The Bandstand Field

You are now standing near the bottom corner of a field sometimes referred to as the ‘grassy bowl’.

The bandstand you see in the photograph was the gift of Joseph and Lyttleton Perry and it was in place by the time that the Park was officially opened on 21^st October 1922. It was well used and in 1925 as many as 28 bands were booked to provide a summer programme. Many of the performances were on Sunday evenings and it is recorded that they began at 8.00 pm so enabling people to first attend an evening church service.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s the bandstand was used by Haden Rangers Football Club as a ‘changing room’. The western side of the football pitch ran alongside a wooded piece of land that had two ponds that have since been drained.  Inevitably the ball sometimes ended up in the water and a long stick was used to retrieve it. A small amount of water from one of the ponds is still in situ – perhaps you can locate it.

On one of the photographs of the bandstand a tall wooden framework can be seen in the distance. This supported a bell (this was close to panel 4) that was rung by a uniformed park keeper to signal that the Park was shortly to be closed.

The other photograph of the bandstand shows a number of people sitting on a circular tree bench. Bucket hats and flat caps appear to be the order of the day!

If you turn around you will see the rustic bridge (though at one time there were three bridges on this side of the pool). How much has the landscape changed since the time when the photograph was taken in c1950?

The first Bonfire and Firework display was held on Saturday 2 November 1968. The bonfire was more or less in the centre of the field. A small plot of land was levelled for the firework display  that was housed in a caravan; it is labelled on the map;  the trail to Q5 takes you straight past it – try to locate the site. The final display was in 1990.

Now turn around and follow the trail to locate Q5.

Next - The Picnic House