Kowhai Park is Whanganui's flagship family destination, world famous in New Zealand for nursery rhyme themed equipment that has welcomed visitors for sixty years: swings hang from a giant octopus, a shoe shaped slide recalls Old Mother Hubbard, plus dinosaur back and whale tail slides, a rocket ship, pirate ship, castle and flying fox.
Equipment
A splash pad operates in summer, a skatepark sits near Dublin Street Bridge, and a pump track caters to riders of all ages. The Tot Town Railway, run by the Wanganui Lions Club since 1963, loops the park on weekends and public holidays, 1pm to 3pm.
Access and Inclusion
An accessibility swing and communication board are on site. Covered picnic tables shelter under a giant pumpkin structure and gazebo shelters. The site is large and flat, about 1.5 kilometres east of the city centre, with off street parking including accessible spaces.
History and Cultural
In 1959 the Whanganui Jaycees transformed the old Esplanade into Kowhai Park. Four years later the Wanganui Lions Club built the Tot Town Railway from donated rails and voluntary labour at the Aramoho Railway Workshops.
In June 2015 a record flood buried the park under contaminated silt, closing the grounds for months; full restoration took until 2017, when four new swings went in, including two basket swings, a disability swing and a rope swing. In 2023 a council business case proposed a decade long revamp conditional on external co funding, sparking debate over whether to retain the nursery rhyme heritage pieces generations had grown up with.
Practical Info
Train rides run on a small fare, weekends and public holidays 1pm to 3pm, not on weekday school term days. Amenities include toilets, a drinking fountain, a barbecue and picnic tables. Address: 96 Anzac Parade, Whanganui East.
