The splash pad, which is the second stage of the Tulloch Park redevelopment project, is another addition to the town following the successful basketball courts and pump track, installed last year.
Children and adults alike from Mataura flocked to Tulloch Park to enjoy the splash pad, with nozzles and fountains showering and spraying water.
Gore District Mayor Ben Bell even got involved after introducing the project.
He said he was very happy to see it.
"Long time coming, but we’re here now. It’s super cool for this community, the amount of kids who have come along today has been fantastic, a lot of community support.
"I’m just glad to see it open, to see it used. It’s going to be a fantastic thing in summer. Actually, all year round, as we’re finding out today," he said.
All the water used for the splash pad is recycled in its own system, being cleaned and filtered before popping back out, outside of the main water system in Gore.
Mr Bell said it was a remarkable project, especially considering how it was funded.
"So, apart from the maintenance, it’s all paid for externally which is pretty special for our community," he said.
Mataura Community Board chairwoman Nicky Coats said she was over the moon to see the pad alive and well.
"It’s fantastic to see it opened and completed. The proof is in the pudding, seeing all the kids out there enjoying it," she said.
Ms Coats said the pad represented a lot of work for the Community Board to reinvigorate parts of Mataura which may have been neglected for some years.
"It’s such a good feeling. We stood in the old pool two and a-half years ago, and saw what had happened after the floods, the vandalism and the neglect.
"It’s great for this term of being an elected member of the community board to have the project completed and to have something like this for the community," she said.
The success and the turnout for the opening was no surprise, she said.
"This is what Mataura is all about. You put something on, they’ll turn out."
