Murwillumbah’s popular Knox Park adventure playground is in the running for a national award, after receiving regional recognition at prestigious industry awards this month.
The playground took out a Regional Award for Excellence in the ‘Playspace: Minor (less than $500,000)’ category at the Parks & Leisure Australia Awards for Excellence on May 19, competing against other projects from across NSW and the ACT.
It features a major new skate/scooter park and was opened with great fanfare last month.
The judges said the project had converted an area with little local appeal into a popular destination for children and families to get together and have fun.
‘It’s a great park that provides for a wide range of users. The project has improved public safety and subsequently increased its use,’ the judges said.
‘It’s an excellent combination of fixed equipment, natural environment and shade provision.’
The Knox Park project will now go on to compete for the national award at the Parks & Leisure Australia National Conference being held in Adelaide in October.
The adventure playground has been extremely popular with children and families since its completion in October last year. It was installed in the existing Peace Walk, to take advantage of the shade of existing trees and reinvigorate that section of the park.
The playground was designed to engage children in imaginative play that interacts with the natural surroundings.
It forms part of a $1.2 million youth precinct at the central Murwillumbah park, which also now features a plaza-style skate and scooter precinct, an adventure playground with cutting-edge design features, as well as facilities for basketball, handball, soccer and netball.
The overall youth precinct was funded through a $500,000 Regional Development Australia grant from the Federal Government, $250,000 from the Murwillumbah Lions Club and $500,000 from Council.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
