Park fixed after flood

A BARELLAN Point park which was nearly 20m underwater during the 2011 flood has been reopened to rave reviews.

Jenifer-Rose and Hana Ware check out the new-look Joseph Brady Park, which has been refurbished after being badly damaged in last year’s floods. . Picture: Sarah Harvey

A BARELLAN Point park which was nearly 20m underwater during the 2011 flood has been reopened to rave reviews.

The reconstruction of Joseph Brady Park attracted a crowd of families and local children to see the rebuilt facilities.

Along with the new playground and riverside fishing points, a number of temporary attractions were installed at the park for the day, including a model train and a rock climbing wall.

Barellan Point mother-of-two Rachael Burke said the park was a great addition to the neighbourhood.

"It just looks great. The kids are just loving it," she said.

"The water was more than 19m high here. This park was completely underwater during the flood.

"It's fantastic to have it back. I can tell we're going to be using it for a lot of birthday parties."

The reconstruction of the park was jointly funded through local, state and federal levels of government.

Mayor Paul Pisasale said the park was looking better than ever.

"Joseph Brady Park, which sits on the junction of the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers, was inundated by a 19.5m wall of water and the scale of devastation required a complete rebuild of the park," he said.

"With funding from the state and Federal Government's Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements and a further contribution by council, the $1.4 million rebuild is now complete and families can once again enjoy this recreational area and some great new facilities."

Cr Pisasale said the park's reconstruction was a great example of three levels of government working together to rebuild a community.

"We all know parks make an important contribution to the social fabric of our communities - they are where we congregate, where we spend our down time and where we gather to celebrate important milestones," he said.

The park reconstruction includes a new children's playground and climbing wall with shade sails to 50% of its area, upper and lower car parks, barbecue facilities, shelters, picnic tables and landscaping.

Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann said the park was part of a number of riverside developments being built in Ipswich.

Ipswich council Parks, Sports and Recreation chairman David Morrison said plans for the park rebuild had been designed to limit damage in the event of a future flood.

"The new children's playground and climbing wall have been situated to improve its flood immunity," Cr Morrison said.

"We've also included an area for families to play ball sports and a launch site for canoes."

Division 5 councillor Heather Morrow said the reconstruction design also included the use of native plants to promote river bank stabilisation and habitat.

"To see the park's transformation from when the flood water first receded revealing the damage, to how it looks today, it is just remarkable," Cr Morrow said.

Originally published as Park fixed after flood