HISTORY OF CRINGILA COMMUNITY PARK
- Cringila Park was originally a dumping site for The Port Kembla Steelworks. The back of Cringila Public School, the soccar fields, the baseball field and all of the park and around had fill: slag, coal wash dumped many years ago.
- In 1988 a park ranger was employed and the former BHP coal wash site acquired by Council was transformed into a community park.
- Cringila Community Co-operative were delighted to have a community park. The staff arranged a march through Lake Avenue with the community, to the park for celebrations.
- In 1994 the community was invited to plant trees by Bushcare.
- In 1996 over 600 trees were planted by 60 LEAP participants as part of Youth Week activities.
- In 2003 WCC employed Adrianne Talbot Thomson as our Place Management for Cringila Community Park. She was the coordinator for the park and helped with getting our beautiful gate, the bread oven, a small caged vegetable garden for the Macedonian community, trying to stop motorbike riders throughout the park and quarry by introducing the police rangers to the Cringila Park meeting group, organized tree plantings and keeping pockets of rainforests safe by arranging more tree planting in front of entrances to the rainforests.
- In 2005 the entrance gate in Lockwood Street was created by local designer Didier Balez.
- Late 2006 The Cringila Community Co-operative worked with WCC to find out what would Cringila Park need so it would be used more often. People were suggesting food growing gardens. WCC invited the community along to Cringila community centre for garden workshops on composting, pesticide free gardening & recycling.
- In 2007 our community garden was formed. Daniel Deighton was the designer. Greencorps employed by Access and The Port Kembla Men’s Group did most of the heavy work.
- In 2008 our garden won an award from WCC.
- During 2008 and 2009 we worked on a Mandala Governance project with Daniel Deighton for the garden with our values and aims.
- 2011 Christine had a brain storm for the garden group. She decided to make gardening even easier by recycling truck mudguards and making circular garden beds in the middle of the garden where it floods.