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.