Colourful new park is top of the pops

Summer Quinn, sister Skye and friend Alexis Holloway get into the spirit of downtown Tauranga's new pop-up park. Photo / George Novak

All sizes love the oversized pop-up park that has become an eye-catching new feature of Devonport Rd in downtown Tauranga.

The magnificent mural and zany vivid yellows of the king-sized couches and chairs were an instant hit with Papamoa girls Summer and Skye Quinn and Alexis Holloway.

Summer, 6, called the pop-up park "cool", Skye said it was "really good" and Alexis settled for "awesome".

Alexis' dad Gary said it was a good spot in the middle of town to relax: "Kids and parents can chill out and have an icecream."

Thousands of people got their first opportunity to see the newly completed park during Saturday's Christmas Parade.

Coincidentally, the creator of Downtown Tauranga's two floats, Richard Parker, was also the inspiration behind and builder of the park furniture. The two couches and six chairs look plastic but were made from timber frames and covered in plywood.

"The whole thing looks like big blocks of butter," the designer and manufacturer said.

Another feature of the park, which replaced an old row of substandard shops, was the mural. Harley Wise, one of the artists who created the mural, said it represented Tauranga.

"We have incorporated a silhouetted Mount Maunganui and also the Kaimai Range. The anchor is representative of the name Tauranga, which means anchorage or resting place, and the large chain is the link our community has to this beautiful area."

The other artists were Te Arahi Wilson and Tautoko Matehaere.