Beachlands residents turned the recent opening of the Kahawairahi Drive reserve playground into something of a street party.
Hundreds of locals poured out of surrounding homes to officially open the long-awaited playground.
The local drums were beating, with lots of residents calling friends to bring their children to join in the fun.
Franklin Local Board member and Beachlands resident Malcolm Bell said it was magnificent to see so many people at the opening.
“It’s been a long time coming, but we think the end result is something the community can be proud of because it was driven by a lot of input and feedback into what locals wanted to see built.”
The board held events in the area to get ideas from locals on what a new playground would look like.
“That provided some great feedback from many different age groups and that allowed us to come up with a draft concept design that has shaped what has been delivered,” Mr Bell said.
“We were particularly grateful for the support shown us in so many ways by mana whenua Ngai Tai ki Tamaki. Kahawairahi is the name mana whenua give the area commonly referred to as Pine Harbour.”
Also at the opening were fellow Wairoa board representatives Angela Fulljames and Lance Gedge, who brought his own young family to check out the equipment.
“It’s vital communities have somewhere close at hand where the children can play safely. There are a lot of young families here and it’s wonderful to see so many smiling kids,” Lance said.
Former board member Amanda Hopkins was also at the opening. “I’m not on the board any longer but I wanted to be here to see something I was involved with come to fruition. Seeing the families use it and hearing how pleased they are has been great.”
