100 years of the same parklands debate
Almost exactly 100 years ago, an Adelaide newspaper published a puzzled lament about the city’s under-utilised parklands.
The Daily Herald – the daily publication of the Labor Party – offered its view, on 11 November 1913, that something needed to be done about the parklands.
“Citizens of Adelaide boast, with a virtuous pride, of the fine parklands that border this picturesque city, and there is justification for the boast,” the Herald said.
“Nevertheless, oftentimes -a visitor perplexes us by naively asking why we ‘do nothing with them’; why we leave them merely as pastures for cows; why they are many times shadeless and neglected.
“We are asked why our stretches of parks are not, even in part, such beautiful specimens of the gardener’s art as are to be viewed in Melbourne wherever the corporations have secured an open space.
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“We are questioned, too, why we do not make part of our generous reserves heritages for the children of our city.”
A century later, the modern ancestors of that nameless Labor scribe are having another go at “fixing” our parklands.
In 2013, Premier Jay Weatherill is asking almost exactly the same questions.
“They are one of our city’s greatest assets but they are vastly under-used,” Weatherill said in a media release announcing an allocation of $20 million for “parklands revitalisation projects”.
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“Rather than being seen as a moat around the city, the parklands should be a place everyone wants to enjoy.”
Weatherill said he wanted “a new vision for the parklands”. And that vision involves spending $20 million over four years, with an independent body established to “engage” with the community.
Back in 1913, the Daily Herald was also wondering about lack of investment – and comparing Adelaide unfavourably to big cities elsewhere.
“American parks and playgrounds have become world-famed. Chicago in 1908 was maintaining 18 playgrounds at a cost of 11,000,000 dollars, and New York had spent 15,000,000 dollars.”
Again, nothing has changed. New York got a favourable mention on the weekend, with the Sunday Mail, which received the media release before the rest of the local press, saying the plan was to transform the parklands “from a paddock into our own Central Park”.
They even led off the story talking about “more playgrounds”.
It’s hard to tell whether the Herald had any short-term success with its playground push – one suspects not.
They would be gratified to know that 100 years later, we do have a range of notable playgrounds – including a very popular new one in Bonython Park – and we’re still talking about building more.
However, many other things are unchanged, as can be seen in this week’s reaction to the Government’s modest investment proposal.
In that peculiar Adelaide way, the parklands remain a source of great pride – and almost continuous squabbling.
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