Beast of a skate park

The upgraded park caters for skaters, rollerbladers, scooters and BMX riders.

The Shire of Harvey in southwest Western Australia recently launched a new skate park, which was brought to life after extensive community consultation.

After a petition with 400 signatures raised by two young Australind residents was presented to Council in 2010, the upgraded Australind Skate Park has finally arrived.

The community has participated in its design and capacity from the beginning.

Funding for the project came from the Shire of Harvey, Lotterywest and the Department of Sport and Recreation, Local Government, Sport and Cultural industries through a Community Sporting and Recreation Facilities Fund (CSRFF) grant.

Other sponsorship contributions were received from Alcoa, JAK Civil, Lake Preston Lime and community fundraising through the Australian Sports Foundation.

The design of the upgraded park caters for a variety of users including skaters, rollerbladers, scooters and BMX riders.

It will be used for an assortment of workshops and competitions in the future.

The location of the Skate Park, Australind, has the largest youth population in the Shire of Harvey and is one of the fastest growing areas in the South West. In 2016 the 0-14 years age group made up 25 percent of the population, (ABS 2016).

A Facebook commenter said, “Awesome set up. Great ramps and bowl. This skate park suits all ages and is in the perfect location. Well done on a great new attraction to Australind!”

The motto of the Australind Skate Park is ‘Give Respect, Get Respect’.