New viewfinder binoculars at Caroline Bay Piazza in Timaru

Monday, 11 September 2023

Renee Rowland and son Bertie Lamb, 1, check out Timaru’s horizon through a pair of viewfinder binoculars recently installed on the Caroline Bay Piazza.

It’s a view that brings many to Timaru, and now the horizon can be seen a little closer with the installation of a device enabling people to get a better look of the town’s horizon.

The viewfinder binoculars have been installed on the Caroline Bay Piazza as part of a Timaru District Council plan to spend $1 million on “quick wins”, after an admission there had been very little progress in the CBD, in terms of improvements the community could see, as a result of the CityTown trials.

The viewfinder went up at the site last week, and is free for people to look through, with one user excited about the addition to the Piazza.

A council spokesperson said the viewer allowed people to “better enjoy the unique mountains-to-sea aspect that’s particularly good from the Piazza’’.

“It’s a minor project that’s part of the CityTown programme.”

While the spokesperson was unable to say how much the viewfinder cost, they did say it was “high quality’’ and designed for outdoor conditions.

On Monday, Renee Rowland, and son Bertie Lamb, 1, were at the Piazza taking in the views.

“I think that it's a small but great addition to the Piazza,’’ Rowland said.

Sebastian Adbulranen, 7, checks out the view through the recently installed viewfinder binoculars on the Caroline Bay Piazza on Monday.

“Bit by bit (the area) has become the jewel in Timaru’s crown. We’ve already used it to check the tides before we went for a walk on the beach.’’

Richard O'Brien, left, and 7-year-old Sebastian Adbulranen test out the new gear.

In June, as part of a monthly update about what was happening around town to put the“quick wins’’ into practice, the council said one of the first enhancements people would see as part of the project is the replanting of all the garden beds along the main street from the Bay Hill to North St.

The CityTown trials were put on hold in March, and then scrapped altogether in May, with the council’s group manager infrastructure Andrew Dixon promising at the time some “quick wins” would be rolled out as soon as possible.