Augusta, Western Australia, 1927

A plan for the town of Augusta in Western Australia published in the West Australian newspaper 5 November, 1927. Internal reserves are included in all blocks of the central circles. This plan was not built (note it is marked 'tentative design'.

Link to present-day Augusta at Google Map here.

Prospect Reserve, Avondale Heights, Victoria, Australia, 2002

This is a 2002 image of an internal reserve which, if I recall correctly, is between West Gateway and Park Drive in Avondale Heights, a north-western suburb of Melbourne containing the Milleara Estate, designed by Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin in the late 1920s. The recreational agriculture was an entirely local initiative responding to what was an otherwise neglected space. See the google map of the area here.

I have been meaning to return to this space and see what it looks like now - will report back.

* note as of 12 Jan 11 - according to Google Maps this space is known as Prospect Reserve, though it is not signposted as such. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for the moment.

making parks work

Accessibility, safety and proximity. Brief segment of the ABC Radio National program By Design which discusses community initiatives on making parks safe and usable here.

Internal Reserves now gone: Galway Garden Suburb, Adelaide, South Australia

Unsurprisingly, many internal reserves have been resumed or subdivided or otherwise eliminated by councils and/or private landowners. An example of thousands is the northern open space area of the small subdivision known as the Galway Garden Suburb in Adelaide, near to the airport. Compare the google map below with the original subdivision outline reproduced below.



The google map link is here.

Wilson Boulevarde, Reservoir, Melbourne 2009

A part of the Merrilands Estate, designed 1919. The Darebin council has recently redesigned this reserve (the decision to dedicate one housing block at the entrance to open space having been made much earlier). Most of the internal reserves on this estate have been subdivided or opened up to be street-fronting parks. You can see in the google map below another reserve to the south which is no longer dedicated public space.





See Google map for context here.

Myers Park, Auckland (visited 2009)

For the google map link, click here.
It is debatable whether Myers Park, Auckland is a genuine internal reserve as it does feature (as seen in the above map) portions of street access space to the north and east; however, visitors would find that the kindergarten effectively blocks the eastern street-access park area from the rest of the park, and it tapers considerably at the northern end. In the main, it is a large, interior, urban (as opposed to suburban) space with high rise buildings around much of the perimeter. It has also clearly been a very popular space from its creation in the early 20th century. The following image is c. 1918 and further details are here.





At the northern end, steps to an arcade leading to K Road.

It seems Myers Park was also the place to stage a protest in the late 1960s. See this listing, sadly only available in hard copy in Auckland.

White Hart Lane Estate, Tottenham UK

A place I have not yet visited but hope to within the next twelve months. An attempt to contextualise it historically can be found here. Google Maps' map does not recognise it as a public open space (usually signified by green):


See the satellite image and context of this estate today here.

Tanilba Bay, NSW Australia 2000

The Tanilba Bay Estate was designed under the aegis of Henry Ferdinand Halloran in the 1920s. Its unusual 'cartwheel' design combined with cris-crossing roads closer to the shore allowed for inclusion of ten internal reserve spaces. As can be seen from the google map reproduced here (see here for wider context) most of these survive.
(The Google Map satellite suggests the reserve to the north of Centennial Park has recently been subdivided for units).

'The flagship estate was Tanilba Bay. This land was subdivided in 1919 by G D Allen, a surveyor in Halloran's employ, along the 'cartwheel' lines that Halloran often favoured in the immediate postwar period. Like many garden suburb designs of the time, the street nomenclature drew upon key military and political figures.' (Freestone & Nichols 2010)

These pictures were taken ten years ago - the 8th August, 2000. They demonstrate that the internal reserves of the area were patchily maintained presumably by people who backed onto them - and who it seems would only take care of space they thought was relevant to them.









As a side bar, the Tanilba Bay estate features this exotic and elaborate gateway, which Halloran intended to give the estate a particular distinction and link it back to local history.

'Tanilba Bay was also given what would become a distinctive Halloran touch with gateway arches and walls erected from local stone. Statuary and war relics were erected at the gates and in parks. A special 'Centenary Gateway' commemorated a hundred years of settlement in the area. Halloran moved into and extended a historic house nearby, reputedly adding a wall containing a bottle filled with press cuttings vilifying renegade Labor premier Jack Lang. Halloran bought and subdivided many more estates in the Port Stephens area, including Mallabula Point Estate (1919), Karuah Estate (1922), Yalinbah Estate (1923), Holdom Estate (1927) and Tomaree (1934).' (Freestone & Nichols 2010)

On either side, memorial stones announce that: 'The bollards on the centre pillars are from H.M.A.S. Sydney / Victor in Australia's first naval battle/ 9th November 1914' and ''Tanilba Centenary Gates/ Designed and Erected by Henry F. Halloran/ Completed 31st March 1931'


Quotes are from Freestone, Robert, and David Nichols. "Town planning and private enterprise in early twentieth century Australia: Henry F Halloran, 'builder of dreams'." History Australia 7.1 (2010).

Coorparoo, Brisbane, Australia, 2002

These pictures were taken in June 2002, of an unnamed internal reserve in Coorparoo in Brisbane's inner south-east. Much of Coorparoo dates from the early 20th century but I have not been able to find any material on this particular reserve.

This space can be found on google map here.

Introduction

Welcome to the internal reserves blog.

As you will have read at the top of the page, this site has been set up to make public various photographic and other records of internal reserve spaces around the world, which I have been documenting for a decade now.
My chief intention in publishing this material is to attract others who might have material on particular internal reserve sites - either archival photographs/ written recollections of the ways reserves have been used, pictures of reserves now gone, or other images connected with internal reserves.
I have tried to define the internal reserve in the header of the blog but to reiterate, its chief defining features are:

(1) no or little street frontage, so the vast majority of the reserve is fenced and contained within a housing block
(2) pedestrian access only - although some spaces which have been pedestrian-only internal reserves for most of their existence have more recently been opened up to vehicle access to allow for rear entry to properties
(3) intended for use by local communities chiefly as passive recreation spaces

If you wish to communicate with me about an internal reserve you know something about, please feel free to email me: nicholsd@unimelb.edu.au

Thank you