Kōrero: City parks and green spaces

The use of green spaces has always been a matter for debate, especially when an activity encroaches on public use. When the Canterbury Provincial Council proposed putting a saleyard on part of Hagley Park in 1868, a group of residents and ratepayers petitioned against this, and the proposal was rejected. This paragraph sums up their concerns:

‘We conceive that any alienation of the Park reserve from its original purpose would be a public wrong and that the Cattle Market proposed by City Council would be one of the most injurious encroachments that could be made on a place set apart for public recreation.’