Tinwald Domain

This is Tinwald Domain, a recreation reserve in Tinwald, a suburb of Ashburton in New Zealand's South Island. It's west of the main Tinwald settlement and north of State Highway 1, with road access from Maronan Road and Frasers Road. The total area of Recreation Reserve land here is just under 100 hectares.

The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum is located within the domain, using a section of the historic Mount Somers Branch railway line that runs through the reserve. The Tinwald Golf Club also has an 18-hole golf course here, situated between the railway line and Frasers Road. The southern part, along Maronan Road, includes a lake, picnic areas, a campground, the Plains Historic Village, and buildings used by community organizations. In common usage, "Tinwald Domain" often refers just to this park land in the southern part with the lake and picnic areas.

Back in 1878, the Ashburton County Council asked the government for a recreation reserve. A larger area of 97 hectares was designated under the Public Domains Act 1860, and a Domain Board was appointed in January 1879. Fencing of the reserve began by September 1879. An ornamental lake and island were constructed, with the lake excavated using a horse-drawn dredge, and it's supplied from the Mt Somers Willoughby stock water race that runs through here. By 1891, ornamental iron gates were installed at the entrance, and the lake was fenced and surrounded with plantings of shrubs and trees.

The domain grounds have been used for organized sport since the 1880s, including horse racing starting in 1889 when the Tinwald Racing Club moved here and built a grandstand. Tennis was played from 1906, swimming from 1912, and also rugby and hockey.

The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum, owned and operated by the Ashburton Railway & Preservation Society, runs on about 3 kilometers of rural railway line that was part of the Mount Somers Branch. The village and railway are open to the public, with the railway operating restored locomotives and rolling stock, and the village showing how life was lived in New Zealand's pioneering past. The Tinwald Golf Club itself was established in 1967.