Walking through the set of handsome gates and into the 200 acres (80 hectares) of mature trees, gardens and manicured lawns sprinkled with fallen golden leaves. “This is just like being in London”, I commented, “all we need now are some squirrels scampering around”.
The Feldwick Gates are named after benefactor John Feldwick who bequeathed 20,000 pounds in 1913 to developed the park. Emblazoned with Invercargill’s original Coat of Arms, which features a plough, a sheaf of corn, and a wool bale, depicting the farming wealth of the province, and a ship indicating overseas trade.
We joined other walkers enjoying a morning walk up the broad tree lined avenue, past rose gardens filled with colour and ambled around the Japanese garden where a worker was carefully raking the stones between the small bushes. Away in the distance was the band rotunda.
Wonder if the city band still comes out on Sunday afternoons to entertain the citizens, or if this was a thing of the past? We didn’t appreciate just how much area the park covers, as the grounds continue just as far in the distance from the rotunda as they did to reach it.
A statue in the Children’s Playground is by English sculpture Sir Charles Wheeler, and was unveiled in 1966 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. This lovely park is a credit to the City of Invercargill.
The area outside the park gates is just as attractive and the water feature invited closer inspection. This is surrounded by brick plinths topped with roundels featuring New Zealand native birds.
And just to remind us that this part of the coast can be treacherous, this display outside the Information Centre shows three anchors of ships lost in the area.
There’s no doubt about it, Invercargill city is a lovely place, and we are certainly enjoying our time here. With the innovative “no fees” policy, the city attracts many Polytechnic students to enrol down here in the deep south, which makes it a very vibrant city indeed.
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