At the very end of Lees Road and running down to the Purangi Estuary is one of the best kept secrets on the Coromandel Peninsula.
The Stella Evered Memorial Park is stunningly beautiful and is a must visit for anyone on the Peninsula.
The history of the park is that from the middle of last century Eric Evered and his wife, Stella, farmed a large block of land on this very site opposite Cooks Beach.
In 1981 the 37 hectares at the end of Lees Road was donated by Eric as a park to the people of New Zealand and named after his deceased wife Stella as the Stella Evered Memorial Park. About 18 hectares are open park with the remainder fenced off as part of a working farm.
For many years Sue, with Akubra hat and holstered secateurs, and her partner, looked after the park and did extensive planting, weeding and pest control. They lived in the old house down near the very old stone jetty with a couple of accommodation cottages available to visitors.
No visitor left empty handed and Sue was always incredibly generous with her locally grown fruit.
Eventually the Park Trust decided to remove the accommodation cottages and start extensive planting of native species. These cottages were removed and relocated to Sue’s stunning garden and property further back on Lees Rd.
As I understand it, our local Iwi, Ngati Hei, are now contracted by the Trust for the maintenance of the park. A large number of exotic trees have been felled and replaced with natives.
If we are hosting friends, family or visitors one of the first ports of call is the Stella Evered Park. There are extensive views north to the Cooks Beach and Purangi and the Coromandel Ranges.
The walk is an easy stroll on well-maintained tracks one of which leads down to the old stone jetty. This dates back some 175 years when the area was heavily involved in the extraction of Kauri timber and the coastal shipping trade.
Near the water there is a large modern wooden structure commemorating the visit by Captain James Cook and early interactions with local Iwi in 1769. The Endeavour crew came ashore to fill their water barrels.
At our doorstep we have a beautiful park with great historical and cultural significance, readily accessible to all and a great example of a Community partnership between the Park Trust, local Iwi and the wider community. Go visit.
