|
Myers Park is a narrow park in central Auckland, New Zealand, running parallel to the upper part of Queen Street. It is characterised by steep, grassed slopes and canopied with a mixture of large exotic and native trees, including an alley of large palm trees. A playground, Benches and various artworks (including a marble copy of Michelangelo's sitting ''Moses'' statue) are features of the park. Paths cross the park connecting to Queen Street, K Road, Grey's Avenue and Aotea Square. Opened in 1915 Myers Park is sometimes referred to as Auckland's oldest park which is incorrect as several parks predate it; the Auckland Domain 1842, Western Park 1875, Albert Park 1884, Victoria Park 1905, Point Erin Park 1911 and Parnell Park 1913 (now Dove-Myer Robinson Park). ==History== Running downhill from the northern slope of the Karangahape ridge, the park was formed in 1914-15 out of an overgrown gully facing towards the Waitemata Harbour. The gully was the start of the Waihorotiu Stream, also known as the 'Queen Street River'. As it followed the route of Queen Street below Victoria Street the open stream became polluted, its lower reaches being little more than an open sewer. Several modifications were made, in the 1870s the City Engineer Mr Ligar tried to stabilise the crumbling earth banks by creating wooden barrier walls resulting it ir being referred to as the "Ligar Canal". In the 1880s it was bricked over as part of the emerging storm-water and sewerage system. It is now completely underground but still discharges into the harbour beneath the Ferry Building at the bottom of Queen Street. The last portions of the stream to be put underground were the lower part of what is now Myers Park in 1908 and the upper reaches in 1914 when the park was created. The City Beautiful During his time as Mayor, Christopher Parr advocated many projects to enhance the urban environment of Auckland: this was inline with many similar overseas schemes, often using the term "The City Beautiful". Parr's mayoralty saw the establishment of many of Auckland's parks, such as Victoria Park, Point Erin Park, Parnell Park (now Dove-Myer Robinson Park), and much land in the Waitakere Ranges. It was during this spate of development that Myers Park was founded. In 1913, the area of the gully was described as consisting of "slum shanties and rubbish tips", creating the popular impression that this was an example of slum clearance. In actual fact the area was actually comparatively empty of buildings, only 14 buildings were standing on eight acres of land and 12 of those were very tiny cottages. The site was ideal simply because there were so few buildings to clear from the site, all of whiich were sold for relocation. The park came about largely because of Arthur Mielzinier Myers MP who had been mayor of Auckland from 1905 - 1909. Myers had been responsible for a number of civic improvements during his time as mayor including Grafton Bridge and the Auckland Town Hall. He initiated a number of these projects himself or championed the ideas of others. By 1909 he had decided to move on from local politics to central government and was the Member of Parliament for Auckland at the time the park was proposed as part of Mayor Parr's City Beautication scheme. In 1913 he gave the City £9,000 to purchase the required land.〔''(Myer's gift to the city )'' (from ''City Scene'', Sunday 29 October 2006)〕 Following Myer's intentions, the 2.4ha² of the wasteland was transformed into an example of a Reform Park designed by the City Park Superintendent Thomas Pearson, who had previously been employed by the New Zealand government to create the gardens at Rotorua, Te Aroha, Queenstown and Hamner Springs. The 'Reform Park' movement was a newly developed concept in the United States where rampant urban growth was raising many concerns and resulting in the systematic provision of safe spaces for children to play and green spaces to relax in. At this time many cities were trying to improve their civic landscape with Artistic Parks and Sports Grounds - in Auckland Albert Park 1884 is an example of the former and Victoria Park 1905 an example of the latter. The concept of a Reform Park is half way between these two extremes - a place of quiet reflection being unemcumbered by either elevated artworks or noisy sports facilities. Myers Park was intended as a place where parents and small children could engage with nature in a relaxed setting devoid of artificalities like statues or sports teams. The park was named for its benefactor Arthur Myers and opened by Mayor Christopher Parr on Tuesday January the 28th 1915.〔(Heritage et AL: Myers Park )〕 Following the example of the department store owner John Court who had fitted out Victoria Park with playground equipment in 1912, Arthur Myers paid for the playground equipment and arranged for it to be imported from the US. The centrepiece of the park is the Kindergarten Building, which Myers also paid for in a further donation to the city. This was probably influenced by the example of another benefactor; Sir John Logan Campbell who had paid for a similar facility to be provided for Victoria Park. The official opening of Myers Park by Mayor Christopher Parr was on 28 January 1915. The New Zealand Herald from 29 January 1915〔(Papers Past: The New Zealand Herald )〕 reported that a large crowd turned up for the opening including hundreds of children. This must have pleased Arthur Myers as the park was focused on children with the plans for the kindergarten and playground. Myers concluded his remarks that day by saying, “I trust this park will be a source of joy to the citizens of Auckland, present and future. It is the people’s property, may they treasure it as their own, seek enjoyment and recreation within its boundaries, and make it an agency for the promotion of the public good.”〔 Of late, the park has attracted a certain degree of notoriety due to a spate of unsavory incidents. A number of campaigns 〔(Make Myers Park Safe )〕 have begun to raise the profile and safety of the park with the intention that it recaptures its original charm and once again becomes a place for friends, families, and visitors to enjoy. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Myers Park, Auckland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|