Quick Info
- A huge, flat grassy area
- Well away from roads
- An area with spaces for about 15 cars beside the park.
Table of Contents
Access for wheelchairs, and pushchairs
- Yes.
Facilities
- Rubbish bin: yes — at the car park entrance.
- Toilets: no
- Seats: yes. There are a couple of picnic tables by the car park, and a seat at the far side that overlooks the harbour.
- Lighting at night: no.
Description
Waihinahina Park (In Memory Of Dennis Duggan) off-leash area is at the end of Ladbrooke Drive, Newlands, in Wellington, New Zealand.
Waihinahina Park panorama.
Waihinahina Park off-leash area is a huge flat area with some landscaped mounds. It can be muddy.
Measurements via Google Earth suggest it may be around 3 hectares (7 acres) or more.
The site of the old Horokiwi Landfill, there are half a dozen interesting pink pipes that rise about 2 metres from the ground. Apparently these are to vent methane.
The park is bordered on several sides by hills, and a stream flows round the southern and western sides, with some small ponds.
The Park also overlooks the Horokiwi Quarry.
Apparently this area is very popular with locals at around 5 or 5.30 pm.
This is area #10 on the City Council map: Waihinahina Park (89Kb PDF).
Historical note on the name
The closure of the Horokiwi Landfill at Newlands provided the opportunity for a new park. Since 1997 Council has been in discussions with members of the Newlands / Paparangi Progressive Association (NPPA) and Wellington Tenths Trust over a potential name for the park. The NPPA requested Council to consider naming the park after Dennis Duggan, a prominent member of the Newlands community who died in 1996.
…Wellington Tenths Trust’s historian, Neville Gilmore, has researched the history of the ex-Horokiwi Landfill site.
The research indicates that the site is of significance to iwi as it was a cultivation area for Maori, and that the most appropriate Maori name for it is ‘Waihinahina’, as this refers to the forest that used to cover the area and the stream that flows through the middle of the land.
[Via : Meeting Notes (PDF file).]
Terrain
- A huge off-leash area
- Grassy
- Flat
- Water: yes. There’s a stream and some ponds at the back of the area.
- Away from roads and houses.
Harbour view from Waihinahina Park, Wellington, New Zealand.
Delights
- Views over Hutt Valley, Petone, the Horokiwi Quarry, and the harbour.
- Bush-clad hills.
- Huge area.
Dangers
- The site of an old rubbish dump that may still be venting methane.
Cautions
- Rabbit poop.
- When I visited (early July 2009) there was a lot of dog poop lying on the ground. It seems some owners do not pick up after their dogs.
- Watch out for ducklings in season.
Road access
This off-leash area is at the end of Ladbrooke Drive.
See page 2 of this post for a photo album.
Location (see the map)
- Latitude: -41° 13′ 22.52″ (-41.222923)
- Longitude: +174° 50′ 19.78″ (174.838829)
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
It looks gorgeous. What a wonderfully comprehensive review