Wollongong City Council’s decades-long plan to bring more of these vibes into MacCabe Park is one step closer to reality. Photo: Wollongong City Council.
A lush green oasis in the middle of a bustling city, where apartment-dwelling families can come to relax, play and socialise.
That’s the 70-year vision for MacCabe Park, and within the next decade it might even come true.
The park has served a multitude of uses for the city of Wollongong since its inception.
In the early 1900s it was a dedicated sports ground with a tennis court at the northern end, a cycling track and a combined football field and cricket pitch at the southern end.
A 1943 edition of the Illawarra Mercury described the footy field as “atrocious … full of mud and slush” and said it could only be played upon “when reasonable conditions prevail”.
In the 1950s there were plans to turn it into an Olympic swimming pool – they never materialised. Instead, the northern section was turned into a carpark.
Since then there were suggestions it could become an underground carpark, the site of a skate bowl, or a new arts centre.
It’s even been the site of a mysterious toilet exorcism.
It became even more valuable when the expansion of the Gateway Shopping Centre in the 1980s demolished the city centre park that was formerly on the site of today’s Globe Lane.
Wollongong Councillor David Brown said it was a “tale of two parks”.
“It was a big call at the time to remove a much-loved CBD park to build a shopping centre,” he said.
“The city was doing it hard at the time, so the council purchased and demolished buildings around MacCabe Park so we had one large park instead of two small ones.
“Over the years attempts to devise a plan for the park have been defeated by a lack of funds or land holdings.”
To counter that issue, in the 1990s Wollongong City Council embarked upon a mission to purchase all the buildings immediately adjoining the park, with the dream that one day it would become the green heart of a dense, thriving city.
Councillor Kit Docker said ideally the park would emulate New York’s Central Park, a place to bring people together and provide a break from living in a dense urban environment.
Now the council has voted to purchase the final site it needs to acquire to bring its green dream to life – 267 Keira Street.
An in-principle agreement has already been reached for the council to purchase the site from the owner, and then lease it back for an initial period of six months, followed by an option for a five-year lease with a second possible five-year lease available after that.
Councillor Andrew Anthony said he was concerned the lease period would mean unnecessary delays; however, general manager Greg Doyle said there was still considerable work to be undertaken between the time of purchase and the time when demolition could begin.
“The lease option gives us flexibility and we can continue to receive a fair and reasonable rent,” he said.
“We still need proposals, designs, plans and funds for demolition.”
Councillor Linda Campbell said she was thankful to see such a long-term vision come to fruition.
“We are very fortunate the people who came before us had the foresight and the vision to not only come up with this idea but continue to see it through,” she said.
“There would have been times when it would have been simpler to not keep that strategy going or spend funds on other things.
“A lot has changed since the 1950s – there were no apartments or high-rises in the inner city then.
“Soon we will become the beneficiaries of that vision, along with all those who are choosing apartment living.”
The motion to purchase 267 Keira Street was passed unanimously by Wollongong City Council.
