Pukekura Park

The gala opening of New Plymouth's 15 hectare Recreation Ground was held on 29 May 1876. During the day the first trees were ceremonially planted by Miss Jane Carrington, the daughter of surveyor Frederic Alonzo Carrington: an oak for Great Britain, a pūriri for New Zealand, a Norfolk Island pine for the South Pacific Islands and a Pinus radiata for America. The ceremonial spade used to plant the trees is held in the Puke Ariki collection in New Plymouth. The Recreation Grounds were renamed "Pukekura Park" in 1907. The park contains a diverse range of native and exotic plants. Various easy walking trails cross the park and meander along the lake sides, taking in the features of the park. Among these are the picturesque Poet's Bridge, which was opened on 11 March 1884. There is also a man-made cascading waterfall and a fountain in the Fountain Lake. Row boats can be hired on the main lake. Historic buildings Four Heritage New Zealand historic places are found in the park: the Poet's Bridge, band rotunda, kiosk and Queen Victoria Monument. ==Sports and music==

Pukekura Park is a popular events venue. Cricket At the north-western end of the park is a cricket ground, established in the 1880s which is noted for the beauty of its setting. The first game of cricket there was played in 1892. The ground has hosted first-class cricket since the 1950–51 season, when the Central Districts cricket team was established and began playing some of its matches there. As of 2021, 55 men's first-class have been played on the ground, with the last match played in 2015. Central Districts men's and women's sides continue to use the ground in List A and Twenty20 cricket competitions. The ground first hosted international cricket in 1982 when three Women's One Day International matches were played on the ground. A women's Test match was played on the ground in February 1992 and later in the same month a single men's international match, a One Day International in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, Three women's Twenty20 International matches were played on the ground between 2016 and 2018. Other sports and events In August 2021, domestic rugby returned to the venue for the first time in 79 years when host Taranaki defeated Hawke's Bay 33–19 in the National Provincial Championship in a one-off match. Other Taranaki home matches were played at TET Stadium in Inglewood during this period. On the eastern side of the park is New Plymouth Raceway, a horse racing course. Between the racetrack and the park is TSB Stadium, a 4,500 seat multi-purpose indoor stadium which is home to the Taranaki Airs basketball team who competed in the New Zealand NBL. Near the southern end of the park is the Bowl of Brooklands amphitheatre, which commonly hosts music events. The annual WOMAD festival is held at Pukekura Park. ==Other features==

Pukekura Park is also home to the popular Tea House on the Lake, which has been situated beside the main lake since 1931. Pukekura Park is the venue for the annual Festival of Lights, which runs for free every year from mid-December to early February. It has daytime and night time programmes of events for people of all ages, and the festival itself transforms the park into an illuminated wonderland every evening. In 2007, Pukekura Park was the winner of the "Mayfair" spot in a nationwide competition for places on Hasbro's New Zealand edition of Monopoly. == References ==