Park grandstand

In 1894 the Masterton Park Trust applied for financial help from the Masterton Trust Lands Trust.  They were given a special grant, with a recommendation it should be used to build a grandstand. The Park Trust was quickly into action, ordering a plan from local architect Francis Penty.  Tenders were called and local builder Michael Williams won the contract.  He finished the building by May 1895, at a cost of £212-12-6. 

The building was not without its dramas - during construction the Waipoua River burst its banks and a flood took away many feet of timber set aside for the grandstand.

Later, the use of the grandstand by those seeking a free sleeping place caused concern. It was reported three different men had been brought before the court for sleeping in the grandstand, each being sentenced to seven days imprisonment.  After that, the stand was securely locked and the windows barricaded, but before long the doors were forced open and the locks and bolts broken.