Wednesday, 30 October 2019

Victory Park play space

Ms EDWARDS (Bendigo West) (09:45): I was delighted to join with the mayor of Mount Alexander shire, Bronwen Machin, and the Castlemaine community to open the new play space in Victory Park last week that was made possible with more than $89 000 from the Andrews Labor government. Last week was national Children’s Week, and how fitting that the theme this year was the right of every child to good health and wellbeing. Victory Park is a community hub for the residents of Castlemaine. The new play space reflects the history of Victory Park, which celebrates its centenary next year. It was originally created to provide a memorial garden and gathering place for ceremonies associated with the adjacent RSL.

Thank you to our local Aboriginal community, the Dja Dja Wurrung, and Nalderun for their important input into the design of the play space, which reflects many Aboriginal cultural aspects and art. The play space features a zip-line, rock climbing boulders, a babel drum, a ping-pong table, a basket swing and a wheelchair-accessible carousel. Thank you to the Mount Alexander shire and the Variety Club for their contributions and commitment to the project. Playgrounds are vital in encouraging children of all abilities to get outdoors, get active and build their skills.