27 April 2018

Party by the lake as Canberra’s new lakeside park opens to the public

| Lachlan Roberts
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Photos: Supplied by City Renewal Authority.

Canberra’s newest lakeside park will be open to the public this Saturday and City Renewal Authority is throwing a party for all Canberrans to enjoy.

Henry Rolland Park by Lake Burley Griffin will have an opening day event running from 10 am to 4 pm which will feature free live music, fitness classes, games and children’s activities that take advantage of the new park’s high-quality facilities.

Whether you’re after a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, ShotClock Espresso and The Pop Inn have got you covered and will provide all your needs at the open day.

Food and drink vendors will be onsite with Capital Woodfire Pizza, Boss Burgers and The Hungry Brown Cow.

If you are feeling adventurous, GoBoat Canberra will be offering short boat rides for a gold coin donation and Canberra Urban Adventures will be running 30-minute kayak and bike hire services!

The renovated park just off Commonwealth Avenue was named after the chief architect tasked with overseeing the construction of early Canberra and has linked paths, grassy areas, barbecue facilities, public art, a fitness area and 23,000 trees, plants and shrubs.

City Renewal Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow said the opening day event would be the first opportunity for the community to experience the city centre’s newest park.

“Henry Rolland Park is a wonderfully located place for people to get together and enjoy one of Canberra’s best views,” Mr Snow said.

“The park has barbecue and picnic facilities, world-class outdoor fitness equipment, lawn areas to play or even just sit and relax. The park is also connected to a brand new 150m boardwalk that has two timber jetties and a wet dock for canoe and kayak access.”

Mr Snow invited all Canberrans to come down to the park tomorrow to enjoy live music, take part in fun activities and see what the park has to offer.

“This is the first stage of the redevelopment of West Basin and everyone who comes to the park will be able to see its amazing transformation from car park to high-quality public space that will be a premium recreational destination for years to come.”

Henry Rolland Park opening day

When: 10 am – 4 pm, Saturday 28 April
Where: Henry Rolland Park, Barrine Drive, West Basin

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Capital Retro8:38 am 01 May 18

Where are those pop-up toilets when you need one?

Capital Retro8:16 pm 30 Apr 18

As pointed out on this and another thread, despite spending $13 million they have forgotten the toilets so there won’t be much “partying” happening there.

Public places without toilets usually end up being used as such. What a blunder.

Oh, and there won’t be any adjacent car parks either.

Disabled access needs to include ready access to toilets for people with impaired bladders.

Another totally useless “artistic” fitness station. Why can’t we have old school, functional fitness stations with proper chin-up bars? Has the Skywhale and Penis Owl mentality become so entrenched here that we can’t even have proper fitness equipment in public parks?

Three years ago the Waverley City Council in Sydney spruced up the forecourt at Bondi Beach and replaced the outdoor fitness station. They consulted the Bondi Beach Bar Brutes and other users, resulting in a new and improved fitness station with fully functioning, old school-style chin-up bars.

I wrote to Chris Steele MLA about this a few months back but sadly my advice was ignored and now we have another so-called “fitness station” which is pretty to look at but totally useless for actual fitness use and bar work/callisthenics.

Seems someone needs to take another look at the fitness station.
I was there at the opening and saw more than 4 people using different areas of the artisitic fitness station, doing old school chinups on the thing at the same time.
Unless a chin up has changed.. Grab bar.. Lift body until chin is above the bar you grabbed.. Chin up complete.

After 2 years of building work on that site it will be a relief for them to finally finish and let people walk/cycle under the bridge again.

Shame Northbourne is looking terrible and construction of the tram is running months late or we’d have a large section of the city back to normal.

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