Pirate Park upgrade

     Lobbying for an upgrade to the Pirate Park playground (Illoura Reserve Play Space) was initiated by Davistown Progress Association several years ago. DPA urged the Council to apply for a grant from the NSW Government's Stronger Country Communities Fund ($311,000), and our mobilisation of community support led to the 3 Villages Community Group also contributing around $25,000. The main grant was approved in 2023, and the intervening time has been necessary to find ways to move forward with the project while preserving the Aboriginal middens that lie underneath. The solution was to raise the park above the ground, rather than digging down.

      Yesterday, the DPA Pirate Park Upgrade team and DPA President Julie Hale were briefed onsite by Council’s Project Manager Heath Boase, who explained the details and time frame of when the upgraded playspace is anticipated to be back in operation. (Early 2026 at latest, but they're hoping to have it completed before Christmas.)

     Members of the DPA group were very happy that most of their suggestions from previous meetings have been incorporated into the final plan. These include additional shaded areas; new picnic tables and parent/carer seating; separate areas for older and younger play; safety fencing; paths for disabled access, strollers, and toddler pedal 
bikes; an expanded flying fox for older children; and the preservation of some popular features.

     We warmly thank the members of the DPA's Pirate Park Upgrade Team, who have worked so persistently for so long to bring this about. Special thanks to Jenny McCulla, past president of the DPA and coordinator of the Upgrade Team.

For more details, see the Council's Illoura Reserve community engagement page.

Pictured, left to right: Johny Row, Jenny McCulla (DPA Pirate Park Upgrade Team Coordinator), Wendy Byrne, and Julie Hale (DPA President).