Helen Blake, with her grandson John Maiava and his son Mika Maiava-Balle, at Levin Adventure Park.
Helen Blake, with her grandson John Maiava and his son Mika Maiava-Balle, at Levin Adventure Park.
When Collis Blake was ill, he and his wife Helen would buy an icecream and park up at the Levin Adventure Park.
They would wind down the window and listen to noise coming from the hordes of children playing, and the laughing that wafted across the park.
Collis died eight years ago, but he would always be recognised as the man who had the vision to turn what was housing a derelict old primary school in the centre of town into a magnificent playground for children.
Levin Primary School had fallen victim to arson and for years the prominent site on Oxford St was an eyesore to passing traffic and townsfolk alike.
Helen said she remembers the day, more than 20 years ago, that Collis decided to act on an idea that had been brimming under the surface for some time.
As someone that was community-minded, he came up with the ambitious idea for a children's playground.
"He loved the area with the beautiful trees. He would say to me when we would drive past 'somebody should do something about that'," Helen said.
"I was getting tired of it, so I said 'why don't you do it yourself?' and after that he got into action."
After that day, Helen said, it turned into a real community effort, with fundraising to remove the old derelict buildings and, slowly but surely, a magical playground began to take shape.
"There were a lot of volunteers that worked very hard," she said.
The land was leased, and as each playground feature was added, the park came to life. It is now recognised as one of the best community playgrounds in New Zealand.
"It was built for the children of Levin," she said.
Mika Maiava-Balle standing on a stone at Levin Adventure Park that recognises the efforts of her great-grandparents, Collis and Helen Blake.
"We enjoyed it. It was hard work, but it was fun ... it galvanised the community in some ways. People came from north and south to help.
"When he was quite ill one of his greatest joys was to watch the children play. It gave him so much pleasure."
Their daughter Susan also played a big part in the formation of the park. She remembers visiting playgrounds all over New Zealand and building up a knowledge of what worked and what didn't.
They also consulted with children themselves to gather their input, and to draw plans of their own vision.
One feature of the park was that play equipment was made for children in increasing age from one end to the other, starting with toddlers and then ending with more challenging equipment at the northern end.
Helen is now leaving an area that had been such a big part of her life and had provided her family with great memories. She is moving to Auckland to be closer to family.
The Blakes had dairy farmed all their lives in Horowhenua, first at Manakau and then on a farm north of Levin on Potts Rd, later moving to beef farming.
Helen Blake, with her grandson John Maiava and his son Mika Maiava-Balle, at Levin Adventure Park.
"We've been here for 50 years. It is very hard to say goodbye, very hard indeed, but you have to move forward. Somebody said to me life is made up of little stepping stones. I'm not a person to look back," Helen said.
Whenever their own grandchildren and great-grandchildren visited, they loved nothing more than to go to the park and play.
