Peacocke park’s nod to past
The first park in Hamilton’s new Peacocke neighbourhood will recognise the horticultural history of the area.
The $223,800 park, on Inuwai Street in Dixon Heights, will celebrate the area’s previous life as a food bowl for Ma¯ ori and English settlers.
The surrounding areas were used by tangata whenua to grow wheat, corn, kumara, taro and hue and, later, by English settlers as a market garden with fruit trees.
It will include a playground, a basketball half-court and flat grassed areas, and is the first community facility in the Peacocke neighbourhood that will eventually be home to up to 20,000 people.
Hamilton City Council parks and recreation manager Maria Barrie said it was important to recognise the unique history of the land and the people that came before.
‘‘Playgrounds are a fun and creative way of telling the stories of a local area and we spent time talking to the local community and mana whenua about what they would like to see in the park.
‘‘The playground picks up on these themes of growing our own food and will include traditional plant and fruit tree varieties, as well as planter boxes for a future community garden.’’
There will also be swings, slides, balance equipment, picnic areas, cycle and scooter racks and a drinking fountain, as well as space where a pou to be installed.
Construction will begin mid-March and should be completed by the end of May.
The park will be closed to the public while construction takes place.
Mana whenua were keen on the proposed name Inuwai Park.
The moniker will be considered at the council’s community committee meeting in April.
There is also space for a pou to be installed at a later date.