In photos: Families try out new playground at Rockhampton Botanic Gardens
A large number of families in the Rockhampton region turned out to celebrate the opening of the redeveloped playground at Rockhampton Botanic Gardens.
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A large number of families in the Rockhampton region turned out to celebrate the opening of the redeveloped playground at Rockhampton Botanic Gardens on Saturday, despite the wet weather.
Kids, and even some adults, were well entertained as they got to test out the new playground, with free cake, a sausage sizzle, icy poles, and educational displays on offer.
Young Kip Sullivan slid down the slide on playground centrepiece Ernie the Dingo and broke the ribbon, officially opening the playground.
Kip’s mum, Cassandra Sloss, said the playground was “absolutely fantastic”.
“I think the council has outdone themselves,” Ms Sloss said.
“Very good for the community, long time coming.”
She said she would definitely be taking her son Kip back to the playground again.
SCROLL DOWN FOR SOCIAL PHOTOS
The new playground received $1.6 million in funding from the Queensland Government’s Works for Queensland program and was opened during World Parks Week.
In a presentation to the Rockhampton community, parks, sport and public spaces councillor Cherie Rutherford said the council was excited to present another awesome to the community and add Urban Play’s Rockhampton Botanic Gardens playspace to the list of must-do places to visit.
“I would like to publicly thank and congratulate Urban Play for delivering yet another phenomenal play experience,” Ms Rutherford said.
“This state of the art playground is all inclusive and esteemed as a tribute to the animals in the zoo.
“Ernie Dingo is a work of art.
“As council we are so proud to be able to deliver projects like this for our community.”
Rockhampton region mayor Tony Williams said the playground was a real centrepiece to the Rockhampton regions’ recreational spaces, with unique features different to anything else in the region.
“We wanted to make sure we were able to capture as many elements as we could with the zoo and make this, not only a go to place for our locals, but for tourism opportunities as well,” Mr Williams said.
“I’d like to thank the Works for Queensland program and Barry O’Rourke who worked on this one shoulder to shoulder with us to make sure we could deliver this fantastic project for our region.
“The old playground stood the test of time. It was one that had many hours of play over the years but it was really truly past its use by date.
“The new playground is a welcome upgrade and I am sure it will bring many joyful memories to the community of Rockhampton and many visitors.
Member for Rockhampton Barry O’Rourke said the Queensland Government’s Works for Queensland program was making a difference.
“This new playground will not only be a place for fun for the kids, but it will also be an important focal point for families and friends to gather,” Mr O’Rourke said.
“This is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when two levels of government are working together.”
Here are social photos from the official opening of the redeveloped Botanic Gardens Playground:
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