Table of Contents
History of Park Development
This page gives a brief insight into how the Park came about and how it was developed. Until the 1970s New Zealand used the imperial system for weights and measures. Below is a table of conversions to help the younger reader to make sense of some of the units referred to in the following text.
Units of Measure
Weight
lb oz (pounds and ounces) 16oz = 1 lb 1 lb = 0.454 kg
Length
ft – in (feet and inches) 12in = 1ft 1 ft = 304.8mm
3 ft – 6in = 3ʹ – 6ʺ
yd (yard) 1 yard = 3 ft
chain 1 chain = 66 ft (length of a cricket wicket)
On section plans the length and breadth would be shown in links.
A link being 1/100 of a chain or 7.92 inches (201mm)
Volume
Yards = cubic yards 1 cubic yard = 0.765 m³
Area (land)
A R P (acres, roods and perches) 1 acre = 4046.86 m²
1 acre = 4 roods 1 rood = 40 perches
Money
£ s d (pounds shillings and pence) 1 pound = 20 shillings
1 shilling = 12 pence
Introduction
The town of New Plymouth has a fascinating history. Its location is primarily attributable to the whaler Dicky Barrett. Barrett, Jackie Love and their whaling crew arrived in New Plymouth in 1828. Both Barrett and Love were married to daughters of high-ranking local Māori leaders.
In 1831-32 Waikato Māori made several incursions into north Taranaki, the final battle was at Ōtaka Pā, near Ngāmotu beach. Barrett, Love and the crew famously helped fend off the marauding Waikato’s with three cannons, Rua koura, Onepoto and Pu-poi-poi (Rua koura and Onepoto later found their way onto Cannon Hill in the Park). Following this battle the vast majority of local Māori decided they had had enough and migrated to the Wellington region. Barrett and Love continued on to the South Island where they took over a whaling station at Te Awaiti Bay.
When Colonel William Wakefield of the New Zealand Company arrived in New Zealand, he sailed to the Tory Channel to find Barrett and used him as an interpreter to help negotiate land purchases. Wakefield asked Barrett for advice on where to locate settlements. It would appear Barrett and his family wanted to return to New Plymouth, as he convinced Wakefield to purchase land there. He then convinced surveyor Frederick Carrington (who was employed by the Plymouth Company to find a suitable location to establish a town) to settle New Plymouth even though it lacked a safe harbour, which was a top priority when selecting a suitable site for settlement.
Carrington came to New Plymouth in February 1841 to start surveying. He laid out the town with about two thousand quarter acre sections stretching from Cutfield Road to the west, the Te Henui Stream to the east, and Holsworthy Road to the south. Beyond that the land was split up into 50-acre sections. Carrington’s plan included several areas identified for recreation and a sizeable green belt bordering the town.
Following the arrival of the English settlers many Māori who had gone to the Wellington region decided to return to New Plymouth, probably because they felt it would be safe following the arrival of the settlers. Also, many local Māori who had been enslaved by the Waikato were released and made their way back to Taranaki. On arrival they demanded the return of their land, causing a lot of tension. In 1844 Governor Fitzroy came to New Plymouth to sort out the situation. To the horror of the settlers, he returned all of the land (approximately 60,000 acres) to the Māori, then repurchased 3800 acres for the town of New Plymouth. This became known as the Fitzroy Block. When asked what the settlers outside of the Fitzroy block were to do Fitzroy said they could resettle on the land that had been set aside as a green belt and any other land set aside for recreation. This was a huge blow for the settlement. Progress was slow and recreation pursuits were probably not a priority. Then during the 1860s the town regressed again due to the land wars in Taranaki.
In 1870 Julius Vogel launched his ambitious public works and assisted-immigration programme to catapult New Zealand forward by building infrastructure, including: roads, railways, the telegraph network and port facilities. Suddenly there was light at the end of the tunnel. New Plymouth’s first railway was opened in 1875, the same year as the Harbour Board was created. People now wanted a dedicated recreation area. Until this point in time fetes and picnics were generally held on private properties such as Brooklands. And this is where the story of the Park begins.
How it all Began
Robert Clinton Hughes a young lawyer had just been voted onto the Taranaki Provincial Council. Hughes was asked by Peter Elliot, a previous member of the council to table a question relating to the availability of land for recreational use at the council sitting of January 1875. TH, Jan 20, 1875.
In reply, Thomas Kelly (Provincial Secretary) said there was such an area, referred to as the Botanic Gardens. This area had been identified by Frederic Alonzo Carrington on his original survey of the town. The site was next to the Te Henui Stream adjacent to Puketarata Pā.
Things were quiet for a few months; however, some residents were making noises. During his speech on the opening day of The Poet’s Bridge James Davis, who funded the bridge was reported to have said that when he arrived in New Plymouth, he saw that the great want of the town was a public pleasure gardens, and he at once commenced to agitate the question. Also, sometime during May or June of 1875 a petition signed by 112 prominent residents, calling for a recreation area, was presented to the Provincial Council. In the petition, the signatories vowed to look after any land given. It may well have been James Davis who initiated the petition.
Kelly had been extremely busy. He was a key player in setting up the inaugural Harbour Board and securing funding for its development. There had been a lot of talk about abolishing the system of Provincial Government and the sitting in June was possibly going to be the last chance to pass legislation. Fortunately, Kelly was working on another project, which was to find a suitable location for an asylum. He had settled on the site known as Fort Herbert which lies on the hill behind the sportsground’s east terrace. At that time, the Pukekura valley was almost devoid of trees, and he would have had a good view across it. He was aware that the valley had little commercial value and considered that it may lend itself to a recreation area. At that time most of what is now Pukekura Park (not Brooklands) was allocated to the Education Board. Kelly wrote to Fred Carrington, who was the Superintendent of Taranaki, laying out his vision.
This was published in the Taranaki Herald on June 26, 1875.
Once Kelly got the green light, he wrote The Botanical Garden and Public Recreation Grounds Ordinance, 1875. This vested approximately 39 acres of land for recreational purposes to be run by the Town Board. He ran this by the Town Board but unfortunately, they did not want the ratepayers to have to carry the financial burden of developing and maintaining such a recreation ground and consequently rejected the proposal. This all happened the day before the Provincial Council was due to be prorogued. Kelly, disappointed with the Town Council, was ready to drop the bill. Hughes on the other hand was keen to salvage it and suggested that the reserve could be run by a board of trustees. Kelly agreed to this providing Hughes could find seven people to act as trustees by the next morning. Hughes did this, the bill was amended, went through all its stages and was passed during the last sitting of the Provincial Council on June 30, 1875. Even though the bill passed through the Provincial Council it still had to be approved by the Governor. The bill did not get the Governor’s approval, and it was not until September 1876 that the Taranaki Botanic Garden Act 1876 was approved. Even so the Recreation Ground Board pressed ahead with the development of the Recreation Ground.
The Recreation Ground Board will now be referred to as the Board
List of original Board Members
A list of Board members was published in the TH on July 31, 1875. The names being: Thomas King, Harris Ford, Robert Clinton Hughes, Isaac Broad, John Gilmour, James Thomas Davis, and Robert Joseph Collins.
The first Board meeting was held on Friday, July 30, 1875, at which it was agreed to meet the following Tuesday as a group to survey the land they had been granted, which was now estimated to be 47 acres. It was also agreed that the first work to be undertaken would be to erect a boundary fence.
The Board met as planned along with Arthur Standish (Deputy Superintendent) to survey the task ahead. The next morning Hughes and Davis started to peg out the first path (Hughes Walk).
There was a stream running through the Park and the aim was to run a path along the west side of the stream and have a second path at right angles up to the racecourse. Even though Hughes and Davis were eager to see progress, work on the paths did not start until 1876.
To establish a good layout for the Recreation Ground the Board ran a competition, offering a £5 prize for the best design. It was decided that the competitors should send in their plans at a scale of one chain to an inch, accompanied by an estimated cost of earthworks, planting, etc. The competitors were to utilize natural features of the ground to the best advantage. The whole cost was not to exceed £500. Sites of a cricket ground and archery lawn, ornamental pond, keeper’s cottage, and main entrance were to be shown. Reginald Bayley was the successful designer.
The government offered to build a cottage for a keeper. The offer was gratefully accepted by the Board. The cottage built in 1876 was of modest proportions. It was located on Victoria Road on the site of the old Carrington Road redoubt. This site is immediately north of the house at 25 Victoria Road which also happens to be an old curator’s house, built in 1930.
In Sept 1875 tenders were called for grubbing, burning, and clearing all furze (gorse) on a portion of the grounds. The successful tender was that of Messrs. Newell and James’, at £20.
It was decided to fence the grounds and tenders were called for to construct a ditch and bank fence. Huggett and Co. won the contract with a quote of ten shillings per chain (approx. 20 m). Work on the fence did not start until early March 1876, due to a delay in surveying the boundary of the grounds. Arrangements had been made with George Cutfield to erect a dividing four-rail fence (heart of pine posts and rails) between the Recreation Ground and Brooklands.
The first planting in the Recreation Ground was a vineyard by Heinrich Breidecker. In 1875 he was granted the lease of an acre of land behind the racecourse, in what is now Stainton Dell. The vineyard was not successful and was abandoned a few years later. Breidecker moved to Hokianga where he established a successful vineyard.
Isaac Broad was the first Board member to be replaced. He vacated his seat after missing three consecutive Board meetings. He was replaced in late 1875 by Thomas Colson.
Road Through the Recreation Ground
The initial plan of the Board was to have the main entrance of the Recreation Ground at the north-west corner of the grounds on Carrington Road. A path was to be constructed along the west bank of the stream that ran through the grounds, from the Carrington Road entrance to the boundary with Brooklands. Another path was to also be constructed leading up to the Racecourse. To accommodate this plan town sections 1065 and 1084 had to be acquired. Unfortunately, when the Board was given the sections for the Recreation Ground, they were not included.
At a meeting of the Public Trusts Board in early March 1876 a letter was read from the Board requesting the surrender of sections 1065 and 1084, so that a front entrance to the grounds might be made. This request was declined. These sections had been set aside in 1867 for the start of a planned Carrington Road diversion to go through the land allocated to the Recreation Ground.
The Superintendent Frederic Carrington who was chairing the meeting was asked when work was going to start on the bypass. When this information was relayed to the Recreation Ground Board, they were shocked and immediately protested against this proposal. Despite several members of the Public Trust Board insisting the road go ahead, fortunately, it never eventuated. It was apparent that regardless of whether or not the road went ahead the Board were not going to get possession of sections 1065 and 1084 in the foreseeable future, so they made the decision to move the location of the main entrance to Liardet St. This was the only logical alternative.
Recreation Ground Development (1876-1908)
Opening Day
Preparations for the opening day were carried out. Some paths were constructed, Charles Tapp had won the tender for that work with a price of 4s 6d per chain. The ceremony was scheduled for the Queen’s birthday on May 24, but due to inclement weather it was postponed until the 29th. The ceremony was carried out on Cannon Hill. Speeches were given by Thomas King, the Board’s Chairman and Fred Carrington the Superintendent of Taranaki. Following the speeches four trees were planted by Carrington’s eldest daughter Jane, an oak to represent Britain, a pūriri representing New Zealand, a Norfolk Island Pine representing the South Pacific and a Pinus insignus representing America. Following the official planting other folk were invited to plant trees. A rimu was planted by Mrs M. A. Hughes, a yew by Mrs T. K. Skinner, a Norfolk Island pine by Thomas Colson, and a pūriri by Mr R. Hughes. James Mitchinson of Egmont Nursery donated many young trees for the public to plant. Land had been prepared for this to the south of the path between Cannon Hill and Fountain Lake. Some of these trees may still exist today. An account of the opening day’s ceremony was published in the TH, May 31, 1876. The spade used by Jane Carrington is in Puke Ariki Museum (accession no A68.098).
Taranaki Herald, May 31, 1876.
PLANTING THE FIRST TREE IN THE RECREATION GROUND
As the Recreation Ground was governed by a Board of trustees there was no guaranteed source of income to pay for the development of the grounds, which was a major cause for concern. Some small areas of the ground were rented out for a modest income, otherwise there was no money coming in. It was decided to ask the public for subscriptions (either cash or shrubs). It was reported in July 1876 that £55 had been raised through subscriptions. Two businesses in Town ‘Victoria House’ and ‘Uncle Tom’s Wardrobe’, which were operated by Archibald Hood and his wife Mary, donated 15% of their takings for two weeks of June 1876. The Board had also received a one-off payment of £200 from the government to pay for some clearing and fencing.
Charles Carnell was employed as custodian, he worked two days a week. Carnell lived in a property adjoining to the Recreation Ground where the Band Room stands today, at the Rogan Street Car Park. One of his duties was to impound cattle wandering into the grounds.
In the early days most of the plants were donated. The Board always struggled financially and would accept any plant donations. In 1876 the Board received two thousand plants from Christchurch Domain, which had a major impact on the diversity of plants in the grounds early development. The donation included Fraxinus, Ulmus, Castanea and Pinus radiata (Monterey Pine.) (Pinus radiata was the tree that the Board planted in great numbers in the first two or three years of the Park). During 1876 a boundary fence between the Recreation Ground and Brooklands was completed.
Clearing gorse and making new paths was the focus of 1877. Both were limited due to lack of money. Fundraising events formed the core of revenue along with subscriptions and leasing of some sections. Over time the trustees donated a lot of their own money and acted as guarantors for necessary loans.
There was tree planting throughout the year, some of the trees will have been from the Canterbury donation. A significant addition was two California Big Trees (Sequiadendron giganteum), donated by, and probably planted by, James Davis. These trees are still alive today (2025). One is by the old curator’s office on the east side of Sunken Dell and the other is on the east side of the same path leading to the Tea House.
Towards the end of the year the construction of a lake was on everyone’s mind. Thomas Kelly provided the drawings for a dam and the Board issued tenders for its construction. The contract was won by Messrs. Neil, Claffey and Power.
A notable departure from the Board was R. J. Collins, who left New Plymouth to take up a position in the treasury department at Wellington. Collins later became Auditor-General of New Zealand. His replacement was Reginald Bayley. Bayley designed the layout of the Recreation Ground. He also oversaw the dam construction.
1878 was all about the lake. The construction of the dam was a huge undertaking. The Board had hoped to get some assistance using prison labour, unfortunately, this was not forthcoming. To raise the funds to construct the dam the Board members had to extend their personal credit. On the advice of resident engineer C. W. Hursthouse an under-sluice was added to the design of the dam. This was a safety feature which allowed the lake to be fully drained if necessary. The location of the lake outlet was also changed from the west bank to the east bank. These changes added significantly to the cost. An article about the dam construction was printed in the TH, June 13, 1878.
Description of Dam Construction
There were unforeseen issues, such as springs appearing as the earth was removed and large rocks which occasionally had to be removed using explosives. Thankfully, these problems were overcome, and the dam is still doing its job today. When the dam was finished and the lake filled with water, the lake was described as having an area of nearly two acres, a length of nearly 400 yards with varying widths. The lake extended down to the northern end of Goodwin Dell.
How the lake was to be used became an interesting issue. Contentiously, Mr W. K. Hulke of the Acclimatisation Society suggested a union between his organisation and the Board on condition that bathing and boating were banned. He wanted the lake exclusively for fish, and duck breeding. The Board would have welcomed a union as the Acclimatisation Society was cash rich. Unfortunately, the terms were unacceptable.
The Board decided that individuals could put their own boats on the lake at an annual cost of £1 1s. Mr. Nicoll a local tinsmith took advantage of this. In May 1878 he christened his newly built 15ft iron outrigger “Lady of the Lake”. Apparently two gentlemen who were assisting with the ceremony were also christened in the lake when they fell overboard.
Initially boating was not allowed on Sundays. However, shortly afterwards it was changed to Sundays before 12 noon, much to the disgust of the NP Wesleyan Chronicle who wrote:
‘we would ask the Committee whether they think it honest on their part to first secure cooperation of all classes of the community, including prominent church members, and then to suffer this shameless desecration of the sacred day. We certainly cannot commend their forthcoming bazaar to the sympathies of our congregation if this obnoxious resolution is not rescinded.’(TH, Oct 19, 1878)
It would appear that the congregation ignored the advice of the Wesleyan Chronicle as the bazaar was a huge success with takings surpassing £250.
By the end of the year bathing in the lake was allowed but only if an individual had purchased a season ticket, and not after 8am. The southern end of the lake which was long and narrow had become known as The Dardanelles.
The Board decided to employ a full-time custodian and started discussions about reclaiming the swamp near the Liardet Street entrance. This would prove to be significantly more problematic than it first appeared. The first black swan was introduced to the lake, a gift from Mr Wilson of Kakaramea.
Some of the plant donations during 1878 were from: Messrs. Mitchinson, Skinner, Butterworth, Hammerton, Gibson, Howell, Newman, and Uncles. The Board purchased 500 shrubs from James Mitchinson at 10s per 100 and a pound of gum seed.
1879 saw two significant changes to the Recreation Ground Board members. John Gilmour and Thomas King both resigned being replaced by R. H. Thompson and James Davidson, respectively.
Byelaws were introduced, one of which was to ban dogs. It was stated that any dog found in the grounds would be shot or otherwise destroyed.
With the lake established there was a call to use it for recreational swimming. The town did not have a swimming pool and the water in the Recreation Ground looked very safe and inviting. After a public meeting chaired by C. W. Govett and R. H. Thompson, the two gentlemen were charged with approaching the Board with a scheme to build a bathing house and ask that the lake be open to the public for bathing. The Board agreed but stipulated that swimming would not be allowed until a bathing shed was erected. Plans were drawn up by architect William Northcroft and the building went out for tender. One of the reasons for advocating the lake as a swimming pool was that it was deemed dangerous to go outside the breakers on the beach on account of sharks.
Paying for the bathing shed construction had to be arranged. The committee set up to organise the construction had managed to solicit £40 by way of subscriptions, the remainder would have to be found by other means. A couple of fundraising events were organised, one being the first swimming competition (TH 10 4 1879) on Wednesday, April 9, 1879. The competitors had to be suitably attired in drawers and singlets and get changed in the new bathing shed. The occasion drew a large crowd who sat on the banks overlooking the lake. At that time, the sides of the valley were basically treeless, so there was an excellent view of proceedings. Board member, Robert Clinton Hughes was one of the competitors.
The Park is now famous for its eels and in 1879 we have our first account of eels being caught, one being about 3 feet 6 inches long and weighing in at 15lb (TH, October 1, 1879).
In November 1879, the Recreation Swimming Club was formed with the intention of having annual swimming competitions and swimming lessons. Newton King was on the committee and Dr. O’Carroll was the first president. The subs were set at 2s 6d. The final act of the year was the first swimming competition arranged by the Recreation Swimming Club. The day was a huge success. The Mayor declared a public half day holiday for the occasion. Prizes included: magic lantern, gold neck ring, cricket bat, Waltham watch, greenstone pendants, bone and gold ring, travelling bag and a washing machine.
Donations during the year included shrubs from Mr. Mitchinson and Muscovy ducks from Mr. A. Colson.
1880 was a quiet year regarding progress. The Board found itself in a financial crisis and not able to do a lot of work in the grounds. The debt was troubling because the trustees were personally responsible for any debts incurred. They received a couple of cash injections, one by way of a lecture by Sir William Fox, (Prime Minister on four occasions) who gave an account of his travels in Palestine and the Holy Lands at the Odd Fellows Hall.
This map shows the possible extent of the paths in 1880. It also shows that the lake extended down to what is now Goodwin Dell. The path on the east side of the lake went down to a small bridge which crossed the lake onto a promontory, then went to the south of the grounds through what is now Goodwin Dell.
Taken from T. K. Skinner’s 1880 map. Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: ARC2010-220)
As the financial situation was so desperate the Board went cap in hand to the Borough Council to get a subsidy. The Borough Council considered it, then rejected the plea. Councillor Nicoll wanted to table a motion that the council take over the running of the Recreation Ground. This motion was later withdrawn because Nicoll became aware that the Recreation Ground Board of Trustees would not step down. The reality was, the Borough Council had no legal authority to take over the Recreation Ground. In fact, the opposite was true. Article 18 of the Botanical Garden Act states that, “The Governor may, on the petition of the majority of the members for the time being of the Board, or of two-thirds of the rate-payers of the Borough of New Plymouth, dissolve the said Board, and on such dissolution the said lands vested by this Act shall vest in the Borough of New Plymouth, and be managed by the said Borough as the Board is authorized to manage the said lands.” In later years, the Recreation Board would use this to try and extract money from the council by threatening to hand over the grounds to the Borough Council if they did not give a grant for the running of the grounds.
The Recreation Swimming Club organised an Autumn competition on March 3, 1880. The morning was not looking promising, and the committee decided to postpone the event. As is often the case in New Plymouth the weather changed, and the committee decided to go ahead again. To inform the towns people they employed the services of the town crier. The competition had some interesting events, such as a blindfold race, “washerwoman’s surprise”, but the event that stands out is the diving competition won by R. C. Hughes. Hughes was a keen swimmer and member of the Board of Trustees for about 60 years. A stipulation of the swimming competitions at that time, was that all competitors had to wear singlets and drawers.
Donations in 1880, included plants from Mr G. E. Duncan, pine seeds from the Geological Department, and water lilies (Nymphaea alba and Aponogeton distictryon), from Mr Johnson of Christchurch. The board also received 200 trout ova to be released into the lake.
The focus at the beginning of 1881 was fundraising. The Board found itself in debt which it needed to reduce significantly. The main fundraiser was a Fancy Fair. They also received a £50 grant from the Borough Council (which became an annual occurrence). Another way of raising funds was the introduction of a charge for using the bathing house, issuing a season ticket for 2s 6d.
During the year three Board members resigned, Reginald Bayley, R. H. Thompson, and Thomas Colson. They were replaced by J. B. Roy, Dr Gibbes and T. K. Skinner. The Board then remained unchanged until 1885.
The Fancy Fair was held in the grounds starting at 2p.m. Most of the businesses in town closed for the afternoon. There were several stalls selling various goods most of which had been donated. The organiser of the stalls was Mrs. Humphries (wife of Dr. Humphries). She was the driving force for many of the Recreation Ground’s fundraisers. At 4.30p.m. a game of ‘water polo’ was started, when six competitors appeared at the post with their noble steeds—viz., beer barrels ornamented with saddle cloths and wooden horse heads. This much anticipated event was a flop. The only sport derived from it was a number of spills. There was a large crowd in the evening and the grounds were illuminated with Chinese lanterns. The fair raised over £100.
Another fundraiser was an entertainment evening at the Masonic Hall. One of the performances was a duet featuring Miss Govett and Mr. Brewster.
Until 1881 the Sports Ground was a swamp. A decision was made to drain it and fill it with earth to create a sports field, initially for croquet. This was later changed in favour of cricket. At that time, the land around the Liardet Street Entrance was not fully developed. There was a hill outside the gate making access to the grounds difficult. A request was made to the Borough Council to be allowed to remove part of the hill to fill the swamp. Permission was granted to remove 2000 yards. T. K. Skinner was requested to prepare a plan and specifications for the work. Mr Alfred Wells was awarded the contract. Work started towards the end of the year, but it took many years to get the ground looking as it does today.
It was reported that 1100 trees had been planted during the season. James Mitchinson of Caledonian Nurseries had graciously donated one thousand established plants. Another interesting fact was that the trout released the previous year were growing rapidly.
Again, in 1882 the state of finances was front and centre of the Board’s thoughts. The filling of the swamp was halted due to lack of funds and the Board again approached the Borough Council pleading for help in funding the Recreation Grounds. The Board officially threatened to hand over the ground to the council if aid was not forthcoming and eventually the council granted the Board £50.
During one Board meeting it was suggested new blood should be found and the meeting descended into chaos, but eventually things settled down and the status quo was restored.
The Acclimatisation Society was approached to help the Board. It was suggested that Darby Claffey, the custodian, be educated in the care of monkeys, goats, buffalos, elephants, serpents, and other interesting animals which the Acclimatisation Society may propose to let loose on the grounds if they came to the party. Claffey was struggling to look after plants let alone wild animals.
In March a half day holiday was observed for the annual swimming tournament. The weather was fine, and the event was well-attended. Amongst the usual swimming events there was also a very amusing ‘porker at the end of a greasy pole’ competition which caused much hilarity. A greasy pole was fixed horizontally so that it hung over the water, at its end was fastened a box with a live pig in it. The contestants had to slide along the greasy pole, take the pig out of the basket and throw it into the water. They then had to jump in the water, catch the pig and get it out of the lake. The first person to successfully accomplish that kept the pig. Several unsuccessful attempts were made before the prize was eventually claimed by W. Holford.
Furlong’s Fountain. Above the Fountain is the old Glowworm Cave. To the left of the fountain is the Mirror Waterfall. Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: PHO2004-027).
During the year, several people made personal donations to the grounds. Robert Clinton Hughes had a small ornamental lake made, Thomas Wilson donated some king ferns and Mr. Shuttleworth donated some Prussian carp. Thomas Furlong donated a fountain at the south end of what is now called the Hatchery Lawn. Doctor Gibbes also donated a fountain which was placed in a Lily Pond which was next to Furlong’s Fountain. Furlong also donated two statues (Graces) placed in the main lake and a flagpole with a circular mirror hung from it. Thomas Furlong, or Professor Furlong as he liked to be known, was an interesting character, and very active in the community. He had arrived in New Plymouth with the 57th Regiment during the 1860’s. In 1866 he opened a barber shop on Devon Street West by the Mangaotuku Stream, next to William Collis, the photographer. He always had the latest in equipment, such as chairs etc. At the back of the shop was an extensive tobacconist and a shooting gallery. He also operated as a chiropodist.
Main Lake. 1882-1885.
One of Professor Furlong’s “Graces”.
In December 1882, architect Henry Edmonds presented the Board with drawings for a band pavilion estimated to cost between £70 and £80. The design was assessed by the Board to be both suitable and ornamental. It was decided that the pavilion should be erected at the knoll on which Mr. Furlong’s mirror stood (this is where the Band Rotunda is today). James Davidson and T. K. Skinner were appointed to make arrangements for carrying out the work. They assumed that the town band would give as many concerts as necessary to raise the money to cover the cost of the construction. Unfortunately, the band did not buy into the suggestion, so the pavilion was put on hold.
Again in 1883 the year began with an emphasis on fundraising which took the form of Ye Olde English Fayre. This was a fair which travelled round the country helping local groups to raise money. It was a huge event which lasted 5 evenings and bolstered the coffers of the Board considerably bringing in over £60. The Fayre was set up in the Alexandra Hall, and was laid out as an Elizabethan street, with the ladies of the town selling wares from mock-up shops. There was also a stage for variety performers, a May Pole, and a fortune teller. To promote the event a four-page newspaper was produced, Ye Mercury, which gave a history of the Recreation Ground. It also had adverts for about seventy local businesses giving a snapshot of the town’s business community at that time.
The big story of the year was ‘The Poet’s Bridge’. James Davis a prominent figure in town and a trustee of the Recreation Ground since its inception, had the good fortune to win a large sum of money from a horse racing sweepstake at the Auckland Autumn handicap.
The horse was called “The Poet”. Davis, an active member of the Board had often thought about having a bridge halfway down the lake, he felt the lake would not be complete until a bridge was built. The windfall meant that he could make his dream come true. People were invited to supply bridge designs on the understanding that the design was gratis. The design chosen was that of Henry Vere Barclay, Civil Engineer & Surveyor. The construction contract was won by Mr. Hooker. Mr. Campbell was the sub-contractor for the woodwork, Mr. Revell the iron work, and Mr. Bellringer the painting. Bridge construction started in November 1883.
The opening of “The Poet’s Bridge” was carried out on the evening of March 10th 1884 with a lot of pomp and ceremony. The Mayoress Mrs. Bayly did the official honours. James Davis made a speech during which he referred to the petition presented to the Provisional Council in June of 1875 asking for land for recreation purposes. This petition may well have been initiated by Davis and names from it may have been used by Clinton Hughes to find the original members of the Board.
Two black swans were donated to the Board from Mr. Vavasour of Blenheim. Unfortunately, one died on the ship bringing the birds and the second died shortly after being let loose in the lake. Dogs were becoming a nuisance worrying the waterfowl so a notice was placed in the Taranaki Herald stating that dogs found in the Park would be shot. The author has found no evidence that this threat was ever carried out.
The Board received two packets of seeds from the government: one of eucalyptus, or blue gum and one of golden wattle.
The Poet’s Bridge. Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: PHO2007-030).
This photo was probably taken on February 11, 1885, during a swimming carnival.
The Poet's Bridge Opening Day
Moonlight Concert. TH March 11, 1884
A cannon was presented to the Recreation Ground by Professor Furlong. This was said to be one of Dickie Barrett’s used to defend Ōtaka Pā at Moturoa in 1832. Over the coming years another three cannons were gifted to the Recreation Ground, one of which was thought to be another of Dickie Barrett’s, one from the wreck of the Harriet and the third of unknown origin. Initially these were positioned on the path at the north end of the lake but were moved onto Cannon Hill in the mid-1890s (hence the name Cannon Hill). During a visit in 1889, General Strange suggested that the Barrett cannon was fully 200 years old and a valuable curiosity.
Dicky Barrett’s cannon. This is where the cannon was originally located prior to being put on Cannon Hill.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: A. 4. 101).
A bathing area for children about 4 feet deep was excavated near the bathing shed. It was separated from the rest of the lake by a wire fence.
Using the lawn area in the Park for playing cricket was suggested in 1884. However, it was said to be unfit for play without spending a large amount of money and the cricketers thought this was ill-advised.
Another gift to the Recreation Ground in 1884 was a pair of ornamental iron gates for the Liardet Street entrance donated by George Rhind.
The Board sold off two cottages that were deemed uninhabitable, these cottages were probably on sections 1172 and 1175 which the Board acquired in 1876.
There were plant donations of native shrubs from Mr. G. Oliver, pūriris from Mr. R. Wells, and holly trees from Board member, J. T. Davis.
By 1885 both of the Furlong ‘Graces’ in the lake had been destroyed, one by a boat that came loose from its mooring, the other was blown over. The Board decided to replace them with a pair of large earthenware vases. This job was given to Mr. White who had a brickyard at Waiwhakaiho.
Changing the name of the Recreation Ground had often been suggested and in March of 1885 it was announced that the name would be changed to “Egmont Park” subject to confirmation. This was at the suggestion of Captain Davidson. Unfortunately, the procedures to complete this proved too difficult and the idea was abandoned.
On April 7th, 1885, James Davidson, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees committed suicide. James Davidson joined the Recreation Ground Board at the beginning of 1880 to replace Thomas King. In 1881 he took over the chairmanship and kept that position until his death. He worked at Bayly’s the butchers as a bookkeeper. On April 7, 1885, he had an altercation with Bayly and on his way home he called into Gilmour’s shop where he had a revolver which they were selling on behalf. He took the revolver, went to his home (Fleetwood cottage) on Carrington Road, sat by a tree in his garden overlooking Marsland Hill and shot himself. F. P. Corkill took his seat on the Board.
The first rugby practice was allowed in the grounds this year, but the ground was poorly drained and when it rained it became unplayable. A lot more work was still necessary to get it into a satisfactory condition for playing sport.
Chew Chong donated a flagstaff which was positioned on top of Cannon Hill. This was a topmast off the wrecked ship the Australind which had come to grief whilst delivering cement for the development of the port in July 1882. The mast now stands in the reserve at Moturoa next to the Yacht Club.
The question of a band stand was raised again, this time with the backing of the town band. A design submitted by James Sanderson was accepted, described as having a conical roof supported on eight pillars, which again rest on an octagonal shaped base of concrete. Iron railings run from pillar to pillar and the entrance is by four steps, which are continued all the way round the structure. Sanderson also offered to superintend the construction.
There were many donations during the year. Six ornate garden bench seats from Mr. Sharland that were shipped from the UK. A circular seat round the flagpole on Cannon Hill was made from money donated by students from Mrs. Dougherty’s Egmont Ladies Academy.
Many plants were also donated, water lilies from W. L. Newman and Mitchinson, several hundred young pōhutukawa from Captain Messenger, 150 pūriri from Captain Wilson and a large quantity of young trees from Mr. Mitchinson, Six-hundred trees were planted in the region of the Racecourse Walk. Other plantings included a box hedge around the lake.
Also noted was the abundance of fish in the lake, carp, perch, and trout. It was thought that offering fishing licences would be a good way of raising money.
In April 1886 the lake was lowered to allow the sides to be cleaned and to remove a spit of land immediately south of The Poet’s Bridge on the east side. This increased the area of the lake by more than an acre.
Darby Claffey, the caretaker of the Recreation Ground, was a bit of a character and would often tell yarns such as the case of a reported poacher. His story of killing a shag whilst in the process of swallowing a fish, by hitting it with a well thrown stone was not quite accurate. Apparently, the shag’s eyes were bigger than its belly and it had the misfortune of choking itself.
Section 1086 was acquired giving access to the waterfall. The waterfall in question being at the location of the present-day Waterwheel.
Six fishing licenses were issued at 10s 6d each. It was reported that Mr. R Gilmour caught eight or nine carp, weighing around 12lb. Shags were competing for the prized fish, consequently some quiet culling of the birds was taking place.
After a lot of discussion ladies bathing was allowed between 8am and 11am, except Sundays. This caused a lot of concern because it was deemed necessary to close the Park to men during these hours. Fortunately, a compromise was found, and it was decided to hoist a red flag on the Cannon Hill flagpole if ladies were bathing, warning gentlemen to stay away from the ladies bathing area.
With a donation of £25 from the Mayor, Mr. Paul, and £10 10s from a fireworks display, it was decided to proceed with the Band Rotunda. Scott Brothers of Christchurch were asked to quote on the structure. The price was beyond the board’s means, so they decided to approach the construction in parts, the foundation first, then order the structure when funds allowed.
A successful fireworks display was conducted with an attendance of between 1500 and 2000 people. Fireworks for the displays generally came from England.
In August 1886 it was noted that the lake was being lowered to erect a footbridge. This was probably where the Boat Shed Bridge is today.
Recreation Ground main lake -circa 1885. Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: PHO2001-396).
The spit of land that was removed in 1886 is shown below the centre of The Poet’s Bridge. Above the boat in the picture there is another spit of land with a small bridge crossing onto the east side of the lake. This spit of land was the path to the south end of the Park. The path went down through what is now Goodwin Dell. Below the boat can be seen the mass of raupo that filled the south end of the lake. The boat is possibly the one donated by Mr. Hirst in 1878.
1887 started with work on the Band Rotunda. Cannon Hill was cut back several feet to make space for it. The earth removed was placed behind the main lake dam to give it more strength and to raise the level of the path leading down to what is now the Hatchery Lawn. The concrete base was laid but suffered a couple of acts of vandalism delaying its completion. However, it was completed in time to be used by the Taranaki Rifles Brass Band during Queen Victoria’s 50th Jubilee celebrations. Because of the lack of funds, the top was not erected until 1891.
There were two more cannons donated to the Recreation Ground, one by W. L. Newman which was said to be a Barrett cannon and one by Mr Hoskin of Waitara accompanied by a 68lb cannon ball. The cannon ball was thought to have been fired from the H.M.S Pelorus.
The Church of Christ denomination applied for the use of the lake for an immersion service which was granted. This was probably a regular event.
A five-acre section of land originally part of Brooklands, lying between the Recreation Ground and the racecourse, acquired by the Jockey Club was offered to the Board. This land was of no use to the Jockey Club and eventually they would hand it over to the Recreation Ground Board. Over the years there were several land swaps. The two groups had a good relationship and often had people on the executive of both boards including J. T. Davis, W. L. Newman, R. Cock, and C. W. Govett.
Some birds were introduced to the grounds in 1887. The Acclimatisation Society released two brace (4) of English starlings and a Mr. Loveridge donated a mollymawk which he had caught on a hook and line at Sugarloaf Islands. Unfortunately, the bird was attacked, suffering a broken leg, and had to be destroyed.
The Board was always looking for extra sources of income so decided to issue eel fishing licenses for 2s 6d.
1888 was a quiet year for the Recreation Ground. The only real highlight being a Fancy Fair in March to raise desperately needed funds. The fair was to be held in the Recreation Ground in the area of the Band Rotunda. Lots of activities were planned, such as Aunt Sally, greasy pole, Punch and Judy, duck hunt, tub race, shooting galleries, etc. Unfortunately, the morning of the fair was wet and cold, and a decision was made to have it at the Alexandra Hall in town that evening instead. Even at such short notice the fair was a success. All the Board members actively partook in the proceedings. As was usually the case Mrs. Humphries was the driving force behind organising the event. A profit of £61 14s was realised.
During the year, the Board got prices for supply and erection of the Band Rotunda which far exceeded what they were able to afford, therefore the plan was put on hold.
It is possible/probable that trees such as, Pinus torreyana, Cupressus macrocarpa and Cupressus macnabiana were planted in the Park in 1888. An article in the TH, July 4, 1888 stated ‘The Recreation Board are at present adding a considerable number of trees to the grounds. The trees are all new to this place, being the product of American seed forwarded by the government to the Board some three years ago.’
At the beginning of 1889 Dr. Gibbes resigned from the Board as he was leaving the district, he had been an active member of the community. He was replaced by Richard Cock a well-known businessman in town.
During the year, a few gifts of birds were received, the most notable of which was a pair of black swans from the premier Harry Atkinson. Also gifted were peahens, a peacock, and a mollymawk. A sort of aviary was built near the bathing shed to house some of the birds.
The major news of this year was the formation of a Sports Ground Committee set up to reclaim the swamp by the Liardet Street entrance so it could be used for sporting events. Previous attempts to fill-in the swamp had mixed results and often fell short due to lack of funds. To develop the grounds the committee was given a seven-year lease at a rent of £1 per annum. They were allowed to use the area up to twelve times a year for fundraising, on the proviso that all funds raised would go into the development of the grounds.
The design of the Sports Ground was drawn up by surveyor T. K. Skinner who was a trustee of the Recreation Ground. Any changes to the Sports Ground area had to have the approval of the Board. Skinner also agreed to supervise the work. Clearing the swamp of trees, etc. started in December 1889.
At the start of 1890 the Sports Ground Committee was busy filling in the swamp and making an area suitable for an athletics meeting scheduled for Easter. They knew it would not be 100% suitable for all events given the time constraints but hoped they could still have a good competition. They were praying for fine weather knowing that a soggy ground would not be good. Working bees had been organised to clear the banks for spectators as at that time the terraces did not exist. The inaugural event on April 7, 1890, was run under the name of the “New Plymouth Recreation Grounds Club”. Fine weather prevailed, a crowd of around 2000 attended and the event was a success.
The ornate wrought iron main gates gifted by George Rhind had become unstable, the foundations were in a bad way and Mr. Hughes senior had taken it upon himself to fix the gates and enhance their appearance. He had hoped to do this in time for the Easter sports day but raising money at the time was difficult. The gates were completed by the end of the year.
Main Entrance – Fillis Street – circa 1896.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: ARC2003-859).
A sad event during 1890 was the murder of Stephen Maloney, an old soldier and veteran of the 1860s conflict. Maloney lived in the Recreation Ground, in a cottage on the hill behind the south-east corner of the Sports Ground. On the morning of his death, he had gone into town doing an errand for his neighbour Mrs. Carnell, which he often did. His route took him down Horton Walk and out the Liardet Street entrance. On this day he came across Darby Claffey the caretaker and stopped for a chat. He mentioned that he had given a young Māori lad a cup of tea and the lad had said he was helping in the Recreation Grounds. Claffey told Maloney that was not the case. Maloney did his errand, and on the way back he again went through the Recreation Ground and again Claffey saw him but this time they did not speak. Each evening Maloney would have his dinner at the Carnell’s house, Mrs. Carnell would summon Maloney with a whistle. This evening there was no response, Mrs. Carnell sent her son looking for Maloney, but he could not be found. The next morning a search party found Maloney’s body amongst ferns close to his house. He had been assaulted with his own tomahawk. A young Māori lad who was seen wearing some of Maloney’s clothes and a new pair of boots the same as ones Maloney had recently purchased was arrested.
Darby Claffey gave evidence at the trial of the accused. After hearing what Claffey’s evidence the Crown Prosecutor said “Oh! You are a most important witness; you are the last person who saw him alive.” Claffey: “I was not!” Crown Prosecutor: “Who was then?” Claffey: “Why, the man who killed him!” Crown Prosecutor: “Oh; you are an Irishmen, I believe.” Claffey: “I am.” The dialogue then closed.
As part of the Maloney investigation the main lake was drained looking for evidence. They didn’t find any, however, they did pull out an 8½lb trout which was sold by the Board for 5s and served up at the White Heart Hotel.
Stephen Maloney’s Cottage.
NZG, January 17, 1891.
The Board now found itself in a good financial position to complete the Band Rotunda which was ordered from Scott Bros. in Christchurch, and in December a tender was issued for its construction.
Camelias were donated by Miss Devenish, Mrs Skinner snr. and Mr T. Veale. Camelias, Welbankiana (Hatchery Lawn), Dido (East bank of hatchery Lawn) and Triumphans (Sunken Dell) may well have been come from these donations.
The Band Rotunda arrived in early February 1891. It was erected by T. Bond & Co., in time for the New Plymouth 50th jubilee celebrations which started on March 30, 1891. The jubilee was a major event which lasted a week, and several programme items were held in the Recreation Ground. There was a jubilee sports day attended by around 2500 spectators, including the premiere John Ballance. The jubilee marked fifty years since the first European settlers arrived in 1841.
Further improvements were made to the Sports Ground, including fully sowing the field, improving the terraces (which were minimal at that time) and erecting a fence to stop spectators wandering onto the field.
A path to the waterfall (now the Waterwheel) was made from the west of the grounds, this was possible since they had purchased Section 1086, and a bridge was erected over the stream above it. At that stage, the Gilbert Street entrance did not exist and the land which now forms Smith Walk was being rented out.
A piece of land formerly known as Native Reserve No 12 was acquired in 1891. The area being just over one and a quarter acres. Its footprint covers Palm Lawn, the hillside behind the Sports Ground western terrace and the northern half of Fountain Lake.
The map below shows the location of Native Reserve No 12. The original Curator’s house is also highlighted. Another interesting aspect of the map is the name of the stream ‘PARIKORA’. In a similar map from 1913 the name changed to Pukekuara.
Taken from T. K. Skinner’s map.Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: ARC2010-220)
A fire at the bathing shed in March 1891 was a bizarre event. The east end fire bell was rung by a young man named James Salisbury. When people arrived at the bell Salisbury told everyone that he had lit a fire at the bathing shed in the Recreation Ground. At first nobody believed him, however a couple of young men decided to go and see if he was telling the truth. On arriving at the grounds, they found that there was a fire and proceeded to extinguish it. Luckily the fire hadn’t taken hold. Salisbury was arrested, and when asked why he did it he said that he was sick of working for 5s a week and wanted to go to gaol. It later became known that Salisbury wanted to go to gaol for lighting the fire to hide other more serious offences against members of his family. He was charged with the more serious offences and sentenced to eight years in Mount Eden Gaol.
The Board lost its second chairman in six years. James Davis (The Poet’s Bridge donor) drowned in the lake in September 1891. Davis had been out one evening visiting his sister whose home he left at about 10pm. On his way home he decided to go for a skinny dip in the lake, and for whatever reason he drowned. The next morning the supervisor of a prison crew saw a pile of clothes by the bathing shed and when he could not see anyone in the lake, he sent someone in a canoe to look. Davis’s body was found in the lake opposite the bathing shed. The inquest resulted in the verdict of accidental drowning. There was no indication of foul play or suspicion of suicide.
A fourth cannon was donated to the grounds by Reginald Bayley. He was a Board member from 1877 to 1880. Bayley drew the original plans for the Recreation Ground.
Clement Govett donated £20 for native trees with the proviso that the Board raise an equal amount. This led to 2915 native trees from all parts of the Taranaki region being planted during September 1891. The planting was supervised by Mr. Kidd a landscape gardener from Inglewood. Kidd also planned the initial layout of Newton King’s garden at Brooklands. Pukatea, kahikatea and some of the rimu that are growing in the area between the Tea House and the Fred Parker Lawn are the result of this planting. For a list of the trees planted see page 129.
Miss Devenish, and Messrs. J. Elliot, C. Kyngdon, M. Sutherland, J. Wheeler, H. Arden, and Conolly also donated native plants around the same time.
Clement Govett was appointed to the Board at the beginning of 1892 to replace James Davis. Govett was a prominent member of the community, he had donated liberally to the Recreation Ground and was a founding member of the Swimming Club.
A system of annual subscriptions was introduced, set at 10s, this granted the subscribers free entry to all entertainment of any kind in the ground throughout the year.
An initiative to help the Board maintain the grounds and to beautify them was to invite people to take charge of small areas set aside as flower beds. The first to do so were Mrs. Hursthouse and Mrs. Weyergang but more followed including Central School. This had been tried earlier but unfortunately when the sports field was extended some of the flower beds were removed.
The head of the main lake was modified to strengthen the dam and to increase the width of the promenade in front of the Band Rotunda. This removed the point at the northern end of the lake that can be seen on Skinner’s map of 1880 (Map above). This can also be seen on the adjacent photo in front of the Band Rotunda. It has recently been discovered that this is the location of the under-sluice which was installed at the eastern end of the main lake dam which made it possible to drain the lake if required. How the modification affected the operation of the under-sluice is unknown.
Dicky Barrett’s cannon.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: A. 4. 101).
Just above the cannon is the point at the top of the lake that was reclaimed in 1891. This is the location of the under-sluice that was fitted to the dam to allow the lake to be drained. Beyond the Band Rotunda there is a second cannon on the path.
Archibald Hood approached the Board with the intent of planting a maze in the Recreation Ground. Hood had arrived in new Plymouth in 1861 as a Sergeant-Major in the Royal Artillery and retired following his tour of duty. He was a poet and author of short stories. The Board, always keen to improve the grounds especially if someone was willing to do the work, accepted his offer. The maze was described as being coil shaped, constructed of 3—4000 Box-thorn plants. It was planted somewhere between the southern end of the main lake and the southern boundary of the Recreation Ground. The maze became a thorn in the side of the Board because of its high maintenance and was removed after a few years.
Plant donations included: Mr. Duncan, two Norfolk Island pines. Mr. Fennell, an Azalea. Mr. J. Wheeler, ferns of Todea superba (Prince of Wales Feather) and constable Hickman, cabbage trees. The Norfolk Island pines are thought to be still present in the Park, one located near the old curator’s office/sportsground and the other adjacent to The Poet’s Bridge.
Dogs in the Recreation Ground had been a problem from the start, there had been several instances where dogs had killed birds that had been donated. Threats of shooting dogs and prosecuting owners had not been a deterrent so finally it was decided to go through with the threat. The first notable case was that of Newton King, the second that of F. P. Corkill. Corkill, a member of the Board was charged with having a dog in his following in the Recreation Ground. The unusual aspect of this case was that the complainant was Richard Cock who was also a member of the Board at the time. In one of the court cases relating to dogs the judge asked a Board member:
“Why don’t you shoot the dog?” Witness said that they would not like to do that. Sgt Duffin said that shooting would be a dangerous practice, as there were so many people about the grounds at times; and besides, he believed “Darby was a bad shot.” (Laughter). TH, January 30, 1893.
In March of 1893 the bones of a baleen whale that beached near Tataraimaka arrived at the Recreation Ground. The bones were placed on Cannon Hill as an adornment. Remnants can still be found today on the southern face of the hill.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: PHO2009-213).
A major improvement to the grounds in 1893 was the formation of what is now known as Fountain Lake. It became possible after the acquisition of additional sections from Mrs. Fookes. Prison labour was used during the formation of the lake, which was not uncommon back then. Another major improvement was the Board’s decision to build a boat shed and bridge at the southern end of the Main Lake. They approached Mr. G Brown to draw up some plans.
The sportsground hosted its first interprovincial rugby game which was played between Auckland and Taranaki. The ground was heavy and wet but there was a crowd of about two thousand spectators who enjoyed an entertaining game. Unfortunately, Taranaki lost 4-2 after leading 2-0 at half-time. At that time a try was only worth two points.
The Board’s funds were boosted by £53 4s 10d from the distribution of an old relief fund for the Taranaki refugees who were sent to Nelson in the early 1860’s.
Section 1084 was acquired during 1893. This was the section necessary to give good access to Carrington Road (now Victoria Road). The Rhind Gates stand on the northern boundary of this section.
There were many donations of trees and shrubs from: Major Brown, Captain Mace, Messrs, A. Standish, F. Oliver, J. wheeler, J. Skinner and T. Hickman, H. Arden, J. C. Davies, J. Dingle, Mesdames, R. Street, Skinner senior, and Karira of Rahotu. The planting of many of the donations was supervised by local artist Hamar Arden.
Other donations included a pair of peafowl from Mr Reynolds of Pungarehu, a kiwi from Mr Skeet, goldfish (released into Fountain Lake) and a black swan from E M Smith, M.H.R.
In 1894 Chinaware with pictures of the Recreation Ground were manufactured. This was organised by G. W. Browne who owned a China and fancy goods shop in town. Items included Tea services, plates and mugs. The items were made in England.
The construction of the Boat Shed and the Boat Shed Bridge was completed at the beginning of 1894. The Board’s finances once again were in a bad state with outstanding debts for lands purchased. The Board acquired another section, 1135, which cost £16 16s, for which they did not have the cash. Section 1135 was important because it was isolated in the middle of the grounds. When the Board originally got the Recreation Ground it was comprised of town sections, green areas, access ways and roads. Until the Board acquired a section any accessway leading to that section had to remain open.
Boat Shed Bridge, circa 1895.
Puke Ariki (Ref: PHO2020-0014-017).
J B. Roy resigned from the Board and was replaced by W. L. Newman. Roy had been on the Board for thirteen years but had to resign due to pressures of work. He had been elected mayor the previous year. Newman was well known to the Recreation Ground Board having made several donations including a Dicky Barrett cannon. Newman was also a founding member of the Swimming Club and often helped with firework displays. He was the New Plymouth representative for the Union Steamship Company which also benefitted the Board.
The maze planted by Mr. Hood was growing well but it had cost him a considerable amount of money. To recoup some of this Hood decided to write a short story and sell it. The story was called Johnny Fro. This was the fourth story by Hood. Whether or not the book produced the income he wanted is unclear. The story is about a boy (Johnny Fro) who meets a girl, they end up getting married after some trials and tribulations. The Recreation Ground is at the heart of the story. A transcript of the story can be found (here)
Parachutist Miss Leila Adair provided a novel form of entertainment in the Park. Her act involved sitting on a trapeze suspended from a hot air balloon. When the balloon reached a height of approximately 4000ft she would jump from the trapeze with a parachute. The balloon would come down of its own accord. Reading accounts of her performances in Auckland, Thames, Hamilton, Hāwera, Wanganui and Palmerston North, all were unsuccessful, never attaining enough height to be able to jump. New Plymouth however was even more disastrous, while filling the balloon with hot air the people holding it down lost control and the balloon ended up on the burner and went up in smoke.
The Board organised a series of working bees to cull pine trees which had been planted too close together.
Some of the donations this year: R. H. Gibson, Himalaya Pines. Mrs Jameson of Koru, camellia trees. Shrubs and plants collected by Mr A. Kyngdon during a visit to California and the South Seas. J. C. Davies, Meryta sinclairi (puka) and Marcus J MacReynolds, pair of peafowl.
Originally the hillside south of the Boat Shed to the east of the Serpentine was not part of the Recreation Ground. In 1895 the Jockey Club allowed the Recreation Ground Board to fence off part of the land to use. Board member W. L. Newman who was also a steward of the Jockey Club initiated this move. Arbor Day plantings had recently started in New Plymouth following the formation of the Scenery Preservation Society in 1891. C. W. Govett, being a member of both the Scenery Preservation Society and the Recreation Ground Board may have suggested that this newly acquired piece of bare land was a prime location to beautify. Planting took place on August 8.
The drowning suicide of George Duncan was a most unfortunate event. Duncan, 75, a money lender in town was observed by Darby Claffey (custodian) walking by the bathing shed to The Poet’s Bridge, then jumping into the lake. At the time Claffey was on top of Cannon Hill cutting grass. In his testimony Claffey said that he could not swim so spotting another gentleman in the ground he ran down the hill, got the assistance of the other man, went to the bridge stopping at the bathing shed on route to pick up a rope. On arriving at the bridge, they saw Duncan under the water and lifeless. Having taken ten minutes to get there they decided there was no point in trying to rescue him. At the inquest Claffey was criticized for that decision. The incident led to the Board sacking him in early 1896. He had been employed at the grounds for eighteen years. Claffey was more of a labourer than a gardener. The Board possibly saw this as an opportunity to bring someone else in as custodian. On one occasion he was working at the grounds when he was approached by a visitor to town. They asked him if he knew of a particular flower that might be in the grounds. Claffey indicated in the affirmative and proceeded to show them flowering gorse. Claffey died a couple of years later at the age of 49.
During the summer there were several school picnics in the grounds with students from around Taranaki participating. These were big events, on one occasion a group of 1140 students from the Stratford area came in by train.
To boost the planting of trees and shrubs Hamar Arden published a list of plants that he wanted the public to donate: Grevillea robusta, Ficus macrophylla, Lawson cypress, Norfolk Island pine, Chilean pine, Cedrus deodara, Austrian pine, Cryptomeria elegans, silver pine, tulip tree, casuarina or shiok, paulownia, camphor laurel, olive, plane, Balbrogia lucida, retinosporas (any variety), magnolias, rhododendrons, alder, mountain ash, tamarisk, yucca, fan palm or kentia palm, Washington palm, and any native trees not too large, especially – honeysuckle, hīnau, rimu, Fern trees, lacebark, wharangi, mountain toi, Pittosporum trifolium, nīkau. Arden suggested that the month of May would be the best time to send plants, as he would be in the grounds constantly during that month.
In March 1896 (following the dismissal of Darby Claffey) Charles Edgecombe was selected from fifteen candidates for the position of custodian. He was given a salary of £1 5s a week and the use of the curator’s cottage. While Claffey was occupying the cottage during his custodianship he had planted apple trees in the garden. Feeling a little upset about his dismissal Claffey decided to chop the trees down.
The Recreation Ground was again the focus of Arbor Day. Two hundred trees were planted in the area adjoining the Jockey Club, the same area that was planted the previous year.
The first interprovincial rugby match, against Nelson, was played in August 1896. The visitors arriving at 6am by the steamer, Mahinapua. Taranaki won 17-0. In January, the Sports Ground also hosted the first interprovincial cricket match between the two provinces, which Taranaki won by 59 runs.
In September, the curator reported that during the month some 300 native plants had been set in the nursery bed. 200 from the Meeting of the Waters and the balance from Brooklands. About 50 trees of a larger growth were planted out during the month and a 1000 native shrubs were planted in the nursery during the season. Soon after, T K Skinner donated 578 assorted native trees to put in the nursery.
Cabbage trees in the grounds were found to be suffering from an alarming blight in the form of a myriad of pale green caterpillars. The Board was advised to spray the trees with hellebore, which did not work. Subsequently they tried dried lime which was more effective.
After a period of not having swans in the lake because they were unable to control stray dogs harming them, the Board decided to try again. They were promised a pair of black swans by Mr. Wilkie which they intended putting in the main lake, and a pair of white swans by Mr. Lennard which they intended putting in Fountain Lake.
The sportsground was sown in places where the grass was patchy. After the sowing a flock of sheep was turned on the ground to tread the new spots down. One of the major events of the year was Taranaki’s first Floral Fete in November, which fortunately coincided with a glorious day, and attracted a crowd of between 3 – 4000 people. It was organised for the benefit of St Mary’s Parish, but the Recreation Board received a quarter of the profits which amounted to £35 15s.
1896 Floral Fete
NZ Graphic, December 5, 1896
The Prince of Wales’ Birthday being a general holiday, was taken advantage of by the ladies and gentlemen connected with St. Mary’s Church for holding a grand floral fete in the Recreation Grounds for raising funds for parochial purposes. Finer weather could not have been wished for, consequently the novelty of the festivities attracted persons from all parts of the district. The fete was held in the Recreation Grounds, and a more beautiful spot could not have been chosen. It is estimated that there were fully four thousand persons present on the occasion, and from first to last the affair proved a most marked success.
The proceedings opened at 2.30 0’clock in the sports ground, the terraces being crowded with spectators. There was a grand procession of carriages, ponies, carts, perambulators, etc., all lavishly decorated with flowers. Leading in the procession was a pet pony with two little ‘ dots ‘ in panniers — the twin sons of Mr S. W. Shaw; then followed seven or eight other ponies ridden by boys and girls. Behind these were thirteen or fourteen carriages of different kinds all covered with flowers. Having made a circuit twice round the grounds, they withdrew, and a procession of children followed, led by one dressed as a young Maori chief, who was attended by a score of little girls in fancy costumes carrying garlands of flowers. The next to appear were a number of go-carts, the first two of which were drawn by dogs, but the remainder were drawn by children. This portion of the procession attracted a great deal of attention. One of the go-carts was drawn by four pretty little girls in white with another little dot driving them; then there was a boat on wheels drawn by a number of little boys. A pony trap drawn by a dozen little girls brought up the rear of the wheeled vehicles, and was followed by nearly two hundred children profusely decorated with flowers. One of the little carriages aroused considerable amusement, for seated in it was ‘ Beauty and her beast.’ Mr ‘ Punch ‘ was there, and had an equipage containing Judy and the baby. He was assisted by a little policeman.
The next part of the programme was a grand march by a hundred and fifty little girls under the guidance of Mrs Goldwater, and then a number of gaily dressed little girls danced round a Maypole. The children had been taught the dance by Miss Bedford, and were warmly applauded at its termination. The public were amused during the afternoon by various side shows. Punch and Judy kept the youngsters amused, whilst a gipsy tent and character reading by Mrs Westmacot and Mrs Clark attracted many adults to that portion of the grounds. There were boats on the lake, which were used by many, whilst others visited the baby show at which some fine children were exhibited.
Several prizes were awarded, the following being as complete a list of them obtainable:
Best decorated four-wheeler—Miss Holdsworth 1st prize. It was decorated entirely with roses and moss.
It was very pretty, and there must have been hundreds of roses on it. Mr W. Aubury took second prize, his carriage being decorated with ferns and bush flowers.
Best decorated two-wheeler—Miss Carrie Bayly and Miss Nellie Hursthouse 1st prize. The carriage was decorated with yellow flowers, mostly daisies. The ladies were dressed in yellow, and the effect of the whole was extremely pretty. Miss Linda Veale in her gig took 2nd prize. It was very prettily decorated with pink and white flowers. Miss Margaret Hursthouse and Miss Hales took 3rd prize. Their gig was decorated entirely with white flowers, and was drawn by a white horse. The two ladies were dressed in white with blue hoods, white college caps with blue tassels. This was acknowledged to be one of the most taking exhibits on the ground.
Best-decorated pony—Mr T. Callaghan’s Percy, ridden by Master Foote, 1st prize; Miss Clarice Sole’s Chippy, owner up, 2nd prize ; Mr C. W. Govett’s Creamy, Mr S. W. Shaw’s twins in the panniers, 3rd prize.
Best decorated go-cart—Miss O’Callaghan’s took 1st prize with a perambulator beautifully decorated with moss and daisies, and drawn by four little girls—Misses Alison Fraser, Gwendoline O’Callaghan, Brownie Beano, and Doris Roy, driven by Miss Gladys Roy, all dressed in pure white. Mrs F. W. Richmond’s go-cart took 2nd prize, and Miss K. Hamerton’s 3rd.
Miss Devenish’s ‘ Beauty and the Beast ‘ was particularly good. The hand cart was decorated with flowers and was drawn by two boys in Court costumes. On the cart was seated a pretty little girl dressed in white and holding the hand of a boy dressed as the beast. This took 1st prize in the miscellaneous exhibits, the 2nd prize being taken by Miss Ethel Standish with a schooner on wheels, with sails set and decorated with pink flowers. Two tiny boys sat in the boat, which was drawn by six little boys who were in sailor suits.
There were prizes also for other exhibits, but a complete record of them was not kept. Miss Adele Avery (daughter of Mr John Avery), took first -prize for her bicycle decorated as the ‘ Flag of France.’ Mr Harden, second prize, and Master Edward Avery, son of Mr Thomas Avery, whose bicycle was decorated as ‘the Union Jack,’ third prize.
There were eleven entries for the baby show, when Nellie and Minnie Tiplady (twins) took the first prize for babies under nine months, and Dorothy Rowson for those over nine and under eighteen months.
In the evening the grounds were again well attended, the chief attraction being the Druids’ torchlight procession. Shortly after 8 o’clock the members of that order, clad in their gowns with hoods over their heads and white beards, stepped down from the band rotunda and marched round the lake. They were headed by the town band, who played a slow march. The procession stopped at the sports ground, where a ceremony was performed which had a very weird effect. Sky rockets were thrown up at intervals, and a party of singers in a boat on the lake sang several glees. About 9 o’clock the band struck up ‘ God Save the Queen,’ which brought to an end one of the most successful gatherings which has ever taken place in New Plymouth.
Those who should be specially mentioned as taking an active part in getting up the fete are Mesdames Standish, Walker, McKellar, Bayly, F. L. Webster, W. J. Shaw, S. W. Shaw, Marfell, Skinner, Robinson, Dempsey, Bosworth, Dockrill, Misses Govett, Ahier, Hamerton, O’Callaghan, Jones, and Devenish. Mr W. H. Skinner assisted with the secretarial duties.
By 1897 the Sports Ground Committee set up in late 1889 with a mandate to develop the Sports Ground to a point where it could be used for most sports including rugby and cricket thought they had achieved their goal. The committee was dissolved and the running of the Sports Ground was handed back to the Board. When they took over the area it was a partially filled swamp not fit for any sport. By 1892 they had played the first game of cricket and in 1893 they had the first provincial rugby game. The terraces were still minimal, the most developed being the southern terrace with four rows of seating.
Queen Victoria’s 60th Jubilee was celebrated in 1897. There were several events in the Park but the one that stands out was the unveiling of the Jubilee Drinking Fountain. The fountain was the idea of G. W. Browne a member of the outgoing Sports Ground Committee. The committee had some cash on hand when they disbanded so started a fund to build a fountain. Browne, the owner of a fancy goods shop was responsible for the production of chinaware displaying scenes of the Recreation Ground.
The Board had a windfall, receiving £106 17s 5d, the proceeds of the Martha King estate after she died. Martha was a renowned botanical artist and considered to be New Zealand’s first resident botanical artist. Some of her work is at the National Library as part of the Alexander Turnbull Collection.
Because the Sports Ground had been handed back to the Board, they decided to employ an assistant custodian to help maintain it. Robert Mace was appointed in March of 1897. Mace later took over from Edgecome as custodian. A changing room was built near the sports field thanks partially to a donation from Tukapa Football Club and builder H. Roberts who offered his services free of charge. The curator also helped with the construction. Until that time sports people had been using the bathing house as a changing room.
Some of the donations this year included: ferns from Miss Redman, two garden seats from Mr. Ricketts, and two Black Swans from Mr. Hooker of Nelson.
1897 Floral Fete
Floral Fete November 9th 1897.
NZ Graphic November 27, 1897
Due to there being no records from the Taranaki Herald for the first six months of 1898 there is less known about this period. What is clear is that the Board was still in financial difficulties. Another Floral Fete was organised to try and bolster the coffers, and it was a huge success netting the Board around £150, enough to pay off most of their debts. They still owed money on sections bought but not paid for. The people they purchased sections from must have been easy going. At the floral fete there were several different types of decorated vehicles such as: perambulators, drays, two wheeled gigs, bicycles, tricycles, and wheelbarrows. Also, go-carts, some drawn by dogs, some by children and others by goats.
1898 Floral Fete
Floral Fete November 9th 1898. NZ Graphic November 26, 1898
Another fundraising event was a lecture by Saynor Griffiths entitled “Whenuaru” (trembling land) raising £25 4s. A notable feature of the lecture was that it was illustrated with limelight views. Limelight was a 19th century method of creating an intense point source of white light, leading to the saying, “in the limelight”.
The hatching of four young swans was a pleasant addition to the grounds and led to a renewed call to control stray dogs.
The major development of 1899 was the completion and planting of what was known as Manhattan Island at the southern end of the main lake. The area where the island was formed was a raupo swamp. Originally there were two streams feeding into the lake, one at the east which ran through where the Serpentine is now and one at the west which came through Goodwin Dell the same as it does now. The stream back then was wider and less formal. Where the stream now runs under the path there was a bridge and to the south of the bridge a waterfall. In the 1800’s it is likely more runoff water would have been flowing through the Park. T. K. Skinner came up with the plan for the reclamation and oversaw the project. Charles Edgecome did the planting of the island. Plants came from the Meeting of the Waters Reserve and Tarata including: kahikatea, rimu, mataī and tree ferns.
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Manhattan Island circa 1900.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: ARC2004-248).
One part of the Recreation Ground doing well was the nursery, bolstered by a donation of two thousand native plants from T. K. Skinner, followed soon after by another fifteen hundred by a donor who wanted to remain anonymous. Water lilies were abundant in the lakes, so the Board advertised them for sale to raise funds.
The Taranaki Volunteers, under the command of Captain Okey held a camp in the grounds, which became a regular fixture for the volunteers.
Volunteer camp next to Fountain Lake. AWN, January 29, 1903.
The Board received a petition requesting that the lake be available for swimming after 5pm. They agreed providing the petitioners formed a swimming club. The New Plymouth Recreation Ground Swimming Club was formed, and they were allowed to swim between 5pm & 7pm.
Even though the Board’s nurseries had enough plants for the season the custodian was asked to go to Ngāti Maru country (Tarata) for a couple of days collecting native trees and shrubs.
There were several fundraising events during 1899, but the Aquatic Floral Carnival was probably the standout. It was held on November 9, 1899, the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) birthday. A small flotilla of decorated boats was tugged up and down the lake by a pilot boat manned by Board members, Messrs. Newman and Cock. It is interesting to note that there were more than twenty ladies on the committee organising the event.
1899 Floral Fete
The Board received a petition requesting that the lake be available for swimming after 5pm. They agreed providing the petitioners formed a swimming club. The New Plymouth Recreation Ground Swimming Club was formed, and they were allowed to swim between 5pm & 7pm.
Even though the Board’s nurseries had enough plants for the season the custodian was asked to go to Ngāti Maru country (Tarata) for a couple of days collecting native trees and shrubs.
There were several fundraising events during 1899, but the Aquatic Floral Carnival was probably the standout. It was held on November 9, 1899, the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) birthday. A small flotilla of decorated boats was tugged up and down the lake by a pilot boat manned by Board members, Messrs. Newman and Cock. It is interesting to note that there were more than twenty ladies on the committee organising the event.
1900 Board of Trustees. AWN, Jan 5, 1901.
Back Row: Cock, Skinner. Front Row: Newman, Harris Ford, Hughes, Corkill.
Star Football Club approached the Board to erect a memorial to three of their old members who had died in South Africa while serving their country. The Board agreed to this. However, the memorial did not eventuate until 1903 and was only for Clement Wiggins.
It is notable that some of the fundraising efforts at this time were for the troops in South Africa and that the Board pulled back on its own fundraising because of this. No doubt this had some impact on the decision not to go ahead with major projects.
A noted donation was two garden seats by Mrs. Copland.
At the annual meeting of the North Egmont Forest Board, permission was granted to the Board to take from the Forest reserve two loads of plants. It is possible/probable that this is where kāmahi trees that are in the Park originated.
On February 4, 1901, the Park was the centre of a memorial service following the death of Queen Victoria.
The Jockey Club had previously allowed the Recreation Ground Board to fence off and use a piece of land they had acquired from the Brooklands Estate. In 1901 this piece of land was officially transferred to the Board. The area of land transferred was 3½ acres and lies to the east of the Serpentine between the Boathouse and the old Brooklands Boundary.
The curator Charles Edgecombe was sent to Raglan to collect plants. This was not the first time he had been sent to gather plants, but the first time to Raglan. This was made possible by W. L. Newman who had been the New Plymouth representative for the Union Steamship Company for many years. Edgecombe was given free passage for himself and the plants he collected. He brought back; mangeao, tānekaha, wharangi, native heath, umbrella fern, kōwhai and mānuka.
The Kauri Company of Auckland donated two substantial kauri spars to be made into a flagpole, these were also shipped to New Plymouth free of charge thanks to W. L. Newman and the Union Steamship Company.
In 1901 the Board introduced tree labelling in the form of 10ʺ x 6ʺ zinc tablets. They were painted white with black lettering. It was also noted that kōwhai trees were starting to bloom.
An unusual form of entertainment during the year was that of Alexander the Australian Blondin, a tightrope walker, who performed all sorts of daring feats while balancing on a 3/4” wire rope 30ft above the ground. The rope was most likely strung over the lake from one bank to the other.
Several people donated plants including, Mr. Pickett, Mrs. Gordon, and Mr. Hawes. The director of the Sydney Botanical Gardens sent several roots of Pontederia crassipes, a pale-yellow type of water lily.
In 1902 Thomas Kingswell Skinner resigned from the Board after twenty years of valuable service. As a surveyor he had laid out most of the tracks in the Park. He made plans for the development of the Sports Ground and the development of Manhattan Island. Skinner was replaced by Stephenson Percy Smith, better known as Percy Smith, who was also a surveyor. Smith had come to New Zealand with his family as a small boy, learning his trade as a cadet under Octavius Carrington, as did T. K. Skinner.
The national band contest held in March was a huge success for the town. Fifteen bands came from all over the country to compete and it was said to be the biggest ever held. It attracted huge crowds from all over the province with daily attendances of 4000 to 5000. Extra seating had been put in the Sports Ground for the event.
Fish Ponds Established
Fish Rearing Ponds – Current Day Hatchery Lawn,
Postcard Circa 1908.
During the year fishponds were established in the Park in conjunction with the Acclimatisation Society. At that time W. L. Newman, a longstanding member of the Recreation Ground Board was also the chairman of the local Acclimatisation Society. The ponds were located where the Hatchery Lawn is today. The plan was that the society would supply trout fry and the Recreation Ground curator Charles Edgecombe would feed the fish with food supplied, mashed liver being the main diet. Once the fish were big enough the Acclimatisation Society would transfer them to local rivers and maybe a few into the main lake in the grounds. The first batch of 5000 Rainbow Trout fry were liberated in the ponds in October, the fry being approximately an inch long. Over the years there were issues such as water quality, eels finding their way into the ponds etc., but they persisted on and off for about thirty years.
There was the influx of roughly 40 wild ducks which put pressure on the resources of the Board. They made a plea for feed and the Acclimatisation Society donated £5 for that purpose. Park staff fed the Park ducks until the 1950s.
Plant donations included: seeds from Mr. Chapman. A package of assorted seeds of African flowering shrubs from the Natal Botanic Gardens, given by Mr. M. Fraser who had recently returned from South Africa. Native shrubs and an edible cabbage tree from Captain Wilson, Smart Road. Native shrubs from Mr. Whitmore of Invercargill and Mr. J. Kelly of Awakino.
The first event of the 1903 Recreation Ground calendar was a cricket match between a North Taranaki team and an English eleven. An unusual aspect of the game was that the Taranaki team were allowed to field 18 players. Considering that the pitch back then was smaller than it is now it would have been interesting to see the field placements. After seeing the advert for the game, a person wrote in the Taranaki Herald. “I understand from advertisements that the game is to be played on the Recreation Ground. May I ask if the local team intend placing their “field” on the terraces that surround the pitch?” The Taranaki team still got thrashed.
Wiggins Memorial
A monument to C. E. Wiggins was erected in the Park, arranged and paid for by the Bank of New South Wales in New Plymouth. Wiggins had worked there before serving in South Africa with the 3rd Contingent. The erection of the monument caused a stir in the town. Many people felt that the Recreation Ground was not an appropriate place to put the obelisk. It was erected on a mound south of the Boat Shed Bridge, now known as Monument Hill. Wiggins died aged 27, from enteric (typhoid) fever at Germiston in South Africa on 13 July 1900. The memorial was built by memorial mason W. F. Brooking. It took the form of an obelisk made from Aberdeen granite on a pedestal of Melbourne bluestone.
With the establishment of the fish ponds the previous year it was rewarding for the Acclimatisation Society to release 500 rainbow trout (some as long as 8 inches) into the Waiwhakaiho River. Another 10,000 fry received from the Masterton hatcheries were put into the ponds in September. The following month another 5000 rainbow trout fry and 3000 brown trout fry were released into the ponds.
The Sports Ground pitch was still unsatisfactory for the local sports teams. Whenever it rained the ground became sodden and unplayable. The Board asked Percy Smith to produce a plan to deal with the drainage issue.
The efforts of the Recreation Grounds Board in endeavouring to preserve the rarer native flowering shrubs were highlighted by some fine specimens of New Zealand ribbonwood and koromiko in bloom. An Australian red gum tree also had a fine show of flowers.
There were donations of plants from Mr. J Wheeler of Durham Road. A collection of South Sea Island seeds from Mr. Gordon Cliff, and a valuable donation of seeds of a varied collection of flowering shrubs and plants collected en-route from Colombo to Vancouver from T. K. Skinner. Other donations included a peacock from Albert Bayly and two Russian geese from Mr. Holden of Makino.
In 1904 the Borough Council subsidy was raised to £100 when it was agreed that three members of the council could join the Board. They were, Richard Cock (Mayor), and councillors Collis and Carter. Cock had been a past trustee of the ground for some years.
Harris Ford resigned as secretary of the Board having served twenty-three years in the position, he was replaced by E. H. Tribe. Ford remained on the Board as a trustee.
A pair of possums were released into the Recreation Ground in 1904. They were obviously unaware of the problems the little critters would pose. They were introduced to New Zealand in the 1830s because of the value of their pelt. In Taranaki the first possums were released on the Kaitake Ranges in 1895. Possums were protected in New Zealand until 1947.
The first interprovincial soccer match was played in the Recreation Ground against a team from Auckland. The local team was expected to lose badly as it was a fledgling team up against a well-established one. The Auckland team had agreed to come to town to help promote the game. The pitch in the Recreation Ground was in a sorry state. It was very heavy carrying a lot of water and stifled the passing game of the visitors. A game of hit and chase by the Taranaki team resulted in an unlikely win to the home side. A second game was organised to be played a few days later but the venue was changed due to the poor condition of the pitch.
The big sporting event of the year was the rugby match between Taranaki and Britain which drew an estimated crowd of 9000 people. The game finished in a draw.
Thousands of trout fry were lost over the summer months of 1904. A leak was discovered between a rearing pond and the Lily Pond allowing fry to escape and eels to enter. Other fish died due to the high temperature of the water because the ponds were small and shallow.
A disturbing event occurred in the grounds in September 1904. A young lady had got into trouble and her boyfriend solicited the help of an herbalist from Opunake to come to New Plymouth to terminate the pregnancy. This was attempted at night on the Band Rotunda. Unfortunately, the operation did not go well, and the young lady had to go to hospital. The gentleman from Opunake was sentenced to five years imprisonment for his actions.
Fundraising suffered this year because the Board decided not to hold a floral fete. This was to avoid interfering with the New Plymouth Exhibition and the Christmas carnival.
Plant donations included several roots of purple flowered water lily from Mrs. Wilkie and native shrubs from Messrs. T. McKenzie and J. Whitehead, of Tikorangi. Also gifted were two possums from Mr. Moynihan and a pea hen from Mr. Carrick.
After a heavy earthquake a yellow scum was observed on the lakes, some of which was collected and sent to Sir James Hector who gave the opinion that it was sulphur.
The development of the Sports Ground again became centre of the Board’s discussions. Photographer W. A Collis who was now on the Board as a representative of the Borough Council came up with a plan to increase the playing area considerably. He also suggested raising the playing field by several feet and making more terraces. Increasing the playing area meant cutting back the existing terraces which would provide part of the fill.
Tea House
Old Tea House 1914. Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: PHO2008-077).
The first Tea House was built in 1905, this was possible because local tradespeople gave their time gratis. The building was designed by architect J. A. Maisey who left New Plymouth for Wellington in 1905. The Tea House may well have been his New Plymouth swansong. Maisey also designed the Municipal Saltwater Baths that opened in 1903.
The Board was put into a difficult position when they were once again asked to develop the Sports Ground. The Board made it clear that their brief did not include developing the Sports Ground. The way forward was to have a separate committee come in and take over the development of the Sports Ground again. In November, a Recreation Sports Ground Committee was formed, made up of representatives from many different local sporting bodies. It was chaired by A. L. Humphries. Humphries was a rugby player who had represented his country fifteen times scoring 47 points. He played halfback weighing in at 60kg, hence the affectionate nickname “Skinny”. He went on to manage the All Blacks in 1908. Humphries was an accountant by trade. The committee took control of the Sports Ground for 7 years.
The planned scheme designed by Sladden & Palmer (based on the scheme introduced by Collis the previous year) involved cutting back the southern terraces 16 ½ yards, the eastern terrace 11 yards, the hill on the west side of the ground to be cut back 16 ½ yards and a terrace built. The playing surface was to be raised 4 feet and measure 135 yards long and 110 yards wide. A cycle track was proposed around the playing field. The main entrance would move to Gilbert Street and a changing room and pavilion would be constructed in the south-east corner if funds allowed. The cost was estimated to be around £1,300. A lot of fundraising was necessary, and a ladies committee was set up to help. Fundraising got off to a good start with a £100 donation from the Licensed Victuallers Association.
Plant donations included: a collection of native shrubs, bulbs, and seeds from Mrs. Weyergang of Ngaire for planting round the new ladies’ room, and shrubs from Miss Woods.
Mr A. Bayly donated the mainmast of the Gairloch for use as a flagstaff. The Gairloch was a coastal steamer which ran aground near Oakura in 1903. Remnants can still be seen today jutting out of the sand.
Charles Edgecombe resigned as curator. His assistant Robert Mace took over the role.
1906 was all about fundraising for the Sports Ground development. Unfortunately, it had an adverse effect on the ability of the Recreation Ground Board to raise money for the rest of the grounds. They did however receive £100 from the estate of the late Mr. Robert Govett.
The plan for the Sports Ground development was to make the pitch bigger to the south and east and raise the level of the pitch substantially. Some of the fill came from removing the existing terraces and cutting in new ones but this was not sufficient. Coincidentally the railway in town was being deviated from its route along Lemon Street to its present-day route parallel to Molesworth Street, requiring a deep cutting. The Sports Ground Committee got eight hundred yards of topsoil from that cutting carted to the ground using horse and dray.
Once the Sports Ground Committee took over the sports field it was deemed necessary to keep the public out for safety reasons. The Liardet Street Entrance was temporarily closed, and a new entrance was made on Gilbert Street. One positive result was better access to the waterfall near the new entrance.
Work on the Sports Ground started in September 1906. The first job was to relocate any plants that were going to be in the way of the changes. Also, some trees needed to be felled which were cut up for firewood. A motorised circular saw was used for this and became an attraction for onlookers. By the end of November, the old terraces had gone.
Organisers of the February Garden Party.
NZG, March 3, 1906.
New Zealand Graphic, October 20, 1906.
There was a large gathering in the grounds for the memorial service of Sir Richard Seddon with about 3000 people attending. Seddon was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1893 until his death in 1906.
A commemorative marble tablet listing deceased people who had made donations to the Recreation Ground was placed on the side of Cannon Hill. It was made by memorial mason W. F. Short. The names on the tablet at the time of erection were, J. T. Davis, Martha King, Isabella Small, Peter Madsen and R. H. Govett. More names were added when appropriate.
Waterfowl in the Recreation Ground were always in peril, especially from roaming dogs. However, one Russian gander found itself offside with the Board for eating duck eggs and it ended up on a Board member’s dining table.
In September the custodian of the Recreation Ground reported to the Chairman the planting out of the following shrubs during the season just ended; kahikatea, 130; tōtara, 200; ramarama, 40; rimu, 30; hīnau, 8; maire, 10; kōwhai, 20; mānuka, 50; tawhiri, 20; tarata, 15; rata, 6; lacebark, 10; koromiko, 15; matipou, 10; Miscellaneous native shrubs, 16 sorts, 151; tree ferns, 40; paratawhiti fern, 10; mountain toi, 22; tree flax, 12; flax various, 50; ribbon grass, 15; Australian gums, 10; arum lily (clumps), 130; also 2200 young native trees planted in the nurseries. The hīnau tree at the Hughes Walk entry to the Children’s Playground may be one of the eight listed above.
The Sports Ground Committee worked tirelessly during 1907 raising funds and developing the Sports Ground so that it could be ready for the official opening at the end of the year. The area of the field was increased by at least half a chain all round. The level of the pitch was raised by about 4 feet and new terraces were made.
Before the work began on the upgrade there were six terraces which could accommodate 500 people, after improvements this increased to 22 terraces accommodating around 2000 spectators. A promenade running around the ground at the bottom of the terraces was incorporated. The terraces were faced with turf, which was held in place using 25,000 wooden pegs, representing 2000 ft of timber.
A lot of seating was required for the new terraces and the Sports Ground Committee asked the public to donate rows of seats. The call was answered by many people including, Mrs. Woolfrey Bridge, Mrs. F. L. Webster, Mrs. Capel, Misses Humphries, Messrs. H. Okey, M.H.R, W. G. Malone, A. G. Sykes, B. Tippings, George George, and Mr. Waugh.
Fourteen tons of soil was imported from Longburn, Manawatū for the cricket pitch and practice pitch. This was considered the best soil in the country for cricket pitches. The grass seed was donated by Tothill Ltd. of Invercargill, an agent of Sutton & Sons of Reading, England.
The first cricket match on the new pitch was on Boxing day 1907. Taranaki v Wanganui.
Another major development was started in 1907. This was the establishment of the Serpentine, the body of water between the Boat Shed Bridge and the boundary with Brooklands. Originally a stream came into the Park from Brooklands which formed the eastern boundary of the Park between the Boat Shed and Brooklands. The stream bed was widened and excavated to create a water depth of 3ft. Percy Smith oversaw the development of the Serpentine and did the surveying required to lay it out. Many of the labourers were Māori, some of whom camped out with their families while employed on the development. Following the completion of the Serpentine in January 1908 the Māori crew were employed by Newton King to dig out the Brooklands lake.
The board received a bequest of £100 from the estate of Mrs Broham, sister of C. W. Govett. This along with a bequest from her brother (R. H. Govett) was used for the Serpentine construction.
Renaming to Pukekura Park
The renaming of the Recreation Ground to something unique and befitting its reputation had been discussed many times since its inception. Renaming would prevent confusion between it and the Sports Ground and other recreation grounds in the area. Previous attempts to change its name had hit difficulties and been unsuccessful as an application had to be made through a Member of Parliament. Percy Smith came up with the name Pukekura Park because the valley had been known by local Māori as Pukekura for hundreds of years. In Māori Pukekura means red hill. The name possibly refers to a hill at the southern end of the valley covered in rata with their beautiful red flowers. The name change went up for discussion at a board meeting and after considerable argument the vote was 5 – 4 in favour of change. The Sports Ground was still called the Recreation Ground Sports Ground.
The Smith Years 1908 - 1920
The Smith years cover the period from March 1908 until December 1920 when William Walter Smith F. R. H. S. was the Park’s curator. He replaced Robert Mace who resigned due to deafness.
Park Board member Percy Smith was well aware of W. W. Smith’s credentials and convinced him to come to New Plymouth. They had spent three years together from 1904 to 1906 as part of a five-man government run Scenery Preservation Commission. During that period Smith had visited New Plymouth a couple of times and was familiar with the Park.
Smith was the first actual horticulturalist to run the Park, but he was also a nationally respected ornithologist and entomologist. He is officially accredited as being the last person to sight a huia which he saw in the Taraua Ranges in December 1907. He is also the first person to breed kiwi in captivity which he did during his tenure at the Park. Smith also bred weka.
Smith had been in charge of the Palmerston North reserves but resigned because of a disagreement with the Mayor. The townsfolk of Palmerston North, unhappy about the situation were desperately trying to get him back. In order to persuade Smith to stay in New Plymouth the council agreed to raise the Park’s annual subsidy from £100 to £200 to increase Smith’s salary.
During his twelve years in the Park, he transformed the look of the place introducing many native trees to the landscape. The Park received many plant donations during Smith’s tenure, which was in part due to his reputation. During 1908 Smith started developing a fernery on Manhattan Island.
During Smith’s time at the Park there were only a few staff mentioned. T. S. Compton was hired as assistant curator in 1908. Other names were John Pickerell and Robert Old. Generally, people were employed on a casual basis. Going forward any reference of Smith will refer to W. W. Smith.
Percy Smith was responsible for the construction of the wisteria pergola next to the Tea House which was originally made using mamaku. . Following is a description of the intended planting on the open arbor:
Percy Smith has planned and is about to construct a pergola or open arbor along the eastern side of the little lawn by the Tea House. This will be formed of mamaku trunks with a roof of wire netting, and the structure will be covered with flowering creepers – wisteria, begonia, passion flower, solanum, and such like. TH, Feb 2,1908.
Auckland Weekly News, March 19, 1908
A new outlet of the main lake was constructed incorporating concrete sills. This was to enable the water level in the lake to be increased by one foot. The work was done by Messrs. Boon Bros. Also, the two bridges near the Gilbert Street entrance waterfall were replaced.
A start was made on the construction of a swimming pool for the Central School students. It was somewhere in the region of the Fred Parker Lawn. Unfortunately, it was never used as the spring which fed the pool dried up.
During the year a Rob Roy Canoe was gifted to the Park by Mr. J. W. Wilson.
By 1909 Smith was making his presence felt. He redeveloped the Gilbert Street entrance and the path leading from it to Fountain Lake. This path is now called Smith Walk. Other areas to get his attention were the swamp north of the Tea House which is now the attractive Sunken Dell and the area between the Tea House and the Fernery. Smith promoted the planting of native trees and during the year felled many pine trees replacing them with natives.
The question of who should run the Park came up again. Councillor F. Bellringer, one of three council representatives on the Board, was in favour of the Park management being handed over to the council. The three council representatives had equal voting rights on the board except when it came to voting on constitutional matters. Bellringer was not happy about that.
Again, the Board found itself deep in debt and struggling to find funds to pay for labour to assist the curator with his work. A scheme for using the town’s unemployed was introduced, and a fund was started to pay these men.
The Acclimatisation Society introduced four more trout rearing ponds in the Park. Water was fed via a wooden flume and a drop of several feet was introduced to aerate the water and keep it agitated, resulting in stronger and more active fish. They placed 20,000 brown trout and 20,000 rainbow trout into the ponds. The Society also asked for permission to build a hatchery.
Movies were shown for the first time in the Park, organised by Mr. H. Hayward. The movies were ‘A human sacrifice’, depicting some of the rites of the Druids of ancient Britain and the offering of a human sacrifice, and “The White Chief”, a film that illustrated the life and customs of the American Indians. The movies were accompanied by live music.
At the end of the year it was reported that the Board was in debt to the tune of £190, which the Board members were personally responsible for.
In 1910 W.W. Smith and Percy Smith went on a native plant foraging trip to government reserves. They had special ministerial authority to visit certain Crown reserves to collect specimen trees because they had been on the Scenery Preservation Commission.
There was a large gathering in May 1910 to mourn the passing of King Edward VII.
The financial position of the Board was bad, and to make matters worse the Council reduced their subsidy by £50. Fortunately, a donation of £50 by the Hon. O. Samuel eased the pain a little.
One of the entertainment highlights of the year was the screening of a movie about Shackleton’s trip to the South Pole, shown on a big screen in the Park. Adding to the entertainment was the Taranaki Garrison Band playing a selection of tunes.
Views of Pukekura Park. New Zealand Graphic, June 22, 1910.
Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections NZG-19100622-0029-01.
The Acclimatisation Society had a hatchery building designed by Frank Messenger with the intention of building it in the Park at the head of the Hatchery Lawn. Unfortunately, the cost was higher than anticipated and they decided not to go ahead with the project. The trout fry put in the ponds the previous year did not do well because of the hot and muggy weather. The continued dry weather caused the water to foul which was disastrous for the young fry. This made the Society doubt the quality of water coming from the Park lake.
In June, the Board was approached by a group wanting to build a tennis club on Park grounds, between the Vogeltown entrance (Shortland Street) and the curator’s cottage. The Board granted their request, leasing out the piece of land on a seven-year renewable contract. The president of the newly formed Park Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club was Richard Cock, who was also the chairman of the Pukekura Park Board at the time.
Sebphe the Aeronaut.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: PHO2009-328).
In November 1910 Sebphe the aeronaut successfully ascended to 4,400 feet in a hot air balloon, then parachuted down, his balloon following him after emptying itself of air and turning turtle. Miss Leila Adair had attempted the same stunt in 1894 with disastrous consequences. On that occasion her balloon was destroyed by fire before getting off the ground.
King George V and Queen Mary coronation celebrations.
NZG, June 28, 1911.
1911 was an uneventful year for the Board due to lack of funds. The financial situation had become serious, and any planned improvements were put on hold. The highlights were the opening of the Park Tennis Courts and the visit of the Governor Lord Islington, in January. In June there was a large crowd for the celebrations of the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary.
The most controversial subject during the year was the culling of pine trees, several residents complained vigorously.
In 1912 to get out of the financial difficulty the Board introduced a Park Saturday collection. This was a door-to-door campaign. To manage the collection the town was divided into 17 areas. Many of the local ladies who did the canvassing were wives and daughters of the Park’s trustees. The feeling was that if the event was a failure they would have no choice other than handing over the Park to the council. Park Saturday was like a referendum as to whether the townspeople wanted the Park to be run by the trustees or the council. The day was successful, raising over £164, enough to put the Park’s finances back in the black for the first time in a long time. To add to this, Hon. O. Samuel M.L.C. donated £25. He continued this donation for several years.
The curator planted a rose garden after receiving a large collection of rose bushes donated by C. E. Bellringer.
Smith continued developing a fernery on Manhattan Island using thirty-seven species of native fern. At that time, the island was accessible to the public as a picnic spot, with two small bridges linking it to the mainland. Unfortunately, a lot of the ferns planted were stolen so the Board decided to remove the bridges, this however did not stop the thieves. A lot of the plants on the island came from Ratapihipihi.
Plant theft was a major concern, as were bike riding and dogs in the Park. Ducks and swans were regularly harmed by dogs. To try and counter these issues the Board appointed Mr Tippins as an inspector to try and enforce the bylaws of the Park. Tippins was a council inspector who did this sort of work as part of his job.
The running of the tea-rooms was taken over by Mrs. Cory. She requested that she be allowed to paint the inside of the building at her own expense. The Board was more than happy to accede. Fortunately for her, Cooper Bros came to the rescue offering to paint the building inside and out free of charge using their newly patented paint. They also painted the bathing shed.
The Acclimatisation Society stopped using the rearing ponds because of concerns over poor water quality and removed the races feeding the ponds.
Smith went on a botanical expedition to Mount Egmont to find new species of plants. He was accompanied by Donald Petrie and Murdoch Fraser. Petrie was a preeminent botanist of the time. He was a long-time friend of Smith’s going back to when Smith lived in the South Island. The plants they found were introduced into the Park.
Girls High School Amateur Theatricals practice.
AWN, October 23, 1913.
The rose bed developed the previous year (Palm Lawn) flourished but the flowers were stolen, this prompted Smith to develop a new rose garden behind the Tea House. He transplanted the existing roses and others that were donated. He also planted a bed of native veronicas in the same area.
In the first half of the 20th century ducks and swans were reared in the Park. Sometimes the ducklings would be taken out of the Park and reintroduced when they were big enough to fend for themselves. The Board fed the birds and often culled eels.
At the end of 1912 two new paths were made, making it easier for Vogeltown residents to get to the racecourse. One path went from the Shortland Street entrance down to the south end of the lake onto Hughes walk. Two small crossings allowed residents to walk across the north end of Manhattan island. The second path went from the Boat Shed Bridge up the Eastern Hillside to the racecourse. The area on the island where the ferns were planted was fenced off.
The Park was now operating in the black instead of the red which was a massive relief for the Board. Throughout 1913 the Board received many donations of plants and birds for which the curator was thankful. The main body of work comprised improving walkways and general gardening, cutting grass, weeding, etc. Another Park Saturday was held raising over £128.
Vice Regal Party – Earl of Liverpool.
AWN, October 23, 1913.
Five pine trees were cut down near the curator’s cottage as they were deemed dangerous, and six above the western terrace in the Sports Ground to give more light to the cricketers.
Rider Haggard visited the Park in March 1913 as part of a trade mission. During this visit he supposedly claimed that the pūriri in Brooklands was 2000 years old.
At this time the curator and a young assistant were the only full-time employees of the Park. Casual labour was brought in when needed.
In 1914 C. W. Govett died, he had been a trustee since 1892. During his time on the Board, he made several generous donations to help the Board’s finances. He was also one of the driving forces in forming the Scenery Preservation Society in 1891 and promoting the formation of Egmont National Park. C. H. Drew (jeweller) was appointed in his place.
It is noted that at this time the bathing shed was no longer being used by bathers. It was now used as a tool shed for the curator. It remained in its original location next to the lake until 1931. When the new Tea House was built, the shed was moved to a location between the Tea House and the Fernery.
The major projects for the year were the enlargement of the Lily Pond and the reclamation of the swamp (Sunken Dell) near the Tea House. The dell was drained and the main lake overflow channel that ran through it was widened to about 6 ft to improve the flow of water. Fill was added and a lawn was laid. A pathway through the dell was formed and the banks were planted with a collection of native ferns. Smith also remodelled the Gilbert Street entrance, greatly improving its appearance and making it the prettiest entrance to the Park. A short distance away he planted a collection of 34 varieties of flax in a bed near Palm Lawn.
A new path was started from near the Tea House, going up past the racecourse and behind the eastern terrace of the Sports Ground.
During the 1910s many kiwi and ducks were donated to the Park. One donation in particular stands out, a bequest of 64 hybrid ducks bred from Chilean teal and New Zealand grey duck.
In 1915 the first government meteorological station was established in town. It was located in the garden of the curator’s cottage on Carrington Road (now Victoria Road). Smith took daily readings and once a month they would get posted in the newspapers (see next page). This is another example of Smith’s talent.
Because of the war it was decided not to have a Park Saturday fundraising effort in 1915. This had been a major fundraiser, and indeed a lifeline for the previous three years. Instead,
fetes were held to raise money for the poor in Britain, Ireland, and Belgium.
A new rose bed was established on the site of the old peacock house, at the southern end of what is now Palm Lawn. This was done to accommodate a large collection of roses sent by a gentelman from Palmerton North.
Typical weather report from Smith.
TH, August 2, 1915
A new path was completed (Claffey Walk) which ran from the John Street (Rogan Street) entrance, around the top of the sports ground gulley (King Fern Gulley).
Several pine and macrocarpa trees were felled and sold for firewood. This was another source of income for the Board.
Around this time, the curator and Percy Smith were being called upon by several authorities in town to help with planting layouts, including: the Hospital Board, Technical College, and East End Reserve.
In 1916 F. P. Corkill resigned from the Board after serving for more than 30 years. C. E. Bellringer was appointed to take his place.
The management of the Sports Ground was returned to the Park Board. The Sports Ground Committee which had developed and controlled the Sports Ground since 1906 was finding it difficult to get the men to look after it. This was because many of the local young men were away at war. The Board came to an agreement with the Technical College in town, they would use it as a sports field and in return look after grass cutting, etc. This arrangement was not successful.
Park Saturdays were reintroduced in 1916. It raised over £166 that year. The Board also received a £100 from the estate of the late Ann Hulke.
Robert Clinton Hughes wrote ‘A Brief History’, which was a history of the Park until that time. It was published in three parts in the Taranaki Herald on August 3rd, 4th and 5th.
The John Street (now Rogan Street) entrance was improved, and native trees planted in the vicinity of the entrance.
In 1917 the old Carrington Road was renamed Victoria Road and the portion of Holdsworthy Road which formed the southern boundary of the Park was officially handed over to the Board.
E. H. Triberesigned his position as secretary of the Board of Trustees. Tribe felt that the Board were not forward thinking, yet he objected to the Board wanting to install electric lights in the curator’s cottage, thinking this was an unnecessary expense. When the chairman questioned his standing in the committee, Tribe walked out.
The Sports Ground was in such a state that it was suggested that it be dug up and planted with potatoes as there was going to be a food shortage due to the war.
The first permanent electric lights were installed around part of the main lake.
Two improvements were made during the year. The wooden landing steps in front of the Band Rotunda were replaced, and the wooden culvert which formed the mirror waterfall by the old Lily Pond (Hatchery Lawn) was replaced. Both structures were replaced with concrete counterparts designed by Frank Messenger, gratis.
A hot water fountain was donated by C. H. Burgess and was located by the Band Rotunda. This supplied hot water for people making cups of tea. Unfortunately, it was short lived as it was vandalised soon after being installed.
The Park’s finances were OK. The Board raised £200 from subscriptions and the Park Saturday collection, plus £100 from the estate of Clement Govett and £25 from the Jockey Club.
Another addition to the Park was the initial palm tree plantings on what is now Palm Lawn. They were supplied by Clement Wragge of Auckland. In 1916 Wragge had visited New Plymouth as part of a speaking tour and commented on the fact that Pukekura Park would benefit from a planting of palm trees. The Board must have heeded his advice and ordered some from him. Wragge owned Waiata Subtropical Gardens which was a well-known visitor attraction. It is believed there are four trees from that planting still growing in the Park: 2x Livistona australis (cabbage-tree palm), 1 x Howea forsteriana (kentia palm) and 1 x Phoenix rupicola (cliff date palm). A pergola was constructed by the Sports Ground. It was eight feet high, rising to thirteen feet in the centre.
Two Board members resigned in 1918. Percy Smith who had been a member for sixteen years and W. L. Newman after serving for twenty-four years. Both men made significant contributions during their tenures. One of the replacements was the Mayoress, Mrs Burgess. She had been very involved in fundraising for the Park for many years and was familiar with the issues the Board faced. Having a lady on any Board must have been unusual back then.
The Board got a boost to its funds when the Mayor, C. H. Burgess, asked the council to give the Park his honorarium of £150. The council agreed to this provided that the Board spent the money as directed by the Mayor.
In March 1918 there was a fundraising gymkhana which had some interesting events. It included a motor car obstacle course and a motorcycle obstacle course, as well as the usual aquatic events. The fete raised £120.
There was a push to develop a fernery. The site chosen was near to where the Fernery is today. At the time they knew of about sixty-four varieties of ferns indigenous to Taranaki, and about half of them were in the Park. This was part of a bigger scheme to develop the valley leading from the Tea House to the racecourse. The plan was to have an entrance – an archway of native creepers – from the path leading up to the racecourse, leading to a fernery which was to be the finest in the Dominion. Higher up it was intended to complete the lake which had been started some years before. Walks were to be formed along the surrounding banks. It was anticipated that the changes would make this one of the most picturesque and interesting sections of the Park. During the year the Smith completed the preparation for the fernery and planted a number of ferns, some of which he collected himself from Whangamōmona. The building however did not go ahead.
There were two rose beds in the Park, one behind the tea house and the other in the Palm Lawn area. Due to the constant theft of roses, it was decided to move the plants from behind the tea house to the Palm Lawn bed. It was thought that people would be more exposed there and therefore less likely to take the plants.
On November 11, 1918, the Armistice agreement was signed ending WW1. This was celebrated in New Plymouth a few days later with a procession through town ending in the Park. The celebration coincided with the Spanish Flu making its presence felt in town. The parade went ahead even though other events that week were postponed due to the influenza epidemic.
Victory parade 1919.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: A.4.50).
Victory parade 1919.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: A.4.49).
W. C. Weston joined the Board in 1919 replacing Percy Smith. The secretary Albert Grey resigned. His position was filled by P. E. Stainton. The job of secretary was advertised as a paid position; however, Stainton took on the job as an honorary role. He remained on the Board for 44 years. StaintonDell is named after him.
Interestingly, the Park was offered 6d for sacks of pine cones. The Board members felt that 2s 6d was more realistic because the seeds from the cones were at a high price as they were being used to take the place of almonds in the manufacture of toffee.
The Mayor’s honorarium was again given to the Board on the understanding that the money would be used for building a new tea house. The Burgess’s also offered to donate £100 of their own money for the same purpose.
Some improvements were made to the Park. A new men’s toilet block, constructed by Messrs Russell and Son. This was located by the old Tea House, remnants of which can still be seen against the bank to the south of the old wisteria, next to the current Tea House. A short walk was formed from near the Band Rotunda down to the water Lily Pond (Hatchery Lawn). The curator thought this would be convenient for ladies and nurses with young children.
A major event in town was Peace Day celebrations in July of 1919.
The theft of plants was an ongoing problem; roses were leaving the Park as quickly as they were being planted. The curator also pointed out at one of the committee meetings that, “The last of the todeas or royal ferns, was stolen from near the lower waterfall recently.”
In April the Taranaki Daily News, reported that:
“There is at present to be seen at Pukekura Park the rare sight of banana trees in bloom. These are not the ordinary fruiting variety, but belong to the Abyssinian kind, which grow in great profusion in the vicinity of the Nile. Those in the Park have been grown from seed, which was planted about seven years ago. The blooms which three of the trees have thrown are really magnificent specimens. The trees are now twelve feet in height and are situated just north of the lower lake. Some Fijian bananas were planted, but the severity of the past winter killed them.” TH, April 3, 1919.
At the beginning of 1920 Richard Cock resigned from the Board having served many years.
The Council’s proposal to run a new tram route to Vogeltown via the Park caused a lot of consternation. The proposed route was for the tram to come up Liardet Street from town, turn right at the Park gates on to Fillis Street, enter the Park, run across to where the Children’s Playground is today, take a left turn before reaching Hughes Walk heading south, cross Hughes Walk near where the Waterfall is today, and there have a tram stop, continue on the west side of Hughes Walk gradually rising up the side of the hill coming out on to Brooklands Road just after the Vogeltown entrance, opposite Shortland Street.
A major fundraising effort was launched headed by Mrs Burgess. It was called the £1,000 Pukekura Park Fund. The feeling amongst the newer members of the Board was that the old guard had not been aggressive enough in asking the public for money. The first event was an Apple and Chrysanthemum Day which raised £207. The fundraiser concluded with a five-day carnival. The £1,000 Fund realised over £1,500.
The Park had its first royal visit, Edward, Prince of Wales. The initial itinerary had the Prince arriving at the railway station at 8.55am and departing at 11am, giving him two hours in New Plymouth. After a reception at the Park, he was to be driven through the Park to the Boys’ High School. The Racecourse Walk was widened in preparation. Unfortunately, a few days before the visit, the town was informed that the duration had been shortened to one hour, arriving at 10am and leaving at 11am. This meant it was no longer practical to go to the Boys’ High School. The visit was still a huge success. The motorcade entered the Park through the Gilbert Street entrance. See page 241 for more details of royal visits.
Pine cone sales were a bonus money earner for the Park. They had 194 sacks for sale in January 1920.
Over thirty pine trees were cut down during the year and sold as firewood. Significantly, half a dozen were removed near the western terrace of the Sports Ground. The cricketing fraternity had wanted these cut down for many years. They threw large shadows across the pitch in the afternoon and detrimentally affected the light, sometimes causing play to be called off early.
A new Sports Ground Committee was formed to try and resurrect the Sports Ground to its former glory and to make further improvements. A. L. Humphries was again at the helm. The committee was granted three years rent free to give it time to pay off old debts.
The Trout rearing ponds on the Hatchery Lawn that had been abandoned and filled in in 1912 were reinstated, with the intention to also construct a hatchery building. 3000 fry were put in the ponds in October of 1920. A week later someone opened the trap door releasing the fish. This made the Acclimatisation Society think twice about using the rearing ponds. It turned out that it was an accident.
Mrs Burgess realised that the board needed a major fundraising effort every year to adequately fund the Park. She wasn’t prepared to organise another major fundraising effort and promoted handing over the running of the Park to the Borough Council.
W. W. Smith resigned at the end of 1920 which was a huge loss to the Park. It appears that the secretary of the Board, P. E. Stainton, was not happy with the amount of time Smith was spending outside the Park, helping other people and organisations. The way this dissatisfaction was relayed was not ideal. The outcome was that Smith resigned, threatening to take Stainton to court for slander.
Another loss for the Board was W. A. Collis who passed away. Collis first sat on the Board as one of the Borough Council’s representatives in 1904. He was a professional photographer and a lot of the old photos of the Park were taken by him.
1921 -1924
The Board made a notable decision not to appoint a new curator after the resignation of Smith. This was done to save money; however, they did appoint William Bocock (retired farmer) as a working foreman, this position was basically curator without the appropriate salary.
The chairman, C. E. Bellringer, went on a trip to the UK and on his return mentioned how he had visited many reserves and how he had been struck by the provisions made for the amusement of children. This led to a couple of swings being installed in the area of the current playground. Unfortunately, nothing else was done for children until 1953.
At the February 1921 Board meeting it was again suggested that the control of the Park should be vested in the borough Council. Mrs Burgess moved the following:
“That in order that Pukekura Park and all lands owned by this this board shall be vested in the borough of New Plymouth, a petition signed by the majority of the members of the board be presented to his Excellency the governor-General, praying that he will be pleased to dissolve the board under the powers conferred upon him by section 18 of the Botanical Gardens Act, 1876, and that, in order to give effect to this resolution, the board’s solicitor be instructed to prepare the necessary petition for signature.” TH, February 2, 1921.
There were a number of reasons that Mrs Burgess was pushing for this change. The lack of a fixed source of income big enough to run the Park was the main factor. The board always struggled financially. It was receiving an annual subsidy of £250 from the council, but its running costs on wages alone was about £800. The shortfall had to be fundraised. Needing to constantly organise fundraising events was not easy. The newer members of the Board felt that as the Park was a public place it should be run by people who were elected to office, not by a self-elected board who were members for life. They thought that was outdated.
Hughes, who had been a member since the Board’s inception thought councillors would be the wrong people to look after the Park because they wouldn’t be personally invested in the Park as much as the trustees. Hughes also had a dig at the new blood (Burgess, Stainton, and Weston) blaming them for the resignation of W. W. Smith.
The motion Mrs Burgess tabled was rejected, but it was agreed that the Board would approach the council to see if they were amenable to the proposal. The council indicated that they were, however, they also made it clear that they were not prepared to increase the amount of ratepayer funding for the Park. This meant that the new Board would essentially be in the same position financially as the existing Board, and there was no advantage in handing the Park over to the council. Mrs Burgess resigned soon after that meeting.
On a sporting note, the Taranaki Rugby team held the touring Springbok side to a famous draw. The credit for the result went to the coaches, A. L. Humphries and C. Brown. Humphries had been a half-back for New Zealand around the turn of the century and was a stalwart of the Recreation Sportsground Committee dating back to 1906. He oversaw the first major transformation of the sportsground.
Taranaki v Springbok, AWN, July 28, 1921.
To help the Park, free advice regarding planting was given by Victor Davies, of Duncan & Davies. This was the start of his long relationship with the Park.
The Board was approached by the Acclimatisation Society seeking permission to build a trout hatchery, which was granted. It took the form of a whare which was placed at the southern end of the Hatchery Lawn. The first consignment of trout ova was received at the end of June. The brown trout ova came from the Hakataramea hatcheries in Otago. The rainbow ova came from the government hatcheries in Rotorua. After hatching the young fry were released into local rivers in August. A good description of the hatching process can be found in a Daily News article, August 20, 1921 (see page 205).
During a July meeting held in the Park it was agreed to establish a fernery and a rhododendron dell. The fernery was planned by John Gibson, a prominent horticulturist, of Frankley Road.
The new Sports Ground Committee got stuck into updating the Sports Ground. They started by re-laying drains and raising the level of the pitch to facilitate better drainage. They imported over 1500 cubic yards of soil, some of which came from the hill in Fillis Street to the west of the main entrance.
In 1921, Gilbert Street between Victoria Road and the Park’s Gilbert Street entrance was impassable because of a deep gully. The gulley was where the Park’s stream goes across Gilbert Street. It was suggested that this be filled in and the road completed to ease traffic problems on Liardet Street. There was pushback from the council because of the cost. To reduce costs, it was suggested using kerosine cans as fill. They were being used in large quantities and thousands of cans were being dumped each year. Fortunately, it was not allowed. The gully was filled in with earth in1922.
Three Board members died during 1922. Harris Ford who had been a member of the Board since its inception in 1875, Percy Smith who had served from 1902 until 1918 and F. P. Corkill who was a trustee from 1885 until 1916. Hector Dempsey (Central School headmaster from 1885 – 1916) and James McLeod were brought onto the committee as government appointed trustees. Dempsey remained on the board until 1939 and McLeod until 1943.
Following a suggestion by the Sports Ground Committee of sharing a custodian the board hired Charles Revell. He worked two days a week on the Sports Ground and the balance in the Park. They hired Revell because they wanted a younger person in the position of curator, so they laid-off Bocock who was in his late 60s. Unfortunately, Mr. Revell died of pneumonia, aged 44, in December 1922.
The trout hatchery was in full swing handling several hundred thousand ova per year, and a new rose bed was introduced under the supervision of Hector Dempsey.
The first rhododendron dell was planted in the Park, the work of Charles Score Sanders. Sanders supplied the plants and supervised their planting in what is now the eastern arm of Stainton Dell. Over two years he planted approximately seventy different varieties of rhododendron in this area. Some may still exist today. A fernery was also established in Stainton Dell by the Racecourse Walk.
View of the original rhododendron dell.
Private collection, Warwick Horton.
The 1920s was a time of depression and high unemployment and the Board got involved in a subsidised scheme to give work to some of these unfortunate men. They pledged to give pound
for pound raised by the public to a maximum of £100. They targeted the neediest, particularly returned servicemen and married men with children. The main work carried out with the extra labour was the cleaning out of the main lake and preparing an area for the Fernery.
The Sports Ground Committee were preparing for phase two of the redevelopment of the Sports Ground. With the pitch completed the next phase was to increase the number of terraces. This would be achieved by reworking what was already there. The plan was also to eventually construct a changing room incorporating toilet facilities.
The main lake in Pukekura Park in 1922 must have been a lot cleaner than today. It is hard to imagine Seventh day Adventists today performing submersion baptism, as they did back then.
Donations of ducks, swans, plants etc. were generally accepted with open arms, but they had to say no to two lion cubs.
At the beginning of 1923 George Tunnecliffe was promoted to custodian following the death of Charles Revell. Presumably his duties were the same as Revell’s, looking after the Park and the Sports Ground.
Section 1117 on Fillis Street was purchased giving access to Kindergarten Gully.
As part of its policy of improvements the Sports Ground Committee had a changing room designed. The architect was T. H. Bates, a well-known New Plymouth architect of the time. Bates was a keen cricketer and was on the Sports Ground Committee. He was also the Park’s honorary architect. The building he designed was a cute single-story structure which still survives today (2025). If you peer through the doors of the Bellringer Pavilion the original building is hidden inside. It was built by Jones and Sandford. The drawings were donated by Bates who also supervised the construction. The building had a changing room for each team with showers and a separate room for officials. At the back was a separate entrance to a public toilet. It was completed in the first quarter of 1924.The building was subsequently modified twice, once in 1956 when a second story was added, then again in 1988 when the floor area was increased towards the playing field behind a new facade. This is what you can see today. The future of the building is uncertain as there are structural issues, and it is susceptible to flooding.
Shags have always been a feature in the Park, but their diet of fish from the Park lakes was not welcome in those days and was often remedied by culling the birds.
A major fundraiser during 1924 was a successful Queen Carnival which netted the board over £1,400. Unfortunately, the carnival was marred by the death of the nominated queen, Miss Maisie Whittle. There was a Queen Carnival parade in the Park which she missed due to illness and she died a few days later having contracted influenza.
Maisie Whittle, AWN, Feb 28, 1924
Queen Carnival. AWN, March 20, 1924
The town’s tram network was extended to the Park’s gates. This was opened in July of 1924. The line ran up Liardet Street from Devon Street where it branched off the main line. It terminated at the main gates on Fillis Street and branched off to the Gilbert Street entrance. This was made possible because a lot of the materials were left over from the construction of the Westown extension. It was also stated that the branch onto Gilbert Street could be extended to Vogeltown via Carrington Road. This extension did not ever materialise, probably due to technical difficulties with the proposed route. The tram service to the Park ceased in 1937 and the lines were removed in 1938. The lines were used for repairs to the lines on South Road.
Tramline to Pukekura Park.
New Plymouth Tramways 1916-1954, Rudd, Don.
It was reported that a large poplar tree had fallen over and badly damaged the boat shed. Early in the Park’s history poplar trees were planted to identify the Park’s boundaries. On the hill just east of the boat shed is the southern boundary of section 1262, which in 1876 was a Park boundary.
The first plan for a major fernery was put to the Board by Mr. Besely in 1924. It had three chambers, one 30ft by 50ft and the other two, 60ft by 30ft. The walls were terraced, all covered with a glass roof. The plan was drawn up by Mrs H. Lovell, of Hāwera. The proposal was given the go-ahead and work started on clearing the hillside to the south of the John Street walk.
George Tunnecliffe resigned his position as curator due to ill health, having served approximately one year. Advertisements were placed for a replacement and the Board was fortunate to receive an application from Thomas Horton.
The Horton Years
Thomas Horton F.R.H.S. started his tenure as superintendent/curator in July 1924. He had a wealth of experience as a nurseryman and was a world leader in the cultivation of apple trees.
As part of the preparation for the Fernery the board decided to clear a number of large pine trees on the north side of the John Street walk (Horton Walk) which it thought may cause issues in future years. This clearing of pines led to Horton’s first major planting of native trees. The trees in question are the rimu, tōtara and kauri which flank what is now, Horton Walk, leading from the Rogan Street entrance, down to the Tea House. He planted about 300 trees in this area, which were purchased from Duncan and Davies. His diary entry, September 25, reads, “kauri, rimu & other trees arrived. Planted John St walk. Mr. Morshead presented a tānekaha (Phyllocladus alpinus)”. We know from Thomas Horton’s diary that tree felling started on September 3, and the job was finished by November 4. Also noted in his diary were the trees that were felled. His entry on October 28, read, “Total number of trees felled to date, 35 Pine (large), 3 Pine (smaller), 18 Oak and Sycamore.’ The board authorised the felling of large Pine trees that were dangerous. The logs suitable for milling were purchased by the Sash and Door Factory and Timber Company. What was left was cut up and sold as firewood.
The first Taranaki Kennel Club dog show was held in the Park and proved very successful. The champion ribbon for the best dog on the parade was won by Mr. J. Somerton’s smooth-haired fox terrier (Maidestone Donholm).
An interesting article was published in the Daily News March 25, indicating that some of the timber for the original St Mary’s Church came from Pukekura Park. “Great care was taken in the selection and seasoning of the timber, a great deal of which was obtained from the gullies where Pukekura Park now is. The timber was hand sawn and then dragged down to the Huatoki River, where it was chained down under the surface of the water for seasoning.”
TDN, March 25, 1924
In March 1925 it was noted that boat takings were down due to the polio epidemic, an epidemic which killed 175 people in New Zealand. This epidemic triggered a lockdown and many schools closed and students had to study at home. In those days work was sent to them by post, not online as was the case with the recent pandemic.
An open-air boxing tournament organised by the Taranaki Boxing Association was held in Pukekura Park in February of 1925, the first of its type in Taranaki. The main event was a heavyweight title fight between George Modrich, of Auckland and Eddie Parker, of Hastings, Parker won after Modrich’s corner threw in the towel at the end of the seventh round. There were several other fights on the undercard and a number of local boxers demonstrated their skill. The crowd of 1500 were well entertained under the lights of the sportsground.
A committee was set up to look at the possibility of erecting a new house in the Park for the superintendent. The feeling was that if he lived in the Park, it would deter vandalism. Plans were drawn up and estimates were done by T. H. Bates, so the board could look at ways and means of financing it. Unfortunately, they could not come up with the means of financing the property and the house did not get built until 1930. There was an old curator’s cottage on Victoria Road paid for by the government when the land was first given to the board in the 1870s, presumably its condition was not suitable for habitation. Following Smith’s departure the cottage was used by the scouts until it was pulled down in 1930.
At the July 1925 board meeting Thomas Horton told the committee that he had planted 800 native trees of different varieties which he had grown in his own garden, saving the board a lot of money. Having only been in New Plymouth one year this action shows how dedicated he was to his job. He also initiated the labelling of trees for educational purposes and was a believer that if you could get people interested in the Park, they would be more likely to look after it. To this end he reached out to schools offering to take groups round the Park and teach them about the plants.
Thomas Kingswell Skinner died in August 1925. Skinner was a board member from 1881 to 1901. From the Parks inception in 1875 Skinner had selflessly given his time and skill as a surveyor laying out many of the paths in the Park as well as working on the sportsground development and Manhattan Island.
A Pair of kiwis were donated and released on Manhattan Island. How they fared is a mystery as the birds were left to their own devices.
A monster fireworks display was held in the sportsground on November 5, which attracted a large crowd. A competition was run for the best guy. At the end of the display a huge bonfire was lit at the southern end of the ground and all the guys were burnt. The success of the bonfire was guaranteed as it was fuelled by a case of kerosene donated by A. S. Patterson and Co. and old motor oil donated by Criterion Motors Ltd. The night netted a profit of about £100.
The maintenance of the Sports Ground was handed back to the Board. An agreement was made whereby the Sports Ground Committee would pay the board £175 per annum to look after the grounds. This payment was for maintenance only and did not include development of new terraces etc. Some new terraces were constructed at the Sports Ground during the year; however, the location and extent of work is not clear.
There was a renewed push to build a fernery and the fernery sub-committee submitted a new plan which provided for three large “dug-outs” each 60ft by 30ft. The estimated cost of the work was £450 plus cost of glass for the roof, estimated to be between £100 to £150. It was proposed that the board provide £300 towards the cost, with the sub-committee undertaking to raise the balance. This was given the go-ahead in December.
On September 19, The Taranaki Herald printed an article, Ramble Through the Park, which describes what a person sees while walking through the Park with a child. The narration of the walk, along with a botanical survey as part of the same article gives a very good description of the Park as it was in 1925. With a bit of thought the same walk can be taken today and maybe some of the trees mentioned can be spotted.
Ramble through the Park.
TH, September 19, 1925
Come on, Emily, we’ll enter by this gate near the racecourse.
The top of the terrace shows a valley of varying shades of green. The afternoon sun glistens on the mamaku fronds, and the shades merge into one tone in the distance below. This wealth of greenery envelopes one as the path leads gently downwards. On the right a valley rich in native foliage and a secluded lakelet among the greenery; on the left a hilly brow of bush with an enticing little path, which we will follow.
Tarata trees, chefflera, and mahoe crowd in on all sides, towered over by tall pinus insignis, Scotch fir and tuberculata. Along this carpet which the firs have shed, past the corner, the sheen of open water shows between the pines and tall mamaku. (No, Emily, we’ll keep to the higher path.)
This leads up to more scattered vegetation, allowing space for pleasant swards of grass among the trees of rimu, kawakawa, koromiko, macrocarpa, matipo―what a sudden glimpse of yonder hill, crowned by a house!―and strawberry (banthenia), a white-flowered native of the Himalayas.
Listen (hush, child) to that tui in the kowhai tree. How he revels in the sunlight and pours out his song—
Far-away cheering breaks in. If the applause is for the tui’s song, he well merits it.
The notes of a bell-bird chime in. The whole bush is full of song. The staccato notes of the startled blackbird are offset by the soughing of the pines and the rustle of the breeze in the bush.
Past two towering rewa rewa, poisonous rangiora, and tarata and broardleaf, the path leads downward into a cool fernery of ponga and asplenium, capensis (capense), through which it zig-zags, in charming fashion. (Don’t trip over that fallen mamaku, child). It fell across path in a storm a decade ago, but undaunted has sent up from its trunk a spur of fronds.
The path becomes level; crosses a bridge near which a miniature waterfall is bursting to imitate Niagara, and leads out into a glade fringed with rata, English alder, kowhai and pittosporum crassifolium under whose imposing name is hidden a cunningness in propagation by its seeds adhering to the feathers of unsuspecting birds, who scatter them in flight.
The path broadens with the stream, and opens up vistas at every turn. The tone of green is broken by a subdued red and white. Ah, a neat little bridge!
But let us leave this 30ft. kauri near the path and climb the hill to the left, where the paths are few. Native trees and shrubs crowd in on every side, and the path appears to be seldom used. (Come back Emily). The view broadens as the hill is climbed. (You mustn’t run ahead like that and surprise young couples child. It isn’t fair) and a wealth of foliage is revealed from the top.
Along both sides of the valley the mass of green is relieved by taller rewa rewa, mamaku fronds and towering pines. In the centre a stretch of calm water offsets the green and finally loses itself round a curve. We will follow it―
Again that cheering breaks out. If it is for the view, it were well made.
Tread lightly past this offshoot of the historic cedars of Lebanon (cedrus Libane), the Indian cedars (cedrus Indica) and take the winding path which leads down from the spreading black gum of Australia to a cool walk besides a stream which feeds the lake. Another waterfall is chattering beside the footbridge, and the brook entices down to islands fringed with cladium and formed by the agency of man. Mamaku on the nearest of these has played a cunning part, for it has hidden the view till it bursts suddenly on the sight.
Hillsides covered in verdure, an open stretch of water, and a picturesque bridge whose subdued colours blend yet contrast with the prevailing green. Mamaku and pines alike grow upside down, mirrored in the lake, and ducks and a white swan swim over them. (There is some bread in the basket, Emily).
The walk round the western side of the lake leads to the “Poet’s Bridge,” where another prospect opens with pleasing suddenness. Having been tied in bounds by the bridge, the lake spreads itself to lap the pathways under the slopes; to lap the embankment where a band rotunda, monument and building have been erected; to lap with little effect the rowing boat which is riding on its surface; and to shake in threatening fashion the hills and trees mirrored in its depths.
Sustained cheering, very near this time, is heard. If it is in compliment to the aspect, it were indeed well planned.
The path entices toward a fringe of mamaku, refreshingly cool in the shade of the pines. Past it, to the left, is a grove inviting one to new vistas, which are cunningly concealed round a bend. Through the fringe is a placid lake whose water-lilies strive towards the air, and to the right a rotunda and a monument commemorative of the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria’s reign. On the hill above, the cannons of “Dicky” Barrett, though lacking their jovial master, are still on the lookout for Maori attacks.
Loud cheering breaks the silence. If the outburst is Taranaki’s acknowledgement of Richard Barrett’s work in the early days, it is singularly appropriate.
No, child, we’ll go round to the left of the hill beside this lake of lilies and―
A calm stretch of water, fringed with mamaku, where all Nature shows the effect of man’s taming hand. A delightful, enchanting spot!
Follow to the left in the shade of the pines and the mamaku, catch the sun’s sparkle on the water and on the fronds on its farther side, drink in the sublimity of the scene, and one has seen cultured Nature at her best.
At the farther end of the lake, between the sunlight and the shade, a brook babbles from the stretch of water and is soon lost in the under-growth and around playful little corners which entice one to follow the rill. But we are going round to the right, through this wide gate.
Great goodness! Terraces and terraces of bright colours, offset by darker hues! Men and women crowding the hills on three sides, excited at a Rugby struggle on the level sward. All is movement on the ground, and above, the dresses of the ladies contrasted with the attire of the men, form at once a spectacle no to be forgotten.
Deafening cheers break out. If they are for the glory of the sight, they are indeed well suited.
Come on, Emily, it’s nearly time for tea.
An aquatic carnival was held in May 1926 as a fundraiser for the new fernery. This was an evening event, and the lake was illuminated with hundreds of coloured lights. Male and female swimmers took part. There were also lifesaving displays, canoe races and a fishing demonstration. The evening was a success but only raised £15 for the Board.
The Anzac Day Ceremony in 1926 was well attended. 1500 ex-soldiers, territorials and school children made up a procession which marched from town to the Park. There was a crowd of seven to eight thousand at the Sports Ground to take part in the ceremony.
Boy Scouts camp in Pukekura Park. AWN, January 14, 1926.
In June, the Fernery construction started, this had been many years in the planning. It was a huge undertaking, consisting of three 60ft x 40ft grottos linked by tunnels, covered with a glass roof. The front chamber lay east-west, the other two chambers behind, side by side laying north-south. The back chambers raised 10ft above the front one. These were cut into the side of a hill. To start, approximately 12ft of earth was removed from above where the fernery chambers were to be, forming a plateau roughly 180ft x 90ft. The topsoil from this excavation was put to one side and later used to cover what is now the Fred Parker Lawn. The Fernery was designed by Mrs. Lovell of Hāwera who had a fernery of a similar nature in her own garden.
By October the superintendent reported that the excavation for the Fernery house construction had been completed as far as it was advisable before the carpentry work and glazing was done. The concrete foundations were also finished. Unfortunately, there was a delay in the delivery of the glass for the roof.
While construction was ongoing many people were out collecting ferns. The Fernery Committee had visited the Taranaki Forests property. Messrs Maxwell and Davies collected ferns on a trip to King Country, Rotorua, Bay of Plenty and Auckland. Plus, lots of friends of the Park from around the country sent ferns.
New drains were laid from Stainton Dell. The pipes were run down the gully past the Fernery down past the tea house, picking up the tea house drains, exiting into the outlet of the main lake in Sunken Dell. The old drain outlet went into the main lake.
The other big project happening at the same time as the Fernery excavation, was dredging the main lake. The Sports Ground’s new Fordson tractor was adapted to drive the winch. The tractor was acquired for cutting the grass in the Sports Ground, until then a horse had been used to pull the mower. The tractor was four times quicker than the horse.
Main Lake cleaning 1926.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: A.4.18).
In 1927 Pukekura Park hosted its second royal visit of the 1920s. This time it was the Duke and Duchess of York, who on the abdication of Edward VIII came to the throne as George VI and Queen Elizabeth the parents of Queen Elizabeth II.
The glass for the Fernery arrived at the end of February 1927 and tenders were sought for the roof construction. The contract was won by Frank Hartnell with a quote of £90. Once the roof was complete Mr. Hartnell and his team returned to finish the inside excavation. By mid-July construction of the Fernery was completed and planting commenced. In total 2340 ferns were planted, consisting of 145 species. The walls of the rooms were terraced to make it easier to display the plants. Large rocks and a water feature were added to exhibit the ferns as naturally as possible. A controversial aspect of the Fernery was the addition of punga posts to prop up the roof. These had not been part of the original design and impacted on the paths inside the Fernery. A door to the Fernery was kindly donated and installed by Fred Parker who was a builder by trade. Fred Parker’s assistance during the building of the Fernery began his long relationship with the Park. A large display of begonias was added, mainly in room 3. The begonias were intended as a filler until more ferns were available, however they remained as a permanent feature.
By this time the landscaping outside was complete. There was a lawn, flower beds, and a rose pergola. The new lakelet up in the valley was finished hosting water lilies and three islands, each island was planted with a tree at its centre, a rimu, a kauri and a Halls tōtara.
The board was finding it increasingly difficult to finance the running of the Park and vesting of the Park in the Borough Council was again on the table. Following a conference between the Board and the council it was agreed that the council would take over the control of the Park and strike a rate for its upkeep. An important agreement was reached that any bequest made to the Park would be used for permanent improvements only. A petition that Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, be vested in the borough and come under the control of the council was drafted. This had to be approved by the government.
Following the death of Mr. Newton King a £3,000 bequest was left to Pukekura Park, it was suggested that this money be invested for several years, and the interest used to build a teahouse.
In 1928 Thomas Horton went on a six-month bowling trip to England. During his absence nurseryman Francis Morshead stepped in as his substitute. When it had been agreed that the Park would be handed over to the council, the Park Board and the Sports Ground Committee decided to try and raise £3,000 so that when handed over the Board would be debt free and have some cash to carry out permanent improvements. The first event was a floral fete which was held in the Park following the official opening of the Fernery. The Fernery was officially opened at 1.30 p.m. on January 28, 1928. Later in the evening there was a Pierrot entertainment under the direction of Mr. Wauchop. The next fundraiser was a sport meet at the Park on February 18. A special feature of the meet was the appearance of Stanley Lay. He registered a very long javelin throw which surpassed the Australian and New Zealand record of 209 ft 4in by three inches. The distance was not measured by a surveyor as a record could not be granted because the meeting was not a registered one. (The drive from the main entrance at Fillis Street to the Bellringer Pavilion is named the Stan Lay Drive in honour of this amazing athlete). The main fundraiser was held over 3 days in March starting with a pageant of nations, where groups of local ladies, boys and girls were dressed to represent different nations including Japan, China, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Holland, Scotland England and Ireland. The final day included a motorcycle football game and a display of motorcycle jumping.
During February, the cannons that had stood proud on Cannon Hill for more than thirty years were removed and delivered to the Carnegie Library. These are now at Puke Ariki Museum.
The Governor-General Sir Charles Ferguson and Lady Ferguson visited in June of 1928. They were greeted by a large gathering of children from schools together with Girl Guides, Brownies, Boy Scouts, Cubs, and Māori War Veterans.
The demise of ducklings by predators had always been a problem in the Park. In 1928 two gentlemen, Mr. Hayton and Mr. Little took it upon themselves to remove some of the ducklings from the Park and raise them at their homes then release them back into the Park when they were big enough to look after themselves.
The Borough Council took over the administration of the Park at the beginning of April 1929. A committee called “The Pukekura Park Committee” was appointed to run the Park. The members were Messrs, F. Amoore, R. C. Hughes, W. C. Weston, C. E. Bellringer, J. McLeod, P. E. Stainton, G. M. Spence, H. Dempsey and the Mayor, Victor Griffiths. For a report of the handing over ceremony click here. In his diary on October 17, Horton wrote, “This has been a ‘Red letter day’ in this Park’s history”. A great function was held, at which the Deeds of the Park were handed over to the Mayor by Mr. Amoore. Appropriate speeches were made. Robert Clinton Hughes gave a resume of the Park’s early history. After the Mayor had planted a Memorial Kauri tree, afternoon tea was served and a donation of £100 was received.
Several trees that had been planted on the opening day of the Recreation Ground on May 29, 1876 were marked with plaques to highlight their significance. These were: 1. Pinus Insignus planted by Miss Jane Carrington. 2. Rimu and pūriri, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes Senior; 3. Specimen Pinus insignus above the Lily Pond (Hatchery Lawn); 4. Norfolk Island Pine, Mrs. Thomas Colson; 5. English Yew, Mrs. T. K. Skinner. Some of these trees may exist today, but unfortunately it is not known for certain.
A new propagating house was built near the entrance of the Fernery, paid for by donations. Before it was built one of the rooms in the Fernery had been used for this purpose.
TH, October 10, 1929
After years of deliberation a superintendent’s house was built in 1930. The location chosen was on Victoria Road (now 25 Victoria Road) between the old curator’s cottage and the Park Tennis Club. The main reason for building the cottage was to hopefully deter vandals, and with this in mind several pine trees were cut down giving a view into the Park from the house. This was controversial; many people were not happy at being able to see the house from down in the Park so a group of native trees were planted on the slope below the house that would eventually hide it. The drawings for the house came from the Borough Engineer, and the house was built by Mr. L. F. Hand at a cost of £1,080. The old curator’s cottage was pulled down.
A donation of £300 came from Walter Graham to help install floodlighting at the sportsground. The Grahams were the proprietors of the Criterion Hotel from 1920 until 1937. Mrs Graham often donated plants to the Park and when the couple died in the early 1950s, they left a large bequest to the Park. The floodlighting was installed and used officially for the first time at an athletics meeting on Boxing Day 1930.
The Tea House we see today was erected in 1931 and was the gift to the city of Mr and Mrs Burgess on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary. It cost approximately £1,000, but their generosity did not stop there, they also donated £150 for furnishings and later another £60 for silverware. It was designed by Surrey Alleman, of Inglewood and built by Frank Hartnell. The original tea house built in 1905, was moved towards the Fernery and re-purposed as a ladies conveniences and curator’s office. Frank Hartnell supervised the move carried out by returned soldiers. Before building the new Tea House, the old bathing shed that had stood next to the lake since 1879 was also moved to the path leading from the Tea House to the Fernery.
Mrs Burgess declaring the tea house open.
AWN, November 18, 1931
It was noted at the August 1931 committee meeting that a new entrance had been created at the end of Fillis Street. Another new feature added to the Park was two ticket boxes for the Sports Ground which were built and paid for by the Sports Ground Committee. These still grace the Park today, but sadly are not used.
The first mention of a reserve at the Fillis Street gully was reported at the August committee meeting. “The chief work undertaken was that in the gully. All the blackberry, gorse, fern, sycamore, and other useless growth had been grubbed and thoroughly cleaned up. This portion of the Park was in good order. It would be desirable to plant the larger part of this area in native trees, but first the pines on the hill would have to be cut down.”
The committee decided to cut down a row of fourteen pine trees on the ridge above the eastern terrace of the sportsground, which caused an uproar in the town. A delegation which included W. H. Skinner tried to dissuade them from that course of action. The deputation was convinced that the committee’s intent was to eventually remove all the pine trees from the Park. To try and allay any such fears the board issued a couple of resolutions.
“The Intention of the board at their discretion and after full consideration of each case, is to remove any dangerous, dead, dying, or redundant trees, whether native or exotic.”
“That, while not excluding exotic flora, the board intend to make Pukekura Park a standard collection of native flora.”
One committee member who vehemently opposed the cutting down of any pine tree was lawyer Robert Clinton Hughes and in reference to this, the satirical article below was published portraying the trees as defendants in a courtroom. The author of the article is unknown, but it may have been Hughes himself.
Court News
As everybody knows, a session of the Court was held in New Plymouth recently, or was it a drum-head court-martial? Mr. Justice (?) Park Board presided. The number of prisoners arraigned was extraordinarily large, and their variety was infinite, but most of them were from the well-known Insignis family. They were unrepresented by council, and being unable to speak the language of the Court officials they were compelled to state their case by means of signs and whispers.
“Have you no counsel?” asked the Judge sharply.
“Yes sir,” chorused the accused. “Mr. Hughes!”
But alas, where was Mr. Hughes? Perhaps he had grown weary of the long struggle on behalf of his clients, all of whom he had known from childhood. Perhaps he had not been told that the session was on.
“Very well,” continued His Honour, “we must make a start. Bring forth the first prisoner.”
And everyone in the court stood silent as the prisoner entered the dock, for she was the loveliest girl they had set eyes on for a very long time. Slim and erect, she gazed proudly at the bench, her arms outstretched in supplication, and her wonderous features quivering with emotion.
“What is your name?” asked the Judge.
“Poplar sir.”
“Where do you live?”
“Right at the very edge of your Domain sir, alongside Victoria Road.”
“Yor nationality?”
“English sir.”
“Prisoner at the bar,” exclaimed His Honour sternly, “you are found guilty of the heinous crime of not being a New Zealander.” Assuming the black cap the judge was about to pass sentence when the prisoner cried out piteously, “But can’t I have a fair trial, sir, and put my case before the jury?”
“What jury?”
“Why, the people of New Plymouth, sir.”
“Certainly not! They are too old-fashioned altogether, and can’t keep pace with the times. Off with her head!”
And with Mr. Groundsman as the Lord High Executioner off went her head forthwith. Suffice it to say that she had a fitting funeral, for after her limbs had been dismembered and her body sawn into pieces she was duly carried to her grave with fitting solemnity and dignity by an army corps of unemployed. But all this is by the way.
“Next please!” called out the judge impatiently.
A whole row of the Insignis family stepped into the dock.
“Where do you live?” asks His Honour, having ascertained their names.
“Along the ridge above the Eastern Terrace sir.”
“You are old,” said the judge, “and what is more you are not New Zealanders. Off with their heads! Next please.”
And so it went on. And soon the whole countryside resounded with the chop, chop, chop of the executioner’s axe, as it plied its grim trade, and the whole countryside re-echoed with the monotony of that passionless sentence “Off with their heads!”
Far away, however, a new note struck the ear. From a murmuring it grew to a rumble, and His Honour stirred uneasily in his chair. For it sounded uncomfortably like the voice of an enraged people.
The sparrows around the Tea House are interesting. It is likely that they are descendents of sparrows dating back more than 100 years. Following is an article published in the Wairarapa Daily Times, April 30, 1931. Nothing has changed!
“Unlike some of their less fortunate brethren, the sparrows that frequent the tea kiosk at Pukekura Park lead a life of luxury and scorn the pursuit of worms and other dainties. Long experience has taught them that the people having morning and afternoon tea will not hurt them, and they have become exceedingly tame. Often they perch on a table, while people are still sitting there, and most visitors enjoy the experience as much as the birds. In between times they sit waiting on the trees in contented fluffy balls.”
In 1932, G. M. Spence resigned from the committee. He was leaving town, his place was taken by Victor Davies, owner of Duncan and Davies nursery.
The Girl Guides asked permission to plant twenty-one trees in the Park to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the Girl Guide movement. The request was granted and on May 27 they planted twenty-two, mainly native trees near where the old curators house had stood. Why they planted twenty-two is not clear.
There were some interesting plantings during the year. On the brow of the hill above the rhododendrons and azaleas (Stainton Dell), 100 tōtaras, 86 coprosma and 15 assorted native trees were planted. Forty extra pōhutukawas were planted on the hill at the eastern side of the Sports Ground. White pines and forty King ferns were planted in the low, damp part of the gully (King Fern Gully) running south-east from the Sports Ground, and quite a number of other assorted native trees planted on the higher slopes in the same area.
Colonel Tate resigned from the Park Committee in 1933, and he was replaced by E. J. Carr. The Mayor Mr. E. R. C. Gilmour also joined the Park Committee.
A major undertaking at the beginning of the year was the desilting of the lower lake. Horton estimated that 2350 tons of silt was removed. This was all done by hand with shovels and wheelbarrows. Disposing of such a quantity of silt was challenging, some was used on flower beds and quite a large amount was used to reclaim a section of the Lily Pond north of the old hatchery building. 1100 tons of silt was carted away to the Fitzroy golf course and Rugby Park. Removing two to three feet of silt unearthed some surprises: a six-inch glazed pipe running across the floor of the lake from the direction of the Sports Ground, and seventeen logs of various sizes, mainly pine, Horton was at a loss to explain how they got there. In the middle of the lower lake was a small island which Horton decided to make bigger. His idea was to erect a wall of pungas around the small island six feet from its bank using approximately 300 pungas, then filling the void with silt that was being dug up. This was a convenient way of disposing of more silt. The island that Horton created was ultimately removed in 1955 when the Queen Elizabeth II Fountain was erected. The desilting of the lake took over two months to complete. The work of clearing the lake was done using relief workers who did such a good job that they were kept on and put to work cleaning the lake at Brooklands which had come under control of the Committee.
An historic gathering of Park curators and administrators. March 10, 1934.
L to R. Back Row: Tom Boulton, Brooklands head gardener; Thomas Horton, Park curator, 1924 – 1949. Front Row: James McLeod, board member 1922 – 1943; Robert Clinton Hughes, board member 1875 – 1935 and William Walter Smith, curator 1908 – 1920. Private collection, Warwick Horton.
Under the terms of the will of the late Mr. Newton King, who died in 1927, varying amounts totalling £7,000 were bequeathed to New Plymouth reserves as follows: Pukekura Park, £3,000, East End Reserve, £2,000; Kawaroa Park, £2,000. With the consent of beneficiaries interested under the terms of the will, the trustees offered the valuable “Brooklands” property (53 acres 1 rood and 19 perches) in complete fulfilment of the terms of the will in respect of these three reserves. This was a very generous action and having made satisfactory arrangements with the Kawaroa and East End committees, the New Plymouth Borough Council accepted Brooklands to be placed under the control of the Pukekura Park Board. The gift included the buildings and chattels on the property. The transfer was done through an Act of Parliament. Thomas Horton was asked to produce a report to highlight what work needed to be done to incorporate Brooklands with Pukekura Park. Work in Brooklands started before the transfer was completed. One of the first jobs was to clean out the Brooklands lake. It was plagued with bulrushes which were very strong and rampant growers. To remove them they had to resort to using gelignite. Brooklands was opened to the public on December 21, 1933. When the transfer was completed Newton King’s son Eliot was given a place on the Park committee and Newton King’s long-time gardener Tom Boulton was asked to continue in his job.
The Park also received a large bequest from the estate of Charles Score Sanders, £350 of which he wanted set aside to make a rhododendron dell. After providing for legacies and bequests of a private nature and payment of the usual duties and charges, the Trustee was directed to keep the residue of the estate in trust for the New Plymouth Borough Council to be used for permanent improvements to Pukekura Park which would be of benefit to the public.
The official handing over of Brooklands to the borough on March 10, 1934, was an historic day. For an account of the event click here. To compliment the gift of Brooklands, about 9 acres of the Highlands estate (Maranui Gully) belonging to the T. C. List and C. W. Wilkinson were also gifted to the Borough.
Truby King delivering address when he handed over Brooklands to the borough on behalf of the King family.
TH, March 16, 1934.
Trying to incorporate Brooklands into the Park was a big task. The estate was rundown. It had been seven years since the passing of Newton King. There were several buildings including the family home that the Park Committee had to decide the fate of. Fences needed repairing, the driveway need upgrading, paths needed to be made to connect Brooklands to Pukekura Park and it needed connecting to the town’s sewerage system. The buildings included: The family homestead, The Gables, the bungalow, the vinery, conservatory, and begonia house, propagating house, potting shed, motor garage and the old stables and barn. The old stables and barn were the first to go. After long discussions the homestead, which in its day was a magnificent house was deemed unusable in the Park setting and went up for auction for removal. It only raised £180. To read the minutes from the meeting that discussed the fate of the house click here.
In recognition of the long service of R. C. Hughes the committee invited him to plant a kauri in the Park. The site chosen was in the lawn on a newly reclaimed piece of land in front of the old hatchery building. The Park committee members attended the ceremony as well as Mr Hughes’ wife. Unfortunately, the location, which had been part of the Lily Pond before being reclaimed with silt from the lower lake did not suit the kauri and it was removed in the 1950s as it was dying.
R. C. Hughes planting a kauri tree. Thomas Horton on his knees, the committee members and Mrs Huges looking on.
Private collection, Warwick Horton.
After the committee received the Sanders bequest of £350 for a rhododendron dell, they chose a location in Brooklands near the old homestead. It was pointed out that the bequest stated that the dell was to be in Pukekura Park. Because of that restriction the dell was planted west of the Serpentine where part of the Rhododendron Dell is today. This was planted in 1936. Because of this issue the “New Plymouth Borough Land Exchange and Empowering Act, 1934.” was created. This basically made Brooklands and Maranui Gully part of Pukekura Park. It also tidied up some small land title issues. In 1918 the Board allowed the Jockey Club to build a curator’s house on its land (the house at the TSB Stadium Car Park). This piece of land was transferred to the Jockey Club as part of this legislation. The Act passed in November 1934.
Park administrators once again took over control of the sportsground setting up a four-man sub-committee.
The spade that was used by Miss Jane Carrington on the opening day of the Park in 1876 was returned to the Park by Mr. Harry Wood of Eltham and hung in the kiosk along with photographs of Jane Carrington and the original Board members taken on the opening day. Where these photos are today is a mystery.
The planting of the Fillis Street Botanical Reserve started on September 5 1934. Horton recorded in his diary, “In Fillis St. gully all day. Took load of trees there & rec’d coll of rare native trees from D & D.” The reserve was completed in 1939. It covered approximately four acres, approximately 1200 trees of over 200 varieties were planted. His aim was to have at least two of every native tree, but the collection did not include alpine, rockery or bay plants.
925 trees were planted at Brooklands in the first year that the Park Committee controlled the area. Trees planted included, macrocarpas in Ambush Gully, Lawsoniana and pōhutukawa shelter belts on the western boundary of Brooklands.
1935 started with the royal visit of Prince Henry the Duke of Gloucester who was the third son of King George V.
Robert Clinton Hughes passed away on January 18, 1935, at the age of 87. Hughes had the distinction of being the oldest practicing solicitor in the country. He was very much a community man and had been on the Park Board since its inception in 1875. In honour of Mr Hughes, the path from the Victoria Road entrance at the corner of Gilbert Street to the bandstand was named Hughes Walk. These days the path bearing his name runs all the way to the Brooklands Road entrance.
Further improvements to the Sports Ground terraces were started in 1935. First was the southern terrace where the top two terraces were remodelled and made into three.
The concept of Kauri Grove, the plantation between Brooklands Road and The Gables was introduced by Horton in 1935. He wanted to have a plantation of all the native timber trees in New Zealand, especially Kauri. The area chosen was described as rough wasteland, partly swamp and partly a hill slope covered with fern, gorse, blackberry and broom. The land required a lot of preparation, clearing the unwanted growth and draining the swamp, boundary fences between the Park and private residences were also erected.
Plant diseases were becoming an issue in the Park and at one of the committee meetings Thomas Horton Stated:
“Insect pests and fungus diseases of various types are prevalent on many of the native and exotic trees in this Park, both in the old Pukekura Park area and in Brooklands. For many years there have been signs of the pests, but they are now spreading to an alarming extent, and if they continue unchecked for a few more years, the lives of many trees will be in jeopardy and the disfigurement of the foliage serious.” TH, July 10, 1935.
The native trees most seriously affected were kapuka, rewarewa, kawa-kawa, mapau, karaka, porokaiwhiri, several varieties of olearia, mairehou, pūriri but included many others. Most of the varieties of large growing timber trees were not seriously affected, but Mr. Horton could not say if any species or variety were absolutely immune. The trees attacked most seriously were the large glossy foliaged varieties. Exotic trees badly affected were the strawberry tree, English holly, and a few others. This issue was a country wide problem.
The Wiggins memorial built in 1903 to commemorate Clement Wiggins who died while on service in South Africa in 1900 was removed from the Park. Over the years it had been the object of vandalism on several occasions. A cypress tree was planted in its place (since removed).
Another notable visit in 1935 was the new Governor-General Lord Galway and Lady Galway. They were welcomed by a crowd of over 6000 people at the Park.
From Left to Right: Percy Stainton, Mr. S. G. Smith, MP., Lord Galway, Lady Galway, Mrs. S. G. Smith, Mrs. P. E. Stainton, Thomas Horton and Mr. E. Jackson.
Private collection, Warwick Horton
1936 had an inauspicious start with the death of King George V. There was a large memorial service held in the sportsground. A few weeks later the sportsground hosted a more celebratory occasion when the Taranaki cricket team managed to hang on for an unlikely draw against the M.C.C.
The council wanted to lease the Park sections facing onto Gover Street to allow houses to be built on them. This required an Act of parliament. A Local Bill was drafted called The New Plymouth Borough Land Exchange and Empowering Act, 1936. This Bill also included the transfer other pieces of land between the council and the Harbour Board. Fortunately, the government did not allow the clause relating to the Park and it was removed from the Bill.
A significant ceremonial occasion at the sportsground was the 1st Battalion, the Taranaki Regiment, receiving new regimental colours from the Governor-General, Viscount Galway with much pomp and ceremony. The traditional trooping of the Colours was performed in the presence of about 10,000 people, and provided a memorable scene under the blazing sun.
Taranaki Regiment receiving new colours.
AWN, March 25, 1936.
Thomas Horton raised the issue of the safety of The Poet’s Bridge and on inspection by the Borough Engineer (Mr. Clarke) it was deemed unsafe and closed to the public. The bridge was replaced in 1937. Plans were drawn up by Mr. Clarke. He originally suggested making a steel bridge but was asked by the Park Committee to make it of timber and to look similar to the original. The money for the construction came from the Charles Score Sanders bequest fund. When the bridge was completed the question of colour had to be finalised. The committee decided to throw the question open to the public. Someone suggested painting it the same colour as the famous Red bridge at Nikko Japan.
Work upgrading the terraces continued in 1936 with the southern terrace being reformed increasing the number of terraces from seven to eleven. The eastern terraces were also changed dramatically. The playing area was also increased by 500 square yards.
When Brooklands was handed over there were three large glass houses, A vinery, a conservatory/ begonia house and a propagating house. The Conservatory needed repair, so the decision was made to convert the Vinery (which was in good order) into a conservatory and transfer the plants.
The planting of Kauri Grove which Horton had initiated the previous year started in 1936. The council granted the committee £500 over a four-year period, and the committee also received a grant from the Bruce Trust, of Hunterville for £250, again to be paid over a four-year period. Stage one started in August 1936, when a total of 2245 trees were planted, comprising: 350 kauri; 50 tītoki; 50 taraire; 100 rimu; 25 hīnau; 25 porokaiwhiri; 25 rewarewa; 25 pukatea; 50 mangeao; 200 pōhutukawa; 200 ngaio; 100 red beech; 50 silver beech; 25 maire; 10 toru; 50 tānekaha; 200 white pine; 100 mataī; 150 tōtara; 50 tawāpou; 200 kōwhai; 10 pūriri; 25 tōwai; 100 lawsoniana; 75 Thuja plicata. The trees planted were valued at £106 15s, of which £43 5s worth came from the Park’s nursery.
Extensive tree-planting was also carried out during the 1937 season, which included 360 native timber trees in the extension of the forest area at Brooklands, also 160 Lawsoniana and 250 macrocarpas to protect the native bush in the Maranui gully. At the back of the old orchard site at Brooklands 550 Pinus radiata were planted behind the old pine plantation, and 40 white pines were put in the swampy ground near the rhododendrons. Around the lake and in other parts of Pukekura Park 165 tree ferns were planted, and 650 native trees in the new botanic reserve at Fillis Street making a total of 2175 trees planted. Twenty-eight trees were to be planted in the forest area to mark Arbor Day.
A memorial tablet with the names of deceased donors erected in 1906 on the south side of Cannon hill was removed. The tablet made of marble was carved to represent an open book with the names engraved on the pages. Over the years it had been the target of vandalism. The tablet carver was stonemason W. F. Short, long-time Park board/committee member. He had done remedial work on the tablet on many occasions.
This postcard from the 1910s shows the memorial tablet behind the band Rotunda on the face of cannon Hill.
The pine trees behind the eastern terrace of the sportsground were finally felled allowing a further 650 trees to be planted in the new Fillis Street gully native botanical reserve.
Construction of the new main gates was started in 1937, designed by Messrs Griffiths and Syme. The entrance with two 30ft tall towers with a base 7ft 6in square incorporating ticket boxes was an imposing structure. It was originally intended to be built with Mount Somers stone, but this was difficult to acquire and expensive, so the architects came up with an alternative which was to build the towers out of concrete and plaster the outside and point it to resemble stone. This was accepted and the contract to build the gates went to Boon Bros, of New Plymouth. Committee member W. F. Short, stonemason by trade, was not happy with the decision to imitate stone.
Planting of the forest extension area at Brooklands continued in July and August of 1938. Between this and the 1937 plantings Horton added in total another 1570 trees, comprising: 150 kauri, 100 rimu, 25 hīnau, 100 rewarewa, 25 pukatea, 200 pōhutukawa, 100 maire, 50 tānekaha, 100 white pine, 150 tōtara, 500 kōwhai, 20 pūriri and 50 lawsoniana.
This brought the total number of trees planted to 3815, comprising: 500 kauri; 50 tītoki; 50 taraire; 200 rimu; 50 hīnau; 25 porokaiwhiri (pigeonwood); 125 rewarewa; 50 pukatea; 50 mangeao; 400 pōhutukawa; 200 ngaio; 100 red beech; 50 silver beech; 125 maire; 10 toru; 100 tānekaha; 300 white pine; 100 mataī; 300 tōtara; 50 tawāpou; 700 kōwhai; 30 pūriri; 25 towhai; 150 lawsoniana and 75 Thuja plicata (western redcedar).
Thomas Horton was aware that the popularity of the Fernery had a lot to do with the flowers on display, not just the ferns. Unfortunately, the conditions inside the Fernery were not suited to the growth of begonias which were the big attraction and so he promoted the idea of relocating the grape house from Brooklands. This was done at a cost of about £150 which came from the Sanders bequest and was carried out by Messrs. Cook and Son. Over the course of one weekend members of his staff worked tirelessly to dig the tunnel connecting the new begonia house to the north-west fernery house (House No 3).
In his diary Thomas Horton recorded measuring the kauri tree near the Boat Shed Bridge. “Height 50 ft. Circumference 4ft from the ground 41 ½ in. Diameter 14 inches. Tree planted 1913. Average yearly growth 2ft. 400 feet of good timber in tree.”
Following the removal of the old Liardet St entrance iron gates the committee received a letter from Mr. Len Hughes asking if the old gates could be erected at the Victoria Road entrance. This was agreed to. The gates dated back to 1885. They were a gift from Mr. George Rhind an engineer who worked on the harbour development. By 1890 it became necessary to re-hang the gates and Mr. Robert Hughes senior took it upon himself to organise this and from that point they were affectionately called the Hughes gates.
Thomas Horton and George Huthnance suffered severe irritation when removing Rhus verniciflua from flower beds in front of the Fernery, the irritation so bad that Huthnance was off work for several weeks.
The two glass houses moved from Brooklands in the late 1930s. The begonia house in the foreground, the propagating house behind. Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: ARC2011-029).
Tom Boulton who had worked at Brooklands for Newton King as his head gardener for decades and kept on when Brooklands became part of the Park was let go. It was felt that he could no longer handle the heavy work required to maintain Brooklands.
In 1939 the old Brooklands propagating house was moved from Brooklands to the Fernery site and used as a propagating house for the new begonia house.
New Plymouth was approaching its centennial celebration in 1941 and to commemorate this it was decided to develop a reserve encompassing 80 acres on what is now Centennial Drive in the vicinity of Paritutu Rock. Thomas Horton was asked to design and oversee the development and was released from Park duties for 2 days a week for several months.
Committee member the Hon. James McLeod was appointed President of the Chairman of Reserves and Parks Superintendents Association.
The Park Tennis and Croquet Club was advised that within five or six years they would have to relocate so a shelter belt could be planted. It was felt that the rapid decline of the pine trees on the western hillside below the tennis courts would soon create a problem leaving that side of the Park exposed. The tennis club was offered a site next to the Gables to relocate to.
The road into Brooklands was widened and finally sealed.
Thomas Horton in his diary on September 4, noted, “WAR DECLARED last night.”
Ivan Waddle who was running the Fernery in 1939 was called up for active duty at the outbreak of war. He had joined the Park in 1934 as Horton’s apprentice. Committee chairman, Lieutenant Colonel F. S. Varnham who had served in WWI was also called up and sent to Egypt.
The Lawson sisters.
Private collection, Warwick Horton
Thomas Horton was appointed Superintendent of Reserves for the Borough in 1940. For some years he had been doing work outside the Park for the Borough Council, such as the supervising of the Centennial Park reserve. Horton was still doing a lot of manual labour in the Park, so the borough council gave the Park committee an extra £150 to compensate for his time out of the Park. Horton however didn’t receive an increase in salary for his new position.
During the 1930s and early 1940s the employment division of the National Service Department ran a scheme to subsidise unemployed men, a lot of whom were employed in Parks and reserves throughout New Zealand. An example of this occurred in in 1941 when the Park was approved four men on a full subsidy for nine weeks under what was known as Scheme No 13. This was then extended by another thirteen weeks. This wasn’t the first time that the Park had benefitted from the scheme.
In a review of the plantings of the Brooklands forest reserve and the Fillis Street native botanical reserve, Horton said that at Brooklands 3815 trees had been planted in an area of approximately 10 acres. Trees planted included all the principal native trees. At Fillis Street in an area of approximately 4 acres 1200 trees had been planted with over 200 varieties. Sadly, the Fillis Street reserve was neglected during the 1940s due to the lack of manpower and never recovered.
The old main gates at Fillis Street (Rhind gates, dating back to the 1880s) that were removed when the Sanders Memorial gates were built, were finally re-erected at the lower Victoria Road entrance. Also, a memorial plaque was erected at Brooklands to recognise the gift of the estate.
Staff levels were down to a minimum which was barely enough to keep up with general maintenance. The only new work was a pōnga gateway at the Kaimata Street entrance.
With a show of optimism, a V for victory sign was planted on the Fred Parker Lawn using red iresine, with a background of bronze and yellow African marigolds.
In 1941 the southern boundary of Brooklands was protected by a shelter belt of lawsoniana trees, unfortunately some of the trees had to be removed when a dip in the land was filled to facilitate the forming of Kaimata Street. About 2000 yards of soil was brought in.
To celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 1931, Mrs Burgess and her late husband had gifted the kiosk and all its contents to Pukekura Park. On what would have been their 60th wedding anniversary Mrs Burgess carried out her and her late husband’s intention to renovate and replenish the contents of the kiosk. One year after the opening of the kiosk while visiting England with her husband Mrs Burgess had bought new crockery. Since then, it had been stored in packing cases and moved from place to place.
The Park staff joined a Borough Council Industrial Union. They came to an agreement which saw their working week reduced to 40 hours over 5.5 days.
During the war it was decided that slit trenches should be dug to protect people in the event of an air raid. These were simply holes in the ground approximately 3 ft wide, 3 to 5ft. deep, and in Pukekura Park, 12ft long. They were made to cater for people working in town and were dug next to the paths at the northern end of the Park, beside the paths from the Fillis Street entrance, the Gilbert Street entrance, and the Victoria Road entrance at the end of Gilbert Street. They were designed to protect against shrapnel, not a direct hit. During the war blackouts were in force at night, hence walking through the Park at night could prove dangerous and people falling into trenches was not unheard of. The trenches were also traps for nocturnal animals like hedgehogs. Work on these started at the end of 1941. In Pukekura Park 300, 12ft long trenches were dug. Approximately 1500 yards of earth was excavated. The earth that was dug out was piled next to the trench as a bund. The trenches were never used in New Zealand and generally they were filled in a year or two later. During the war an Emergency Precautions Scheme was set up. This was a group who considered things like the best places to have air raid shelters etc. The emergency headquarters was the Park Tea House.
Typical Slit Trench design,
NZ Herald, December 13, 1941.
Visitor numbers were down at the beginning of the year and one of the contributing factors was the introduction of fuel rationing, which meant people were travelling less.
Two more staff were called up to serve in the war. George Huthnance and Edwin Grant were a big loss to Horton at a time when staffing was already depleted. Huthnance held a diploma in horticulture and ran the Fernery. To help in the Fernery Noline Lawson was hired joining her sister who had been working there for about 3 years.
Vandalism was a serious issue during the war and in 1943 it was probably at its worst. One act that stood out was the destruction of the Gilbert Street entrance gates by a car driving into them. One of the more unusual forms of vandalism was the theft of two pitchers from a Nepenthes plant in the begonia house. This plant had been a centre or interest, and school children enjoyed lessons about it during visits to the Park. The pitcher plant, as it is commonly called, has two pitchers, or long bell-like tubes, with a liquid inside which attracts unwary insects. The insects steal into the pitcher to feast on the liquid and are trapped, the plant then absorbs them for food. The theft of the pitchers meant that the exhibit lost its interest until the following season.
A sad event in the Park was the drowning of Barry Frank Brown, aged four years eight months. He was found in the Brooklands lake. The exact circumstances of how he ended up in the lake were never determined.
When T. C. List donated a part of the Maranui Gully to the Borough Council along with C. W. Wilkinson in 1934, it was stated that a second piece of land associated with the homestead would also be donated when Mrs. List no longer wanted it. During wartime it was difficult to get the labour to look after the garden and the decision was made to hand over the land. To gain access from List Street the council purchased another smaller section from the List estate.
Iolanthe Small started working in the Park at the beginning of 1944. She was employed initially for 6 month to assist Horton with work on the flower beds on a starting salary of £1. per week. She worked in the Park for 48 years, retiring in 1992. She spent many years in charge of the Fernery.
The Park committee lost two stalwarts with the deaths of James McLeod and C. E. Bellringer. Charles Bellringer had been a board/ committee member since 1916 and James McLeod since 1922. Both men were prominent members of New Plymouth society.
Three plots of land in the Maranui Gully were officially added to the Park.
F.S. Varnham was welcomed back having spent 4 years serving in Egypt but unfortunately a few months later resigned because he was transferred to Gisborne.
Boating on the main lake was popular in days gone by. Over a four-day period during Christmas 1944, 1251 people went on the boats.
Until 1945 the sections on the corner of Liardet and Gilbert Streets (currently model railway; “Pukekura Junction”) were being used as a dump. Originally a stream ran east to west through the sections, this was filled-in over the years. During the war people abused the privilege by dumping types of rubbish that wasn’t allowed so it was decided to close it to the public.
E.Jackson passed away; he had been a committee member since 1934. He was the third committee member who had died in an eighteen-month period.
Post WWII the Sports Ground became popular. At the December 1945 committee meeting Thomas Horton noted that unusually large numbers of people were using the sportsgrounds in Pukekura Park for training purposes. Athletic sports were held on two evenings every week, and athletes and marching teams used the grounds regularly for practice.
New wage agreements were reached. The male employees were part of a union and a nurseryman’s award of £5 6s 8d /week plus cost-of-living bonuses was paid. The female staff received considerably less depending on the length of employment. Ranging from £1 3s 6d as a new starter to a maximum of £3 6s 0d with more than four-years’ service.
The chairman Frank Amoore died in September 1946, the fourth committee member to die in 30 months. He had served on the board/committee for 23 years. The four men had a combined total of almost 85 years’ service to the Park.
Ivan Waddle returned to the Park staff on returning from duty overseas. When he left in 1939, he was told his job would be kept open for him. During his service he had spent some time as a prisoner of war.
In the early days of the Fernery there was an entry fee, and a record was kept of how many visitors went through. Numbers generally increased each year except for a few years during the war. During the 1945-46 season 13,606 people visited the Fernery. During the same year 8286 people used the boats.
One evening at 9.30 p.m during April 1946 a large and apparently healthy macrocarpa tree fell with a terrific crash in dead calm weather. For many years this tree had stood on the bank overlooking the entrance to the glowworm cave, but its roots had been undermined by erosion. Thomas Horton said that he had been expecting it to fall for 10 years. He also said it had always been the policy of the Pukekura Park committee to remove dangerous trees, but the removal of any trees had invariably provoked a storm of protests from a certain section of the public. The tree, which was about 80ft high, smashed through a group of other trees and fell across the lawn in front of the old hatchery, completely uprooting a 120 ft tall poplar tree and smashing many others, including a beautiful rimu and half a rubber tree (Morton Bay fig). As a further safeguard against any future damage at this spot, three large poplars and two big macrocarpas were removed from the top of the bank. Native trees were planted in the gap made by the felling of trees, which included pōhutukawa, kōwhai, miro and tree ferns.
Anzac parade. TH, April 30, 1946.
Alterations were made to the Tea Kiosk costing £750, these were completed by Messrs. W. J. Cleland & Son Ltd. The kitchen was extended by 10ft, and a new water heating system was installed. A small shop was transferred from the eastern side of the buildings to the back. The alterations were designed to give more space to the kitchen, where small goods were prepared. The money came from the Sanders bequest.
Due to the financial constraints and lack of manpower the Park had deteriorated badly during the war. Horton was acutely aware of the need to bring the Park back to its former glory before it was too late. Some of the structures were getting so bad that if left much longer without maintenance they would need replacing. To highlight the issues, he assessed all the work required and the cost necessary to get the Park into good order. He estimated the Park needed almost £3,000 spending on it. To read a transcript of his report click here.
In 1947 Committee member E. J. Carr died, he had served the committee since 1933. With yet another loss the committee was forced to invite new members. Ken Lippiatt, Brian Scanlan and Don Saxton joined the committee along with Mr. M. J. Neville as a council representative.
The New Plymouth Junior Chamber of Commerce had publicly criticised the state of the Park and at their request a conference to discuss the state of Pukekura Park was arranged between themselves, members of the Park committee, the New Plymouth branch of the Institute of Horticulture, New Plymouth Rotary Club, and the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce. Many suggestions were made including the reorganisation of the method of control of Parks and Reserves of New Plymouth by setting up a separate department under a superintendent to administer all Parks and Reserves. At the end of the conference, Mr. Stainton (Park committee secretary), said, “I was hopeful that I would hear a solution as to how to do all this, I hoped to hear Mr. Wilson say the Junior chamber would take charge and run carnivals to finance Pukekura Park. Up to now I am disappointed.” In response Mr. G. M. Porter, the chamber’s president said, “it was not the intention of the junior chamber to raise money.” However, in 1949 they embarked on a fundraising drive to help the Park and raised a sum of £475.
The Rhododendron Dell that was planted in 1937 was overcrowded. The plants had been planted 6ft apart with the intention of moving every other plant four years later. This did not happen because of the shortage of staff during the war. Due to the delay the plants were much bigger and more difficult to move, some weighing as much as half a ton. These were all moved manually. Approximately eighty-five were moved, most to an adjacent area in Brooklands which still is part of the Rhododendron Dell today.
The Park received a £400 bequest from the estate of Mr. A. R. Standish with no restrictions on how it could be spent. Bequests often came with caveats.
Towards the end of 1947 New Zealand was in the grip of a polio epidemic. Schools were closed and children had to isolate. This had a big impact on visitor numbers during the Christmas holiday period.
The ceremonial spade that was used by Miss Jane Carrington on the opening day of the Park in May 1876 was gifted to the New Plymouth Museum. It had been hung on the wall of the Tea House for several years.
The financial situation at the Park was becoming critical. The council’s grant of £2,000 was woefully inadequate. In the 1947-48 financial year the Park committee had overspent by about £1,300 on normal Park maintenance. Horton stated that to do the necessary work on the buildings etc. there needed to be another £2,500 spent. Mr. E. Hutt director of Parks and reserves in Wellington was asked to give a report on the future development of the Park and associated costs. In his opinion the Park needed an annual grant of £5,000.
In 1948 it was stated that the Fernery had one of the best displays of begonias in the country. There were 1500 pots on display. These were displayed in the begonia house and the conservatory (Fernery).
The need for a ladies dressing shed at the sportsground was highlighted by a deputation from a number of local sports groups. It was pointed out that the women competitors had to change in their cars or the bushes because of the lack of facilities. It was also pointed out that there was every possibility that the following year the New Zealand women’s and junior track and field athletic championships would be held at New Plymouth if good facilities were available. The committee was in full agreement with the deputation and promised they would make it a priority. The ladies changing room got the go-ahead to be built at the southwest corner of the sports field.
With the finance situation being dire lots of thought was focused on how people could help the Park. One suggestion was forming a group called “Society of Friends of Pukekura Park,” which unfortunately didn’t happen until 1995.
George Huthnance was appointed to the committee as the representative of the Institute of Horticulture, he had worked at the Park prior to the war and was running the Fernery before being called up to serve his country in 1942.
The first Carols by Candlelight was organised in 1948 which was a collaborative effort between the Park Committee, the Y.W.C.A. and the Rotary Club. The event was a huge success, notwithstanding the inclement weather on the night.
New Plymouth received city status on January 27, 1949.
The new ladies dressing shed was completed early in 1949 in time for the New Zealand Women’s and junior men’s track and field championships featuring athletes including: Yvette Williams, Shot Put Champion and Miss Shirley Strickland, Australian Olympic Games representative.
In mid-March the Park hosted the New Zealand Highland Pipe Band championships. Twenty-four bands entered containing five-hundred pipers and drummers. On the last day there was a crowd of approximately 16,000 people. It was so hot that Saint John’s Ambulance had to treat 40 people suffering from the effects of the heat.
Announcement of Thomas Horton’s retirement.
TH, November 11, 1948.
Thomas Horton retired at the age of 81 on March 31, 1949, after spending 25 years as superintendent. He left an indelible impression changing the look of the Park forever. While in charge he introduced thousands of native trees while gradually dispensing with the Pinus radiata which had outgrown their usefulness. He oversaw the building of the Fernery and the transformation of a nearby ugly swamp into a dell admired by all. He planted the Sanders rhododendron dell with plants personally selected, many of which were imported from England. The Kauri Grove plantation between The Gables and Brooklands Road was his idea along with the Fillis Street Native Reserve. However, what he will always be remembered for is his first planting, the kauri, rimu and tōtara along Horton Walk leading from the Rogan Street entrance down to the Tea House.
The Goodwin Years
During the 1940s the Park declined. Several of its core staff members were called up for duty, and there was a severe lack of investment. Much of the good work done by Horton and the team during the 1930s was undone, the Park became neglected and weed infested.
The arrival of Jack Goodwin in June 1949 and a new committee which had evolved in recent years ushered in a new chapter in the Park’s development.
Over the summer of 1949 – 1950 Baden Winchcombe and some of his friends (including John Bolt) got permission from the Park committee to play recorded music from the Tea House on Sunday evenings. The concerts started at 8.15 and ran until 10pm with 24 sides of records being played. The first half of the concerts were described as “light classical”, and the second half consisted of “major works” of a more “serious nature”. The equipment which Winchcombe and his friends supplied amplified the sound so it could be heard clearly around the lake. The concerts instigated a discussion about erecting a soundshell in the Park which eventually led to the creation of the Bowl of Brooklands.
Possums had become a major problem, so Park staff were given permission to cull them using a shotgun. Until 1946 opossums were a protected species in New Zealand. They were introduced into New Zealand in 1837 to establish a fur trade.
The Park Tennis and Croquet Club were given a date of March 31st, 1952, to vacate the site occupied by the club on Victoria Road. This had been under discussion since 1939.
Brian Scanlan produced his first book about the history of the Park, titled “Pukekura Park and Brooklands”, the profits from the sales went to the Park.
W.F. Short, a monumental mason who had served on the board for 35 years, died in a car crash when his car hit a power pole. He was 81 years old.
Soon after arriving Jack Goodwin highlighted the necessity of establishing a nursery to save money. One was established in 1951 between the Gables and the house by the zoo and was used for growing young trees. This area had been previously offered as the new site for the Tennis and Croquet Club.
The committee was notified of a large bequest following the death of Leah Graham. It was estimated to be worth around £16,000, but eventually realised over £21,000. Park Chairman Don Saxton and Park curator Jack Goodwin produced a report with thirty-three suggestions of how the money could be spent. Some of the projects were considered to be necessary while others were seen as not urgent but of value in increasing the beauty, amenities, and in certain cases the revenue of the Park.
The planting and replanting proposals were extensive and involved planned development over a period of years. The 70-year-old pines were considered to be coming to the end of their lives and would need replacing block by block with predominately native trees. Saxton pointed out that the replacing of the pines would have a profound effect on the character of the Park but it would be a mistake to replant with the same type of tree because of their short lifespan.
Some of the proposed projects were:
Administrative block, women’s rest room near the Fernery, replacement of bridge by boathouse, new boathouse, men’s and women’s conveniences near north-east corner of the sportsground, partial reconstruction of the Fernery and begonia houses, aviary, aquarium, soundshell, extensions to men’s pavilion, playground and conveniences, floodlighting sportsground, vehicular road around south side of Brooklands lake, production and sale of guide book, waterfall and fountain. The full report is on page 280.
The committee requested that the road leading into Brooklands be changed from Brooklands Road to Brooklands Park Drive to avoid confusion. This name change was confirmed by the council in 1952.
Plans by Graham Harvey were submitted for a new administration building. The need for a new building had been identified by Thomas Horton in 1946. The building contractor was Messrs. Ashman Ltd. Before the new administration building could be constructed an old tractor shed had to be moved. This was done during the year and moved to an area on Smith Walk next to the Fountain Lake, where it remains today.
Construction of the new administration building started in February of 1952 and was completed in May 1952. It comprised an L-shaped workshop accessed by a large double doors, a staff lunchroom, a small dressing room with a shower, a storeroom, and an office for the curator. This was a huge improvement on the dark damp repurposed wooden buildings that they had been using.
A new path through Maranui Gully as far as List Street was completed by students from N.P.B.H.S. It was coordinated by D. F. Saxon and named Saxton Walk in his honour. Now Saxton walk extends from the Tea House to the Bowl of Brooklands. It is unclear when and why the Saxton Walk change occurred.
In 1952 the council set up a Parks and Reserves Committee. D. F. Saxton was appointed to the committee and Jack Goodwin was appointed Superintendent of Parks and Reserves. Goodwin’s time was split 75/25 between being curator of the Park and his new role as Superintendent of Parks and Reserves.
A new 30 cwt Bedford truck was purchased for the Park costing £836.
The development of a Children’s Play Area was proposed. Jack Goodwin was tasked with finding a suitable area and developing it. He chose the current site which at the time had several large macrocarpa trees growing on it, these were subsequently removed. Until this time the only children’s playground equipment was two swings purchased in 1922.
Some original playground equipment.
TDN, July 25, 1983.
The first payment of £10,000 was received from the Graham bequest in 1953.
The new Boat Shed Bridge became the priority. In May 1953 it collapsed under the weight of a dozen rugby players from the Hinuera Rugby Football club near Matamata. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. The only real loss was 10 shillings which had come out of someone’s pocket. The bridge was replaced in in the latter part of 1953, using funds from the Graham Bequest. It was designed by the city engineer Mr. R. F. Mainland and constructed by Thomson and Williams. The total cost of replacement was approximately £1,800.
The Park Tennis and Croquet Club finally vacated their site on Victoria Road and moved to Kura Street at the southern end of the Maranui Gulley, where it remains today. The club rooms that were built in 1933 were relocated and are still used.
During 1953 the first Children’s Playground was established. The equipment included: two sets of four swings, one set of four see-saws, one nine-foot merry-go-round, one fourteen-foot slide and two climbing frames.
Coloured lights were installed for the Christmas holiday period around the Main Lake and through the Fernery, and the Fernery was open during the evenings. This was inspired by the Queen’s visit scheduled for January 1954. Even though the committee knew the Queen was not going to see the lights they knew many more people would be in town over the Christmas and New Year period. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip visited New Plymouth on January 9, 1954 and were welcomed by a crowd of around 18,000 people in Pukekura Park.
Alois Schonbachler retired after working in the Park for 25 years. He was well known for feeding the ducks every morning at 8am.
The Graham bequest which the Park was notified of in 1951 included seven gold cups which were trophies from horse racing victories. Over the years the Grahams owned several very good horses. Two of these cups were sold to the New Plymouth Amateur Road Cycling Club for £50. All the cups were eventually sold raising approximately £200.
The decision was made to go ahead with the installation of an illuminated fountain. Messrs. Turnbull and Jones Ltd., of Wellington were asked to submit pricing and plans. Initially it was going to be a memorial to fallen soldiers but was changed to a commemoration of the Queen’s visit. The Park committee received heavy criticism for the decision to erect the fountain due to belief that the fountain would spoil the natural beauty of the Park. Phase one of the project started in August 1954, which was the partial removal of the island in the middle of the lake and the filling in of the old Lily Pond to form what is now the hatchery Lawn. To fill the Lily Pond several truckloads of clay were brought in from Fitzroy. The fountain was officially opened on Saturday May 9, 1955, to the delight of several thousand people who spent the evening admiring it. People were also entertained at the Main Lake which was encircled with coloured lights as far as The Poet’s Bridge. The main attraction was Mr. Sonny Pratt’s Hapu-O-Rongo Māori concert party slowly moving over the water in a chain of nine dinghies, bow to stern singing Māori songs. For more information about the fountain installation click here.
Tom Wagstaff joined the staff and moved into the house next to the zoo.
A deputation from various local cultural societies approached the committee with a view to constructing a sound shell west of cannon Hill. The plan also included a proposal to demolish the Band Rotunda. The plan was rejected because the committee felt that they had enough projects in the pipeline.
Female Staff building/ Fernery ticket box.
Collection of NPDC Parks Dept.
A female staff quarters was built near the entrance of the Fernery. The building which was designed by Edward Borrell and built by Ross Allen also housed a female toilet and a ticket box for the Fernery. The estimated cost was £1,192 10s. When this was completed the old Tea House which had been used as a female toilet was dismantled.
The two cartoons below from 1954 highlight some of the issues of the time. Bike riding in the Park was getting out of hand and a decision was made to appoint volunteer wardens to patrol the Park. Opposition to the fountain was also prevalent.
TH, August 12, 1954.
TH, December 23, 1954.
In 1954 the committee was approached by the N.P. Society of Model and Experimental Engineers, who wanted to build a model railway on the corner of Gilbert and Liardet Street. The committee decided to relinquish control of the two sections and let the City Council take over responsibility for them. The City Council granted permission for the railway to be built. It was opened in October 1955.
The single story (T H Bates designed) sports pavilion built in 1924 was extended in 1956 by adding a second story. The extension was designed by Edward Borrell and constructed by A L Roberts. The extension proved to be tricky when it was discovered that there were basically no foundations for the original building. The total cost of the extension including furnishings etc. was £5,840. During this year the playing of the fountain was severely restricted because of power restrictions. Consequently, on the occasions it was allowed to operate it drew large crowds.
The ceremonial kauri planted in 1934 by Robert Clinton Hughes at the southern end of the Hatchery Lawn died and was removed.
In 1957 a three-day water carnival organised by the Public Relations Office was a huge success. The third day drew a crowd of around 10,000. The main attraction during the evening was wrestling on a floating stage on the main lake. Another big event was dancing on the Hatchery Lawn.
TDN, January 14, 1957.
Jack Goodwin went to England to attend an international conference of Park Superintendents. He was away several months, and the trip was used as a fact-finding mission for future Park developments. During his absence Tom Wagstaff was acting curator and on Goodwin’s return Wagstaff was promoted to assistant curator. Some of the ideas that Goodwin brought back from his trip to England included a tea garden near the kiosk, an aquarium, an aviary at Brooklands, and a grazing area for deer, kangaroo or highland cattle. Goodwin felt that the Park lakes could host more aquatic sports and activities such as model yachting, canoeing and pedal boats. Other suggestions included a paddling pool, more equipment in the children’s playground and an ornamental illuminated waterfall.
The Free Kindergarten Association was granted the right to lease town section 1118 on Fillis Street to build a kindergarten, which was the first of its kind in the country. It was named “The Pukekura Kindergarten” and remains so sixty-five years later. The building was designed by Edward Borrell and constructed by Jones and Sandford.
Kindergarten under construction. TH, April 10, 1957.
In June the committee received the first communication from the Public Relations Office requesting the use of the grass area between Pukekura Park and Brooklands (Bowl of Brooklands) for a comprehensive festival to be staged in February/March 1958. At that time the area was grazed by cattle and not used by the public. Permission to use the area was granted free of charge for an initial five year period on the understanding that the Park Committee would have no financial commitments to the project. The committee did however agree to rebuild the bridge across the Brooklands Lake. The bridge had been vandalized during the war. This was built by Fred Parker with help from the Park staff.
After several years of indecision, the committee finally decided to rebuild the Boat Shed. Graham Harvey was asked to submit drawings for a shed positioned at the north-west corner of the main lake opposite the Tea House capable of housing 12 boats. After considering the cost of the proposal and the aesthetics of having a shed opposite the Tea House, it was agreed that the new building should be constructed on the old site. Drawings for a 40ft x 27ft shed were submitted by Arthur Sandford. Sandford designed the structure with Fred Parker. Mr. R. M. Clough won the tender to build the Boat Shed at a price of £1,780.
New floodlighting was installed in the Sports Ground in 1957. This consisted of a series of twenty-one lamps placed around the playing field.
In 1958, Thomas Horton, curator from 1924 until 1949 died at the age of 90. Eliot King, son of Newton King died the same year at the age of sixty-six. King had been a member of the Park Committee since the handing over of Brooklands to the city at the end of 1933. As a boy Eliot King grew up living at Brooklands and as a committee member was always consulted on any changes that affected Brooklands.
The Queen Mother visited New Plymouth in February 1958 and was welcomed by an estimated crowd of 16,000 at the Sports Ground.
Gardener, Frank Parker, resigned. He had worked at Brooklands for 20 years.
Two boat landings were erected in Fountain Lake primarily for model boat enthusiasts. They were also useful for the Park staff when doing maintenance on the lake.
TH, November 13, 1959.
The first “Festival of the Pines” at the newly developed Bowl of Brooklands was a huge success. The event was basically a trial. The soundshell and sound systems were temporary installations. Following its success, the Public Relations Office presented the Park Committee with a list of proposed developments they wanted to carry out over a period of five years. The list included: a new permanent soundshell, better seating, re-levelling the amphitheatre, reforming the access road, an access road from the racecourse, widening the bridge across the lake, dressing room facilities, sound columns in the lake, and permanent toilet facilities. The new permanent soundshell designed by Edward Borrell was constructed before the New Year. Click here for details of the Bowl development.
There were hundreds of frogs living in the bowl lake, and during the summer mating season it was feared the croaking would interfere with the performances on the Bowl stage. One idea put forward by Handbury was to blast the frogs with gelignite.
Towards the end of the year a dressing room was built at the Bowl of Brooklands, which was designed by Edward Borrell. Also, a toilet block was constructed at the south-eastern end of the Brooklands Lake which is still used.
For several years the Sports Ground had been having issues with the turf. There was a lot of paspalum and kikuyu mixed in with it. The level of the ground was not suitable for athletics and there was inefficient drainage. Trying to come up with a solution that was acceptable to all the sporting bodies proved difficult, but a solution was agreed to in 1959 and work started towards the end of that year. The spraying of the kikuyu and paspalum was successful. Soil was brought in from Longburn for the cricket wicket, and new drains were laid, unearthing old drains and sumps that they were unaware of. The surface was re-levelled, and new grass sown. It was hoped that when the upgrades were finished the track would meet NZ athletic championship standards.
The committee asked Jack Goodwin to produce a comprehensive report on the future horticultural development of the Park. The report was published in the local newspapers on August 12, 1960 Click here.
A paddling pool that Goodwin had suggested in 1958 was added to the Children’s Playground. It was built by the New Plymouth Jaycees. Next to the pool a drinking fountain was installed, and Don Driver’s “Cats” sculpture was mounted on the top of the fountain. For more details about the playground development see Click here.
In 1961 Jack Goodwin was made an Associate of Honour of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture.
The administration building was modified internally to accommodate the curator’s secretary, an office for the foreman of the Parks and Reserves Dept. and an office for the deputy curator. The work was carried out by Mr. S. B. Priest. To replace the workshop and store that were lost when the building was remodelled a 36 feet x 12 feet shed was constructed behind the Administration building.
Assistant curator Tom Wagstaff, resigned at the end of 1961 and was replaced by Alan Jellyman who started in April 1962.
Pinetum Dell at Brooklands Bowl was planted by J.W. Goodwin to future proof the name of the yearly summer music/theatre festival in the Bowl of Brooklands, “Festival of the Pines”.
During 1962 two staff members received awards. Miss Iolanthe Small who was in charge of the Fernery, received the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture Fellowship Certificate, and deputy curator Alan Jellyman was selected for the David Tannock Special Award.
In January 1962 construction began on a large nursery project which included a glasshouse 60ft long, 16ft wide and 10ft high. There was also a large packing shed and storeroom. The nursery supplied plants for many reserves and Arbor Day ceremonies etc.
Brooklands Glasshouse under construction. TH, February 20, 1962.
In 1963 a bold decision was made to remove seventy-six trees, mainly Pinus radiata and a few macrocarpa. These were identified for removal due to the danger they were posing to the public. Thirty-three were on the west side of the main lake, twenty-four were on the east side of the lake south of the Tea House, and nineteen were on the Racecourse Walk south-east of the Fernery. What would replace them was contentious. Half the committee wanted the areas to be planted with natives, while the other half wanted to introduce more exotic deciduous trees to add colour.
TH, November 13, 1959.
In July Pukekura Park hosted the first hockey test match between Australia and New Zealand. Australia won 3-2. The old press box was given a spruce up for the occasion.
Percy Stainton resigned as secretary after holding the office for forty-four years. His successor was Mr. N. H. Guscott.
In 1964 the committee was advised that the Council had approved in principle an offer of the N.P. Jaycees’ to establish a ‘Florafauna’ zoo at Brooklands. Work on this development started in October 1964 and it opened in February 1965. It was comprised of a block of 10 cages totalling 100ft in length each one measuring 10ft wide by10ft high and 15ft deep which housed a variety of birds and two monkeys. For details of the zoo’s development click here.
Fred Parker donated his amazing collection of cymbidium orchids in 1965. A shade house was built at the Fernery especially to house the collection and Fernery house two was modified for displaying the collection. Upon completion of the modifications house two was dedicated to the memory of his recently deceased wife Agnes Mary Parker. When Fred made his donation, it was on the understanding that a qualified person would be employed to look after the collection.
The Park was extraordinarily lucky because orchid expert George Fuller was returning to NZ. Fuller learned his trade at Duncan and Davies Ltd, New Plymouth. He then worked for an Auckland grower prior to going to England where he studied orchids with Sanders & Co., one of the largest growing firms in England. He then spent two and a half years studying at Kew Botanical Gardens and was awarded the Kew Diploma and a diploma in horticulture. After six years in England George spent six years in Sweden in the development of hydroponics. He then went to Malta helping to establish a greenhouse chrysanthemum nursery. On his return to NZ he was hoping to get a job in the orchid field. George had worked with Fred Parker before leaving NZ and jumped at the opportunity he was given. He joined the Park staff in 1965 and took on the role as curator a year later.
Significant improvements were made to Brooklands leading up to the festival of the Pines in 1965. The woodland stage was rebuilt and linked up with five other permanent staged areas. Bayden Winchcombe designed improvements to the sound system creating a state-of-the-art electronic sound system, with thirty speakers installed in three positions and six sound channels to produce amazing stereophonic sound. Seating with backs was provided for about 4000 people.
1965 Map of Pukekura Park, by Ian McDowell. Collection of New Plymouth District Council Parks Dept.
The Fuller Years
After sixteen years in charge Jack Goodwin passed on the mantle of curator to George Fuller in 1966. Goodwin was appointed full-time Director of Parks and Reserves for New Plymouth.
There was an agreement to extend the recently completed aviary at Brooklands following an offer of peafowl, seven varieties of pheasants, pigeons and other birds from Mr Larsen, Ureti. By the end of the year the Jaycees had built a peafowl cage. The Auckland Zoo curator was brought to New Plymouth for advice on how to expand the Brooklands Zoo. He advised building a free flight aviary about 80ft long, 25ft high and 25ft wide.
The main lake and Fountain Lake were desilted by sluicing using fire hoses, which proved to be very successful.
Cleaning the main lake.
Puke Ariki (Ref: ARC2003-359-3).
In 1967 an Australian cricket team toured New Zealand. The first match against New Zealand was played at Pukekura Park because of doubts about the condition of the pitch at the Basin Reserve, Wellington. After the match the manager of the Australian team Mr. F. J. Bryant praised the pitch saying, “ My command of the English language is not good enough to describe how excellent this ground is”. The match proved financially successful netting the Park £700.
Possum numbers were getting out of hand. Poisoning was considered but thought to be too dangerous in a public area, so possum traps were introduced.
George and Mabel Kibby donated £10,000 for the purpose of building a begonia house. Begonia growing was George Kibby’s main hobby. The house was designed by Auckland architects L. J. Fisher & Co. Ltd. The house was officially opened in 1970.
The Jaycees continued their development of the zoo in 1966/67 constructing peafowl and deer enclosures.
1967 could possibly be described as the year the festival of the lights began. Since 1952 Photographer Joseph Swainson had staged an impressive display of Christmas lights and an illuminated nativity scene in his garden, attracting thousands of visitors each year. By 1967 at the age of 77, he felt it had become too difficult for him to manage and he donated the nativity scene to the Park. It was assembled at the southern end of the Hatchery Lawn and recorded Christmas music was played. Lions club members organised cars to take elderly and immobile people to see the displays.
Nativity scene.
TH, December 20, 1967.
The Band Room was built in 1967. It is located on town section 1196 which was gifted to the town in 1965 from the estate of Harry Frethey. The building was designed by John Huggins of Edgar Collins Architects.
Alan Jellyman, George Fuller and Ian McDowell were all asked to submit reports on their vision for the future of the Park. They all produced extensive reports, and a summary was published in the Taranaki Herald on May 3, 1968 . Because of a lack of funds most of the suggestions were not acted upon, and several are still under consideration over 50 years later. One of the suggestions was to open up the outlet of Fountain Lake and lay boulders. This was done only a couple of years ago and has improved that area of the Park considerably.
Charging for the fountain to play was introduced in 1968. The fountain was fitted with a slot machine which took a 20c coin to operate the fountain for 15 minutes. The free full combined sequence of 45 minutes was continued, however, it wasn’t run every night. Frequency of the full sequence run depended on the season of the year.
The old bathing shed built in 1879 which had been moved in 1931 and re-purposed as a tool shed was demolished.
The Pukekura Park Committee was disbanded in 1968. The responsibility for running the Park went to the Parks and Reserves Committee under the directorship of Jack Goodwin. Even though this was a council committee there were four citizens’ representatives on the committee.
Plans for the waterfall at the north-west corner of the main lake were approved. These were drawn-up by Ian McDowell. Partial funding was received in the form of a donation from the New Zealand Insurance Co. who donated £1,700 towards the estimated cost of £3,000. Construction commenced in August 1969. The waterfall was officially opened in October 1970. It incorporated approximately 100 tons of boulders and was almost entirely constructed by Park staff. (It is a credit to the gentlemen who built it that it is still standing over 50 years later and remains a huge crowd favourite.) For more info about the waterfall Click here.
Sketch of the proposed waterfall.
TH, July 31, 1969
The viewing platform overlooking the Fountain Lake was constructed during 1969 by members of the Park staff. The platform gives a wonderful view across Fountain Lake. For the less able it can be accessed from the Victoria Road Car Park.
In 1970 the Jaycees continued their amazing work on the zoo and constructed a wallaby pen and a peacock cage which were officially handed over to the council in September that year. They also built a dovecot in memory of Ronald Brooker, the man who came up with the idea of the zoo in 1964 when he was the president of the New Plymouth chapter of the Jaycees. The new Kibby house at the Fernery was also opened in 1970.
Victor Davies discovered a rua (Māori food pit) in the Park near the site of the old Wiggins Memorial site in 1971. He thought it was over a hundred years old. It is the author’s opinion that Davies was correct about a small group of Māori living in the area but questions the date. Until 1908 the area of water south of the Boat Shed known as the Serpentine was just a stream. Percy Smith came up with the plan to extend the lake from the Boat Shed down to the border with Brooklands. To do this the Park Trustees employed a group of Māori to manually excavate the extension. This took several weeks during which time the Māori camped in the Park. It is logical to suggest that the Rua dated back to this time.
The Bowl of Brooklands underwent a major upgrade in 1972. Both the lighting and sound systems were updated. The new lighting dimmer board could handle up to 60 channels and 300 kilowatts of power, compared with the old unit which handled 18 channels and 32 kilowatts.
The Jaycees started construction on the free flight cage in Brooklands Zoo in 1973. The cage was 90ft long by 40ft wide and 14ft high. The majority of the work was carried out by volunteers during evenings and weekends. It opened in October 1974 and was the first of its kind in NZ.
Another major project initiated during the same year was the Waterwheel near the Gilbert Street entrance. Initial plans were to install a waterwheel at the outlet of the main lake in the Sunken Dell next to the Tea House. Unfortunately, the wheel that they acquired from the Omata Dairy Factory was too large and a new location had to be found. The artists impression published in the Daily News was probably drawn by Ian McDowell.
Work started on the construction of the Waterwheel with the intention it would be completed in time for the centennial celebrations of the Park’s opening. The wheel was rescued from the Omata dairy factory and was restored by Jones and Sandford & Fitzroy Engineering.
The Waterwheel installation was completed by December 1975. A feature at the time was the ability to walk down a track from Smith Walk, go behind the Waterwheel and up the track at the other side to the Children’s playground. Most of the work necessary for the completion of this project was done by Park staff. For more details about the Waterwheel Click here.
Artist’s impression of proposed water wheel.
TDN, March 21, 1973.
The Park’s centennial celebration took place on May 1,1976. The event included the official handing over of the Waterwheel and a tree planting ceremony performed around the Park by various prominent local people. The following trees were planted:
A kauri was planted on the western side of the summit of Cannon Hill by Don Saxton and A Brodie. Mr Saxton was a long-time chairman of the Pukekura Park Committee. A ginkgo tree, Ginkgo biloba, was planted near the foot of Cannon Hill, by Fred Parker, a local horticulturist and long-standing member of the Pukekura Park Committee. A Norfolk Island Pine was planted at the northern end of the summit of Cannon Hill by Denis Sutherland, the Mayor of New Plymouth. A Southern Magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora ‘Goliath’ was planted near the outlet of the Fountain Lake, by Councillor, Audrey Gail, Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Committee and a Linden, Tilia x euchlora, was planted at the southern end of Hatchery Lawn by Mrs Eliot King, the daughter in law of the late Newton King.
Below are photos taken on the day. Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref:ARC2003-859-3)
The bridge above the Waterwheel was replaced in 1977 and paid for by a bequest from the late Mrs Eva Alice Wood. In the same year The Poet’s Bridge was strengthened, repainted and re-decked, costing around $2,000.
Installing new bridge above the Waterwheel.
TH, December 19, 1977.
The Fordson tractor that had been in the Park since 1925 was finally retired. It was donated to the Taranaki Aviation Transport and Technology Museum who promised to restore the machine to as near as new condition as possible. The tractor is still in the museum now located on Kent Road.
Fordson tractor retired from Park service.
TH, June14, 1978.
In 1979 the main lake was badly silted up again, and some of the banks were in need of repair. This time a digger was brought in working from the banks of the lake. The sides were fitted with a retaining wall. The following year the Brookland lake was desilted, and the silt was used to create the Brooklands traffic island.
Last touches being made to the retaining wall by Mr Les Silby.
TH, June 6, 1979.
The Jaycees continued their good work at the zoo and they built a monkey house for a group of seven capuchin monkeys. Four female and three male which arrived in January 1980.
In 1982 twenty-seven pine trees and three macrocarpa were removed from the western hillside. Below are the before and after photos. TH, October 10, 1982.
The felling of the pine trees led to a major Arbor Day project in 1983 along upper Scanlan Walk. The scheme was a continuation of planting that had been done in 1964. The Shortland street entrance was also revamped with the creation of a scented garden. Other projects in 1983 included cutting the path by the Tea House to Racecourse Walk and building the new tractor shed at the sportsground. Also, the Gables was given ‘Historic Place category 1’ status by Heritage New Zealand.
Bert Clark (left) and Ian Berry putting finishing touches to new path.
TH, November 22, 1983.
New tractor shed being built by Roebuck construction. Site foreman John Hope (left) and Park curator George Fuller.
TH, November 22, 1983.
Following the heritage status being given to The Gables in 1983, the building was restored by the City Council and the Historic Places Trust. On completion in November 1985, it was leased to the Taranaki Society of Arts as a gallery.
In 1985 the cascade at the south-west corner of Hatchery Lawn was renovated. The intention was to restore the falls so that the water coming down had the appearance of a sheet of glass, as it had been in earlier days. People would literally stand behind the cascade of water and have their photos taken. Unfortunately, the restoration did not achieve its goals.
Mirror Waterfall – Hatchery Lawn. Undated Photographic postcard of Syd and Norm Lovell.
Collection of Puke Ariki (Ref: PH2011-2164).
Pukekura Park gardener Les Silby washing down the stonework of the renovated cascade.
TDN, August 8, 1985.
The top propagation house at the Fernery was damaged by cyclone Bola in 1986 and had to be rebuilt. Also, a toddler’s play area was added to the children’s playground. It was financed by the TSB and constructed by six Taranaki Lions Clubs. The project was completed in 1987.
In 1987 the Band Rotunda celebrated its 100th anniversary. It was first used in 1887 during Queen Victoria’s 50th Jubilee celebrations. At that time only the concrete base was completed. Due to a lack of funds the canopy wasn’t constructed until 1891. For more information see page174.
Other 1987 developments were the Rogan Street Car Park, and a new viewing deck by the Tea House.
The sportsground pavilion was extended and renamed the Brian Bellringer Pavilion in 1988. The estimate for the extension was $160,000, however, the final cost was $215,000.
In 1989 the Waterwheel was overhauled by Fitzroy Engineering. The work included strengthening the wheel and making it concentric so that it turned more easily.
A New Era in Park Management (1990 - 2007)
George Fuller retired in 1990. He had been in the Park twenty-five years, twenty-four as curator. Anthony Joines took over the role but at the same time the management structure of the Park’s dept changed. Between 1990 and 2007 there were three people (Anthony Joines, Ian McDowell and Bryan Gould) who had the role of curator but not necessarily that title, however, for clarity’s sake the title of curator will be used in this book. In the same period there were also three different operational structures within the Parks Dept. For much of this period the curator wasn’t based in the Park.
The Fountain Lake was drained to allow repairs to be made to one of the jetties. The repairs were carried out by a member of the Taranaki Model Marine Club. The Jetty was originally built in 1959 for the purpose of launching model boats.
In 1991 Eighteen 100-year-old pine trees on the hillside between the children’s playground and the Fountain Lake were cut down. The gap left by the trees inspired the creation of the Japanese Hillside.
Old pine trees to be removed.
TDN, September 19, 1991.
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The banks of the sportsground eastern terraces were faced with horizontal timber planks to repair damage caused by erosion and by people climbing up and down the face of the terraces.
Iolanthe Small retired from running the Fernery in 1992 and Ken Davey took over as person in charge. Iolanthe had worked in the Park 48 years.
In 1993 the first Pukekura and Brooklands Parks Management Plan was drafted. It was compiled by a working party made up of: Councillor Lyn Bublitz, Mrs. Sally Masson, Mr. Geoff Cooke, Mr. Crelin Keig, Mr. Richard Bain; Mr. Alan Jellyman, Community Services Manager; Mr. Mike Nicholls, Horticultural Services Manager and Mr. Anthony Joines Pukekura Park Officer. The plan then went out for submissions. After considering all the submissions a final plan was released which laid out a set of policies to follow relating to future development of the Park.
The plan was divided into twenty five headings, each having several policies:
- Landscape Character.
- Bush Margins and Framework.
- Environmental Controls.
- Wildlife
- Boundary Management.
- Landscape Development.
- Public Use.
- Commercial Use.
- User Conflicts.
- Promotion and Information.
- Parking and Access.
- Pathways and Circulation Patterns.
- Public Involvement.
- Plant Collections.
- Sports Ground
- Playgrounds
- Zoo
- Water Features.
- Bowl of Brooklands.
- Endowments and Gifts.
- Heritage
- Buildings and Structures.
- Illuminations Display.
- Fernery and Display Houses.
- Development
The plan included a legal description of the land titles making up the Park. It also had a history summary, a map of redevelopment sites, plant collections and conceptual sketches.
Policy 10.1. A visitor and education centre should be established within the Brooklands area to serve the whole Park. This is one of the policies the public are still waiting for thirty years later.
The standout planting in 1993 was the first stage of the Japanese Hillside above Hughes Walk.
The annual eel fishing evening was now sponsored by Walsh Appliances and branded as the “Walsh Appliances Grand Eel Hunt” and in 1993 it attracted more than a 1,000 participants. 1993 was also the first year that the annual summer decorative lighting was branded as the “Festival of Lights.” The concepts and origins for the summer lighting in the Park dated back to the illuminations installed at Christmas 1953 prior to the Queen’s visit.
The staffroom in front of the Fernery entrance was demolished and the potting area of the bottom propagating house was converted to a temporary staff room.
The Waterwheel was removed and repaired by Fitzroy Engineering. It had been damaged during the anniversary floods of 1990.
Waterwheel being lowered into position.
TDN, December 10, 1993.
In 1994 Ian McDowell took over as curator from Anthony Joines. McDowell had worked for the Parks department for many years, he designed and helped build the waterfall which opened in 1970. He also played a key role in the acquisition and transfer of the Waterwheel from the Omata Dairy Factory, and its installation in the Park. This was also the year the famous Brooklands Spanish chestnut finally give up the ghost. It had shown signs of dying since 1972.
DEAD END:
Gardener John Harvey takes an axe to the Spanish chestnut tree – now a sad sight. TDN, February 5, 1994.
The Friends of Pukekura Park was formed by Heather Allen and Patricia Stewart in 1995. George Fuller who was concerned about the health of the lakes in the Park suggested setting up the group as a watchdog on the Park’s development. Heather Allen said “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.” Regarding the curator being based in the Park, they got their way in 2007.
A major development was the formation of the Victoria Road Car Park. The car park was constructed on land which had previously been part of the old curator’s house garden. It contained a few old sheds and some old fruit trees which had to be removed.
Paying to activate the fountain and waterfall was stopped in 1995 when push buttons were introduced. They were making up to $2,500 a year, but vandalism and burglaries were a constant headache. In the 3 months leading up to the conversion there had been five burglaries of the pump sheds which cost the council about $200 each time.
Walsh Betta Electrical Great Eel Hunt. On this occasion 700 people registered for the event. This was part of the New Plymouth District Council summer scene programme. About 2000 people attended.
The caption on the photo read, “It’s Alive!”. TDN, January 11, 1995.
Starting in 1996 silt was removed from the Main Lake using a suction dredge. The associated dewatering plant was located to the north of the Brooklands Traffic Island near the path leading down into Rhododendron Dell. The equipment belonged to Drilling Fluid Equipment Ltd. and was adapted from equipment used in the oil industry. It was completed in 1998.
Silt Sucker. TDN, September 24, 1996.
The cricket wicket block was completely dug up and replaced using Patumahoe clay. The old block was laid in the early 1970’s.
The Bowl of Brooklands stage was redeveloped, the wooden extension to the original concrete stage (which was at a lower level) was removed and a new concrete extension constructed to make a large single level all concrete stage. A new roof was also erected to cover the extended stage, designed by Terry Boon. The original estimate of $100,000 blew out to $235,900 following detail design work. Fortunately, the TSB Community Trust gave $100,000 grant in return for the venue naming rights for ten years. It became known as “TSB Bowl of Brooklands”. It was completed in February 1997.
A new outlet culvert for the Pukekura stream was created to reduce the risk of flooding.
Probably the most unusual event in 1996 was the birth of Andrew Langslow who arrived into this world in an agapanthus bush between The Poet’s Bridge and the Tea House. Andrew weighed in at 2.7kg.
Mother and son with George Fuller being given life membership to The Friends of the Park. TDN, April 15, 1997.
The Poet’s Bridge featured on an 80c stamp issued by New Zealand Post in 1996.
In 1997 a plan to upgrade the Fernery was approved. This included raising the glass roof areas by 5-6 metres and developing an extended covered walkway to provide a circular walk within the Fernery. A gathering area would include seating and an information site. The new area would also be wheelchair accessible enabling people to look down over the rest of the Fernery. Unfortunately, there was a $150,000 error in the estimate and the project was delayed for a year. However, the first stage of the redevelopment of the Fernery did go ahead in 1998, it included a new roof structure for houses two and three and the creation of house 2A and annex. When it was completed the roof was raised by 2.5m over house two and three. A new high-level walkway was part of the design, using the newly created annex at the north end of the Fernery. This allowed wheelchair access for viewing the lower houses. The project was carried out by Inglewood construction firm Fabish & Jackson. For details of the Fernery story click here.
Also in 1997 the zoo deer pen was redeveloped to become a Farmyard feature, including a barn. This was the first stage of a planned $400,000 upgrade to the zoo spread over four years.
A six-seater golf cart for taking less abled people on tours of the Park free of charge was donated by Saywell Motors in 1998. Bookings were taken by the kiosk staff and members of the Friends of Pukekura Park drove the buggy. Buggy tours still run today using an eight-seater buggy supplied by the council. These days the service caters for everyone and there is a reasonable charge.
In the photo clockwise from top left, Molly and Tom Nagle from the Park kiosk, Joy Hall from the friends of Pukekura Park, Murray Saywell of Saywell Motors, Denis Hall from Friends of Pukekura Park and Anthony Joines of the NPDC. TDN, December 17, 1998.
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New direction signs with a dark blue background and yellow lettering were erected throughout the Park. Some of these still exist, however, they may be replaced in the near future. Also, in 1998 phase two of the $400,000 zoo upgrade was carried out which involved a revamp of the aviary.
In 1999 the walk from the waterfall up to the Shortland Street entrance was named Scanlan Walk after Brian Scanlan. Scanlan wrote two books on the history of the Park. The first in 1950 titled Pukekura Park and Brooklands, the second was in 1978 titled Pukekura – A Centennial History of Pukekura Park and Brooklands. Scanlan served on the Parks and Reserves Committee from 1967 to 1971.
The Rhododendron Dell was extended onto the bank below the Brooklands Traffic Island.
The curatorship changed again. Ian McDowell retired and Brian Gould was hired. Gould’s job title was Pukekura Park manager. He came down from Auckland where he had the position of chief arborist with the Auckland City Council.
A new 8-seater mobility cart was donated to the Park by Saywell Motors. The new cart was battery-powered and a lot quieter that the first.
The Kibby house was rebuilt in 2000. This represented stage two of the Fernery redevelopment. The new house was designed by TSE Taranaki and the building contractor was Arthur Brown Construction, Hāwera. A new shelter for the people running the boats on the lake was also built in 2000.
Opening of the revamped Kibby House. From left: Ian McDowell, Alan Jellyman, Jack Goodwin, Bryan Gould and George Fuller.
TH, September 2, 2000.
Phase three of the zoo revamp was completed which involved construction of a new capuchin monkey enclosure. This was followed soon after by phase four, new otter and tamarin monkey enclosures. The original bird cage constructed by the Jaycees in 1965 was removed and the children’s playground was upgraded at the same time.
The 125th anniversary of the opening of the Park was commemorated in 2001, with the planting of a mountain coconut palm at the Palm Lawn by Mayor Claire Stewart.
A swampy area at the base of the bowl lily pond dam was developed into a wetland with a walkway running through it. This was the brainchild of the Park manager (curator) Bryan Gould. The project was partly funded by a grant from Fletcher Challenge Energy.
Brooklands Bowl was remodelled and recontoured to provide a better view over the stage for the audience towards the back of the bowl.
In 2001 New Plymouth and Mishima, Japan celebrated the tenth anniversary of their Sister-city relationship. A torii gate was installed on the Japanese Hillside and the unveiling ceremony was attended by a delegation from Mishima headed by city council chairman Hajime Shimura. Officials from Mishima had helped design the torii gate. The lower section of the Japanese Hillside below Hughes Walk was also developed and planted.
Plans and discussions were initiated to purchase a block of land from the Education Department (formerly part of Highlands Intermediate) to become part of the Park.
In 2002 three paths were named. A track in the Maranui Gully was named after Park curator George Fuller A track near the Waterwheel was named after Park curator Ian McDowell, and a path in Brooklands was named after Alan Jellyman who was Director of Parks and Recreation, and later New Plymouth District Council community services manager.
The Park’s orchid collection was relocated from the nursery at Brooklands to the Fernery. The warm growing/tropical collection was housed in the top propagating house. The intermediate temperature collection went to the house 4 extension/growing area, and the remainder distributed around other growing houses at the Fernery and new palm house. Also, overcrowding of kauri in Kauri Grove led the council to cull approximately 40 kauri.
The first New Plymouth WOMAD festival was held at Brooklands Park in March 2003. The festival used 5 generators, 400m of fencing, 30 portable toilets, 5km of cabling and required 80 production staff.
WOMAD. TDN, March 17, 2003.
A 2003 report written by Bryan Gould (Park curator), Anthony Joines (former curator) and Gary Brown (Tse Group) proposed major changes to the Park. Some of the suggestions included, a treetop walkway connecting Brooklands and the zoo to the TSB Stadium Car Park, an information centre at the TSB Stadium and a cable car from the TSB stadium to the Tea House. Major changes to the Fernery were also proposed. This was a very controversial plan. The cost of the proposals was over $17 million and ultimately proved too expensive and faded into oblivion. It is the authors opinion that the main entrance of the Park should be at the TSB Stadium Car Park and some form of mechanical access should be provided to give easy access for the elderly and disabled. It is interesting to note that many of the suggestions put forward in 2003 had already been advocated in reports written in 1968 by Alan Jellyman, George Fuller and Ian McDowell.
TDN, September 10, 2003.
The paddling pool and Don Driver’s “Cats”sculpture in the children’s playground were removed. Towards the end of the year the small stage on the hatchery lawn was constructed, just in time for the Festival of the lights. Also, the sportsground was transformed into a military encampment for the filming of the movie “The Last Samurai.”
The Scanlan Lookout which sits amongst the Skyline Pines behind the Bowl of Brooklands and adjoining the racecourse was officially opened in April 2004. It took a year to complete. Plans for a memorial lookout were originally drawn up in 1996 by George Fuller for a lookout overlooking the main lake.
When a Kunming delegation visited New Plymouth in 2003 for the first part of the sister city signing, Mayor Zhang announced the gift of a pagoda-styled pavilion. Construction of the Kunming Garden started in November 2004 with an initial team of eight Chinese craftsmen arriving from Kunming. For details of the Kunming Garden development clickl here.
One of two Torrey pines at the Children’s Playground was removed (the remaining tree is the sole survivor of plantings of Torrey pines in 1888).
Arborist Steve Mitchell prepares to remove part of an old Torrey pine that had been struck by lightning nine years earlier.
TDN, April 30, 2004.
The Council purchased the 2.5ha of land owned by the Ministry of Education bordering Highlands Intermediate and the Park’s Maranui Gully. This was first discussed in 2001.
A decision was made to replace the worn-out old Waterwheel with a new one. The project started in December 2004 with the removal of the old wheel.
The other major event of 2004 was the release of a new Park Management Plan. This was very different from the 1993 document. It was in two parts. Part A focussed on the statutory aspects of running a Park and part B focussed on the policies moving forward. Even though the Park had been administered under the principals of the reserves Act 1977 some of the land was not officially classified as reserve land. The extract below from the 2004 Executive summary explains this.
The Park is administered by the New Plymouth District Council. Although the Park has been managed for many years as a public recreation reserve under the Reserves Act 1977 (hereinafter referred to as the “Reserves Act”) many areas have not been formally classified under the Act. The various areas of land comprising the Park are currently contained in 21 certificates of title. The Council is in the process of ensuring that the Park is confirmed to be “reserve” land and appropriately classified, as either recreation reserve or local purpose (community purposes and recreation). This process has been undertaken concurrently with the process of preparing this management plan. The Reserves Act requires each reserve to have a management plan, prepared by the “administering body” (in this case the Council).
The Reserves Act sets out the statutory criteria for the management plan and requires that “the management plan shall provide for and ensure the use, enjoyment, maintenance, protection, and preservation, as the case may require, and, to the extent that the administering body’s resources permit, the development, as appropriate of the reserve for the purposes for which it is classified, and shall incorporate and ensure compliance with…” each of those principles as set out in the Act for a reserve of that classification.
The plan also highlighted other relevant legislation and controls to be considered, such as:
Resource Management Act 1991.
Local Government Act 2002 and 1974.
Conservation Act 1987.
Treaty of Waitangi as it applies to Reserve Management.
Taranaki Botanic Garden Act 1876.
It was noted that this was still a relevant document that needed repealing. However, in 2024 it is still in place.
Historic Places Act 1993.
The New Plymouth District Plan.
The New Plymouth District Bylaws.
Taranaki Regional Council.
Relevant Council Policies, Strategies and Plans including:
Long Term Council Community Plan, The 2001 Water management Technical Study, Parks Asset Management Plan and 1999 Leisure Plan.
Part A also included an excellent summary of all the land acquisitions that made up the Park in 2004, including land description, statutory references and location. Highlighted was the need to amalgamate the different land parcels into one title. Some areas were classified as ‘local purpose reserve’, such as the land at the kindergarten and scout den.
The land in Gilbert Street home of the Model Engineers Club was removed from the Park.
Another interesting entry in Part A is the explanation of the changes of the Park management from 1993 to 2003. Below is an extract from the Park Management Plan.
Since 1993 the Park has been subject to fundamental changes in its infrastructure and management. In many ways it was a trying time for the Park – a time that it has survived well, considering the challenges.
The most significant change was in terms of management. In 1994 the position of Park curator was dis-established and a combination of the Council’s Park management took over the day-to-day planning and running of the Park. The Park’s garden staff were re-organised into a contract unit of Council, accountable for all operational activities. The Park operated in this fashion for a number of years. Even though intentions were good and all practical efforts were made, the Park suffered from unclear management in both its physical and strategic well-being as a result of this reorganisation.
In 1999 the new position of Pukekura Park Manager was established, which covered many of the tasks of the original Curator position. As a result of further Council restructuring in 2002, the management of Pukekura Park and Brooklands is now the responsibility of the Premier Parks team within Parkscape Services, Customer Services Group.
Work is 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.
Part B focussed on policies which were divided into the following categories.
Access and Circulation; Recreation and Use; Landscape Management and Protection; Information and Education; Community Relations; Facilities, Buildings and structures; Leases, Licences and other Agreements; Development; Administration and Management.
Each category was divided into subcategories which in turn had many policies.
The 2004 Park Management Plan is available for download on the NPDC website.
Kunming Garden was officially opened on February 27th, 2005.
A New Waterwheel was installed in time for Christmas 2005. It was designed by New Plymouth engineer Michael Lawley and built by carpenter Dave Carnahan in a shed on Lawley’s property in Kent Road.
A block of two unisex toilets were installed at the children’s playground and one unisex toilet at the Rogan Street Car Park and the Parks Department Nursery was disestablished, and the buildings demolished.
Ken Davey retired, and Donna Chrstiansen took over as person in charge of the Fernery. An irrigation system was installed at the top of the fern banks in houses 1, 2 and 3.
After ideas put forward in 2003 were incorporated into the 2004 Park Management Plan a study was commissioned by the council to obtain feedback from the public. Wellington research group Pistoll and Associates conducted the study and found that the majority of people supported developing and promoting Pukekura Park as an international attraction. Ideas that found favour included a revamp of the Tea House, extending and upgrading car parking, building a visitors’ centre, creating a café at Brooklands Zoo, constructing a look-out tower and developing a new main entrance at the racecourse. The only major proposal not to get a favourable outcome was that of a cable car from the TSB stadium to the Tea House. The only project to be actioned was the Tea House renovation which commenced in July 2006, costing around $520,000. The aim was to maintain the character of the original building while meeting the then current building standards. A new floor was laid with underfloor ventilation and the interior redesigned to make it easier to operate. For more details about the history of the Tea House see page 226.
Another consideration in 2006 was the setting up of a Centre for Sustainable Living in the house next to Brooklands Zoo. This house has recently been converted into an enviro-hub.
Following a District Council reshuffle former Parkscape manager Chris Connolly was appointed curator of the Park in December 2006. This role had been disestablished in 1994.
Curators Return (2007 - Present)
In 2007 Pukekura Park and Brooklands was assessed as a Garden of National Significance by the New Zealand Gardens Trust. In its assessment, NZGT made particular note of the Park’s 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, serene atmosphere and uniformly high maintenance level. They also noted good use of the landscape’s natural form, with a logical flow through the Park.
The Lions faces and bowls of the Victoria drinking fountain were vandalised. The repairs were carried out by conservation stonemason Jerry Smith using marble from the north Italian city of Carrara.
The Michael Smither sculpture “Aotearoa” was installed in the Bowl Lily Lake. Smither donated the sculpture but the Council had to cover the cost of materials to build it and the cost of installation which was estimated to be $97,000. The sculpture is made of bronze and painted with a special marine resin to avoid issues such as algae growth.
The Centennial of the naming of the Park “Pukekura Park”, was commemorated with plantings taking place on Eastern Hillside.
Twins Ethan (left) and Mac Rowe assist Chris Connolly plant a conifer (Araucaria bidwillii) on Eastern Hillside as part of the naming of the Park’s centennial celebrations.
TDN, November 21, 2007.
The Park gained fame on New Zealand’s version of “Monopoly” claiming the prestigious Mayfair square, and the Park’s cricket ground was named one of the six great cricket grounds in the world in the 2007 version of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanac.
The Tea House which was saved from the brink of destruction in 2006 and restored to its former glory by architect Jenny Goddard received a stamp of approval from the New Zealand Institute of Architects’ western region judges who gave it an award in the Heritage and Conservation category.
The Friends of the Park won a $101,000 government grant along with a dollar-for-dollar support from Puke Ariki to record the Park’s history. The joint venture – Terrain (Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network) recorded historical data on a website. The New Plymouth District Council also published a book Pukekura Park and Brooklands – A Guide to Walks, written by Ron Lambert.
The 80th anniversary of the Fernery was celebrated on the Fred Parker Lawn with a barbecue and a birthday cake. People were dressed in 1920’s attire.
New tracks were made in the part of the Maranui Gully that had been purchased from the Ministry of Education in 2004.
The Park got its first all-electric buggy from China. The buggy was designed to carry less able-bodied persons around the Park.
A diseased section of the northern-most of the two Norfolk Pines at Brooklands was removed. About 9m was taken off the top of the tree. These trees are believed to have been planted in 1851.
2009 was a year of controversies, however it started on a calmer note with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the gifting of Brooklands to New Plymouth City. The King family planted a Mexican Weeping Pine, Pinus patula in the Pinetum at Brooklands.
Stephen and Vivian King, grandsons of Newton King, put the first shovel of dirt around the tree planted in celebration of 75 years since the King family home was gifted to the city of New Plymouth. Granddaughters Lynette Jolicoeur, Adrienne Tatham and Jennifer Voss look on. TDN, March 10, 2009.
A controversy in 2009 was an access road from the racecourse down to the Bowl of Brooklands. The road was deemed unsuitable for emergency vehicles and large B-train trucks that were being used to carry equipment for big acts playing at the Bowl. At the centre of the controversy was an old pūriri tree. Initially two options were proposed. One option was to have a new road above the pūriri which would possibly have a devastating effect on the tree, and also required removing another 25 established trees. The second option was to widen and strengthen the existing road. After studying the options, the council were advised that option one was the only feasible option. Ex curator George Fuller headed a protest to save the trees and went into the Park at the site of the pūriri every day for a week, to explain to the public the council’s proposal. The issue was finally solved when engineers: John Mathews, John Kuindersman and Colin Bell, came up with a solution to stabilise and widen the existing road.
George Fuller standing by the pūriri tree that he battled to save. TDN, December 26, 2009.
The second controversary in 2009 was the installation of a temporary platform over the lake at the Bowl of Brooklands during concerts. The platform which seated 1044 people was used in February 2010 for the Cliff Richard concert. Cliff Richard thought it was great.
projects during the year included rebuilding the Wisteria Arbor near the Tea House by Tenix Robert Stone to commemorate their 60th anniversary and both The Poet’s Bridge and the Boat Shed Bridge undergoing major refurbishment work. Also, the Waterwheel was spinning a bit wonky making repairs necessary. The wheel was removed, and fitted with a new drive shaft and bearings.
The approach to the waterfall was modified (boulders that were in front of the pool, at the bottom of the falls, were removed and replaced by forming steps to improve public access). Kunming Garden was closed while repairs were made to the main supporting columns of the Pagoda. Timber used in its construction was not treated and not suitable for NZ conditions.
In January 2011 a 120-year-old English Beech that stood on Brooklands lawn was badly damaged in a storm and was removed. The tree was listed as category one notable tree under the district plan and was on the Notable Trees of New Zealand register.
George Fuller – Hoping the beech timber will be put to good use. TDN, February 2, 2011.
Four of the Park’s fleet of clinker boats were rotten beyond repair. The boats were very expensive to maintain so four plastic lookalike boats were trialled. These were supplied by Auckland Company, Mac Boats.
The cricket practice nets in Fillis Street got the go-ahead after fierce debate. They were first proposed in 2008. The project got approval after the TSB Community Trust came up with half of the cost. They were constructed in 2012.
The unisex toilet block at the west end of the Brooklands Bowl Lake was constructed replacing an old block that had been destroyed by fire.
The third and final stage of the Fernery redevelopment commenced, putting a new roof on House 1 and building a new office block for the curator and Park staff. This was completed in 2013.
Stage three of the Fernery upgrade in progress. Fernery technical officer Donna Christiansen in the foreground.TDN, October 10, 2012.
Another three unusable clinker boats were replaced with plastic lookalikes. The three boats were put on Trade Me with a reserve of $1 but remarkably raised $2,765.
The Park was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor.
The Children’s Playground was redeveloped in 2013, which included removing the much-loved wooden fort. The cost of the upgrade was $560,000. Included in the redevelopment was the installation of a replica of Don Driver “Cats” sculpture.
The Band Rotunda was given a complete makeover which included repairing the damaged finial on the roof, cleaning and repainting the roof and supports, re-plastering the steps and renewing the electrical wiring and fittings. The restoration cost around $60,000.
The Kaimata Street Entrance at Brooklands was redeveloped with the creation of six angled car park spaces on Kaimata Street. This was the first of the many entrances to be smartened up. Interlocking gravel-filled geotextile bags were placed around the crumbling edges of the Main Lake and Fountain Lake. They are held to the edge of the lakes with 1m long pegs. The Main Lake was also dredged of thousands of litres of silt. While dredging the lake contractors found several items including an industrial coffee machine, a saw, cell phones, tyres, and a trolley.
In 2014 the Park was accredited with a green flag award by the International Parks Forum and it has been awarded every year since. The award rates the management, condition and appearance of Parks, through site visits and examining of management documents.
Improvements were made to the outlets of the Main Lake and Fountain Lake. The changes made it easier and safer for staff to operate the lakes’ level control outlets. A new underground pipe was also installed near the waterfall running to the Fountain Lake to improve the water flow through the Fountain Lake and improve water quality.
The Fillis Street frontage west of the main gate was redeveloped and new retaining walls were installed on Racecourse Walk in 2015. The walk was also resealed.
In 2015-16 twenty-three rubbish bins, ten entrance signs and a number of wayfinding signs made from Cor-Ten steel were installed in the Park. This steel oxidises and creates a protective layer of rust giving the items an estimated life of forty years. When installed the wayfinding signs were controversial. The letters on the signs were cut outs and when the signs had bush behind them the lack of contrast made the signs difficult to read. To fix this issue plywood painted with orange iridescent paint was fixed to the back of the words. It is the authors opinion that the larger problem is that the signs don’t actually point in the right directions. The old wooden signs installed in 1998 are better in that respect.
At the beginning of 2016 Brooklands zoo got a new office building, built by ten students of the Taranaki Futures programme.
In 2017 the Gables was reroofed using 20,000 cedar shingles imported from Canada. Corrugated iron was considered, fortunately that idea was rejected. The Shortland Street entrance was redeveloped and landscaped and the lighting on waterfall was upgraded with new LED lights.
Projects for 2018 included: A new viewing deck, external landscaping and a new tiled floor at the Tea House. Also, a new arbor frame was installed for the climbing rose (American Pillar) on the Brooklands lawn.
At the beginning of 2019 Chris Connolly resigned as curator and Kristian Davies filled the vacancy. Chris had been curator since 2007.
The Sportsground’s eastern and southern terraces were fitted with new timber retaining walls, costing around $550,000.
Charlie the sulphur-crested cockatoo died in 2020. He had been an icon in New Plymouth since 1983 when he took up residence as a pet at the Pukekura Park tea house. Charlie was moved from the tea house to Brooklands Zoo in April 2002 because he was foul mouthed.
Desilting the Park’s waterways started in 2020 for the first time since 1996, using a Swedish-made dredge to suck up tonnes of rotting vegetation. The budget was $2.45 million, to be spread over two years, using a one-person Truxor amphibious dredge that used biodegradable oil to remove sludge and separate out the water. The sludge was dried and disposed of, and the water was returned to the lakes. The desilting stopped in November 2020 for the summer at which time 6500 cubic metres had been removed. That was roughly 60% of the total estimate. Because of funding issues, the dredging was not completed.
In June 2022 a discussion document – Our Pukekura Park, Guiding the next chapter – was issued for public feedback. Projects suggested were 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, creating an off-road commuter cycle track and an environmental hub next to the zoo.
Kristian Davies resigned as curator of the Park in August 2022 and Sheryl Clyma was appointed to the role. Kristian now works as head gardener at Pukeiti.
Remedial work was necessary on the Fountain Lake dam and the outlet stream was redeveloped. The adjacent garden environs were replanted with new palms and bromeliads.
In 2024 a new Pukekura Park Reserve Management Plan was issued. The purpose of the plan is to provide strategic direction for the management of parks and reserves, and identify policies and plans for the use, enjoyment, maintenance, protection, preservation and development of parks assets. Reserve management plans are prepared with community involvement and as such are a statement of the community’s expectations for the way council manages their parks and reserves.
A copy of the plan can be found on the NPDC website.
Near the end of the plan it lists some programmes to be implemented in the near future, and some programmes that are ongoing. It also lists some proposed projects to be implemented over the life of the plan and gives them a priority rating of 1 – 9 depending on their importance, necessity or complexity, 1 being the highest priority.
Programme | Description |
Water Body Improvements | Ongoing interventions and maintenance to ensure the best health of the Park’s lakes and streams |
Pest Control | Ongoing control of pest plants, animals and diseases |
Succession Planning | Ongoing replacement of mature vegetation reaching the end of its natural life and other non-thriving vegetation with species suitable for the current and future Park environment |
Design Guide | A guide to ensure consistent and appropriate infrastructure and landscape development |
Viewshaft Protection | Ensure selected viewshafts within Park are kept open |
Lighting Upgrades | Ongoing upgrades to lighting within the Park and along pathways to improve safety and efficiency |
Project Banding
Small-scale projects (<$100,000 or able to be staged over time as discrete components of this scale) that can be implemented from existing Reserve Management Plan implementation budgets allocated yearly for Pukekura Park.
Medium projects ($100,000 – 1 million) that would be required to be funded through the LTP as separate projects.
Large projects (>$1 million) that would be required to be funded through the LTP as separate projects.
Partner projects (large or small) that would only proceed with external partner funding and/or are eligible for offset funding (e.g. Waka Kotahi).
Project | Band | Description | Priority |
Brooklands Zoo Phases 2 – 7 | Large | Renovation of animal habitats and public education spaces including playspace n.b. Phase 1 included in 2021- 2031 LTP |
1 |
Main Dam Upgrade | Large | Upgrades to the main lake dam and spillways to meet modern safety standards and anticipated climate change effects n.b. Safety considerations with new (2022) dam guidelines |
1 |
Bellringer Pavilion & Fillis St Upgrades | Large | Renew Bellringer Pavilion and update Fills St entrance area including new dugout and scoreboard n.b. Bellringer replacement driven primarily by safety considerations |
1 |
Path Network & Wayfinding Review | Small | Upgrade selected path surfaces and renew Park signage suite |
2 |
Dedicated Cycle Route | Partner | Dedicated path for commuter cycling |
2 |
Brooklands Enviro-Hub | Small | Development of the former Brooklands house as a community environmental and Park learning and advocacy facility for Council and community groups |
3 |
Staff Operational Area | Large | Develop an easily accessible staff operational area for deliveries, storage of equipment and resources and works associated with the Park |
4 |
Brooklands Entry Improvements | Medium | Update Brooklands Road entrance and Parking |
5 |
Tea House Plaza Upgrade | Large | Upgrade the Tea House, dock and immediate surrounds to improve the overall visitor experience |
6 |
Brooklands Terracing | Large | Increase Bowl of Brooklands capacity nearer to 20,000 and improve performer/audience connectivity |
6 |
Lake Edge Protection | Medium | Work around lake edges to retain embankments and protect pathways |
6 |
Fillis St Boundary Treatment | Medium | Replace existing solid boundary wall along Fillis Street with a more visually permeable option |
6 |
Canopy Walk | Partner | Develop a canopy walk that connect the zoo to the surrounding native forest and provides educational canopy experience |
7 |
Cannon Hill Upgrade | Medium | Upgrade Cannon Hill as a more inviting visitor location |
8 |
Brooklands Lake Stage | Large | Increase Bowl of Brooklands capacity and create quicker and more cost effective temporary stage infrastructure over lake |
8 |
Victoria Road Entrance | Medium | Removal of Victoria Road house and upgrades to public entry and car parking in this location |
9 |