Harvard Adventure Park

Harvard Adventure Park is a Main Street playground in Pahiatua built around a bright yellow North American Harvard trainer plane with a slide running out of its fuselage. It suits a wide range, from toddlers in a separate fenced area through to confident seven to twelve year olds on the rope frame and flying fox, and it has been pulling families off State Highway 2 for decades.

Equipment

A large rope climbing frame, a hamster wheel, a momentum swinging beam and a flying fox give older children plenty to work at. Two enclosed slides descend from an accessible wooden structure, and a separate fenced junior area handles the youngest visitors with its own smaller slide. Swings and spring toys round out the equipment, with open grass for free play between the structures.

History and Cultural

The original Harvard, NZ918, was built in 1941 and served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force before the Pahiatua Jaycees bought it in 1962 and installed it in the playground in November 1963. The original aircraft was later removed after being assessed as unsafe, and a fibreglass replica in the same yellow livery took its place, still with the slide through the fuselage that made the original so memorable.

Access and Inclusion

The park is fully fenced, useful for families with toddlers who need a secure space to run off energy after time in the car.

Practical Info

Toilets are on site, and picnic tables sit under mature trees, the best shade on site since little of it falls directly over the main equipment. Parking is available on Dawson Street beside the reserve, and the town's swimming pool, which charges entry, is next door.