Pukekura Park and New Plymouth city: Growing together for 150 years

The green jewel in New Plymouth’s crown, Pukekura Park, is turning 150 this month – and NPDC is inviting everyone to take part in celebrations.

Various activities will be held at the end of the month to mark the official opening of what was then called the Recreation Ground on 29 May 1876.

“It’s safe to say that locals know Pukekura Park like the back of their hand but on the opening day 150 years ago, the park looked very different to what it does now,” says New Plymouth District Mayor Max Brough.

“There was no main lake – the stream was dammed two years later – no sportsground, no Poet’s Bridge, no Fernery and Display Houses and no Brooklands Zoo.

“The park has grown over the decades under the expert care and vision of a series of curators, and the city has grown around it. It’s really the heart of New Plymouth and it means a great deal to generations of kids and adults who have grown up with it.”

NPDC Pukekura Park Lead Sheryl Clyma says the team knows how special it is to have the care of the park entrusted to them.

“We’re just the latest in a long line of horticulturalists who get to apply their expertise and care on a very big, living canvas.

“It’s an icon for our city and region, and we carry that responsibility to maintain it not just for the families who turn up today but also for those in decades to come,” she says.

On 29 May 1876, four trees were planted on Cannon Hill for the official opening: an oak for Great Britain, a pūriri for New Zealand, a Norfolk Island pine for the South Pacific Islands and a pinus radiata for America. Only the pūriri is still in place; however, three other trees planted on the same day but after the official ceremony are also still present.

To mark the anniversary, NPDC has videos online that show how the park has changed over its 150 years, and memories from previous park curators – see them on npdc.govt.nz/PukekuraPark150. The webpage also has details about celebratory public events for the public to join in:

• Public planting day at the Bowl of Brooklands on Friday 29 May.
• New Plymouth Brass, New Zealand’s oldest brass band, playing on New Zealand’s oldest band rotunda on Saturday 30 May.
•  Free tours of the Fernery and Display Houses daily from Monday 25 to Friday 29 May (booking essential).
• Free buggy tours through the park by Friends of the Park daily from Monday 25 to Friday 29 May (booking recommended).
•  Historical park walk on Tuesday 26 May.
• The Brooklands Experience (an easy walk and talk by the Friends of Pukekura Park and the Taranaki Arts Society) on Thursday 28 May.
•  Brooklands Zoo keeper talks on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May (weather permitting).
• Historic photo display at the Tea House and The Gables throughout May.
• Pukekura Park-themed books on display at Puke Ariki Library and Taranaki Research Centre throughout May.

Also, the New Plymouth i-SITE Visitor Centre is promoting sales of two books on the park by local authors: Pukekura Park and Brooklands – A Guide to Walks by historian Ron Lambert, and Pukekura Park – A Jewel in the Crown by photographer Rob Tucker.

A timeline of Pukekura Park’s development is on Puke Ariki’s website here.

 At a glance:

• NPDC looks after 1,600ha of park and reserve land (including Pukekura Park), 16ha of gardens, and 4,889 notable and street trees.
• In 150 years the park has enlarged from 15ha to 52ha.
• Pukekura Park holds the international Green Flag award for excellence and is a 5-Star Garden of National Significance from the New Zealand Gardens Trust.
•  In 2007, British cricketing authority Wisden named Pukekura Park among the six great cricket grounds in the world, highlighting its ‘gorgeous, natural setting’.
• Also in 2007, Pukekura Park won the coveted ‘Mayfair’ spot in the New Zealand version of Monopoly.

Caption: A 1905 photo of two men rowing near the original Boatshed Bridge, inset within a modern photo of the same location in Pukekura Park.

Highlights of Pukekura Park’s development since opening on 29 May 1876:

1878 – Pukekura Stream is dammed to create the Main Lake.

1883 – Work begins on filling in a swamp to make the sportsground.

1884 – Money from the winning racehorse The Poet is gifted by James T. Davis to build Poet’s Bridge.

1887 – The band rotunda is built – the oldest in New Zealand.

1890s – The first grassy terraces are built around the sportsground.

1893 – Lower Lake (later renamed Fountain Lake) is formed.

1897 – Drinking fountain near the band rotunda is erected to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

1908 – The park’s original name of The Recreation Ground is changed to Pukekura Park.

1928 – The Fernery and Stainton Dell open.

1931 – The original Tea House opens, built from funds provided by Mayor and Mayoress Charles and Mary Burgess to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.

1955 – An illuminated fountain is added to the Lower Lake to celebrate the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh the previous year.

1958 – Bowl of Brooklands opens with the first Festival of the Pines.

1965 – Brooklands Zoo and children’s playground open.

1970 – Illuminated waterfall opens.

1976 – A waterwheel from the Ōmata Dairy Factory is installed as a centennial project.

2001 – Mishima Gate is unveiled on Japanese Hill.

2005 – Kunming Garden opens.