Project: Te Kapua Reserve Playground
Client: Ngāti Tūranituku and Taupō District Council

The Ground
A partnership between Ngāti Tūrangitukua and Taupō District Council has seen Te Kapua Park in Tūrangi become home to an architecturally-designed playground themed around stories of the surrounding rohe, including Tongariro River and local maunga.

Playground Creations worked with project partners, including Bespoke Architects, local artist Te Maari Gardiner, and local carver, Te Ururangi Rowe, to weave cultural narrative into the papa tākaro (playground). Extensive engagement with the local community and nearby kura was also an integral part of the project.

The Creation
Designed to provide tamariki of all ages and abilities with a challenging, enjoyable, and magical play space, Tūrangi’s latest papa tākaro includes play equipment that allows for balance and upper body development, encourages imaginative and water play, and offers spinning, sliding, and rocking movement.

Stories of the tangata whenua underpin each play area. Tūmoana, an old fishing ground is represented in the hīnaki (fishing trap) inspired play equipment, while the water play area signifies the Hīrangi stream which once ran through the land. This ensures the papa tākaro is not only a playground but a learning environment for tamariki and whānau as well.

The Play
The completed papa tākaro at Te Kapua Park features a junior and senior playground, basket swing, group swings, a toddler swing, and a hinaki net. Collaborative play is catered for by way of an inclusive carousel swing, waka rockers, climbing post, musical instruments, tube slide, waterplay and natural play.

Complementing the space are garden beds and surrounding native grasses, planted by tamariki from Tūrangi’s local kura. The result is a community asset that encourages the magic of play every day.