Soldiers Park

Soldiers Park sits on Conway Road in the heart of Eltham, a small South Taranaki town roughly midway between New Plymouth and Whanganui on State Highway 3. The park traces its origins to the Great Depression of the 1930s, when unemployed workers shaped 18 hectares of purchased land into a living memorial for those who lost their lives in World War One. Nearly a century on, that labour is evident in the scale of the reserve, which has grown into the town's main recreation destination and contains far more than a playground.

The park wraps around a broad grassed playing field and shares its grounds with the Eltham Golf Club, making the surrounding landscape unusually open and spacious for a town reserve. Conway Road runs directly alongside, with on-street parking readily accessible for visitors arriving by car. Eltham's compact town centre is a short walk from the reserve entrance, with a handful of cafes and shops on Stanners Street to round out a family outing. The Mangawharawhara Stream weaves through the reserve edge, and a loop walkway completed in 2021 follows its banks through native plantings and past a small waterfall, earning the Maori name Te Wahiawa Humarie o Mangawharawhara, which translates roughly as "The Peaceful Dell of Mangawharawhara." The 800-metre track has multiple entry points designed to accommodate full accessibility, making it a genuine drawcard for families who want to combine a play session with a short bushwalk along the stream.

The playground itself sits alongside the Eltham Community Summer Pool and the skate park, all forming a compact activity cluster in the same corner of the grounds. Equipment includes swings and slides suited to primary school-aged children. The adjacent skate park was upgraded in 2013 with a $100,000 investment, bringing it to a standard that better serves the local youth population, and it sees steady after-school use through the warmer months. Public toilets are available on site. The swimming pool operates seasonally, typically from mid-December through to late February, giving families a compelling reason to extend the visit well beyond the playground itself.

The reserve suits children aged roughly three through to early teens given the mix of playground, skate park, and year-round open lawn for ball games. The playing field provides room for younger children to run freely, and the loop walkway is stroller-friendly from its flat entry points. The site is unfenced, so families with very young toddlers who are prone to wandering will want to stay attentive. There is no dedicated shade structure directly over the playground equipment, so hats and sunscreen are wise on warm Taranaki afternoons.

On a fine summer day the reserve can easily hold a family for two or three hours between the playground, the stream walk, and a dip in the pool. Picnic tables on the lawn make a practical base for a family lunch before kids return to the equipment. The overall feel is that of a well-established community hub where multiple generations arrive simultaneously, with the golf club on one flank, the swimming pool on the other, and the soft sound of the stream in the background. For families passing through Eltham on a South Taranaki road trip, it makes for a genuinely worthwhile stop rather than a quick leg-stretch.