JOHNSTON PARK

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6543, 27 February 1928, Page 3

JOHNSTON PARK

CHARMING PLEASURE RESORT. FEILDING ; S PREMIER PLAYGROUND. It is to tho credit of the sitting members of the Feilding Borough Council that Johnston Park has been brought into the limelight as Feilding’s premier playground and to the Mayor, Mr E. Fair, and Councillor T. Collins, in particular for their personal effort toward establishing a very charming pleasure resort. This area of bush resting on the bank of the Oroua River within ten minutes’ walk of the Feilding Post Office never claimed the attention its splendour called for nor a full appreciation of the scope it offered for utility in the way of a rccreattion area. It was not until last year that the Boyough Council following on the controversy over a Rugby ground, decided to undertake an extensive improvement scheme, which absorbed for the labour, almost all of Feilding’s unemployed. The purchasing of adjoining vacant sections, increased the area of the park and enabled tho provision of two football grounds and a pavilion with seating accommodation for 800 people. These improvements together with tho creation of a motorist camp site have made Johnston Park Feilding’s most popular resort. By damming up the river two safe bathing pools were created and at times as many as 500 people have been gathered at the park, taking advantage of the splendid swimming resources. Yesterday the grounds wore thrown open for inspection and many visitors took the opportunity of looking over tho areas which in future will be tho homo of Rugby in Feilding.