Swings & roundabouts - OWEN'S BIG KID PROJECT

Playtime's a whole lot more fun thanks to the radio host

- Hayley McLarin

Sweet Caroline, good times never seemed so good. I've been inclined to believe they never would." They're the lyrics of Neil Diamond's famous song, words that Owen "OJ" Jackson sings in his band Live Wire and they could easily have been the mantra of his life lately.

As the song goes, spring became the summer - and seven years on, the Timaru radio host's passion project is finally finished.

OJ and the Caroline Bay Playground committee have just won the Recreation Aotearoa Parks NZ Playground of the Year 2024 for CPlay, a colossal 40-plus piece playground that cost $3 million to build.

OJ and his wife Rebecca were watching their children play at the Margaret Mahy Playground in Christchurch when they pondered what it would take to create a replacement for the ageing and out-dated children's area in Caroline Bay. OJ campaigned on the project when he stood for Timaru District Council in 2016.

"I missed out - not by much," says the 57-year-old Breeze breakfast show host. "Then in 2017, there was a by-election and I was thrashed. I was working as a radio announcer and needed to get my teeth into something extra. So I went back to what I am really passionate about helping the community." He adds, "My role in the community is one of privilege. I treat it with an attitude of gratitude. I grew up in Christchurch, and my brother and I spent time in Timaru with our cousins.