Kershaw Gardens remediation progress update

Published on 02 November 2016

The journey to restore the Region’s beloved Kershaw Gardens is on track but still has a long way to go before the community can really reclaim it. 

While the outskirts of the park are visibly renewed, major remediation works to prepare for the redevelopment of the gardens is still underway in the southern and central areas.

Rockhampton Region Mayor Margaret Strelow said before another seat or swing can be installed in the gardens, the capping of the former landfill site that was exposed during the cyclone must meet the current environmental standards.

“The clean-up we did immediately after Cyclone Marcia was to bring the gardens back to the condition that it was in prior to the cyclone with the intent to open as much of the park to the public as possible,” Mayor Strelow said.

“Since then we have been working hard to restore the southern end of the gardens and have recently trucked in 7500 tonnes of soil to cap areas within this section to meet environmental requirements.”

Mayor Strelow said the central area that is partially closed to the public is set to look worse before it gets better.

“We are changing the landform as part of the entire central area redevelopment to make it a more useable park space so this will require even more soil to cap the surface compared to the southern end,” Cr Strelow said.

The new design, which has been modified since its initial release, will retain almost all of the remaining trees and includes an exciting new playground and water play area.

Construction works will require the central section to be closed for twelve months from April 2017.

In the meantime, remediation works to the wetlands will commence this month to redirect the water that currently flows through an open flow channel in Moores Creek.

As an environmental initiative, the water will be directed though Kershaw’s ephemeral wetlands that will act as a sediment collection system prior to entering the Fitzroy River Basin. 

Council will also reseal parts of the wetlands for better water retention and to ensure the aquatic wildlife that consists of birds, water dragons and turtles is maintained. 

Council is planning to finish remediation of the wetlands before the wet season.