In 1878 a 27-acre quarry and water reserve was set aside on Attewell Road, near Puni. Some time after the First World War, a tennis court and pavilion were established near the road; otherwise the land was mostly leased for grazing.
In 1951 Franklin County Council accepted a proposal from local residents to develop the area as a war memorial recreation ground. Memorial gates with pillars constructed of Hinuera stone had been completed at the entrance of the reserve by April 1956. The marble tablet on one pillar is inscribed: “Puni Memorial Park”; on the other: “In memory / of those citizens / of Puni who took / part in the two / Great Wars / 1914-18 1939-45.”
Among other developments, the tennis pavilion was improved (it has since decayed), a rugby field was formed, and in 1975 rugby clubrooms were built. A number of trees were also planted.
The reserve was never formally gazetted as a domain, but was designated a recreation reserve in 1983. In 1985 it was renamed the Puni War Memorial Recreation Reserve, today usually shortened to ‘Puni Memorial Recreation Reserve’.
Sources: NZ Gazette, 1878, p. 1545; NZ Gazette, 1902, p. 728; NZ Gazette, 1983, p. 3169; Puni War Memorial Reserve files, PR370.350 (Auckland Council Archives).
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