Nunweek Park

The playground at Nunweek Park is a modest, bark surfaced stop tucked into the corner of what is northwest Christchurch's busiest multi sport ground, a 20 hectare reserve in Harewood that's been home to Canterbury Hockey since the 2010 earthquake era.

Equipment

The playground itself predates 2012 and is built around a seesaw, swings with an infant seat, a rocktopus climber, a spinner, a slide and an overhead ladder. It sits within a park with a two kilometre perimeter, so the equipment is really one stop among rugby, league, soccer, cricket and hockey fields that ring it on every side.

Access and Inclusion

The infant swing puts the youngest visitors on the same equipment as older siblings without needing separate gear. There is no direct tree cover over the play equipment or its seating, though established trees elsewhere in the park offer cover on hot days. Public toilets and seating sit close to the playground, and on street parking runs along Harewood Road and Wooldridge Road at the park's edges.

History and Cultural

The park and surrounding streets take their name from Henry Nunweek, who farmed the area in the nineteenth century; the land was long known simply as the Nunweek Block before Christchurch's northwest suburbs grew up around it. Canterbury Hockey moved its headquarters to Nunweek Park after the September 2010 earthquake damaged its previous home at Porritt Park in Avonside, and the association now overlooks the park's oldest turf from its clubrooms. Christchurch City Council funded two further artificial hockey turfs at the park, both wet dress surfaces built for top level competition, cementing Nunweek's place as one of the city's key winter sports venues alongside its rugby, league, soccer and cricket use.

Practical Info

Address: Harewood, Christchurch 8051, on Harewood-Wooldridge Road near the Styx Mill Conservation Reserve. Parking is on street around the park's edges. Public toilets and seating are provided near the playground, and Christchurch City Council's smokefree policy applies throughout the park.