Cloverton Estate Playground, Dwyer Street, Kalkallo
An innovative and enchanting playground which has an eight-metre tower with spiral slides, water play area, flying foxes (one with a disk seat and the other with a harness seat) and a sculpture garden. The playground includes play elements that tell the story of the Wurundjeri people, who are the traditional owners of the area, as well as its farming history and landscape character.
Some of the more innovative aspects include:
- Flowering pods: A set of three pods depicting flowering bulbs that can be entered through steps, climbing nets and a wheelchair ramp. Inside each pod is a series of talk tubes, kinetic spinners and cassettes depicting the flora and fauna of the area.
- Yam Daisy waterplay: A waterplay and sculpture maze depicting a major source of food for the Wurundjeri, with wheelchair access, specialised bubblers and floor-mounted water jets. Push the button to make it rain on the yam daisies.
- Lava slide and volcano steps: A junior slide and sculptured steps that reflect the volcano of nearby Bald Hill. Far off to the north you can see a hill. That's Bald Hill which was once a mightly volcano which erupted one million years ago. See what treasures you can find in the Lava Steps left after the Bald Hill volcano erupted. Fossils and relics found on the site, including keys and shearing elements, are set into the steps.
- Lomandra Weave Baskets: The baskets and sculpture garden are for quiet play and include a series of small seats, shelters and tunnels through sculptures depicting the basket weaving patterns used by the Wurundjeri people. For thousands of years local people made baskets from the long leaves of a plant called Lomandra. They carried the baskets on their backs and filled them with all kinds of bush tucker - seeds, nuts, berries, seafood and more. Lomandra seeds can be ground into flour to make yummy cakes.
- Eel Trap: Swim like an eel through the eel trap. The Merri Creek flows close by here and teems with fish and eels. The local Wurundjeri people would trap them in long, woven traps and then cook and eat them. Delicious!
- Energy Swings: When you swing you make energy. The white containers above the swings store your energy from swinging to make the flashing lights. The more you swing the more they flash!
- Kangaroo Grass Shadow Sculptures: The sculptures form shadows over the main path through the playground, casting shadows depicting the grasses that are native to the area. The first bread in the world was made from the seeds of this tall grass. It's called Kangaroo Grass because kangaroos love to eat it too.
Next to the slide is an entrance with stairs to a lookout above the playground with views of the estate.
There is a cafe on site, Dwyer Street Cafe, which is open daily from 10am to 3pm. On the veranda of the cafe there are some shaded tables overlooking the playground and there are also some unshaded seats.
There is a toilet which is open during the day and closed at night.
Photos:
Location
Cnr Dwyer Street and Design Way, Kalkallo 3064 Map
Web Links
→ 100 Free Water Play Spaces in Melbourne and Regional Victoria