Many of Masterton's smaller reserves are hidden away in suburban areas. As Gareth Winter of the Wairarapa Archive explains, one such park in the Prime Minister's block recalls the life of one of the town's more interesting characters, the irrepressible Ben Iorns.
In the 1970s a new housing subdivision on the western perimeter of Masterton was developed by Robert Holt of Napier.
The land had previously been owned by well-known local jockey and horse trainer Arthur ("Arty") Messervy, who in turn had purchased it from the estate of Robert Buick in 1955. Buick had purchased the property in 1918, amalgamating two previous titles.
![Masterton historian and tree lover Bennett Iorns, 1883-1977. PHOTO/SUPPLIED](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/PT2X3FFKDB7W4I2EZVAAGPMU4Y.jpg?auth=17ff17ef62bc40963cb0551d165e31f29104a7f78f1d44ec2f314dcd07ebc81b&width=16&height=23&quality=70&smart=true)
Part of it, including the Ben Iorns Reserve land, was in the Ngaumutawa Block, while some of it had belonged to the rural section 32 of the Masterton Small Farms Settlement. Section 32 had originally belonged to Thomas Chamberlain, whose farm, "The Oaks", is recalled in nearby Oak St.