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Caroline Bay – one of the South Island’s friendliest beaches
Caroline Bay - One of the South Island’s most family friendly beaches
Caroline Bay is the most widely known of all the parks in the Timaru District. When speaking to someone from outside Canterbury about Timaru they will usually mention Caroline Bay, whereas locals will often refer to it as ‘The Bay’.
The beach is sheltered by the harbour breakwater and is the only sandy beach between Oamaru and Banks Peninsula. March 2014 saw Caroline Bay beach being voted the most popular beach in the South Island.
Allied with the popular swimming beach is the annual summer carnival run by the voluntary Caroline Bay Association.
The carnival has been operating for over a hundred years and draws people from around much of New Zealand to attend or assist with its operation. The carnival is a traditional family affair with free concerts, rides and sideshow style games. Caroline Bay itself is located between the Pacific Ocean and the Timaru Central Business District, being separated from the main shopping area by the South Island Main Trunk Railway lines.
The Piazza straddles the railway line and provides access for pedestrians via a grand staircase or via a lift, which is unique for a public park in this country. Caroline Bay covers an area of 34 hectares excluding the beach.
Coastal area - The dunes of Caroline Bay were awarded the Best Dune Re-vegetation Project trophy in 2010 after they were revegetated with native sand binding plants.
Today the established plantings are likely to be the most diverse in the country and studied by university students.
Little penguins (kororā) have now established a colony in and around Caroline Bay.
Caroline Bay activities - Caroline Bay is the most popular outdoor events centre in South Canterbury as well as being a very popular recreation area.
There is a destination sized children’s playground, two free barbeques, outdoor gym equipment, large open spaces and plenty of infrastructure to support its various uses.
There are also beach volleyball courts, mini golf, tennis courts, skate park and a small train offering rides. The various walks are enjoyed on a daily basis by many people and are also used for events such as triathlons
Timaru is also lucky enough to have the Trevor Griffiths Rose Gardens with the roses flowering from November until July.
Timaru has a fine collection of Old Roses. These are a style of rose that is bred to have a shorter flatter flower, rather than the taller tapering flower of Modern Roses. This is largely as a result of the legacy of the late Trevor Griffiths, a local rosarian, who specialised in growing and writing about old roses.
Public artworks such as sculptures and a mural, along with items of historical significance, make a visit to Caroline Bay a culture and educational experience.
Ample carparking and indoor venues complement the outdoor venues to cater for many events.
Caroline Bay also contributes to the landscape by giving world class views over its green area and across the sea to the distant mountains which are often snow covered in winter.
The first 50 years
An excerpt from Caroline Bay’s Diary of Major Events
1876 – The Terrace footbridge opened 1894 – First working bees to lay out area 1902 – First beautification plan began 1904 – The band rotunda opened 1906 – The Palliser fountain presented 1911 – Marine Parade opened First Christmas carnival 1912 – Piazza erected 1913 – Tennis courts, pavilion; cliffs levelled 1915 – North end playground opened; hot sea water bathing complex; clock mounted on rotunda 1923 – Pavilion replaced by Bay Hall 1926 – First lighting erected.
For more information about Caroline Bay, visit: www.timaru.govt.nz.
There are many challenges our communities face these days. It seems life is much more complicated than a few decades ago. An increasing number of people struggle to cope with life as it is. The question is, what can we do to minimize that?
People are social beings. We need to feel part of the clan around us. The way we experience acceptance or rejection plays an important role. What are the norms of the community in which we live? When these norms conflict with our standards, we may experience higher stress levels.
Studies show that when people notice a decline in their community, many stop caring, and then things go downwards very quickly.
Have you noticed, when someone maintains the lawn on the grass berm, how others around them also do that? When people throw rubbish around, leave damaged cars parked, tyre burnout marks and graffiti appear, that is when people notice the lack of care. Unfortunately, that attracts dodgy characters, and vandalism and bad behaviour increase before long.
One of the first signs of a declining society is lousy driver behaviour. It does not take long for people to figure out a lack of enforcement. The issue is not necessarily a lack of concern of the police, but all the incidents police attend. Good people should not think that it is ok to break the law when there are no police around.
As Edmund Burke had said more than 100 years ago: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil was that good men should do nothing.” Here is where you and I come in. Are we willing to stand up for what is right, or would we argue that nobody cares and let our neighbourhood sink into the abyss?
We could start by doing what is right and take action to care for our neighbourhood by looking at our behaviour and actions. Diligently report bad behaviour to the police or your local council. Yes, some people may argue that dobbing in somebody is a bad thing. The sad thing is that by not doing it, we contribute to the decline of our neighbourhood.
How will you answer your kids or grandkids one day when they ask you how things got so bad? It is up to us to leave them a good neighbourhood.
Daniel Naudé Road Safety Coordinator (South Canterbury)
