It’s an area that generations of all Fingal residents have brought their children to eat and play and now, thanks to a $450,000 upgrade, it’s hoped that many more generations will enjoy the Old Fingal Boat Harbour Park.
The popular park, on the banks of the Tweed River, was officially reopened last week after being given a major make-over thanks to a program jointly funded by the Tweed Shire Council and the Federal Government’s Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.
Tweed Shire head of Parks and Recreation Stuart Brawley said the work at Fingal was part of a seven-year up-grade of all of the Shire’s parks facilities. The program is now five years in.
He said Fingal, upgraded after a lot of input from the local community, was the fifth major park overhaul completed in the past two-three years, including projects in Kingscliff, West Tweed and Uki.
However, he said, as well as the major projects, there had been a lot of more minor work at the other parks and recreation areas across the shire, including improving and replacing seating and park equipment.
Mr Brawley said the council still had two major projects under-way, the upgrade of the Jack Evans Boat Harbour at Tweed Heads, which is due to finish around May, and a park at Hastings Point.
The refurbishment at Fingal, finished last month, includes new play equipment, an all-access toilet block, barbecues and shaded seating as well as a sealed car park – built to increase safety and keep traffic separate from the green space.
“The harbour provides a safe place to swim and it is a particularly beautiful location on the Tweed River,” Tweed Mayor Councillor Kevin said.
“However, the infrastructure at the park had passed its use-by date.”
Councillor Skinner also praised the efforts of the students of Fingal Head Public School who, with the help of local artist Marcia Gibbs, helped create colour bollards and a mosaic to decorate the entrance.
Long-time Fingal resident and local Federal Member Justine Eliot, who has already brought her own family down to enjoy the new facility, said the Federal Government had contributed $150,000 the project.
“The upgrading of the Fingal Boat Harbour Park is a great community resource with new playground equipment, new barbecue facilities, new walkways and the planting of 40 new trees and native plants,” she said.
Under the current round of the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program (RLCIP) Tweed Shire received $550,000 for four projects including the Fingal Park, and upgrade to safety facilities at playgrounds throughout the Tweed Shire and upgrade to the Tweed River bank in Chinderah and a refurbishment of the Tweed Heads Auditorium.
“In total, the Gillard Govern-ment has provided more than $133 million through the Economic Stimulus Plan for 464 projects in the electorate of Richmond to support jobs and improve local infrastructure,” she said.
Fingal Heads Public School Principal Matthew Jacobson said the park was an “especially magical place for children” and his students had enjoyed being part of the project.
“They (the students of the small school) particularly wanted to thank the work-men and -women for enduring the heat and the flies and the rain (to build the park),” he told the crowd of dignitaries and locals who gathered for the official opening last week.
He and the students wanted to particularly thank Marcia Gibbs, local artist, friend and former parent at the school, who had helped them create the colourful mosaic mural and bollards around the park.
Ms Gibbs said Years One to Three had worked on the bollards, while Years Four to Six helped with the mosaic.
“It is a great feeling to see the kids come here and play,” according to Ms Gibbs.
She said the art work “wouldn’t be going anywhere” and would be a “great legacy” for the children and for future generations.
