“A way of life locked in time.”

That is the best way to describe the Ng King Brothers Chinese Market Garden Settlement Heritage Park in Ashburton, Robert King says.

More than 200 descendants of the original families gathered for the official opening of the heritage park on Sunday.

Robert King is the great-grandson of Charlie King, one of the founding members of the market garden.

“This site is authentic. It is real. It is not a replica," he said.

“It has been strengthened for longevity and preservation.”

The 2.3-hectare heritage park centres around the remnant buildings of the market gardens, restored to maintain the humble and original look of the buildings.

King said the initial project was to stabilise, strengthen and retain the area.

The market garden settlement on Allens Road had operated from 1921, growing to be the largest Chinese community in the South Island until it closed in 1964. It had since fallen into disrepair.

Yep Ng started the process when he approached the council in 2008 about restoring the site.

He was the driving force of the project, but died 10 months before the opening. His dedication to restoring the site was honoured at the opening.

It took five years to track down the descendants to gain consent to sign a memorandum of understanding to give stewardship of the site to the Ashburton District Council in 2013.

A working group began developing plans for the site in 2016 and the work to transform it into a heritage park began in 2019.

Ashburton Deputy Mayor Liz McMillan said the Chinese families overcame many challenges to become part of the social and business fabric of the district.

The heritage park will “uphold the legacy of early settlers” and be an important part of the district's history, McMillan said.

Eight interpretive panels on the site tell the stories of Chinese immigration, market gardening, the buildings, and the Ng King people, while a memorial rock lists the names of the original Ng King settlement partnership.

Council’s democracy and engagement group manager Toni Durham said that while the heritage park is now open, there is still more work to be done.

“A full landscaping plan has been prepared which references both New Zealand and Chinese cultures.

“It will involve more pathways, additional planting and sculpting of the land, and seating areas.

“This will be completed over the next couple of years as funding is available.”

The final cost of the project hasn’t been tallied as it isn’t complete, Durham said.

“The project has been a collaboration with funding being provided by the council, Heritage New Zealand and the Chinese Poll Tax Trust.

“The Ng King family’s contribution has been providing their land as a community heritage park, and they see this as their way of giving back to a community that welcomed their forefathers.”

The heritage park opened to the public from Monday.

By Jonathan Leask