A short walk in Foxton town
Seaview Gardens Reserve is an historic, elevated garden at the south end of Foxton’s Main Street, in the Horowhenua, that offers a short walk up a hill.
The gardens contain native trees in a hilltop park, with extensive views of the surrounding town and rural areas.
This area up and around the water tower was once called Ferry Hill.
People used to walk up the hill to watch the ferries go across the river below and to watch the ships enter the river entrance at the Manawatu Heads (Foxton Beach).
The ferry enabled travellers and the Wellington-Wanganui stage coach to cross the river to Foxton after travelling up the coast. Ferry Hill became Seaview Hill and with the planting of the gardens, became Seaview Gardens.
In the 1930s the gardens included terraces, plantings, fish ponds, ponga shelters and a bird aviary.
Following a cutback in Borough spending in the 1950s, the gardens have gradually “disappeared”, until recently the council have constructed the walking tracks and planted flax and placed signs.
The water tower was constructed in 1923 and still provides pressurised water distribution for Foxton and is now also used for a mobile phone tower.
