Brooklands is a suburb of

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

, in the

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

region of the western

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is located on the southern edge of the city and east of Vogeltown. The area is named after Brooklands farm, established in 1842.

Features

A large part of Brooklands is parkland, with Brooklands Park adjoining the New Plymouth racecourse and

Pukekura Park Pukekura Park is a Garden of National Significance, covering 52 hectares near the heart of New Plymouth, Taranaki in New Zealand. History The gala opening of New Plymouth's 15 hectare Recreation Ground was held on 29 May 1876. During the day th ...

. In 1957, its natural amphitheatre and lake were converted into the Bowl of Brooklands, recognised as one of New Zealand's finest outdoor concert venues. The Bowl plays host to many international acts and is the venue for the New Zealand edition of the

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, ...

festival. The park includes a children's zoo, opened in 1965 and operated by the District Council. A former colonial hospital building built in 1847 was moved to the Brooklands estate in 1904. Named "The Gables" it is New Zealand's oldest surviving hospital building, and functions as a gallery for the Taranaki Arts Society. The world's only

Lawn Bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

Museum is located in Brooklands. It was established in 1980 and has more than 8000 exhibits. New Plymouth's main electricity distribution substation is in the Brooklands area.

History

Captain Henry King established Brooklands farm in 1842, as a model farm for the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...

, promoters of the New Plymouth settlement. The farmhouse was razed by fire in 1861 at the end of the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from M ...

, but its chimney still stands in Brooklands park today. Between 1875 and 1880 there was an attempt to establish a vineyard in part of the Pukekura stream valley, but it was unsuccessful. An area of 53 acres (21.5 hectares) became the property of prominent Taranaki businessman Newton King, and a mansion named Brooklands was built there in the first decade of the 20th century. When King died in 1927, he left the sum of £10,000 to the New Plymouth parks and reserves board. However, due to some failed business ventures prior to his death, the money was unavailable, and in 1934 the trustees of his estate gifted the property to the New Plymouth borough instead. Unable to find a use for the house, it was demolished in 1936. The suburb expanded south to its current limits in the 1950s.

Education

* St Pius X School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1–6) school with a roll of 129 St Pius X is a state integrated Catholic school. and has a decile rating of 8. *Highlands Intermediate School is a coeducational intermediate (years 7–8) school with a roll of 684. It has a decile rating of 7 and was founded in 1955. Facilities include a hockey turf. The uniform consists of a polo shirt, sweatshirt and then for girls a choice of culottes or a skirt and boys wear shorts.

Gallery

File:Brooklands chimney.jpg, The chimney of Henry King's 1842 farmhouse. File:Gables hospital.jpg, The Gables File:Bowls museum.jpg, The New Zealand Bowls Museum is located at the New Plymouth Bowling club.

References

{{New Plymouth District Suburbs of New Plymouth