Your local park – love it, hate it, or wish it were better?

Have you ever wondered how your favorite local park began? And how it came to be as it is today?

Do you think it started as a town square? A village common? Part of the Governor’s domain? Created in response to the ‘parks movement’ of the 1880s ? Or as a means to celebrate the 1888 or 1998 Centenaries ? Perhaps the land was donated by a wealthy local landowner? Or was it a way of dressing up reclaimed land for sporting use?

Most parks in New South Wales started out in one of these ways during the 19th century, as I explain in my book Park Mania - A Guide to Selected Town Parks of New South Wales.

But perhaps you would like to know more about why it is like it is now? Run-down or recently reburbished? Poorly designed? Full of old fashioned and little used things like bandstands, Italianate fountains, pillars, statues, ferneries, begonia houses? Have your Council’s attempts to meet increasing demands for active recreation facilities been at the expense of relaxed socialising, strolling, reflection, canoodling, communing with Nature?

To understand why, I did several years of research, going back to the 19th century, and came up with a complex explanation. Having proclaimed more than 150 new parks between 1882 and 1888, the State Government simultaneously passed responsibility for developing and managing them to the then recently formed local councils, as trustees. So, apart from granting the land and some initial ‘seed money’, the State then expected local ratepayers to fund them themselves thereafter. That was tough.

It might seem odd that, after having demanded – and received – a grant of land for a local park, most local citizens then sat back and begrudged expenditure of their rates on it. I explain why this attitude persists today, to the detriment of many local parks.

Nevertheless, most people want parks, and I have analyzed why. Also what they mean to them; and why people get angry when their parks are threatened by development

There are many challenges facing park designers and managers today. How could it be done better? Should there be a central Park authority at State level to promote funding and excellence?

For my book I visited, photographed and researched over 50 parks in NSW, most nominated – at my invitation - by their local councils as the best in their area. Each park’s history is told, its facilities listed, and its best features illustrated in both historical and contemporary photographs

If you would like to find out more, contact me on 0423 770 558 or by email on wmw1@pacific.net.au. Park Mania will be available shortly as an eBook, or with each chapter downloadable as pdf files.

Welcome

Hi, I’m Warwick Mayne-Wilson, a registered landscape architect for 20 years, living in Sydney.

I was born and educated in Perth, WA, then moved to Canberra in 1959 when I joined the Department of Foreign Affairs. During my 27 years in the diplomatic service I had six overseas postings, the last as Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka in 1980-82. While overseas I married and had two daughters.

A few years after my return to Canberra I resigned to undertake a degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of New South Wales (1986-89). Later, I undertook a Masters Degree in Heritage Conservation at the University of Sydney, specializing in cultural landscapes and curtilages.

For the last 17 years I’ve been researching and assessing the heritage value of historic landscapes, especially town parks, for heritage studies, conservation management plans or heritage impact assessments. For some of these landscapes my firm, Mayne-Wilson & Associates, also prepares landscape master plans.

Since the early 1990s I have held various positions including Chairman of the National Trust’s Parks and Gardens Conservation Committee and as a Trustee of Centennial Park. I’ve also been a member of the Australian Garden History Society and Australia ICOMOS.

Our Reports have won four awards from the National Trust and Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, the most recent being for a comprehensive study of the origin and development of Tamarama, a beachside suburb of Sydney.

Most recently I’ve done extensive research into the origin and evolution of town parks in New South Wales, and compiled this into a book called Park Mania – A Guide to Selected Town Parks of New South Wales. I chose this title because of the extraordinary number of parks – over 150 - created in this State between 1882 and 1888. I’m considering publishing it as an eBook, and look forward to sharing it with you.