Waitangi Park opens in Wellington

Wellington has just opened the 6.5ha Waitangi Park, New Zealand's largest new urban park in 100 years.

The park is at the Oriental Bay end of the city waterfront and features a boardwalk, a skateboarding area, large grassed open field and a children's play garden.

It brings the Waitangi Stream - underground since an earthquake in 1855 - back to life with walkways and plants.

Waitangi Park is the latest addition to Wellington's waterfront and will eventually feature four new recreation buildings.

It is about twice the size of Auckland City Council's planned 3 to 4ha park at the headland of the Tank Farm and five times the size of a park on this site proposed by Ports of Auckland.

The park cost $22 million and was largely paid for by the sale of commercial leases on the waterfront.