Public Recreation

The Town Belt was set aside “for the enjoyment of the public” and recognised in the 1873 Deed as a “public recreation ground”, a phrase that has been debated and interpreted variously over the years.

After the settlement was established, most of the Town Belt was bare, windswept and uninviting. However, the Wellington Botanic Garden was established on the Town Belt in 1869. It was one of the few places in Wellington with some shelter and planting and became a popular destination for outings.

Sporting activities became popular by the beginning of the twentieth century. Numerous parks, sports grounds and children’s playgrounds were developed on the Town Belt over several decades. Most grounds were freely available to the public but facilities were also developed by private clubs, after a controversial Bill was passed in 1908, allowing up to 100 acres to be leased to sports clubs. Substantial areas went into the zoological gardens (1906) and the Berhampore Municipal Golf Links (1915).

Buildings associated with recreational use were also allowed, following reinterpretation of the founders’ instruction that the Town Belt was not to be built upon.

By the late twentieth century walking, jogging and mountain biking had become popular. A 1991 community survey showed that citizens wished to protect the Town Belt as green space with no additional formal sports facilities.