History – A park for the people – Waipu Museum

Community spirit was a vital part of the culture of the original Waipu Nova Scotian settlers. The Caledonian Park exemplifies how this tradition has continued throughout the last 125 years.

In 1870, The Waipu Caledonian Society was formed, with its aims and objectives “to promote and preserve the music, culture and traditions of Scotland”.

On New Year’s Day 1871, “highland games and a gathering” were held on William “Beag” McKenzie’s Farm situated on the eastern side of Braigh Road, on the straight heading to State Highway 1. This included family picnics, highland dancing competitions and running races. In 1894, the first Waipu Pipe Band was formed and, around this time, The Highland Games were moved to the land in the centre where they are held now. On 9 May 1905, with private money, the Caledonian Society purchased these nine acres with a further four acres added in 1931, adding the strip adjoining the residential land in Argyle Street.

The first major event ever held in ‘The Waipu Caledonian Park’ was in 1903 with the celebrations to mark 50 years since the settlers had landed.

Like the Highland Games, early sporting teams also started using the park before it was purchased by The Caledonian Society.  Cricket was first played in 1870 with coir matting rolled out as the pitch and it wasn’t till 2024 that the park got its permanent one.

In 1921, bowling greens were established on the eastern side of the park, plus four tennis courts on the western side. Croquet was first played on these courts, but soon moved to the bowling greens with their new clubrooms built in 2020.

In 1941, the Waipu Caledonian Gates were opened for the 70th Highland Games and about this time a WWII home guard army camp was established in the park with corrugated iron toilets built behind Coronation Hall. These were replaced by the present concrete ones in the late 1950s.

Although rugby officially started in Waipu in 1876, it wasn’t until 1959 before it got its first clubrooms behind the Coronation Hall, which were extended in 1962. In 1975, the present clubrooms, and a squash court was built in 1983 with the addition of another squash court and the second storey providing entertainment facilities.

The Celtic barn opened in 2015 adding a gymnasium for indoor sports, piping facilities and spaces for large and more intimate community events. 

Throughout the years, countless numbers of “frolics” – the Gaelic term for community working bees – have been held to provide today’s population with all these facilities. The Caledonian Society still owns the park, the only privately-owned park in the whole Whangarei District.

The Waipu Museum will host another afternoon of sharing stories of “Old Waipu” in the Heritage School on Saturday May 9 at 2pm. All welcome.