Ohvitseride (Officer's) Park, Tartu, Estonia

You can find it here. I visited on 8 July 2026. 

Estonian wikipedia says:

The park covers an area of ​​8,424 m² and formerly served as the summer garden for the Officers' House, featuring amenities such as a dance floor and a volleyball court. Plans for the 21st century have included a children's playground and a community garden; a mural by Maari Soekov and Sandra Ruut adorns the walls of the garages bordering the park.

In the late 19th century, the site of the Officers' Park was occupied by Georg Sachs's garden, which had been purchased for the use of the Estonian Literary Society. In 1891, the garden served as the venue for the 4th General Song Festival; later, it passed into the possession of the Taara Society, which operated a velodrome on the site where the Officers' House would eventually stand. During the first quarter of the 20th century, the area became known as the "Taara Garden," featuring a public children's playground, walking paths, and a staircase leading to Jaama Street. The cycling club organized a wide range of public events—from discussion evenings to parties and exhibitions—both independently and in collaboration with the Estonian Literary Society.

The name "Taara Garden" and the use of the site for public events persisted even after the Taara Society was reorganized and following the suspension of society activities during the Soviet occupation in 1940. Starting in 1956, the Taara Garden was redeveloped into the Officers' Quarter; the garden attached to the newly built Officers' House (constructed on the site of the former velodrome) became known as the Officers' Park. The park featured a volleyball court, a dance floor, and other attractions, hosting various dance and musical events.

In 1991, the Tartu City Monuments Commission planned to create a "Garden of Apparitions" within the Officers' Park to house Soviet-era monuments removed from the urban landscape, but the project was never realized due to a lack of funding.

Reserve bounded by Cedar St/Laver Grove, Mayfield, Tasmania

I have not been able to find out anything at all about the estate surrounding this IR but I am going to suggest it is a subdivision of land owned by/surrounding an 1863 house currently known as The Cedars but, according to a plaque on its gate, once known as Pinkie House. Homes surrounding the reserve look to be early 1960s. The pictures say as much as I could say, but better. It was a nice day (3 Dec 2025)

Entrance opposite 'The Cedars'. Find it here.

From inside the reserve, looking toward the front gate of The Cedars (I would have got a closer picture but there was someone doing garden maintenance there and I didn't wish to intrude). 

Unnamed reserve bounded by Jasmine Ct, Lila Dr, Nanette Ct, Prospect, Tas

Yesterday I posted about a reserve close to this one - probably less than a ten-minute walk, depending how long you wait to cross Westbury Road. It is similar in shape to Ingamells Reserve but in all other ways radically different. It's possible that Ingamells is too rocky to be properly maintained (i.e. mown to within an inch of its life) unlike this one, which is featureless, but I have to ask what on earth this space is ever used for - if anything - and whether it is valued at all by local residents (of course the only evidence I have that Ingamells is valued is that it has a worn walking path through it). 

Entrance/exit to Jasmine Ct

As above clearly some local homes look into the space. 

This is the entrance/exit into Nanette Ct. 

The location of the reserve is to be seen here although as per the Ingamells Reserve it is not actually shown on this map. 

Ingamells Reserve, Prospect, Tas

It's been 2 and a half years since I last posted on this site, and in between the last post and this one our book Community Green has been published, including a lot of material from this blog. You'd think the book would finally scratch the itch but no, and a few Launceston examples from this week have cried out to be recorded.

Launceston has a lot of IRs, for reasons not thoroughly obvious to me, although its general hilliness might go some way to explaining - leads to (1) topographically-sensitive road patterns (2) space in residential areas unsuitable for building. I have yet to find any outright overt discussion by Launceston parks or governance people expressing a particular preference in this regard. But there clearly is one and I would say of the many, many cities around the world I have visited looking at IRs, per capita Launceston wins. 

Here are some images from the Ingamells Reserve which can be viewed here though I note the map this links to actually doesn't show the reserve at all! It is a bushland reserve with what look to me like some pretty decisive desire lines from one end to the other, though if they're on a map, maybe they were actually designated as such by original designers - don't know. 

Signposted entrance at Summer Rise.

As you can see the house above definitely 'uses' the space as something to look into passively. I noted this building does not have any gateway access into the reserve, however. So it's look but don't touch. 

Pedestrian way into Pamela Court. 

Entrance to Ingamells St which as you can see from the map is rather absurdly three streets. So this is Ingamells St near the intersection with Ingamells St - !  

Looking south-east from the southern end of the reserve. 

There's another, unnamed, reserve very close to this one which is very different. I will post about that tomorrow. Tomorrow! Not in two-and-a-half years. 

Kabbera Central, Kelso, NSW

Look at it here. 

Kelso is essentially a suburb adjoining the regional city of Bathurst but it has an identity greater than mere adjacent suburb - apparently the town known as Bathurst was initially established in the area now known as Kelso (confused? It's not that important for our purposes here). It seems to me (from sketchy newspaper research) that this part of Kelso dates from the early 1980s; you can see that there are a few other internal reserves near the circular one photographed below, unfortunately it was such a fleeting visit there was really no time to visit them all. Shame, because I don't know when I'll be passing through that part of the world again. 

What is most fascinating to me is that some of the houses give every impression of facing directly into the reserve and having no street frontage at all - not even car parking space. 

Reserve within Barry Ave, Leonard St, Hector St, Cleary Ave Mildura, Victoria

Classic space with no signage, not even recognised on google maps as a public space. I happened on it completely by accident. As you can see, perfectly serviceable but no investment other than cutting the grass. See it on google maps here.

Miranda Place Playground, Melba, A.C.T.

This is a beautiful, very hidden reserve on a slope with some play equipment (see it on google maps here). Not much more to say but without wishing to sound awfully twee, the awfully twee review on the google maps page for this park that suggests its 'trees and bushy gardens' make it feel 'like it has fairies hiding nearby' has got it pretty right. 

Above - the entrance from Wallace Place. A classic internal reserve entryway, you don't really know (unless you have a map/local knowledge) what you are walking into, until you do it. 

Above - the entrance into Miranda Place. 

Melba, the suburb, dates from 1972; it's technically part of Belconnen.