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Maidstone Park

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Coordinates: 41°7′33.79″S 175°4′34.56″E / 41.1260528°S 175.0762667°E / -41.1260528; 175.0762667
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Maidstone Park
Map
Full nameMaidstone Park
LocationUpper Hutt, Wellington Region
Coordinates41°7′33.79″S 175°4′34.56″E / 41.1260528°S 175.0762667°E / -41.1260528; 175.0762667
OwnerUpper Hutt City Council
Website
Maidstone Park

Maidstone Park is a sports and recreation park located close to the centre of Upper Hutt in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand.

History

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The park was initially developed in 1908 by Philip Davis, as a private picnic area covering 32 ha (80 acres).[1] By 1911, the park was being promoted as an easily accessible destination for outdoor recreation including children's activities and athletics.[2] After leasing the park from Davis, in 1938, Upper Hutt Borough Council committed to raising a loan to purchase the park, for £6,000.[3][4][5]

In 1945, it was proposed that a swimming pool be constructed at Maidstone Park as a war memorial project.[6] There were prolonged delays in obtaining funding and developing the project, but the War Memorial Swimming Baths were eventually opened on 13 December 1958.[1] After operating for around 38 years, the pool was demolished when a replacement pool complex (now known as H2O Xtream), was developed on another site near the centre of Upper Hutt City in 1996.[7][8] In 1999, approval was given for the development of a children's adventure playground on the land formerly occupied by the Maidstone Memorial Pool complex.[8]

A skate park branded as Maidstone Max was opened in April 2001.[9]

Further development work completed in 2013 included two artificial turfs; a sand and rubber based pitch for association football and rugby, and a sand carpet pitch for hockey and another sand and rubber based pitch, for rugby and soccer.[10]

In 2021, the council completed a $3.8 million upgrade of the Maidstone Max adventure playground and skate park. The existing facilities were almost totally replaced, and made more accessible for wheelchair users. A half basketball court was also included.[11]

Facilities

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Facilities at the park now include two sand carpet sportfields for senior rugby and three smaller sand carpet fields for junior rugby. The park also includes a large children's playground, a skate park, a mountain bike track, and bush trails.[12]

Upper Hutt City FC also use Maidstone Park as their home ground with their club rooms based in front of the turf.[13]

Cricket

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A single List A match was held there during the 1978/79 Gillette Cup when Wellington played Canterbury,[14] which resulted in a 4 wicket victory by Canterbury.[15] The following season a first-class match was held there between Wellington and Central Districts in the 1979/80 Shell Trophy,[16] which resulted in an innings and 45 runs victory for Wellington.[17]

Te Kupenga o Rongomai – Maidstone Sports Hub

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A new community sports hub facility was opened at Maidstone Park in March 2024. The project was funded with support from central government as part of economic development expenditure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Government funding was announced in July 2020,[18] and work began on–site in February 2022.[19] The project involved a major redevelopment of existing facilities, including demolition of old clubrooms, and construction of a new indoor training facility and new shared clubrooms.[20] The name Te Kupenga o Rongomai was gifted for the new facility by the iwi Te Āti Awa. The name Te Kupenga means a fishing net and refers to the outreach of the sports hub into the community.[21] The new facility was opened on 13 March 2024.[22]

Miniature railway

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A group of model railway enthusiasts identified a possible site for a miniature railway at Maidstone Park early in 1967, and obtained consent from the council. The Maidstone Model Engineering Society was formed and incorporated in June 1967,[23] with funding and construction support for the project to be provided by the Upper Hutt Lions Club. Construction began in November 1967 and the track was completed in July 1968. The facility was officially opened by the Minister of Railways, Peter Gordon, on 4 October 1969.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Maidstone Park". Upper Hutt City Library. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Upper Hutt - Maidstone Park". New Zealand Times. Vol. XXXIII, no. 7408. 8 April 1911. p. 8. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024 – via Papers Past.
  3. ^ "Maidstone Park". Evening Post. Vol. CXXVI, no. 137. 7 December 1938. p. 6. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  4. ^ "No objections to loan". Dominion. Vol. 32, no. 76. 22 December 1938. p. 16 – via Papers Past.
  5. ^ "Swimming pool in Maidstone Park". Dominion. Vol. 32, no. 90. 10 January 1939. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024 – via Papers Past.
  6. ^ "Memorial Proposal". Evening Post. 19 October 1945. p. 5. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024 – via Papers Past.
  7. ^ MacDonald, Erin (2 April 1996). "Fish farm among pool options". Evening Post. ProQuest 314426404.
  8. ^ a b Pierce, David (29 October 1999). "Play area for Maidstone Park". Evening Post. p. 9. ProQuest 314673056.
  9. ^ "Cut loose at Maidstone Max". Evening Post. 26 July 2011. ProQuest 314766813.
  10. ^ "Maidstone Park Sports Centre officially opened". Scoop. 13 May 2013. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  11. ^ Tso, Matthew (24 May 2021). "Upper Hutt's $3.8 million Maidstone Max play area reopens as city's latest attraction". Stuff. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Maidstone Park". Upper Hutt City Council. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Upper Hutt Football History". Upper Hutt City FC. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  14. ^ "List A Matches played on Maidstone Park, Upper Hutt". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  15. ^ "Wellington v Canterbury, 1978/79 Gillette Cup". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  16. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Maidstone Park, Upper Hutt". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  17. ^ "Wellington v Central Districts, 1979/80 Shell Trophy". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  18. ^ Tso, Matthew (30 July 2020). "PM announces $27m for quake-prone Hutt pool as part of Covid-19 package". Stuff. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  19. ^ Boyack, Nicholas (18 February 2022). "Work begins on $32m Upper Hutt sports hub". Stuff. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Te Kupenga o Rongomai - Maidstone Sports Hub". Upper Hutt City Council. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Maidstone Community Sports Hub gifted a new name from Te Āti awa". Upper Hutt City Council. 14 November 2023. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  22. ^ "A message from the council: The community celebration of Te Kupenga o Rongomai – Maidstone Sports". The Upper Hutt Connection. 13 March 2024. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  23. ^ "NZBN: 9429042756811 - Maidstone Model Engineering Society". NZBN. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  24. ^ "A brief history of the Maidstone Model Engineering Society – to the opening day". Maidstone Model Engineering Society. 5 January 2023. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
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41°7′33.79″S 175°4′34.56″E / 41.1260528°S 175.0762667°E / -41.1260528; 175.0762667

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