Toowoomba needs its own water park

As the summer mercury moves past 30C and Queensland faces heatwave warnings, it is time the Garden City revisit the question over why it has nothing more than a couple of ageing public swimming pools. HAVE YOUR SAY:

Water park, splash park, pool, lagoon, river or lake, the options for a cool down in Toowoomba beyond your own backyard swimming pool or garden hose are limited to Milne Bay or Highfields Swimming Pool.

In early 2022, the debate raged over why the Garden City, the largest regional city in Queensland, lacks any type of water feature with a Change.org petition garnering more than 1000 signatures.

Almost three years later – cue the cicadas.

For the kids who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s and were lucky enough to experience the summer fun of Willow Springs Adventure Park some 30 years ago, to date there has been nothing to fill the void.

Toowoomba hasn’t had its own water park, let alone a splash park, since Willow Springs Adventure Park closed 30 years ago. Owner Jim McEwan contemplates the close in December 1994. Photograph: Errol Anderson

In less than three hours, a Chronicle Facebook poll pulled more than 400 votes in favour of Toowoomba getting its own water park.

“If there was a splash park in Toowoomba, I’d take my kids down to it today,” Groom federal MP Garth Hamilton said.

Four years ago, one hope the city had for its own water feature, was a splash park/area, which was included in the concept design for the Railway Parklands Project.

A year later, the project was reported as being at least another 20-30 years away.

Earlier this year, Mr Hamilton slammed inaction from Toowoomba Regional Council towards the project, and he reiterated his concerns that TRC had done little to move the parklands along.

New concept video was been released for the Railway Parklands project in the Toowoomba CBD in 2021.

Rather than adding to the city’s parklands, the Railway Parklands could be an opportunity to fill a much needed activity void in the city, Southern Queensland Country Tourism chief executive Peter Homan said.

Why not include more adventure activities catered to older teenagers, such as a tree top adventure, a skate park and a water park, he said.

Aside from a bigger project even something as simple as a splash park, a playground with water features, buckets or fountains of water coming in different directions would be sufficient for the city, he said.

“While it might not pull a lot of people to Toowoomba, but a kids activity like this would keep people here another day,” he said.

There were plenty of other outback and regional towns, like Chinchilla and Winton, who swung between floods and drought conditions similar to Toowoomba, that could sustain splash parks, he said.

Speaking about the upcoming Railway Parklands project are (from left) Mayor Paul Antonio, Groom MP Garth Hamilton and Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl. Picture from 2021.

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce chief executive Todd Rohl was also supportive of the idea, especially as water parks have been successful in other inland cities around Australia.

“I have not heard a persuasive reason for why such a community asset would not be well used or supported by the local community,” he said.

Council has been contacted for comment.

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