Edmonds Park

Tucked behind the Edmonds Factory Garden in Waltham, Christchurch, this small playground sits at the corner of Edmonds Park's sports field, sharing a car park with the heritage garden that once surrounded the Sure to Rise baking powder factory.¹ Most families come for a quick swing and slide, then stay for a wander past the lily ponds and roses next door.

Equipment

The play area is a compact, timber-edged pad on the south side of the field, right beside the car park, built around a blue play structure. The council's asset register lists swings including a baby swing, a slide and climbing equipment, so it suits toddlers and younger primary-age kids more than older children after a challenge. The low timber edging that runs the length of the field doubles as a balance beam, and one reviewer points out a grassy mound at each end that works for picnics.

History and Cultural

Thomas Edmonds commissioned the garden around his new Ferry Road factory, built in 1923, and the garden and factory both featured on the cover of the Edmonds Cookery Book.¹ The factory was demolished in October 1990 amid controversy,² and the council bought a major portion of the garden in 1991.¹ Kids who like a hunt can look for the Sure to Rise sunburst on the gate by the car park, and a plaque under a tree planted on 20 July 1979 by Claude Evans, chairman of T. J. Edmonds Ltd, to mark the company's centenary. A Friends group still weeds, prunes and looks after the rose and scented gardens.¹

Practical Info

The car park is at the end of the long driveway off Ferry Road, or you can walk in from Ryan Street.¹ A reviewer warns the car park gates close at dark, and another notes that spaces are reserved for garden volunteers on Saturday mornings, just when football is on. The garden has public toilets and plenty of seating, and dogs are welcome on a leash.¹ The play area is open to the field and car park, and the garden ponds have low stone edges with no barrier, so keep toddlers close. Reviewers love the garden's calm but mention people drinking and vaping at times, and suggest not visiting alone after dark. A fish and chip shop is just across Ferry Road, and reviewers point to a bakery nearby for lunch. Olliviers Reserve Playground is about 600 metres away if the kids want more to climb.