Shorland Park's name comes from a former Wellington City Councillor John Olive Shorland, a resident of Island Bay. Later, he was the Deputy chairman of the Island Bay Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial committee, influencing the construction of the War Memorial Band Rotunda. After retiring he built playground equipment for the park, in October 1951 the Council named the park after a 1950 suggestion from the Island Bay Progressive Association to name it ‘Shorland Park’. John Shorland died on 31 August 1948 so the park was named posthumously.
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.
Island Bay is an unusual suburb in that it does not contain public playing fields and recreational grounds of any size. At the northern end of The Parade lies the southern extremity of the Town Belt, acting as the boundary between the Bay and Berhampore, with the playing fields of Wakefield Park, golf links, skateboard rink and other amenities stretching away east and west. We make much use of these but they lie outside our suburb. Inside Island Bay on the eastern side above the former Southgate tip lies a very small park, subject to subsidence and little used apart from walkers and for sports practice. At the southern end of The Parade, however, just across the road from the beach lies the much used and much cherished Shorland Park, centre of our yearly February Festivals, and its Band Rotunda, the venue for concerts and ANZAC ceremonies. Its BBQ equipment is the focus for gatherings of families and cultural groups during summer weekends and evenings, it hosts regular visits by schools for picnics, and the two sets of playground equipment are used by children of varying sizes on most fine days of the year. Island Bay is well-known for its feeling of community, and the Park with its nearby beach is one of the chief areas for formal and informal meetings of that community. But the amenities of Shorland Park didn't just happen. For over 100 years many debates, some highly acrimonious, have taken place on the topic of what should be done with our park and beach, and its history makes interesting reading.
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;
A dance will be held at the Blue
Platter Tea House THIS WEDNES-
DAY, and every following Wednesday.
Gentlemen's tickets 1s, Ladies' 6d.
First-class music. Commence, 8 p.m.
sharp.
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.
A photograph taken in 1918 shows the Blue Platter still surrounded by plenty of land, some distance back from a very narrow Esplanade bordering a beach with no seawall to impede access of people to beach, or sea and sand to land. Sometime after 1920 the Esplanade was widened, and a 1932 photograph shows the building abutting the road on the east and south. The Council had, however, moved to make use of the western portion of the land, and on 18 December 1927 Councillor G Burn opened the first children's playground. Not surprisingly, it proved very popular, but not with everybody. Originally it was open Monday to Saturday, but early in 1933 the Park was opened all day on Sundays, until a petition protesting about the noise and requesting that it be closed again on Sundays was successful in restricting the opening time to 1.30pm on Sundays.
196 Derwent Street, Island Bay
19th April 1933
The Mayor
City of Wellington
Dear Sir
I enclose a petition signed by most of the occupiers (owners) who are unlucky enough to have this Playground close to them. Since it was opened some years ago we have enjoyed a Sundays quietness from all the noise each week. We have now found that the Park-keeper has received orders from Mr. McKenzie to keep the Park open on Sundays in future – hence this petition.
The noise at times is almost unbearable and in addition to this some of the apparatus is developing considerable squeaky noise owing to very rough usage.
Personally I think that apart from the noise question it is good for the children to realise that Sunday means something more than another day of riotious(sic) behavior(sic).
A Wellington headmaster said that he wished that there had never been any of these Parks for children, as he has found the children far more out of hand than formerly.
I have only obtained the signatures of people in the immediate vicinity. I could have got more from people further up the hills, at back, etc. The people were very keen to sign.
Yours faithfully
Herbert Clapson and 14 other signatories, from 13 houses in Derwent St, The Parade and 17 Reef St.
The above letter which accompanied the petition is worth printing in its entirety for what it reveals about social attitudes of the time. Obviously the locals never had to endure modern rock concerts! The local Municipal Electors' Association, however, demonstrated approval by donating 30 seats to the Park in this same year.
The playground was shortly followed by the Band Rotunda, completed on 27 February 1930 and opened by Mayor George Troop on March 16. (See Southern Bays Magazine No 1, page 22). Plans exist from 1912 for an earlier rotunda, built on piles on the foreshore with access from the Esplanade, but there are no records of its removal or demolition, and one suspects that, if it was actually built, a storm might have done the job. A photograph dated 1932 shows the completed Band Rotunda and and pipes for the Paekawakawa Stream being laid through the park. The Rotunda has been used spasmodically since its construction and has also required considerable and often long delayed maintenance, but with its current use for Festival activities, and as an ANZAC day focus and Summer Concert venue it is hard to imagine the Park without it. The contract for the old concrete toilets fronting The Esplanade was signed on 9 May 1935 and the building completed on 17 June. Council records in the 1930s make several references to work being done to level out and grass the Park.
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’.
The Park equipment has been changed and upgraded a number of times since its opening. In November 1962 a 12-year-old girl died after being struck by the ‘Aeroplane’ swings. Apparently this apparatus had caused several accidents in the past and it was removed following a petition.
In 1969 an extensive upgrade was carried out by a partnership between the Wellington City Council, Wellington South Lions Club and the Island Bay Progressive Association. Stage 1 was completed early 1970 and was opened by the Mayor Sir Francis Kitts on 26/03/1970. It included a large free-form paddling pool, a boating pool, barbeques and new fencing on the seaward side. Off-street parking was provided on the former Blue Platter site.
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.
A major Shorland Park consultation document was put out before August that year; and makes it clear that the old toilets on The Esplanade were still the only ones available. The days of the paddling pool were clearly numbered as it was unfenced and therefore according to new regulations unsafe, very exposed and had maintenance problems. (Anecdotal evidence suggests it was much used by dogs and filled with blown sand. It was finally demolished in 1997 to facilitate the laying of the new storm-water pipe. The boating pool is not mentioned but it does not appear in a site plan dated 3/7/91 so possibly succumbed for similar reasons even earlier.) The play area also failed to meet new safety regulations, needed to be more ‘exciting’ and lacked safe infants play equipment. Finally the car- park on the former Blue Platter site was used insufficiently for cars, and chiefly for dumping and storage. A report on the meeting states that it was very successful. Over 50 attended, discussions lasted over three hours and much progress was made.
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?
The Nordmeyer Garden and Te Papa Tākaro o Jim Belich join Shorland and Wakefield parks as places with commemorative names in our area.
According to City Council records Shorland Park was named posthumously after John Olive Shorland JP who had been an active member of the Island Bay community.
From 1917 to 1921 he had been a Wellington City Councillor, and he later served as Deputy Chairman of the Island Bay Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Committee, involved in the development of the War Memorial Band Rotunda. After retiring, he built playground equipment in the park.
In November 1950 the Island Bay Progressive Association proposed the name ‘Shorland Park’, and in October 1951 the Council agreed. John Shorland was a bicycle retailer and once held the title of New Zealand long-distance cycling champion.
He is shown (left) in Cycling Magazine 1897, which said he had covered the 231 miles from Christchurch to Dunedin in 22 hours and 13 minutes.
Wellington, Aug 1 1948 The death occurred yesterday of Mr John Olive Shorland, a resident of Island Bay, Wellington, since 1903 and a Wellington city councillor from 1917 to 1921. Mr Shorland was born in Auckland 81 years ago. In his youth he was a champion cyclist.
He is survived by his widow two sons, and one daughter. One son is Mr W P Shorland, president of the Wellington District Law Society, and the other is Dr F B Shorland also of Wellington.
Source: Greymouth Evening Star, 1 August 1946, Pg 6