Have you been to the award winning epic playground at Caroline Bay Timaru? It was championed by volunteers who raised $3 million dollars to create fun, accessible, challenging and meaningful place to play.
One of the most meaningful types of play is when children engage their imaginations, leading the story while a trusted adult joins in the fun with them. Therefore, it was important for CPlay to ensure that people of all ages, abilities, and sizes could play together and be encouraged to use their imaginations. An added bonus was if their imaginations were sparked by the stories and history of our area. It helps us learn about where we have come from, gain a better understanding of ourselves. A strong sense of self, helps foster self-confidence, resilience, and the ability to make healthy decisions while navigating life's challenges. Here are some of the stories that have inspired the CPlay playground.
Chris and Rose, founders of WuHoo Timaru, were volunteers who contributed to the planning, fundraising and creation of the playground with a small committee supported by the Timaru District Council and hundreds of people in the community. We've put together a free handout to help you connect to the stories of people and place that inspired the playgrounds design
Check out our A3 free guided tour
Two creation stories feature waka.
Some say that an ancestral waka Ārai-te-uru sailed past what is now Te Tihi-o-Maru Timaru, down the coast and capsized near Matakaea (Shag Point). The food turned into the Moeraki boulders and the passengers became landmarks of Te Waipounamu (South Island). Aoraki is said to be on his grandfather Kirikirikatata shoulders. Pātītī, Tarahaoa and Hua-te-kerekere (Big and Little Mount Peel) were also passengers.
In another creation story Aoraki and his brothers were forced to climb onto the back of their waka. They were stranded and turned into the Southern Alps. The canoe became the South Island, and is known by some Māori as Te Waka o Aoraki. This creation story of the landscape surrounding Arowhenua is a central tradition for the Waitaha, Rapuwai, Kāti Hawea, Kāti Mamoe, and Kāi Tahu tribes from which the local hapū Kāti Huirapa carry descent.
Creation stories vary. These examples are just a few among many and should not be considered as a definitive representation of all creation narratives.
2.5 M years ago lava flowed from the Waipouri Mt Horrible.
This is the most recent volcanic activity in the South Island. It was formed in a single event from a line of fissures, rather than a cone shaped volcano and is believed to be dormant. The lava flowed down a slope to what is now the coastline. The sea was probably nowhere near the erupting lava but has advanced, eroding the basalt and helping to shape the coastline’s reefs.
Today you can see the lava as an “apron” at the foot of Dashing Rocks. The basalt rocks below the Benvenue Cliffs was quarried and placed to mitigate erosion.
Basalt was used as a construction material and the “bluestone” blocks can be seen in many of Timaru’s heritage buildings, homes, and bridges. The quarried rock was also used to construct Timaru’s artificial harbour, this work began in 1878.
The floor is lava obstacle course is a nod to our volcanic geology.
The glaciers ground rock and the dust blew here and formed cliffs.
Loess (wind-blown silt) was deposited over 9,000-11,000 years ago during ice ages. The dust blew onto the lee side of hills forming loess cliffs. Timaru has some of the thickest and most extensive deposits of its kind in the world. The loess layers change in thickness, grain size, and mineral content depending on the climate at the time and deposited in layers.
In the 1890s amateur Timaru geographer John Hardcastle realised the layers were a time-line of past climates and wrote an important scientific paper on it. It’s still used world wide today, to help us better understand our changing climate, and to predict future change.
The stripes in the light house mound and boulders are a nod to our ice age and loess geological past.
The reefs were abundant in marine life and an important food source for Māori.
Mahika kai (to work the food) is about traditional ways of how food is grown, gathered, and safeguarded.
Māori came to Aotearoa New Zealand from Polynesia in the 1200s. Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua is the principal Māori kainga (settlement) in the Aoraki region, from the Rakaia to the Waitaki and back to the main divide. They are one of 18 Paptipu Rūnanga (main villages) leaders among their southern communities.
Trading trails, settlements and events extend into the lakes, rivers, and corridors of native bush which provided rich hunting and gathering grounds. A long established cycle of gathering, traveling, and trading endured until the late 1800s.
The mahika kai, whare, tuna (eels) and taniwha are inspired by our local Māori history, stories and culture.
Whalers arrived in Timaru 1839, and sheep farmers in 1851.
Abel Tasman, is recognized as the first European to discover New Zealand in 1642. Captain James Cook reached New Zealand in 1769, mapped the coast, documented the flora and fauna, met Māori, and showed the way for European exploration and colonisation.
Whalers had a whaling station here 1839-1840 near Pohatu-koko (Whaler's Creek) stream. The stream now follows a storm water drain under the playground and flows into the bay.
The first European settlers arrived in 1851 to establish a sheep station.
The first immigrant ship to sail direct from the UK to Timaru arrived in 1859 with 120 settlers. There were just five houses here at the time. By 1866, 1,000 people lived in Timaru. In 2023 the Districts population was 48,400 with 21,090 households.
The crates floating around the wreck are symbolic of the immigrants, their hard work, and early exports.
The challenges of crossing wide rivers made the sea key.
30 Ships wrecked or refloated in Timaru between 1864-1892. The sea could become rough with little wind and sailing ships didn’t have enough wind or sea room to sail to safety, often dragging their anchors and wrecking. The harbourmaster kept a lookout and gave ships instructions by hoisting flags. The 1878 Blackett lighthouse used to be on the cliff above the harbour, before this, they used a watch tower. They could summon rescuers with a signal gun. The Volunteer Rocket Brigade fired a rope to ships, so people could zip-line to shore. Or the Alexandra lifeboat crew could help.
A Port was built to improve safety and efficiency. Major early exports were wool, grain, flour and frozen meat. South Canterbury was known as the countries food bowl in the early 1900s.
These stories inspired the lighthouse, flying fox, double swing and shipwreck.
The sea used to reach the cliffs at Caroline Bay. After the harbour was constructed, sand started to build out to create a sandy bay.
The council leased the foreshore from the harbour board in 1902 for a European-style beach resort. In 1911 Caroline Bay Association was established by volunteers and hosted the first carnival. The first playground was built in 1915. By 2020 the beach area had extended seaward by 34 hectares.
Cplay volunteers further enhanced play at the bay, by fundraising and organising the 2023 playground. The themes drew inspiration from our place and people of the past to help locals and visitors connect to stories and play with their imaginations.
Fault Lines. This is a symbol to our shaky past. The Alpine Fault runs along the South Island and ruptured in 1717, 1620, 1450, and 1100. Earthquakes have shaped our land and history, even uncovering 50 million year old fossils (which you can find at Pareora River. Can you escape the lava by only stepping on the rocks?
Glacial Rock. This boulder reminds us of the last ice age. As the glaciers melted and retreated over the last ice age, the ice ground boulders like this into dust. Feel the mauri stone - a sedimentary chert. Mauri is the life energy which binds and animates all things in the physical world.
Loess Layers. The stripes in our lighthouse mound are a nod to the loess layers. Dust blew over Timaru and created loess cliffs Over 1000s of years. As the climate changed so did the characteristics of the dust, creating distinct layers. Can you see these layers in the cliffs around the bay?
Taniwha. Cplays’ taniwha design is by artist Francine Spencer, Ko Taranaki, Kati Mamoe, Waitaha, Rapuwai, Ngai Tahu ngā Iwi. Taniwha feature in Māori creation stories and are often associated with rivers, lakes, or oceans. They can be guardians, ancestral spirits, even dangerous spiritual creatures capable of causing harm. Can you imagine what the taniwha could do when you fly over it?
Moa. This is a reproduction of an actual moa foot print found at Pareora beach. South Canterbury was the home to the extinct giant moa. The discovered footprints were 3D scanned by the South Canterbury and Canterbury museum. CPlay made 3D moulds to push into the concrete paths. How big is your foot compared to a moas?
Pacific Flower. Cplays’ flower symbolizes Pasifika hospitality and the deep connection across the ocean, as reflected in the migration of tuna (eels) who swim from NZ to the Tongan Trench to spawn. The Frangipani is used in lei, kahoa, salusalu (flower garland) known as the kakala (lei making) process. The lei is gifted to welcome, show love and kindness to the person receiving the gift. Pretend you’re on a journey to the pacific islands how can you get there?
Rock Art. This is a reproduction of rock art that was removed from Takiroa (Waitaki Valley). It is an example of the 500+ Māori rock art images in South Canterbury and North Otago created by ancestors of the Arowhenua people in the earliest tribal groups of Rapuwai and Waitaha. The meaning and function have been lost over time, so we are left to interpret the art. What does this look like to you?
Stars & Moons. Seafarers used the Southern Cross to navigate. Some Māori saw it as an anchor, while European’s saw a cross. You can use stars to find celestial south. The moon's phases are inspired by maramataka, a traditional Māori calendar that recognizes the link between humans and nature like the subtle changes in time and seasons for planting and fishing. Can you make the stars and moon phases spin around you?
Waka. Waka (Māori canoes) were used for transportation, fishing, and warfare. They could be made from a hollowed-out tree, and were capable of carrying many people and supplies on rivers, lagoons and oceans. Cplay viewed the waka as a symbol of ancestors' ties to the sea, navigation skills, and connections to mahika kai stories. Pretend to use your waka to find tuna (eels), shark and flounder?
Mōkihi. South Canterbury’s boundaries are the large, snow-fed rivers Waitaki and Rangitata. Māori used Mōkihi rafts made of flax or raupō to cross rivers. Imagine how challenging it must have been to cross these rivers before we had ferry's and bridges. The Rangitātā River was bridged at Arundel 1872. The Waitaki was bridged at Glenavy 1877. Pretend to cross a braded river on a Mōkihi sea saw?
Whaling. The Weller brothers operated a whaling station at Timaru in 1839-1840 (a year before The The Treaty of Waitangi was signed). The first recorded whale oil shipment from Timaru was "70 tun". A tun of oil was 8 barrels by volume, (a wine tun was 252 gallons). Some say Caroline Bay was named after a whale supply ship, Timaru whaler Samuel Williams sailed from Australia on the ship Caroline. Fun Fact: William Williams was born in October 1856 to Ann and Samuel “Yankee Sam” Williams, a former Timaru whaler. His cradle was a gin crate, and his birth was one of the earliest recorded for a European baby in Timaru. George, son of Elizabeth and George Rhodes, was born in August 1855, and William, son of Margaret and William Hornbrook, was born in Temuka in November 1854.
Shipwrecks. This barrel acknowledges Timaru’s first shipwreck, The Prince Consort which dragged its anchors in a big sea and gale. It’s ballast shifted and broke up in the night. A swimmer rescued a man who had washed overboard. And the crew of the 1864 Alexandra life-boat rescued two more. The lifeboat was also used to save 40+ men in the 1882 Benvenue diaster. Can you pretend to evacuate with your crew from the sinking ship?
Wool. The Rhodes family were the first European pioneers to settle in Timaru. They established the Levels sheep station. Their first export was 20 bales of wool in 1853. This design is based on their branding iron. Fun Fact: 1859 120 British settlers arrived to Timaru on the Strathallan Ship. A lady wrote... if Timaru was a third of the size of London I shall be happy... Imagine her surprise when she arrived and there were only five houses!
Pests. Stowaways on our shipwreck! NZ’s birds and bats have declined rapidly due to stowaways and introduced pests like rats, mice, stoats, cats, deer, goats, pigs, and wasps. Fun Fact: Sculptor Donald Patterson made these two rat sculptures. He also made the Landing Service’s Captain Cain sculpture.
Cats. Cats were kept on ships to control the rats and mice who damaged food and ropes. There are many centuries-old, maritime stories about ship cats' loyalty, bravery, and companionship. What is this cat is up to?
Heros. The Volunteer Rocket Brigade rushed to the rescue with two rocket guns, they fired lines to ships so crews could zip-line to shore. This brigade was disbanded when the breakwater was completed. Can you create your own disaster scenario using the mouse wheel?
Spot the difference... Compare the 1875 map with the 1938 photo to see Timaru’s coastline.
The playground is situated on reclaimed land, Since 1902, the sand had noticeably accumulated out from the cliffs, as a result of the port's new breakwater that commenced in 1878. The council started to transform this area into a "European style beach resort," and by 1911, annual Christmas carnivals were in full swing. The ground in the playground location is sandy, and the water table lies close to the surface. To address drainage issues and establish robust foundations, the top layer was scraped off, and river run material was brought in.
LEFT The brown lines show the changes to the mean sea level since 1926. Graphic courtesy Roselyn Fauth 2019 with assistance from the South Canterbury Museum. RIGHT One of the mean tide markers along the North to South promenade at Caroline Bay. Photograph courtesy Roselyn Fauth 2019
1875 Timaru Harbour General Chart by Sir John Coode showing recommended works in red. South Canterbury Museum DCEC5B88
1938 Montage of survey photos of Caroline Bay. - Sourced from Retrolens.nz LINZ
Map of Caroline Bay in 1911. Miscellaneous Plans - Borough of Timaru, South Canterbury, 1911 - T.N. Brodrick, Chief Surveyor Canterbury ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/IE31423732
The Caroline Bay Playground, tennis courts, paddling pool, skate park and bike skills park with view out to Caroline Bay, Timaru. - Photo South Canterbury Drone Photography
CPlay opening celebrations December 2023 - Photo By Geoff Cloake