Bangalow’s new playground is open for fun and adventure

Published on 13 November 2018

The beautiful Bangalow Parklands (also known as the Weir) are busier than normal with children, parents and grandparents enjoying the new adventure playground that has just opened.

The playground is designed to activate the imagination of children of all ages, utilising old sections of timber recycled from Bangalow bridges to create gang planks, with large rocks, rainforest plantings, a forest of climbing poles and two slippery slides, all providing opportunities for play and creativity.

The playground and a new carpark were funded by a $250,000 grant from the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions program and the Byron Shire Council ($164,000).

Byron Shire Mayor, Cr Simon Richardson, said the new playground has transformed the western end of the parklands and would not have happened without the ongoing support of the Bangalow Parklands team.

“This volunteer team presented Council with their vision for the playground in a Plan of Management they submitted to Council last March,” Mayor Richardson said.

“Since then, the team has worked tirelessly alongside Council staff to ensure that this exceptional park, that for many decades have been a place for locals to meet, relax and celebrate, continues to be the natural, green heart of the village,” Mayor Richardson said.

Christobel Munson, from the Bangalow Parklands team, said the new playground was a fantastic extension to the existing park area, with the use of recycled timber and stone blending perfectly with the natural environment, with “not a skerrick of plastic to be found”!

“We are so happy to see the temporary site fence around this playground finally removed,” Ms Munson said.

“It’s great watching children and families enjoy what was, not so long ago, a dead end,” she said.

“Lynn Smith, one of our team, grew up in the house facing this new playground, and her father, Bruce Beckinsale, taught hundreds of children to swim in what was the weir.

“She’s been the direct liaison between Council staff and our team, with her background knowledge of the area proving most useful in the design and implementation phase,” Ms Munson said.

In the 1920s, a weir in Byron Creek weir was constructed by local farmers wanting a nearby pool for their children. The area around the weir naturally developed into a well-used park.

In the mid 20th century, the parklands area lapsed, but the Bangalow Parklands team obtained funding to bring it back into a useful and much needed green space in the heart of the village, unlike any other in the Byron Shire.

“From first thing in the morning until the evening, this park is in constant use,” Ms Munson said.

“From local workers having their tea or lunch breaks, to busloads of the elderly and disabled, to parents and toddlers, tourists, dog walkers and nature lovers, teenagers wanting to hang out with friends - everyone who uses this space on a daily basis is grateful it exists.

Times have changed and now people have domestic swimming pools and the weir, for instance, is no longer needed but in Bangalow, old fashioned community values remain the same.

This new playground, created by a collaboration of community and Council, now enhances Bangalow’s particular charm.

Council staff are now completing the construction of the shelter shed and barbecue area facing the playground, as well as a carpark sitting on the old dip site south of the Bangalow Historical Society’s Heritage House museum and café.

“We’re delighted to have been able to work with the Bangalow Parklands group to secure the grant funding and then deliver this fantastic playground for the community,” Mayor Richardson said.

“The playground will be officially opened in early 2019 and the community will be invited to celebrate the occasion and I expect by then local kids will have crawled across every inch of the equipment which is exactly what we want,” he said.

For more information or interviews contact Mayor Simon Richardson on 0427 076 834 or Christobel Munson from the Bangalow Parklands team on 0427 872 244.