Sam Foley, wife Emily Lucas, and daughters Lulu and Frankie Foley were impressed by the playground’s cheerful colours and exciting play equipment during the visit, and Frankie was thrilled to be the first to try out the new slide.
"Having seen it up close, we are very excited about this playground," Mr Foley said.
"We love coming to the garden and do so regularly — it’s great to have a fantastic new play space for whānau to come and enjoy."
Last week’s early playground visit was a reward for the contribution of Mr Foley and the Friends of the Dunedin Botanic Garden, which donated $100,000 towards the building of a major piece of play equipment — a bespoke climbing frame.
A prominent Dunedin artist and a Friends of Dunedin Botanic Garden committee member, Mr Foley held an exhibition at the garden and raised $15,000 by auctioning one of his paintings, which he donated to the Friends.
That donation was included in the eventual $100,000 contribution to the playground project’s climbing frame.
"There was unanimous support for the new playground project from the Friends — everyone was very excited to have a new community facility like this at the garden," he said.
Mr Foley has been visiting the botanic garden for 45 years, spending many happy hours as a child playing with his brother on the old playground — located where the carpark is now.
Dunedin Botanic Garden manager Alan Matchett said the support of the Friends of Dunedin Botanic Garden had made a "huge difference" to the project.
"It is an exciting playground with accessible features — it is going to be a fun and engaging place for a lot of people to visit," he said.
"It’s looking really good and we are really pleased to have it open in time for the school holidays."
The new children’s playground at Dunedin Botanic Garden was opened with a whakawātea ceremony, led by mana whenua, on Tuesday morning and was immediately a hit with local children.
Dunedin City Council Art, Culture and Recreation general manager Jeanette Wikaira said the project was the biggest overhaul of the playground since the previous area was opened in 1985.
"We believe it significantly improves on the previous playground. We hope it will bring much joy to youngsters, parents and others," she said.
The new playground will continue to cater to younger users, but a range of new structures expands play opportunities for both younger and older children — and offers a more accessible experience.
Ms Wikaira said the council worked with mana whenua through their consultancy arm, Aukaha, to develop playground designs inspired by the legend of Mahuika and Māui, a well-known narrative that showcases Māui’s playfulness and trickery.
