Morgan Park

Waihi's main outdoor gathering place has been getting busier by the year, and with good reason. Morgan Park opened formally as a recreation ground before the turn of the last century, and after nearly 130 years of community sport, lawn bowls, and children's play, it has recently added a facility that puts it on the radar beyond the Hauraki District: a competition-standard Velosolutions pump track built to international specifications, with a learners' circuit and a fully wheelchair-accessible track running alongside it.

The park sits in the centre of Waihi, easily reached from the town's main streets and within walking distance of most of the central residential areas. The setting is open and flat, which gives the whole site a spacious feel and makes it easy to move between the different activity zones. It was renamed Morgan Park in 1990 to honour the Morgan/Gilmore family, one of Waihi's long-standing local families, and the name has been part of the town's everyday vocabulary ever since.

The pump track opened in June 2025 after five years of community-driven planning, led by the Waihī Community Forum with funding from OceanaGold, Hauraki District Council, the Lotteries Community Facilities Fund, and several local charitable organisations. The three-circuit layout is free to use and designed for all ages and abilities: the competition line suits experienced riders and scooter users pushing speed through berms and rollers, while the learners' track gives younger and newer riders a lower-consequence entry point. BMX bikes, mountain bikes, scooters, and skateboards all work on the asphalt surface. The wheelchair-accessible circuit extends the track to riders and users who might not have been able to engage with a conventional pump track.

Beyond the pump track, the park has a children's playground, a skate bowl for more experienced skaters, floodlit sports fields for evening use, a bowling green, a croquet court and pavilion, and tennis and netball courts. The Waihī Community Forum is now working toward Stage 2 of the recreation hub plan, which includes a new replacement skatepark, adult exercise equipment, a wheelchair swing, a BBQ area, and carpark and toilet upgrades. Consent and external funding are the current focus.

The playground suits children across a reasonable age range, and the pump track works for riders as young as five or six on the learners' circuit. Families with older kids who ride bikes or scooters will find the pump track the main event. The skate bowl is more advanced and best suited to teens and experienced younger riders. The sporting infrastructure at the park, including the floodlit fields, draws organised groups through winter evenings and weekends, so the park can be busy and energetic on sports nights.

Toilets and off-street parking are available at the site. The Waihi town centre shops and cafes are a short walk away, making it straightforward to turn a pump track session into a longer outing. Morgan Park has positioned itself as a genuine recreation destination for both locals and visitors to the Coromandel and Hauraki region, and the pump track investment has noticeably lifted the energy of the site.