Darkinjung Country
Leagues Club Park is in the heart of Gosford. It has been transformed from an underused green space into a new public open space.
You can interact and enjoy everything on offer, with innovative play areas, interactive cultural elements and spaces to celebrate and relax.
Leagues Club Park features Australia’s first tidal waterway designed solely for recreation. It means that for the first time in over a century, Brisbane Water enters the site through a ‘tidal terrace’.
The tidal terrace fills and drains each day in rhythm with the natural tidal flow launch of Brisbane Water.
Credit: Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation
When the tide rises, the terrace becomes a water play zone where the young and the young at heart can splash around. Then when it falls, the terrace uncovers a sandy play space.
Timber canoes on the tidal terrace represent the watercraft that once populated the bay. Engravings of freshwater turtles, bush tucker and Aboriginal iconography adorn the canoes.
Large ‘play pods’ are designed for spontaneous exploring, with rope tunnels and slides surrounded by native gardens. Picnic tables and BBQ facilities are also available to connect with friends and family.
Credit: Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation
The park was designed with the local Aboriginal community and is embedded with the stories of an ancient history.
Large sandstone islands populate the tidal terrace and are submerged or visible depending on the tide. The aquatic animal designs are inspired by Aboriginal history, based on engravings at the nearby Bulgandry Aboriginal art site.
These sea creatures circle the ‘Norimbah’ community hub, modelled on a traditional dance ground and gathering space. The circular performance space is formed by 11 metre tall timber poles, carved, scorched and painted by local Darkinjung artists to signify land, water, people and the universe.
Leagues Club Park is an immersive and inclusive community experience rich in cultural themes and knowledge sharing through written and visual storytelling. It won the Aboriginal Heritage Award and the Judges’ Choice Award at the 2021 Heritage Awards.
Credit: Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation