Partygoers vandalise picturesque park
Underage drinkers are being blamed for an all night party that saw a picnic table destroyed by fire and hundreds of bottles and cans left lying in the grass at a popular New Plymouth park.
Anne Hawkins, who lives near Rotokare/Barrett Domain, said Saturday’s party in the bush clad reserve was the worst she had heard in 37 years living in the area. ‘‘There were bags and bags and bags of rubbish and bottles,’’ Hawkins said.
She said the party was so loud it had kept her awake all night and it was still going strong at 5am.
‘‘They were still banging and crashing,’’ she said. ‘‘There were lots of noises.’’
Photos posted to Facebook on Sunday showed the aftermath of the party. Dozens of empty bottles and cans were piled up next to a heavily damaged picnic table. One Facebook user posted there were as many as 50 people at the gathering.
Hawkins said there were around 30 cars parked ‘‘all over the place’’ on the section of Roto St near her home and most of the party goers appeared underage.
She said she feared for their safety and not just because they were legally too young to be buying alcohol.
‘‘They need to realise how dangerous it is,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s pitch black in there. It’s an extremely dangerous place to be.’’
Hawkins said she had lived next to the domain for 37 years and while she’d heard the odd party over that time, in the last month there had been two large gatherings of people in the park that developed into the most raucous yet.
New Plymouth District Council chief operating officer Kelvin Wright confirmed Saturday’s gathering was the second incident in the last few months at the park.
‘‘The police were called and we have worked to clean up the site and make it safe,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s disappointing this vandalism took place at the Barrett Lagoon and we would encourage anyone who sees anything like this at any of our public spaces to contact the police.’’
Rotokare/Barrett Domain is a 36 hectare blend of open spaces, plantations, bush, a lagoon and walking tracks at the western edge of New Plymouth. The domain is also a wildlife refuge.
It is named after the original name of the lagoon and wellknown English pioneer Dicky Barrett.