Ginninderry's Riverside Parkland to be region's new nature destination

A new riverside bush park and visitors centre in the developing Ginninderry area will join the likes of the National Arboretum and Wildbark at Mulligans Flat as a regional nature and event destination for the people of Canberra and visitors to the ACT.

The Ginninderry joint venture has lodged plans for the $14 million Riverside Parkland and Pavilion to be developed by the Murrumbidgee River in the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor.

The pavilion will host social, educational and recreation activities but also seek to be a licensed venue to cater for conferences, functions, weddings and other events.

These paid events would contribute to the financial sustainability of the park and support conservation and education programs.

While Ginninderry is funding the development, the Ginninderry Conservation Trust will manage the park and use pavilion income to pay for running costs and programs.

The nearly 1000 square metre boomerang-shaped building will sit inside the planned 11 hectare fenced Riverside Parkland, set into the side of a hill and look out over a grassed amphitheatre down to the river.

The pavilion will include an entrance hub, learning centre, café, kitchen, shop, accessible visitor and staff toilets, mechanical plant area, waste storage and loading dock.

The development application (DA) describes its primary function will be to support the various Riverside Parkland amenities and act as a central hub for information, education, park support and sustenance.

“The pavilion will facilitate a range of both indoor and outdoor activities on the site, acting as a starting point and end-of-trip destination for the various tracks and trails to be created within the park and beyond,” the DA states.

“The building will also anchor and support the ongoing rehabilitation and preservation of the riverside eco-system through monitoring, education and land management underpinned by a meaningful connection to country mindset, guided by the hands of our First Nations people.”

It is expected to operate seven days a week from 7 am to 11 pm, depending on the season, day of the week and function.

The parkland is expected to have 90,000 visitors a year, 30,000 walkers a year, and up to 300 vehicles a day.

The DA includes a proposed 2km sealed access road wide enough to carry a 14.5m-long bus from the fringe of Strathnairn to the parkland’s 69-space carpark, which will include a coach bay and drop-off zone next to the pavilion.

There will also be on-street parking available, as well as a shuttle bus from Strathnairn on busy days when the carpark is full.

The park’s landscape masterplan includes walking tracks, meeting places and learning hubs, a nature play area and stargazing spot.

Trust CEO Dr Jason Cummings said the site had been identified in the National Capital Plan since 2014 to provide the community with access to the Murrumbidgee River, little of which was available on the northside.

But the Riverside Parkland would do more than that.

“We’re trying to provide a regional centre where the community can come and access the river in a safe way and learn about the area’s cultural and natural values,” he said.

That would include hosting school groups during the week, school holiday programs, storytelling and other events, along with walking the area’s trails and enjoying the nature play.

Dr Cummings said the amphitheatre would stage some of those events but he didn’t envisage it as a concert venue except for a special occasion.

“It has to be sympathetic to the environment but we could have after-hours events there,” he said.

Dr Cummings said the pavilion design was deliberately flexible to accommodate a range of uses.

He said its siting had been guided by the land’s heritage values and the location had been moved several times after Aboriginal artefacts were found. Aboriginal rangers would also assist in the rehabilitation of some of the land.

“We’re going to have our Aboriginal rangers do cultural burns down there as part of the rehabilitation program so not all of Riverside Parkland is going to be manufactured landscaping. It’s going to be protecting those heritage sites.”

Dr Cummings said the Murrumbidgee was one of Australia’s iconic rivers and the development would honour that.

“It’s really going to be the best place to showcase and tell that story, not only the cultural story but the stories of the European use of the river and contemporary uses of the river as well,” he said.

Construction is expected to start early next year with the access road. The trust hoped the parkland and pavilion could open in 2026.

Comments on the DA close on 2 August.