In 1920, the first official proposal to buy land and establish a park in Island Bay was put forward.

In 1931, the Council acquired nine separate pieces of land on the block bordered by The Parade, Reef Street and The Esplanade. These nine Lots were amalgamated into one holding for the purposes of a pleasure ground. The land, which was part of the coastal dune system, was levelled out and grassed, and a section was set aside for a children's play area.

In 1934, a spectacular fire destroyed the Blue Platter Tea House, and in 1935 the Council bought the land, which was then added to the park.

In 1957, the Council bought the house and land at 17 Reef Street, the last section that remained privately owned.

In 1960 the house was demolished and the land added to the reserve.

Shorland Park 

Marion Findlay 

First published in Ngā Ākau ki te Tonga Southern Bays number 8 2012/2013

In 1880 the Island Bay foreshore and the land immediately behind it consisted of two large blocks, one owned by Jacob Joseph and one by John Wright. The land was subdivided in 1881 and some was bought by George Henry Baylis who was interested in quarrying rock, gravel and sand. According to old Certificates of Title he purchased land in 1889 and again in 1895, but it was not until 7 December 1901 that he purchased lot 477 and part of lot 478, at the junction of Reef St and The Esplanade. This land would eventually become the eastern end of Shorland Park. The western end at that time consisted of four residential lots, at least two of which were to be built on. During the next five years ‘thousands of loads’ of gravel and sand were taken from gravel pits on George Baylis’ land, which contained part of the bed of the former Paekawakawa Stream. The effects of this quarrying can be seen today in the hollow occupied by the Band Rotunda. In 1906 Mr Baylis offered to sell the land to the Wellington City Council but was refused. However in 1907 the Council used the just-passed Public works Act to take 10 acres of land for future recreational purposes, most of it from Mr Baylis. In February 1909 Mr Baylis and others who had lost land applied for compensation and the case was reported in detail in the Evening Post between February 2 and February 12 that year. There was much debate over the value of the land because of the quarrying and its possible contribution to the undermining of the road along the foreshore in stormy weather. The Council made much of a storm on January 16 that year in which water allegedly washed over the road, and claimed that the land was worthless for anything but recreational purposes. It could only be used for housing if an expensive sea wall was built. The compensation awarded to Mr Baylis was approximately one eighth of his claim and he was unsurprisingly somewhat bitter as a result.

It was, however, Mr Baylis who put Island Bay on the map as a centre for beach recreation. At the end of 1905 the tram service from the city was extended to the Island Bay terminus, and in 1906 he invested a large sum of money in building the ornate and elaborate Blue Platter Tea Kiosk which features so prominently in photographs of Island Bay beach in the first quarter of the 20th century. This building is worth a whole article in itself, and only a few comments can be justified here. The Blue Platter was not without competition; the Island Bay Hotel still operated, Cliff House was shortly to open a tearooms and restaurant, and a small tearooms operated in the grocery store at the eastern end of Trent Street. But only the much grander Blue Platter operated solely as a tea kiosk, though advertisements in 1907 indicate that occasionally dances were also held there. According to the Evening Post of 3 June 1907;

The Blue Platter remained a restaurant and tearooms for around 15 years, but eventually the first floor was converted to hotel-like accommodation, tearooms being kept on the ground floor. By 1927 the entire building was accommodation, and the alterations did not improve the outward appearance. It appears that during this year Mr Baylis offered to sell the Tearooms and site to the Council, but his offer was again declined. The building was destroyed by fire around 1933 and subsequently demolished. Meanwhile the Council had been busy acquiring land in the Park area

 In 1920 a proposal was made to purchase land to widen The Esplanade, and a single lot was purchased on 17 July 1925. A land transfer Certificate details a large purchase on 10 July 1931, and the Blue Platter site was purchased in 1935. In 1957 the Council bought the last remaining property, at 17 Reef St for ₤2500. The owner, a Mr W Sheard, was permitted to continue inhabiting/renting the house. After his death the Council took vacant possession in 1960 and the Park land was complete.

Other nearby amenities include the sea wall, built 1935-1937,  and costing ₤2000. The Island Bay Lifesaving and Surf Club was established in 1912 and after 1959 housed in the handsome still-standing building which replaced the old changing sheds at the eastern side of the beach. And further east again stands the Fishermen's Bait House, built in 1950. 

In  November 1950 the Island Bay Progressive Association proposed to name the area 'Shorland Park' in honour of the late John O Shorland, a builder and architect who lived in the Bay in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mr Shorland had been Chairman of the Island Bay School committee while his three children were attending Island Bay School. He was a City Councillor 1917-1921 and was active in promoting the acquisition of the land for a play area. After his retirement he was responsible for gathering and building the first playground equipment. Incidentally, he also served on the Sir Charles Norwood Committee responsible for setting up the Wellington Municipal Milk Supply, on the basis that it was better (and safer) to buy milk from the Council than the cow. The Wellington City Council agreed to the request in October 1951, and it has been ‘Shorland Park’ ever since, although as the memory of the man and his services to the community has faded the name is frequently mis-spelled ‘Shoreland’.

In November 1985 the Southern News reported that ‘Shorland Park in Island Bay now has a Wendy House, built and donated by the Island Bay Lions Club ... Three wooden seats are to be set in concrete near the house and trees will be planted around it to provide shelter...’. The report also acknowledged that Lion Club projects in the last five years have included the large wooden ship with high mast and night lights, which is still a feature of the Park. Unfortunately it also reports that within hours of the Wendy House being installed vandals did substantial damage, including breaking the roof. 

1991 saw new plans for redevelopment of both the Park and Foreshore as an entity. It was noted that since the playground opened in 1927 other areas had been added but not incorporated, and a Concept Plan should redress this ad hoc development. Progress was slow, and in April 1994 the Residents' Association lamented in the Cook Strait news that requests had been made for upgrading the Island Bay Seafront and Shorland Park for seven years but despite numerous plans, meetings and written submissions nothing had been achieved. Slowly things started to happen.  It was announced that four city loos including the old concrete structure at Shorland Park were to receive a council spruce-up (30/11/94). A public meeting was held on 13 December 1994, and interested groups were asked to establish a ‘community-driven’ design process for Shorland Park and eventually reach a ‘consensus plan’ (or, in simple language, a long-term plan.) A task force was set up to plan park developments in February 1995). Residents were asked for Shorland Park ideas. A task-force document mentions projects including dune restoration, enhancing the old storm-water outlet into a useful pier, tidying up the Park and installing new and additional rubbish-bins, a drinking fountain and a basketball hoop.

Alas for good intentions!  A report dated 5 December 1995 mentions delays due to flooding in lower lying parts of the Bay. Not only did extra storm water pipes take priority but the park was dug up in order to lay them. In June 1998 a caustic Bay resident told the Council that the car-park was still a dump and in addition ‘a toilet block resembling a ruin had been constructed’. By mid 1999 work was at last going ahead on the infants' play area, but the secure fencing needed was still awaiting finance. Priorities advocated for the Park by the taskforce were:

• finishing off the young children's secure play area

• completing the rehabilitation of the old toilet area (partially filling with sand to create an ‘adventure space’)

• setting up shelters, seating, barbeques and a petanque area

• upgrading to enhance the existing play area for older children

• completing Band Rotunda work

While I have found no records to indicate a petanque area was ever built, most of the other features are to be seen today. But as much as Island Bay residents enjoy Shorland Park as the suburb's main outdoor community centre, all constructions deteriorate over time and community wants and needs change. The Surf Club Building and the Bait House are now used by the Island Bay Marine Education Centre. Today we have a Marine Reserve, sewage pollution on the beach is a thing of the past, and future plans must include Tapu Te Ranga itself. How long before residents are asked again for ideas on Park and Foreshore development? And what are their responses likely to be?