket in the interim owing to the poor state of facilities.
“It has been a very frustrating process,” he said.
“At the moment we are dependent on the tolerance levels of New Zealand Cricket.”
The proposed pavilion would be a short walk to the Tea House where the council proposes creating an all-weather dining option by building a period-style conservatory onto the north side while expanding the deck and installing lake facing seating.
Cannon Hill would also be upgraded with durable paths, terraced areas and seating installed along with the creation of dedicated look-out spots.
TDN, JUNE 16, 2022
PARK’S FUTURE UP FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION
The future of New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park is up for public discussion, and, the New Plymouth District Council is expecting plenty of submissions.
The council’s strategy and operations committee discussed car parking, law- breaking cyclists, and the dilapidated Bellringer Pavilion on Tuesday before approving the park reserve management plan for consultation.
It includes plans to build a new community pavilion for first-class and category A cricketers.
Currently, the Pukekura Park cricket ground is in serious danger of losing the right to host the sport because of the poor state of the Bellringer Pavilion.
Councillor Anneka Carlson suggested opening up the cricket grounds to the public so more people could enjoy them.
Cyclists were also discussed. Currently, they are not allowed on the park trails, but the plan could lead to bike commuters on the less used paths.
Councillor Gordon Brown said people were already cycling through the park—about 150 a day.
This led to councillor Murray Chong wondering why they were “letting cyclists get away with it”.
Councillor Chong proposed ticketing cyclists in the park, saying that “word will get around”.
The plan proposes to make restrictions on cycle use “much clearer”, with a firmer line on people riding in the park.
Parking was also discussed as the plan suggests excluding vehicles from the Fillis St entrance, but Councillor Chong said parking was needed inside the park.
He was also worried about costs.
“I think the park is great. I think we do need investment in it, but how are we going to afford it people, it’s another multimillion-dollar project.
“We’re worried about our rates doubling every 10 years – at this rate we’ll have it tripling every ten years.”
Mayor Neil Holdom said the park is “so many different things to so many different people, we want to make sure that we get this investment right”.
Councillor Gordon Brown approved of sending the plan out to the public.
“You mess with the jewel of the crown at your own risk,” he said.
Also going out for consultation is New Plymouth’s first major emissions reduction plan – part of the council’s climate action framework
The plan provides ideas on how council can help the community to lower emissions, with a focus on its own core business and responsibilities.
Council’s operations contribute 5% of the district-wide emissions
Through its long-term plan, NPDC identified areas to reduce emissions, including $2 million towards the planting of 34 hectares in native urban forest, and spending $800,000 on electrifying parts of its fleet of vehicles.
Mayor Neil Holdom said lower income and fixed income households were the most at risk in the transition and tax dollars and levies would be needed to help them make the switch.
TDN, DECEMBER 8, 2022
THE NEW GUARDIAN OF PUKEKURA PARK
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Outside Sheryl Clyma’s office stands a family of ducks peeking inside hoping for her to feed them again.
“Just ignore them,” she says.
The cute feathery colleagues are one of the perks of Clyma’s new job as the curator of New Plymouth’s world-class Pukekura Park.
Clyma describes the role as being a guardian of the park and says it is an incredible honour.
“We are so lucky that our forefathers . . . planned for this park and our role here as guardians of it is making sure for the next 50 years—that might be for your grandchildren—that this park is here for them to continue to enjoy.
“It has its special atmosphere because it is very unique, there is nothing like this in New Zealand, or actually in a lot of areas of around the world, it is very special, so I think we all just need to look after it and treasure it.”
The 52ha park, managed by the New Plymouth District Council, is in the centre of the city and is home to the acclaimed Bowl of Brooklands and Brooklands Zoo.
The park, which is the venue for the annual Festival of Lights and Womad festival, has an international Green Flag award and is a Garden of National Significance.
Clyma, who has taken over the curator role from Kristian Davies, was born and bred in New Plymouth and began her apprenticeship with the New Plymouth parks department when she left high school in 1982.
It was a four-year apprenticeship that saw her look after gardens around the district as well as in Pukekura Park.
In 1988, she left to have her family of three sons and when she returned to the work force it was as a horticultural instructor/ prison officer at the New Plymouth Prison, where she worked for 14 years.
“That was a fantastic job.
“They had vegetable gardens there, so I was working with the prisoners but I was trained as a prison officer as they were in my care.”
When the prison closed in 2013, a position as assistant curator at Pukekura Park came up which Clyma got and has been in until being promoted this year.
She says her job is about the day-to-day management of staff who look after the operations of the park and making sure everything is operating effectively, efficiently and safely to ensure the park keeps its beautiful atmosphere.
She is the first female curator of the park but Clyma says it is her skills that got her the job.
“I have got a real passion for plants. That is my whole life.
“My whole trade is plants, but I have also got a real passion for people. But, yes, my name will go down in history.”
2023
TDN, MARCH 29, 2023
POPULAR PARK BRIDGE SHUT FOR MAINTENANCE
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One of New Plymouth’s most iconic bridges has been closed for the next couple of months as it undergoes maintenance.
Poet’s Bridge, which crosses Pukekura Park’s main lake, will be wrapped up and taken out of view as it undergoes structural repairs to the steelwork and timber handrails before it is given a full repaint.
“We inspect all the park’s bridges every year to make sure they’re in good condition for the hundreds of thousands of visitors the park gets every year, and at the last inspection, we saw that Poet’s Bridge needs some work done on it,” New Plymouth District Council manager of parks Conrad Pattison said.
“The bridge is 85 years old and gets regular maintenance – it’s a special part of Pukekura Park, and we take great care of it.”
With Taranaki Maunga as a backdrop, Poet’s Bridge is one of the most photographed structures in the city from a view shaft next to the Pukekura Park kiosk.
Although not the original, which was built in 1884 after James Davis won a substantial bet on racehorse The Poet to win the Auckland Cup, the replacement bridge was modelled on the first structure.
It’s also a popular underpass for recreational rowers on the lake, although they too will have to wait until the maintenance work is competed before they are allowed back on the water.
A release from the council said it was also planning maintenance on the smaller Boat Shed Bridge, although that will only be closed for a week from May 12.
TDN, MARCH 30, 2023
AFTER 18 YEARS AT FERNERY, IT’S TIME TO SAY FAREWELL
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Walking around the Fernery looking at the display of beautiful flowers, Donna Christiansen reaches in and pulls out a potted plant that by her standards wasn’t looking quite up to scratch.
No-one else noticed, but for 18 years Christiansen has been keeping The Fernery and Display Houses in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park looking beautiful.
She gets emotional while talking about her time as Fernery co-ordinator, because after 18 years Christiansen is heading to Brisbane to be closer to her 89-year-old father.
It’s an enjoyable job, she said.
“It’s really nice to see people really enjoy what we do. That’s probably one of the nicest things about the job. Because it’s a very unique place. I’ve visited lots and lots of gardens around the world, conservatories, but, this is really unique in terms of the tunnels and the layout.”
Most conservatories are all on a single layer with plants permanently planted, whereas “we probably take out at least 100 plants a week and replace them.”
Christiansen doesn’t know how many plants they have, but guesses about 40,000.
Gardening has been her life since she left school. She owned the Girls’ Garden Centre on Devon St West for about 10 years, has worked at the park four times on different jobs and also worked at Tupare.
Along the way she has studied for a diploma and two certificates in different aspects of horticulture.
What has kept her gardening all these years is the enjoyment she gets from working outside, her passion for plants, and love of garden design.
“It’s a pretty stressful job because we’re open every day of the year except Christmas Day – and then we’ve still got to come in,” she said.
“We’ve got to check watering and things just to make sure everything’s OK. It’s making sure things look good all the time.”
TDN, JULY 10, 2023
BALL-PARK FIGURE $16.5m
Building a new cricket pavilion and developing a Fillis St entry plaza at Pukekura Park could cost up to $16.5 million.
The indicative cost range was included in the draft Pukekura Park reserve management plan scheduled to go before the New Plymouth District Council at an extraordinary meeting tomorrow.
Included in the plan were indicative costs for a range of other projects, including the construction of terraces at the Bowl of Brooklands ($7m-$8m), the building of a platform for the bowl lake ($3.5m-$4.5m) and additional improvements to Brooklands Zoo ($5.8m).
The council must decide tomorrow whether to approve the draft management plan to go out for a second round of public consultation.
If approved, consultation would be open for two months from Thursday, while there would be an opportunity for a submitter hearing on October 3.
The council would then decide on December 12 if the Pukekura Park reserve management plan was adopted.
The last plan was adopted in 2004 and has not been updated since.
Hundreds of people provided feedback during the first round of consultation, with the replacement of the Bellringer Pavilion and Fillis St upgrades coming out as the top priority.
There was unanimous acceptance that something needed to be done about Bellringer Pavilion, with most people supporting a new building.
The draft management plan reports that 1988 alterations to the pavilion compromised the structural integrity of the building.
“It has seismic issues, does not meet current building standards and the sub floors on the ground floor are deteriorating rapidly,” the report said.
“There are accessibility and capacity issues with the current building; and it no longer meets the requirements for first-class cricket.”
The report reinforced the view of New Zealand Cricket which had warned the council no more domestic or international fixtures would be played at Pukekura Park until new facilities were built.
“Council has looked at various options for these areas and facilities over the years, but no resolutions have ever been reached,” the report said.
“With the impending loss of first-class cricket status, and the recent assessment showing the full extent of the compromised structure of the pavilion, it is time to reassess this entire area of the park as part of the management plan review.”
As well as a new pavilion and plaza, there were also plans for a replacement dugout and digital scoreboard, with council providing an indicative cost of between $15.5m and $16.5m.
Meanwhile, feedback on the proposed terraced seating at the Bowl of Brooklands, as well as a detachable platform to sit over the bowl’s lake, from the first consultation period received a variety of opinions on the proposals.
However, almost all encouraged the retention of the existing special character, while there was majority acceptance of modifications to the steep slopes, but the design would need to fit into the current space.
In the draft management plan, the council re-affirmed the fact the Bowl of Brooklands capacity of 15,000 was 5000 shy of what promoters of large-scale acts want. Terrace seating would increase that capacity.
TDN, JULY 12, 2023
GUERRILLA GARDENING GROUP TACKLES WEEDY INVADERS AT PUKEKURA PARK
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Weed warriors David and Dot McKay are looking for others to join their battle against the plants that are taking over bush in Taranaki’s urban spaces.
The New Plymouth retirees and four friends head into Pukekura Park twice a week to tackle their nemesis: climbing asparagus, one of a range of pest plants that are invading the park’s bushy areas.
They’ve been weeding together for the past six years.
During that time, they’ve been reported to the council for “stealing” plants, turned down requests from passers-by for cuttings, and filled hundreds of wool bale sacks with bits of the weed.
Climbing asparagus has attractive ferny fronds and orange berries beloved by blackbirds, but it’s a tough vine that smothers the forest floor and understorey to 4 metres, and it can ringbark and kill shrubs and trees.
Since starting their mission to rid the park of it, the McKays see it everywhere they go.
Once, they spotted it during the region’s annual garden festival.
“We saw two plants in a festival garden, growing over a pergola,” Dot, a retired teacher, said.
The couple spend two mornings a week working in the park with four friends. They always enjoy a coffee together after they have filled a couple of wool sacks, David, a retired engineer, said.
They pull out the fronds and dig out the roots, because any little piece left behind can sprout again.
“It does keep one reasonably supple,” he said.
They enjoy working in the park, and talking to passers-by. “In August and September, we start to get really frenetic – we pull as much of it as we can before it starts to flower,” Dot said.
They know of various other groups of volunteer “weedbusters” working in Taranaki and in other regions, and they hope others will be inspired to adopt an area and tackle some weeds.
The problem of exotic weeds, many of them garden plants that have gone feral, was nationwide, she said.
The cost of paying for removal of the pest plants from the region’s parks and reserves would be eye-watering, she said.
The couple hoped to see the community rally against pest plants, in the same way that predator control had taken off.
“There’s a lot of retired people in our position looking for something to do. People enjoy getting out to help with plantings, but it is very hard to get them just to weed.”
Pukekura Park curator Sheryl Clyma said the six-member asparagus crew was one of three volunteer groups working at the park, along with some volunteers who had been targeting tradescantia, and the Friends of the Park who maintain the gardens at the Gables.
“The volunteers’ work is absolutely excellent. It’s very valuable for us at the park, and it’s a two-way street – its valuable for the volunteers to be contributing to the community and seeing the progress they are making.”
She said anyone interested in helping to clear problem weeds could contact the parks department through the New Plymouth District Council phone number.
TDN, OCTOBER 4, 2023
GUARDIANS URGE COUNCIL TO DO MORE TO PUKEKURA
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The guardians of the region’s most iconic park have seriously questioned the effectiveness of a management plan they say lacks essential details to preserve and sustain key native ecosystems and its world-famous fernery.
Friends of Pukekura Park president Sue Matehaere delivered a blunt assessment of the New Plymouth District Council’s draft reserve management plan at an extraordinary meeting yesterday.
Matehaere said the group believed the plan focused too heavily on the promotion of future events at the park and missed the mark when meeting its true purpose.
While she stressed the group was not a “stick in the mud” when it came to major events at the park, Matehaere said they could not support the plan in its current format.
She said the plan had vital information omitted about the future of the fernery, botanical records, key native ecosystems and plant and animal collections.
It has been almost 20 years since the last Pukekura Park reserve management plan was adopted.
Council staff worked for more than a year on the latest version, seeking input from key stakeholders and the public before sending a draft plan out for consultation.
Hundreds of people provided submissions, with the last public feedback given to council yesterday covering the whole plan, which included a proposed community pavilion at the sports ground, dedicated cycle lanes around the park, as well as improvements to the Bowl of Brooklands.
Before the plan was adopted, which was expected to happen in December, Friends of Pukekura Park want a working group set up with them, the curator, council managers and planners, iwi and Taranaki Cricket to evaluate the effectiveness of the previous plan.
Matehaere said the park was suffering from a lack of staff, and relied too heavily on volunteers to do essential work.
The group also want the council to employ an ecologist to work full-time in the park. The group’s submission was in stark contrast to Taranaki Cricket, with general manager Ryan Evans imploring the council to adopt it.
That would allow proposed work to potentially be included in the next long-term plan and allow external stakeholders to help find funding to support the proposed community pavilion.
Without the pavilion, the future of domestic cricket at the park remained in serious doubt and under a continued warning from the national body to get facilities upgraded.
Although no budget had been made for the proposed pavilion, indicative costings provided by council estimated it could cost $15 million.
“In this draft plan, we see an opportunity to continue and enhance the work we do and at the same time work towards something that can enhance and protect the legacy of Pukekura Park,” Evans said.
Taranaki Cricket believe a new community pavilion, as well as widening the field, developing a new plaza, a scoreboard and dugout could set the park up to not only continue to host top-level domestic matches, but also host international women’s matches while becoming a potential “home ground” for the White Ferns.
“We know that times are tight, for our people, the people of our community and also for the council,” Evans said.
However, Evans stressed the importance of the work, the fact that it would be widely used by community groups, and the fact Taranaki Cricket would be prepared to help fund it.
“I’m not standing here saying I’ve got a certain amount of money I can commit to it today, but I am saying that we recognise the need to have some skin in the game,” he said.
“The most important first step towards getting to the stage where we can approach funders is to approve this draft plan.”
TDN, NOVEMBER 18, 2023
PUKEKURA PARK WINS ELEVENTH ANNUAL GREEN FLAG AWARD
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Pukekura Park has been named one of the world’s best parks, after gaining an eleventh annual Green Flag in a row. The New Plymouth District Council park received the award after being assessed on 27 criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, sustainability, community involvement and providing a warm welcome. The council’s Pukekura Park lead Sheryl Clyma said the park was a local icon. “We know just how special it is, and the Green Flag award helps spread the word to people outside the country. “I’m proud of our skilled and dedicated team for maintaining this outstanding park for the public.”
TDN, DECEMBER 14, 2023
COUNCIL LOOKS AT OPTIONS TO CLOSE BROOKLANDS ZOO
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Closing New Plymouth’s popular Brooklands Zoo will form part of the public consultation into the district’s next 10-year budget after the council signed off the first stage of its draft long-term plan yesterday.
The council’s last meeting of the year stretched across Tuesday and yesterday as division between councillors wanting to save money and those largely happy with the draft long-term plan caused a debate on just what would go out for public feedback.
One of the most divisive subjects centred on veteran councillor Gordon Brown’s wish to take out $9 million of funding earmarked for Brooklands Zoo to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
Included in those standards would be creating new habitats for four otters, as it was no longer accepted zoo practice to look down on animals.
The cost of that alone would be $1.55m, a price Brown said he believed was unacceptable while the district suffered through tough economic times.
“Have a look at the cost of compliance, and if you think that is going to come down or cost less in the future, then I think we all know the answer to that, it’s not going to happen,” he said. “We are talking about extraordinary amounts of money.”
Brown said the costs of keeping the zoo open was “getting way out of whack” and it had got to the stage where the community could no longer afford it.
“What could we do with that money?” he asked. “When you are spending $9m on compliance for a zoo which, to be honest, in the grand scheme of things is not a great zoo.”
New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom led the fightback for the zoo, outlining the overwhelming positive public feedback it received during the drawing up of the latest Pukekura Park strategic vision document.
The zoo, which attracts more than 113,000 visitors annually, provided a vital free source of entertainment for the community, he said.
However, Brown found support from Murray Chong, who said New Plymouth would not become a backwater city like Whanganui if the zoo was closed.
“This would make our ratepayers think of the hard decisions we have to make,” he said.
Brown’s motion was eventually lost, although it was almost not debated at all after a majority of councillors did not realise they had already voted a section of the draft consultation about the zoo through.
It was not the only time several councillors became confused at the process.
“It appears people haven’t been familiar with the agenda or haven’t been paying attention and as a result people have voted on something they don’t understand,” he said. “In this rare instance, and it’s the first time I have had to do this in seven years, and I hope it’s the last, I’m proposing we reopen it.”
Earlier, Max Brough unsuccessfully moved several cost-saving initiatives to be taken out of the consultation document, including cutting off $400,000 funding to Venture Taranaki, cutting funding to community boards and upgrades to audiovisual equipment in the council chamber.
Chong then attempted to cut capital expenditure on the proposed Tūparikino Active Community Hub from $34.8m to $25m, and operating expenditure from $11.6m to $5m, which was overwhelmingly ruled out.
Attempts by Brough and Chong to reduce funding for the city centre strategy and proposed storage facilities for the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and Len Lye Centre were also lost.
The draft consultation document would go out to the public for feedback in February.
2024
TDN, MARCH 12, 2024
ZOO ONE OF ‘BIG CALLS’ IN COUNCIL PLAN
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Public consultation on the shape of the New Plymouth District Council’s 10-year plan will begin in less than a week, with a number of “big calls” identified as the main talking points.
The council will meet today to formally adopt the draft Long-term Plan 2024-34 before the plan heads out for feedback on Monday, March 18.
As was signalled in December, the plan forecasts an average rates rise of 9.9% for the first year. Future rises were expected to remain under 10%.
One of the “big calls” referred to in the plan document remains the future of the popular Brooklands Zoo, on which opinion is divided around the council table.
Veteran councillor Gordon Brown attempted in December to take out $9 million of funding earmarked for the zoo to ensure compliance with regulatory standards when the draft plan was developed last year.
New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom led the fight for the zoo, outlining the overwhelming positive public feedback it received during the drawing-up of the latest Pukekura Park strategic vision document.
The zoo, which attracts more than 113,000 visitors annually, provided a vital free source of entertainment for the community, he said.
Just where the public sits on the future of the zoo will be more clearly known after the consultation process closes on April 19.
The council is scheduled to meet in May to debate the final makeup of the 10-year plan.
As well as the zoo, councillors have identified a substantial increase in the renewal budget for transportation assets as another important issue.
Under the proposal, aimed at future-proofing the district, the budget would increase from $155m to $315m over the 10 years.
Saving for a disaster has also come out as a “big call”, with the council proposing an increase in a reserve fund of $500,000 a year.
Another fund the council was looking to establish was a “sustainable lifestyle capital reserve” using returns from the Perpetual Investment Fund.
The reserve would be used to help pay for future significant projects.
As well as the Brooklands Zoo, the public will be asked about the future of the Tūparikino Active Community Hub, which has gone through a major redesign process.
The final talking point was about whether there was an appetite to spend more than $16m on a replacement for the Bellringer Pavilion at Pukekura Park.
Included in the adoption of the draft 10-year plan was a return to council books of three waters projects after the National-led Government repealed the legislation that would have handed over responsibility for stormwater, wastewater and drinking water services.
TDN, MARCH 16, 2024
FROM COW GRAZING TO WOMAD
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Many years ago, Adrienne Tatham tried to learn to swim in the lake at the Bowl of Brooklands.
It was awful, Tatham, now 90, says of the lake at the now famous New Plymouth event venue.
“It stank. It was frightening. It scared me silly. If you walk into it, it’s that soft mud that seems to float up. And I hated it.”
Eight decades later, not much has changed in the Bowl lake, which is beloved by ducks and famous for the “fowl” stink it imparts on all those who dare to enter it.
But around the lake, everything has changed since Tatham tried her hand at swimming.
To start with, there’s a massive stage, and this weekend that stage will host the biggest acts of the three-day Womad festival, which has brought thousands of people flocking to the venue.
One hundred years ago, the Bowl of Brooklands was a quieter place, owned by Tatham’s grandparents, respected landowners Newton and Mary King.
Her father, Eliot King, and his siblings had learned to swim in the lake, Tatham said.
“In the end, I refused, and Dad took me to the salt water pools at Kawaroa, the session before school.”
The family also used to sail boats on the lake, she said. These were kept in a boathouse made of raupō, about where the stage is now. The oars were kept at the house.
“Grandma saw the high school boys coming and pinching the boats and floating around with flax sticks.
“She had a big gong, a big brass thing that Granddad had got from Egypt, and she banged it, and the high school boys ran for their lives.”
Newton King bought the land, 200 acres (80ha), in 1888 for six pounds 10 shillings an acre. He sold off 100 acres and kept the rest. A five-bedroom house was finished in 1898.
“When you go up Brooklands Park Drive, there is a little bend in it. That’s where the property began, and it went straight across behind the bowl. When you’re looking at the bowl, he planted that with natives. In the early days, you could see the buildings of the racecourse.”
The first plants were planted by Captain Henry King RN, who was not related to the Newton King family. A chimney from the captain’s house is still standing on the lawn near the bowl. That house burned down before Newton King bought the land and built his own house.
The King home had a sprung dancefloor that had its own heating, Tatham said.
“There were two layers of floor with about six inches in between, so the boards went one way on top and the other way underneath, so that area heated it. It was an American design. It must have been fabulous.”
After the house was pulled down, the elaborately carved staircase was taken and put into a house on Nobs Line, in New Plymouth.
The family must have got bits and pieces of the house, because one of her aunts had the kauri slates, Tatham said.
“They split so beautifully. They made such beautiful kindling.”
The house and land had been gifted to the then New Plymouth Borough Council after King died on July 27, 1927.
He left money as bequests to different parks, including Pukekura and Kawaroa parks in New Plymouth, but after the death duties were paid, there was no money left in the bank to maintain the property, Tatham said.
“So the trustees of the will negotiated with the New Plymouth Borough Council to gift Brooklands Park to the council.”
Mary King continued living in the house until her death in 1930.
The inland part of the estate was later sold, and became the Brooklands State Area.
This was Somerset and Kaimata streets around to Upjohn St, Tatham said.
The rest has remained in the ownership of subsequent councils, and later became the Bowl of Brooklands.
And this weekend, the bowl will be the main stage. But 100 years ago, cows grazed where people will be gathering during Womad.
“The paddock was the stock paddock, and they had their house cows in there. And the maid used to live in and keep house,” Tatham said.
First thing in the morning, the maid would milk the cow and bring the milk back to the house for breakfast.
When Tatham was growing up on Shortland St, she often went to the park and used to slide and toboggan down the steep hill that circles the area with the stage.
The other day, she was at the bowl, she said, and saw some kids rolling down the hill.
“And I said to them, ‘That’s what that’s for’. It’s not for terraces for concerts, it’s for kids to roll down. Where else can they do that?
TDN, MARCH 20, 2024
CRICKET ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONING $16.3M UPGRADE AT PUKEKURA PARK
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Taranaki Cricket is behind a full $16.3 million redevelopment of Pukekura Park’s battered Bellringer Pavilion and is encouraging its stakeholders to back the project.
Replacing the earthquake prone and not fit-for-purpose pavilion is just one option where the public can have their say as part of the New Plymouth District Council’s draft $4 billion 10-year plan.
The current building, built in 1924, has seismic issues, does not meet current building standards and no longer meets the requirements for first class cricket.
Taranaki Cricket general manager Ryan Evans was pleased the pavilion project was included as an option in the long-term plan.
“Pukekura Park is an important place to our passionate cricket community here in Taranaki and we’re working on a few initiatives to make sure as many of them as possible can have their voices heard through this process,” he said.
The pavilion stretches further than cricket, Evans said, as it was a popular community facility.
“We’ll be asking that the necessary work to bring it up to scratch is kept in the NPDC plan for the benefit of all its users.”
The upgrade, at a cost of $16.3m, would be a welcome relief for cricket fans in the region after New Zealand Cricket threatened to blacklist the venue because of the pavilion’s state.
Pukekura Park hosted two match days in the SuperSmash domestic Twenty20 competition over the summer with temporary infrastructure measures in place.
Evans said he was very happy with how it came together.
“We’re in an ongoing dialogue with Central Districts and New Zealand Cricket about our desire to continue to bring these matches to the park and expect scheduling decisions to be released in due course.”
The preferred option includes building a new pavilion where the ground staff shed is currently situated. The new building will feature larger changing rooms and facilities for media, scorers and officials.
Other options include repairing the existing building at a cost of $1m to cater for local community use but would not be suitable for top level domestic cricket, demolishing the existing pavilion and not replacing it at a cost of $420,000, or delay the work and accept the risk and close the building entirely.
The pavilion is just one sporting-related option on the table in the plan.
A new $35m option is proposed to build a new indoor stadium with at least four courts, as part of a lower cost alternative to the Tūparikino Active Community hub project at New Plymouth Raceway.
The project was put on hold last year after the cost ballooned out from $91m to $110m with Cyclone Gabrielle and a gloomy economic outlook contributing factors to the pause.
Deputy mayor David Bublitz has been a long-time advocate for the project. He said the community needed more indoor courts for volleyball, netball and basketball.
“We owe it to our community that we continue with this project.”
Other items up for public consultation include a $9m upgrade to Brooklands Zoo, doubling renewal funding for local roads, bridges, and footpaths to $315m, and increasing funding for disaster recovery and sustainability initiatives.
TDN, APRIL 4, 2024
BROOKLANDS ZOO A HOT TOPIC IN SUBMISSIONS ON 10-YEAR PLAN
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Of all the topics up for public consultation in New Plymouth District Council’s 10-year plan, the future of Brooklands Zoo has people the most riled up.
Brooklands Zoo is one of the region’s most popular attractions. The free complex is visited by 135,000 people each year.
However, upgrades are needed to meet zoo compliance standards, at a cost of up to $9 million over the next 10 years, which has some district councillors questioning its affordability.
The public has been asked, as part of wider long term-plan consultation, if they think all upgrades should go ahead, or just some of the upgrades, or if the zoo should close.
Of the 1300 long-term plan submissions received so far, two thirds relate to the zoo. There is still just over two weeks to go before submissions close.
On Tuesday, Brooklands Zoo was a hive of activity. Courtney Coombes had travelled up from Hāwera with her family to visit the animals.
She would hate to lose the zoo, she said, as her kids loved it.
“It’s nice having a free place to go that’s safe as well, your kids can run around freely.
“There aren’t many free things left to do and a lot of kids wouldn’t get to see animals like this.”
The zoo had exotic mammals such as capybaras, capuchins, meerkats, parrots, pheasants, lorikeets, ruru and little owls, a range of reptiles and amphibians, and farmyard animals such as pigs and chickens.
Tracey Snow, visiting with Coombes, suggested council put a $5 charge on going to the zoo if that meant the doors could stay open.
The council had not proposed putting a charge on the zoo, but Snow believed $5 was reasonable.
“You can’t even go anywhere for $5 these days. It’s nothing outlandish.”
New Plymouth’s Paula Parker was out with her two grandchildren at the zoo yesterday.
She said she didn’t go often but it was a great asset to families, so she would be sad to see it go.
“It’s got everything here.
“I’d rather see something like the Len Lye Centre shut down if it’s about money.”
In the 2022-23 financial year, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre had 84,500 visitors, 75% of whom were from out of town.
The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre charged visitors from out of town either a $10 or $15.
New Plymouth woman Karen Wansbrough was also on grandparent duty on Tuesday with five of her mokopuna in tow.
Wansbrough, who had been coming to the zoo for years, said she could see both sides of the argument.
“It’s sad because the children love it, there’s always families here having a good time.
“But I realise the cost is a lot of money as well.”
She said there had never been a charge on the zoo but if there was, she was sure families would still come.
However, she realised it would take a long time for an entry charge to cover the $9m needed.
At a December council meeting to debate the 10-year plan, Brooklands Zoo was one of the most divisive subjects.
Where the rest of the public sat on the future of the zoo would be more clearly known after the consultation process closed at 5pm on April 19.
The council was scheduled to meet in May to debate the final makeup of the 10-year plan.
If the long-term plan got the go ahead, there would be an average rates rise of 9.9% for the first year. Future rises were expected to remain under 10%.
Public consultation was also open on plans to spend more on fixing roads, kickstarting the Tūparikino Active Community Hub with an indoor stadium, replacing Bellringer Pavilion, and increasing the amount in the Disaster Recovery Reserve, and on sustainability initiatives.
To make a submission go to www.npdc.govt.nz/10-year-plan.
TDN, APRIL 10, 2024
TARANAKI CRICKET SEEKS SUPPORT FOR UPGRADE
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Taranaki Cricket is drumming up support to redevelop the outdated Bellringer Pavilion at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park.
The regional cricket association has launched an online survey for its stakeholders encouraging them to have a say in future developments at the famous cricket venue, which was once ranked among the top six grounds in the world.
The short survey asks a variety of questions seeking feedback that will inform a submission to the New Plymouth District Council’s draft $4 billion 10-year long-term plan (LTP).
It asks respondents whether they are cricket fans, whether they support a new pavilion at the park, whether they support spending rates money on the proposal, and whether televised sport is a good way to promote Taranaki. The pavilion, built in 1924, is earthquake prone and doesn’t meet requirements for first-class cricket.
Taranaki Cricket general manager Ryan Evans said it was important to get feedback from cricketing stakeholders on the venue’s future.
“A day watching cricket on the terraces holds special memories for kids and adults from all around our province, and we want the legacy of the sports ground to continue,” he said.
“We were really pleased that work on the Bellringer Pavilion was included in the draft LTP, and we need people’s support to make sure it stays in the mix for the future.”
Evans said the information from the short survey would be used to back up Taranaki Cricket’s submission to the council.
“We think we’ll be able to present a compelling case to councillors showing there is plenty of support around the community for continuing to bring top cricket matches to Pukekura Park.”
Evans said the pavilion would be available not just for cricket but also for community use, as with the current building.
It’s understood the $16.3 million price tag includes landscaping and moving the groundskeeper’s shed from where the proposed building could be constructed.
Evans said the cricket association’s preferred option was to keep the proposed work on the pavilion included in the LTP, but he remained open-minded.
“We realise $16m is a lot of money in tight economic times, so we’re also keen to look at other options to keep the costs as low as possible,” he said.
Those include staged work, looking at different and alternative design options or working to raise funds to bring to the table.
“The important thing at this stage is to keep the project in the council’s work plans so we can start looking at how we can best keep it moving forward.”
He said Taranaki Cricket had worked with the district council and other key users of the park over the past few years to get the plans to the point they were at now.
TDN, MAY 30, 2024
A SAD GOODBYE TO TEA HOUSE ON THE LAKE
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After 15 years, untold muffins and cinnamon rolls baked and served and probably more than a million ice creams sold, the Tea House on the Lake at Pukekura Park is changing hands.
The owners, mother and daughter Angie Orsborn and Corrie Paice, haven’t had their lease renewed, so are closing on June 16, and will move out by June 30.
A New Plymouth District Council spokesperson said the lease for the popular cafe and ice cream kiosk came up for renewal and only one party responded to a request for expressions of interest.
JS Hospitality would take over the lease from July 1, he said.
Orsborn said there was another story there, but she didn’t want to talk about it.
“I don’t want to get into the politics of it.
“I want to leave here with my head held high, and politics are never fun. But it’s not our choice.”
They’d miss it, she said.
“This has been our life for 15 years. And we couldn’t have done it without the staff and the local support.”
Orsborn and her late husband Peter took over the lease 15 years ago when they still owned Snickerdoodles in Ōakura, Orsborn said.
“We had both for a year and then this just took off way quicker than we expected. When we first came here, even on a sunny day you wouldn’t see people in the park, but it changed very quickly once we were here. So, we sold Snickerdoodles and just focused on this, because it was so busy.”
One of the most important things for Orsborn was the more than 80 people who they had employed who had been on the unemployment benefit.
“And we’ve trained them and given them skills they didn’t have. And we have provided summer employment for over 300 students. In the summer we go up to nearly 40 staff with the Festival of Lights because we run two shifts a day.
“That to me is the important side of this business – the social impact.”
Two young men who started in the tea house as 15-year-old schoolboys were now running restaurants in Melbourne, she said.
“Another kid who, when he came for his interview, wouldn’t look at us. His first words were ‘I hate people and I never smile’, and now he’s our top barista and loves people and is so sociable.”
They had a lot of regulars and noticed if people didn’t turn up. One regular arrived at 11.30am, and if he didn’t they would ring his rest home to check up on him, she said. The same with another man who usually arrived at 2.30pm.
A tradition in New Plymouth was to have an ice cream in Pukekura Park, Orsborn said. And who knew how many they had sold in 15 years – more than a million was a rough estimate.
Paice said the number was “ridiculous” – thousands every night during the Festival of Lights.
And cinnamon rolls and blueberry muffins were really popular, said Paice, who did the baking.
“As soon as you change the muffin flavour, they get sad. I get told off every time I change them.”
Paice said she would be sad to leave. She had been working at the tea house for more than a third of her life.
“I get teary when I think about it. It sucks.
“But onwards and upwards.”
TDN, JULY 18, 2024
DISABILITY ADVOCATES NOT FANS OF NEW LAKE STEPS
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Taking a boat during the Festival of Lights is one of the park’s iconic experiences. LISA BURD/Taranaki Daily News
New Plymouth District Councillor and Age and Accessibility Working Party chairperson Sam Bennett, working party member Craig Nielsen, Lacy’s stepfather Eric Gehlhaar, working party member Sydnie Maxwell and Chelsea-Jo Lacy say the needs of the disabled community are often left out in project planning. VANESSA LAURIE/Taranaki Daily News
A $60,000 project to improve access to Pukekura Park’s main lake has been slammed as “disrespectful” by advocates for the disabled community who say they were not consulted about the design.
The New Plymouth District Council has just completed work on the steps and landing stage at the main lake to make it easier to feed the ducks and get into the row boats, two iconic aspects of any park visit.
But there is neither a ramp or hand rails, making it very difficult for people with mobility issues, such as the elderly, disabled, or those with low vision, to safely access the lake edge.
That the council project did not even consult with its own Age and Accessibility Working Party (AAWP) has left members annoyed and frustrated.
While council officers said a ramp would not have worked, councillor and working party chairperson Sam Bennett said they may have been able to come up with other solutions or additions such as hand rails.
Not being consulted was “disrespectful,” he said.
“I am at a loss as to why the AAWP were not consulted or provided an opportunity to advocate on this spruce up. If we had been, the result would have been one of equality for all people to enjoy this asset.”
And it also affects the elderly or people with low vision, he said.
“If the group had seen the plans we would have looked at this and said it didn’t work and could have come up with something else. But we were bypassed.
“There’s a perception people in wheelchairs don’t catch boats, but that’s not true.”
Permanent wheelchair user Chelsea-Jo Lacy said the project was an opportunity to provide access for the disabled community, but now she would have to be carried down the stairs to the water’s edge if she wanted to use the boats.
“I would not be comfortable at all. I would love to be able to do the boats.”
Working party member Sydnie Maxwell, who has cerebral palsy and a walking issue, said she would need someone to hold her hand.
“Or I’d have to hold on to the rubbish bin, which wouldn’t be very nice. Even a handrail would help.”
Working party member Craig Nielsen said it was disappointing the wider disabled community wasn’t given any thought at the beginning of the project, a situation that still happens often.
“It’s pretty standard fare.
“A lot of it comes into cost, but it just means it excludes certain sectors of society from the built environment.”
If projects could not include the disabled community that was fair enough, Nielsen said.
“But to not even consider it, it’s almost insulting.”
Council manager parks and open spaces, Conrad Pattison, said a bequest enabled the council to fix up the landing stage on the main lake, which had uneven steps and was looking “very tired”.
“The work involved removing the old concrete, reinforcing the lake-edge, extending the landing a little, building new steps and concreting, for just over $60,000.”
When upgrading assets to improve accessibility council does work with the Age and Accessibility Working Party during the planning process, he said in a written response to questions.
“While we looked at a ramp for this site, the area is just too small to fit one so we had already ruled it out.
“The main lake is a dam with the lake edge forming part of that dam so we can’t cut in to it to make more space to accommodate the ramp.”
The park’s lower lake has two access points for park users to feed ducks or eels. Neither of these is wheelchair accessible.
TDN, JULY 24, 2024
COUPLE READY TO BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO TEA HOUSE
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A pair of hospitality veterans have been revealed as the new operators at Pukekura Park’s iconic tea house.
For 12 years, Marnie and Simon Johnston-Saywell ran the popular Aborio at Puke Ariki in New Plymouth and from early next month they will be behind the counter of The Teahouse.
The cafe and ice cream kiosk has been closed since late June and is undergoing refurbishment.
In a press release from the New Plymouth District Council, the pair, who own JS Hospitality Ltd, which took over the lease in July, said they were looking forward to operating the park business.
“This beautiful building was gifted to New Plymouth in 1931 by ex-mayor Charles Burgess and his wife Ann to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary and we’re committed to carrying on its legacy as a place for new happy memories,” Marnie said.
“We’ve been beavering away inside with the help of some awesome tradespeople and it’s exciting to see its next evolution as The Teahouse,” Simon said.
Until June, the popular cafe and kiosk was known as Tea House on the Lake and was operated by mother and daughter Angie Orsborn and Corrie Paice.
Orsborn and her late husband Peter took over the lease 15 years ago when they still owned Snickerdoodles in Ōakura, Orsborn said in May.
“We had both for a year and then this just took off way quicker than we expected. When we first came here, even on a sunny day you wouldn’t see people in the park, but it changed very quickly once we were here.
‘‘So, we sold Snickerdoodles and just focused on this, because it was so busy.”
Council Pukekura Park lead Sheryl Clyma said the park had earned a Green Flag award as a world-class park for 11 years running and was a Garden of National Significance.
The facilities were expected to reflect its reputation, she said.
“New Plymouth’s founders had the foresight to create this fantastic and lasting asset back in 1876 and we’re working with The Teahouse team to keep it in good shape for future generations to enjoy.”
2025
TDN, MARCH 19, 2025
TESTING TIME FOR PUKEKURA PARK’S 147-YEAR-OLD DAM
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Tests are to be carried out on the 147- year-old dam holding back Pukekura Park’s main lake to assess if it will hold up during an earthquake or major storm.
In a press release, the New Plymouth District Council said the dam, between the Band Rotunda and the waterfall, was built so long ago “design specifications” did not exist.
“We want to know what the hazard potential is for the dam – how likely is it to fail during an earthquake or a major storm – but to do that, we need to know how it was built,” council parks boss Conrad Pattison said.
“We don’t have the designs for the original build, given that it was built in 1878, so we have to take a look-see inside it.
“There’ll be a rig on-site to drill four bore-holes; samples will be taken for analysis and we’ll install equipment in the bore-holes for ongoing monitoring.”
The council was not the first to take an interest in how the dam was made.
Because of significant public interest in the project, and fear about what would happen to central New Plymouth if it collapsed, it was the subject of an article published in the Taranaki Herald on June 13, 1878. The article is referenced onpukekura-history.co.nz.
In it the “principal” excavation and construction methods were explained, albeit in a way not necessarily accessible to the layman.
The article included that the contractor had excavated through two metres of “stiff black soil”, full of leaves and sticks. Then they hit a thin layer of “volcanic ashes” resting on a 60cm layer of “very greasy white clay”.
The description of the dam construction noted such things as the use of “two inch” thick planks, a rubble wall 2.4m high and “uprights” sunk 30cm into the ground.
It said the total length of the dam was 33.5m, with a width of 3m at the top and 24m wide at the bottom.
“The pressure of water on the embankment will be over 400 tons – a weight which need not alarm the most timid, as the stability of the work is unquestionable,” the article stated.
Council testing of the dam will begin on Monday, March 24, and will continue through to early next month.
The track will be closed to the public during this time, though access will be available from “time to time”.
Some vegetation has already been removed to enable access for the nine-tonne drilling rig.
The main lake is a favourite spot for feeding ducks and rowing boats. When it was first built it was also used for swimming.
TDN, APRIL 15, 2025
ONE BOOK FOR ALL OF PARK’S HISTORY
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Alan Metcalfe’s intense research of Pukekura Park’s history has been brought together in one publication in time for the 150th anniversary of the famous New Plymouth attraction.
Metcalfe, a retired pipe designer, had spent the past six years researching the park’s history, starting when he became a volunteer driver six years ago for a tour cart that took visitors around the park.
“I found that the history that was around, at the time when I started researching, that some of it wasn’t quite correct,” he said.
That led him to delve deep into the park’s history and write three online publications that spanned the years between 1875 and 1949, first published in 2021.
To complete the historical record, Metcalfe compiled his previous research into one book: The History of Pukekura Park – Celebrating 150 Years of Park History 1875-2025, with funding help from New Plymouth architect Terry Boon.
The 308-page, professionally printed, hardcover book documented the original plans for the development of the park, expansion of the sports ground, the building of its many features, and even deaths in the lake.
His countless hours of research included trawling through old newspaper articles, comparing notes with garden record officer Ian Hutchinson, and spending time at Puke Ariki’s research centre.
He discovered many contradictions cited in previous research, including who the actual “father of the park” was. Clinton Hughes was given the unofficial title as he spent 61 years on the park’s trust.
Metcalfe found it was Thomas Kelly who had the idea of turning the valley of gorse, swamp and a stream into a recreation area.
“He decided it would be a good idea to actually get this land and dam the stream as a water supply for the town,” Metcalfe said.
There was no recreational area of that nature at the time in New Plymouth, he said.
“So really it was all down to Thomas Kelly, he’s the father of the park to me.”
Metcalfe said the creation of the park’s sports ground was one of the most interesting developments of the park’s history.
The area was developed from a ridge, with the western and eastern terraces extended across Fillis St. Soil removed during the process was used to fill in a swamp where the field was today.
“It was like a horseshoe,” Metcalfe said. “The level of this now is probably 3 or 4 metres higher than what it was.”
Further developments took place over the years, making the terraces and field of the sports ground larger in 1907, and a pavilion was built in 1924.
Boon said helping to fund the book was a “no brainer” as the park played an important role in his life.
He grew up on Rogan St.
“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve either run or jogged or knocked around in the park.”
After getting to know Metcalfe and hearing he was putting the book together, he decided to put about $2500 towards printing costs.
“I think it was an extraordinary story,” he said.
About 100 copies were produced, which were now in libraries and secondary schools throughout the region.
TDN, AUGUST 9, 2025
BROOKLANDS ZOO WELCOMES BABY CAPUCHIN MONKEY
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Brooklands Zoo has a new resident – a one-week-old tufted capuchin monkey.
The tiny monkey is as yet unnamed and is sticking so close to its mother Amani that its gender remains unknown.
“The baby’s about a week old now and we can see it’s strong and nursing well, and clinging to mum. Amani is quite protective of it,” said zoo manager Eve Cozzi.
“She’s caring for her baby very attentively and staff are confident the baby will continue to grow well.
“Tufted capuchins are a social species and we’re just delighted to see particular natural social interactions between the group members that zoo visitors otherwise wouldn’t get to see without the presence of youngsters.”
The baby monkey is the eighth capuchin born at the New Plymouth District Council zoo.
The last capuchin born at the zoo is now nine months old.
2026
TDN, FEBRUARY 24, 2026
A LITTLE MONKEY BUSINESS
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Baby capuchin another furry addition to Brooklands Zoo.
A new capuchin monkey has arrived at New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo, making it the third born at the zoo in the last seven months.
The unnamed baby arrived early on Sunday, February 15, and has settled in well.
Brooklands Zoo lead Eve Cozzi said the baby capuchin was born following the UB40 concert.
“While people were enjoying the music at the Bowl, mum Mani was getting ready to welcome her newborn to the world,” Cozzi said.
She said the baby was “strong and healthy”, and clinging to Mani, who was also very protective of her newborn.
Cozzie said while they wouldn’t know the sex until the baby was older, it joined nine other capuchins at the zoo.
This was the third recent baby by Mani, who was born at the zoo in 2017, and dad Churi, who was born in Hamilton in 2015.
The baby’s siblings, Rio and Caju, were born at the zoo on August 2 and August 29 last year respectively.
Tufted capuchins are a social species and usually live in groups of one or two males and many females.
Cozzie said having a breeding group enabled interactive and playful moments between older and younger capuchins, just as would happen in the wild. “It’s wonderful that zoo visitors get to see that type of interaction.”
Brooklands Zoo is part of a regional managed breeding programme for tufted capuchins through the zoo and aquarium association. Capuchins originate from central and south America, however, their numbers in the wild are declining due to threats of deforestation and pet trading.
TDN, MAY 14, 2026
PUKEKURA PARK ABOUT TO CELEBRATE 150TH BIRTHDAY
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It lights up in summer, turns gold in the autumn and is one of New Plymouth’s biggest attractions all year round and Pukekura Park is about to celebrate its 150th birthday.
The New Plymouth District Council-run park will celebrate the milestone with a week of events leading up to the May 29 anniversary. What is now known as Pukekura Park was officially opened on May 29, 1876, as the Recreation Ground.
Since then it has grown in size, from 15 hectares to 52ha, and in stature, being frequently called the jewel in the city’s crown.
When the park was opened 150 years ago it looked very different to what it does now, New Plymouth District mayor Max Brough said in a press release.
“There was no main lake – the stream was dammed two years later – no sports ground, no Poet’s Bridge, no Fernery and Display Houses and no Brooklands Zoo.
“The park has grown over the decades under the expert care and vision of a series of curators, and the city has grown around it. It’s really the heart of New Plymouth and it means a great deal to generations of kids and adults who have grown up with it.”
In the press release, NPDC Pukekura Park lead Sheryl Clyma said the team knew how special it was to have the care of the park entrusted to them.
“We’re just the latest in a long line of horticulturists who get to apply their expertise and care on a very big, living canvas.
“It’s an icon for our city and region, and we carry that responsibility to maintain it not just for the families who turn up today but also for those in decades to come.”
Its fame is not confined to Taranaki.
Every summer the park draws thousands of visitors from around the country who come to see the Festival of Lights. And while top-level cricket is long gone from the park, in 2007 its cricket ground was named by cricketing “bible” Wisden as one of the six best in the world to watch cricket.
Its famous visitors have included Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 when about 18,000 people packed the park to see her. And four years later the Queen Mother drove in to be greeted by 16,000 supporters.
A key feature of the park was Poet’s Bridge, which was opened in March 1884. Despite the name the bridge does not have literary roots. J T Davis, a member of the park’s board, drew the horse The Poet in a sweepstake on an Auckland race in 1883. He won 150 pounds, which he immediately handed to the board for a bridge.
Deterioration meant it needed to be replaced just before the World War II.
There will be a number of free events during the last week of May to commemorate 150 years. These include tours of the Fernery and Display Houses, buggy tours, and a historic park walk.
TDN, MAY 26, 2026
WORK BEGINS TO REPLACE 90-YEAR-OLD SEWER PIPE IN PUKEKURA PARK
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A popular pathway at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park will be closed for up to a month as a 90-year-old clay sewer pipe is replaced.
The New Plymouth District Council said the pathway between Poet’s Bridge and the park’s main waterfall was closed yesterday.
“The pipe isn’t leaking but we’ve identified it as a risk to both the lake and the integrity of the dam, so we’re getting in there now to prevent any issues occurring later,” council project delivery manager Gordon Davenport said in a media release.
About 45m of new plastic pipe would be laid from the waterfall to the bottom of the path that led to the Victoria Rd entrance.
The pipe would be placed in a concreted trench to keep it stable and provide extra protection for the environment if a fault ever occurred, the release said. Poet’s Bridge would remain open throughout the project.
Night works would be required for up to two nights at the end of the project to connect the new pipe to the sewerage network.
TDN, MAY 30, 2026
HAPPY 150TH, PUKEKURA PARK
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The tea house is humming, the lake is shimmering with reflections of green, red, and gold leaves, and mums are pushing babies in strollers enjoying the crisp air. It is a perfect autumn Monday, and Pukekura Park is a hive of activity.
Jump back 150 years the scene was different. Yet it was, in many ways, the same.
The park was officially opened on Monday, May 29, 1876, a day a reporter for the Taranaki Herald later described as “one of the most beautiful days we have seen this season”.
The paper reported a large number of people had arrived to watch the “very interesting ceremony” at 2.30pm where a band played and four trees were planted.
Afterwards, everyone was invited to plant their own tree, so in the future their great grandchildren could come and point out the tree their ancestor had planted.
The land was part of Ngāti Te Whiti’s rohe. Alongside Tuparikino hapū, Ngāti Te Whiti hold mana whenua over the area of Pukekura Park.
Originally called the Recreation Ground or The Rec – it was renamed Pukekura Park in 1908 – the park has grown and developed in ways that would have been impossible for those first tree planters to imagine.
Over the years it had steadily increased in size from 15 hectares to 52ha. This came about with the addition of Brooklands and the Maranui Gully in the 1930s and a further 2.5ha bought from the Ministry of Education in 2004.
And while the park has long been considered a local treasure, the massively successful Festival of Lights and Womad festival, which bring thousands to the park each year, have also introduced it to thousands of national and international visitors who are routinely amazed that such a park exists in the tiny coastal city of New Plymouth.
The original valley of the Pukekura Stream, for which the park is named, was a gully filled with ferns, gorse and poisonous tutu shrubs.
When the park celebrates 150 years this weekend it does so as a Garden of National Significance that has received the Green Flag award – which sets an international benchmark for high-quality management of recreational outdoor spaces – 13 times.
There are more accolades. In 2007, British cricketing authority Wisden named Pukekura Park among the six great cricket grounds in the world, highlighting its “gorgeous, natural setting”. The same year, the park claimed the expensive “Mayfair” spot in the New Zealand edition of Monopoly.
Other features include two lakes, the main lake and the fountain lake, the beloved Bowl of Brooklands, a tea house and the country’s oldest band rotunda, built in 1887.
The original Poet’s Bridge was opened in March 1884 and was paid for by James T Davis, following a win on a horse called The Poet at the Auckland Races. The bridge was replaced in 1938 with the iconic red lacquered timber and iron arched bridge that remains today.