Bold vision for a town park

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a public garden in Wanaka, writes Mike Horder.

WHAT’S Queenstown got that Wanaka hasn’t? As a Wanaka resident, one thing springs quickly to mind.

The Queenstown Gardens. What a treasure that place is. And what foresight on the part of those community leaders who, way back in 1867, resolved to set that land apart to forever remain a peaceful, tranquil, space in the very heart of their village.

And so the Queenstown Gardens still are today — a place where Queenstowners, and their visitors, can go and still hear tuis and bellbirds sing, smell the roses, or just sit and listen to the wind whispering in the treetops.

Queenstown’s Gardens are pure sanctuary — a place of retreat from the clamour of everyday living – a place that succours the soul.

Such places are becoming harder to find, and Wanaka is the poorer for the want of such a space.

But that’s not to say there’s no land available in Wanaka for a park such as Queenstown’s Gardens. Wanaka is actually quite well provided with underused recreation reserve space.

Think Pembroke Park down by the lake shore, for example. And then there’s Lismore Park, up on the heights, on the northern flank of Roy’s Bay.

But, for my money, the standout location for the establishment of such a park — with its northwest aspect, rolling contours, and outstanding lake and mountain views — would have to be the land on Golf Course Rd, that accommodates the first nine holes of Wanaka’s golf course.

It has been suggested that this ground, or part of it, properly developed, could become a worldclass garden park.

This ground, along with the rest of the golf course, is currently designated recreation reserve and has, since 1967, been leased to the Wanaka Golf Club on a longterm, perpetually renewable arrangement.

But way back in 1967,

Wanaka had about 1000 permanent residents and the golf course was on the outskirts of the village.

Now the town has around 8000 permanent residents and the golf course is smack dab in the centre of town.

And the projection is that, within the next decade or so, the town’s permanent population will have doubled to around 16,000.

And it’s anybody’s guess what the rateable value of the golf course land [now

$7.35 million] will have ballooned out to in that same space of time.

All this begs the question: is it appropriate, nowadays, for such large tracts of prime public land to be locked up longterm for the primary purpose of playing golf ?

Some would doubtless argue that what’s now needed is a fairer sharing of such precious space.

But a fairer sharing of the golf course ground would involve change, something all of us, individually, and as a group, are naturally inclined to resist.

How, then, might the Wanaka Golf Club be encouraged to acknowledge the looming reality of the need for change and then find the motivation to do something constructive about it ?

The total area leased by the golf club comprises 55.7644 hectares. That converts to about 138 acres. The conventional wisdom is that the land requirement for a championship grade 18hole golf course ought to be no more than 40ha. Queenstown’s Gardens occupies an area of about 15ha.

Could it be that the golf course and a park might both be accommodated within the space now leased to the golf club?

Might it be feasible, say, to subdivide off for a proposed park, 14ha at the golf course’s southern perimeter, fronting on to McDougall St and the southern end of Golf Course Rd — as per this concept diagram?

Just imagine what goodwill the club might generate for itself in the wider Wanaka community were it to come on board, right from the outset, with just such a proposal.

Sure, that would entail the club surrendering 14ha from its lease — losing maybe five of its golf holes. And, most likely, a significant reconfiguring of the golf course would have to be undertaken as well.

All that would be major for the club, to be sure, but a project, nonetheless, that the club could embark upon with much more confidence knowing it enjoyed the full and wholehearted support of the entire Wanaka community.

And, at the the end of the day? Wanaka might well end up with a beautiful park — just like Queenstown’s — and a better golf course.

A winwin for the town you might say.

I, for one, would support the formation of a trust dedicated to turning that vision into a reality. Any other takers?