A new park in Acton

For the last eternity members of the building trade have stuffed up the shore line to the NW of Commonwealth Avenue bridge.  This was creating a new park.  This is the third go that various Governments have had at this area:

  • Kate Carnell: Futsal slab (used once according to my memory);
  • Katy Gallagher: pop-up nightclub thingy (not sure of usage but looked atrocious)
  • Andrew Barr: New park
The park finally opened last weekend.  Which I find interesting as it didn't get any coverage in the on'line edition of the Canberra Times.  Given the activities of the navvies has stuffed up a significant area for quite a long time I'd have thought the culmination of their efforts would have been worth a few electrons at least. 

As we were in town we went for a stroll there with daughter and the SPs.  The first comment is that it seemed to be getting quite a bit of use from the citizens, which is a major advance on the two previous efforts.  Herewith some snaps.

A Darter seemed to have made itself comfortable near the start.
This is the first time I have really noticed a Darter's foot.  It looks really huge, especially contrasted with the basically microcephalic design on the bird.
 One of the jetties was enabling some hypoactive youth to add to their nap routine.
For some reason - currently not known to me -I didn't take any photos of the exercise frames that have been installed in the body of the park.  Here is a view of the other jetty at the South end of the area.
The swans came ashore ....
 .. and were peered at by a spotted dog (a Damatian, not one with measles).  There was some discussion of who would win between the swans and the dog with a consensus that the swans were short priced.  This was confirmed by a comment from the dog's owner (who kept it leashed and controlled) to the pooch that "That swan would kick your butt."

A tourist snap under the bridge showing the colourful foliage on the Manchurian pears..
 A nice brass (surprisingly not the rusted iron tat used by NCA in other areas) inlay on the end of the jetty marks the alignment of Burley Griffin's water axis.  This looks North to Black Mountain.
This looks South, possibly pointing to Mount Molonglo, one of the peaks in the Taliesin Hills behind our house.
Overall, and much as I hate to praise anything dome by the ACT Government and/or the National Capital Authority, I reckon this is a very good outcome.

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