central business district
The Central Business District main activity is centred on the intersection of Esk and Kelvin streets. However, the overall CBD is bounded by Leven, Tay, Daveron, and Gala streets.
Esk Street
is the main shopping street of Invercargill running from Don Street to a little east of Kelvin Street. The west end of Esk Street is anchored by Wachner Place, while the main pedestrian area ends at about the Invercargill City Council offices midway between Kelvin and Deveron streets.Wachner Place
is a civic open area that captures the sunshine nicely and has become a place to sit and people watch. It also is the location of the central toilets and features showers which are open to the public to use.Bank Corner
the intersection of Tay/The Crescent and Dee/Clyde streets, is located just south of Wachner Place and it features three architecturally wonders from the turn of the 20th Century. These three bank buildings no longer house the banks they were built for but it is worth admiring. In the middle of the roundabout is The Trooper's Memorial which honours those who died during the Boer War in South Africa.Southland Fire Service Museum
(http://www.nzmuseums.co.n...), located at Jed and Spey streets, houses several fire engines and other fire fighting items. Generally open Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday and the admission is a gold coin.Queenâs Park
(http://www.icc.govt.nz/in...) is on the northern edge of the central business district. This large Edwardian styled city park has a lot of amenities including the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, the Observatory (http://homepage.mac.com/s...), Queenâs Park Golf Club (http://www.queenspark.nzg...), rose gardens, duck ponds, an excellent childrenâs playground, a bird aviary, and a zoo housing introduced species to New Zealand. It is quite easy to spend half a day exploring this 81 hectare park.Southland Museum and Art Gallery
(http://www.southlandmuseu...) on Gala Street, where you can see live Tuatara, a reptile that has been around since the time of the dinosaurs.