Victoria Park and the Band Rotunda is a beautiful park and ideal rest area when passing through Thames.

It extends from Pak n Save up to The Band Rotunda with plenty of parking and picnic tables available with a mini gauge railway running through it. Sit under the giant pōhutukawa trees that dot the park, walk along the nearby Coastal Walkway, or visit The Band Rotunda.

Victoria Park was developed in 1902 with the hope the park would create a good impression to visitors arriving at the nearby Grahamstown Railway Station, just north of the park. Thames marked the birthday of King Edward VII by opening both Victoria Reserve and the Coronation Band Rotunda on November 10, 1902. The park was named in honour of Edward VIIs mother, Queen Victoria, and at one time the southern section was named for his father, Prince Albert.

The grand Pacific Hotel with 23 rooms plus an entertainment room – the Academy of Music which held up to 800 guests, was located at  Victoria Park in the late 1800s. In the early days the sea water flowed over the area which now forms Victoria Park, and the Pacific Hotel often had the sea lapping at its foundations.

Opposite Victoria Park and the old Pacific Hotel is Script corner, where brokers would meet to buy and sell mining shares. On the other corners stood the old BNZ bank and the old Wharf / Park / Lady Bowen Hotel (now a private residence).

The area north of the Band Rotunda is tapu with an old urupa (burial ground) located here. Eating, drinking and smoking in this part of the park is kindly asked to be refrained from.

The parking area at Victoria Park closest to Pak n Save is a Freedom Camping area for those self-contained travellers looking for a stop over for a night or two.

Location
Victoria Park is accessed by turning off SH25 into Albert St where the park is visible. Parking is plenty alongside the park, and including the area by the foreshore where you can access the Coastal Walkway.