Firstly, a heartfelt thank you to the people of Gundaroo
Gundaroo Park is a great example of what can happen when you have fantastic support from its local community. This support includes volunteers managing the Park through its Board and User Group Sub-committee, locals contributing to working bees, fundraising, regular maintenance and mowing, and individual actions ranging from picking up litter to renovating the sporting surface and rebuilding the irrigation system. As a non-Council facility we depend on this support and we’re very grateful for Gundaroo giving it willingly. We also value the help we get from Yass Valley Council in providing our services to the community and to the public as a whole.
We are delighted to be Community Group for the months of December 2021 and January 2022.
The Gundaroo Park Land Manager Board
History of the Park Gundaroo Park was proclaimed in 1886 with three notable locals as its first trustees. Since then it’s been a NSW Crown Reserve run by volunteers. To find out more on its history, the old trees surrounding the Park and what activities are held go to our Featured Page here.
New Amenities Block This month Gundaroo Park welcomes the opening of our new Amenities block. It was built using a $550,000 grant from the NSW Government’s Stronger Country Communities Fund. It’s one of three similar constructed in the Yass Valley Council area paid from the Fund using a grant initiated by a Sutton group with support from people involved in Gundaroo sports. Ours is a little different to the others with the Park management and user groups having a say in what we wanted. This included taking into account Gundaroo’s heritage guidelines and also creating a club room for groups that use the Park. The building has a food preparation area with a servery, and public toilets and showers as well as two changerooms. There’s also a PWD toilet and shower. The food area comes with built-in cupboards but the equipment (stove, fridge and dishwasher) and the fit-out of the clubroom is being done using a very generous donation from Connected Building Company which has links to Gundaroo.
New and improved infrastructure As part of the project the Park now has a new aerated sewerage system and upgrades to the electrical and other existing infrastructure. This will make use of the new solar system coming to the Park soon. We have to give a very big thank you to Yass Valley Council for its management of the project and for supporting and incorporating these changes into the project. There’ll be an official opening early in the New Year.
Our events The block will make a big difference to what the Park offers to its regular users and the community as a whole. This includes sporting teams, Scouts, the Men’s Shed, campers and special events such as the Music Festival and exhibitions. One early user was the Gundaroo Community Association’s Expo and market day on Saturday 11 December. It was a terrific day where local community groups showcased all of what they do. There were a number of market stalls and they were very well patronised. Gundaroo GOATS Cricket Team were also playing at the field on that same day.
Future Plans Future plans for the Park include the finalisation of the much-delayed playground shade and solar system, further development and sealing of the Bike Track, new signage and converting the old ablutions block into storage areas for user groups. The Men’s Shed is also planning an extension of its area to include a skillion verandah on the southern side of the old pavilion.
