#MissionControl – Council launches Rocket at Picnic Point

In the week where the world celebrates 50 years since the moon landing, a new generation can enjoy the dream of outer space, with Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) launching the new improved Picnic Point Rocket.

TRC’s Environment and Community portfolio leader Cr Joe Ramia said that the new rocket was out of this world.

“Council’s ‘Mission Control’ has been keen to see the revamped rocket take off with a new generation of space cadets,” Cr Ramia said.

“The iconic rocket’s mission was mothballed during the mid-1990s due to safety concerns, but the current works will rebuild the Rocket.

“The history of the rocket dates back to the mid-1960s before mankind kicked the moon when landscape architect Arne Fink developed a plan for the area which included the famed rocket ship, Cr Ramia said.

“Around the 1970s the rocket was built to become the iconic playground feature that it has been until today.

“As a result of the overhaul, the Rocket re-enters the atmosphere of the open space as a play item for all ages that complies with Australian Standards.

“The revamped rocket comes complete with a slide, steps to get inside the rocket, new ladders and larger openings to get to each level, new footings, rubber soft fall material and even a fresh paint job!

“Aspiring astronauts can once again climb the rocket and dream about their future ‘Star Trek’ – ‘to explore strange worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before - to space the final frontier’.”

For more information about Lions Park and other parks around the Region, visit www.tr.qld.gov.au/parkslocator