Ken Maunder Park

“Did you ever hear of a park named after a butcher’s pig farm?” Ken Maunder Park, nestled in New Lynn, Auckland, has a history far more intriguing than its modern sports fields and community center suggest. Ken Maunder Park wasn’t always a place for cricket and football. The land holds echoes of a time when it was known as part of “Hayr’s Grant,” later becoming a bustling pig farm and slaughterhouse owned by the Binsted brothers. These entrepreneurial butchers, Henry and James Binsted, purchased the land in 1887. They raised pedigree Berkshire and Yorkshire pigs, supplying their butchery business. Unfortunately, their enterprise had a downside. Runoff from the slaughterhouse polluted the nearby Whau River. This environmental impact foreshadowed the future transformations of the area. A fire in 1916 damaged the slaughterhouse. After James Binsted’s death in 1920, the slaughterhouse was dismantled in 1921, and the land’s purpose shifted again, becoming a landfill. It wasn’t until 1955, after the last trustee, Harold Bollard, transferred the title to the local council, that Ken Maunder Park began to take shape. Initially called “Rewa Park,” it quickly became a hub for sports. Football fields were marked out in 1956, and the New Lynn Cricket Club established its clubrooms there in 1961. A bridge linking the park with Queen Mary Avenue was constructed in 1963, further cementing its place in the community. The park’s name changed again in 1970, honoring Ken Maunder, a dedicated member of the New Lynn Borough Council and a prominent figure in the local sports community. His involvement as deputy mayor and president of the New Lynn Bowling Club reflected the park’s growing connection with the community’s recreational life. Ken Maunder Park today is a vibrant hub. It houses the Ken Maunder Park Community Sports Centre, boasting an indoor training center and club rooms. The facilities are available for a variety of uses, from holiday programs to birthday parties. The sports field transforms with the seasons. In winter, it hosts floodlit football fields, while summer brings cricket wickets, both grass and astroturf. Ken Maunder Park stands as a testament to transformation, from a butcher’s pig farm and slaughterhouse to a beloved community space. It echoes the changing needs and aspirations of New Lynn, blending history with modern recreation.