Takaka Memorial Reserve

A concrete whale surfaces from the bark at this timber playground, tucked behind the shops on Tākaka's Commercial Street in Golden Bay. The cafés and shops of the main street are steps away, which makes it the natural stop when one adult wants to browse and the kids need a run.¹

Equipment

Nearly everything is natural timber: two fort towers under green shingle roofs, joined by a rope bridge, with slatted climbing ramps, a metal slide and a long green tube slide that kids rave about. Around the fort sit a rope nest swing that spins, a set of regular swings, an in-ground trampoline, a sand play area and carved touches like a seagull perched on a post. Under-fives head for the trampoline, the sand and the whale, while school-age kids go for the tube slide and rope bridge. Bark chip covers the play area. A small skatepark with ramps and rails sits right next door, so older siblings on boards and bikes stay in sight.¹

History and Cultural

The Tākaka Memorial Park, at the front of the play area, opened in October 2015 on the site of the old memorial library. Its design came from the Golden Bay RSA, the council, the community board and local iwi Manawhenua ki Mohua.² Black granite pillars among nīkau palms mark conflicts including the New Zealand Wars and World War Two.

Practical Info

Walk in from a path near 63 Commercial Street (SH60) or from Reilly Street, where there is street parking and a car park.¹ Public toilets are next to the playground and a few picnic tables sit on the grass toward the main road, though visitors say a couple more would help. Mature trees shade much of the fort. Keep an eye on little ones: the skatepark backs onto a car park with no real barrier, and a 2024 submission to the community board asked for a higher fence along Reilly Street because the existing one is easy to climb.¹³ Feary Crescent Reserve is the next playground, about a kilometre away.