Gordon Spratt Reserve

Gordon Spratt Reserve's playground is a small, bark surfaced site behind Papamoa Beach, centred on a multi play structure with a slide, an infant swing and a flying fox, one part of a reserve otherwise built for organised sport, a weekly parkrun and a rebuilt skate park.

Equipment

The playground centres on a multi play structure with a slide, swings that include an infant seat, and a flying fox, with a junior slide and basket swing rounding out the equipment for younger children. Just across the reserve, the skate park was rebuilt in 2023, growing its footprint by around 300 square metres to about 900 square metres and adding a manual pad, street hip, euro gap, A frame ramp, stairs, ledges and rails, along with new lighting for evening sessions.

Access and Inclusion

The infant swing and junior slide put the youngest visitors on equipment scaled to them, and picnic tables and seating sit close to the play area for parents keeping watch. There is no direct tree cover over the playground itself, though established trees nearby give spectators and picnic tables some relief later in the day, and newer sail structures add cover near the skate park and toilet block. On street parking serves the reserve, busiest on Saturday mornings around 9 to 10am, in step with the weekly parkrun.

History and Cultural

Gordon Spratt Reserve has grown into one of Papamoa's central recreation grounds, home to the Papamoa Sports and Recreation Centre used for weddings, birthday parties and community events, alongside bowls, tennis and basketball courts and fields for football, league and touch rugby. Its 5 kilometre parkrun runs every Saturday at 8am and draws walkers, joggers and runners of every standard. The skate park rebuild followed feedback from Tauranga's skater community that the previous park was outdated, part of a wider city push toward better skate facilities, including a new skate park under construction at Mount Maunganui.

Practical Info

Address: Papamoa Beach, Tauranga 3118. Parking is on street around the reserve. Picnic tables, seating, a barbecue and public toilets are provided.