A HOWLING GOOD TIME

Rockhampton Zoo has a new creature that loves to play – Ernie the Dingo.

Tasked with upgrading the tired and underutilised playspace at the local Zoo, situated in the Botanic Gardens within Queensland’s regional town of Rockhampton, Urban Play came up with an innovative design that ensured the community asset would reach its full potential.

Generating an estimated $27.8 million annually for the region, the Zoo attracts over 200,000 visitors per year, making it a well-loved destination in the area. Originally established in 1905, the Zoo has always featured a children’s play zone. Though the pieces had been changed out over the years, the equipment was well past its serviceable life and the area needed renewing in order to meet modern standards and align
with community expectations, which led to Urban Play being brought in.

With a design brief to create a playscape that encourages social interaction, is low maintenance, ensures longevity and provides intergenerational accessibility, Urban Play set out to design a fun and engaging zone with high value adventure and sensory play. With a primary target audience of six- to 12-year-olds, and a secondary audience of three- to six-year-olds, the new playspace required a range of structures that offered a variety of play challenges.

Using the Zoo as inspiration, Urban Play built a custom space that incorporated images of many of the animals seen in the surrounding enclosures, with the highlight being a 4-metre-high play sculpture of Ernie the Dingo, a popular zoo resident. Standing in the centre of the play zone, the sweet-faced Ernie is packed with play activities. Little players can scramble up the climbing pegs secured to the outside, or scamper up the ladder in order to reach one of the two slides that offer safe passage back down to the ground. A first in Australia, Ernie is a big hit with children of all ages.

Offering even more play challenges, a custom-designed double play tower surrounds Ernie. Providing rope play, slides and climbing towers with educational panels and sensory play units, along with a track rider, turbo carousels and swaying pods, these impressive play structures have something for all ages.

Ensuring play for everyone, the tower offers over 500 play activities and features a wheelchair-accessible ramp decorated with animals that encourage visual and imaginative play, making the unit a truly inclusive and fun experience for all.

Finished in the brown and green hues of nature, the play towers blend into the landscaped environment seamlessly, while the animal-themed motifs are the ideal accompaniment to the zoo culture.

Safeguarding its little adventurers, rubber softfall connects all the play elements. This surface material also ensures wheelchair and mobility-aid users can access the area.

A boost to the local economy, this highly successful play zone has not only doubled the trade of the nearby cafe since its opening, it has enhanced the local community with a fun and safe place for family and friends to gather.

PROJECT PARTICULARS

PLAYSPACE DESIGN & INSTALL Urban Play
CLIENT Rockhampton Regional Council
LOCATION Rockhampton, Queensland