It’s been St Kilda’s ‘secret’ backyard since 1978
The adventure playground holds a special place in the heart of St Kilda. With meandering paths through overgrown greenery, it has a relaxed ‘backyard’ vibe, even including a little kitchen where people can prepare snacks and help themselves to tea and coffee.
But it’s not just any backyard, it’s the coolest backyard ever. At every turn there’s something exciting for children of all ages. From a huge wooden haunted castle to cubby houses, trampoline, sandpit and more. It’s the backyard of a children’s storybook full of wonder and adventure.
For the many local children who live in apartments, the adventure playground has been critically important. It has been a space to feed the imagination, experience the outdoors, and move their bodies. A place for kids to be kids.
A slow decline
You’d think council would love and care for such an important community asset, but instead they have allowed it to gradually fall into disrepair.
Since the playground was first established in 1978, one by one unique play equipment has been closed or removed due to safety concerns. The iconic shark plane, thrilling flying fox, and exhilarating play tunnels are just some of the casualties along the way.
With proper maintenance, much of this equipment could have been kept safely operational. For things that really did need to be removed, council could have replaced them at the time. This would have made costs sustainable and allowed the playground to evolve instead of slowly and steadily declining.
Instead, Council has allowed the once-iconic playground to deteriorate into a shadow of its former self. This created a situation that can only be fixed with an expensive refurbishment that closes the playground for a lengthy time. It seems inevitable that such significant construction work will change the vibe of the playground.
A trail of broken promises
Promises to fix the adventure playground began back in 2017. The City of Port Phillip Council Plan 2017 to 2027 included a $700,000 “Adventure Playgrounds Upgrade”, covering both the St Kilda Adventure Playground and Skinners Adventure Playground, to be delivered between 2019 and 2021. Council invested significantly in community consultation and desktop research to guide this project, but no actual work was undertaken.
New promises were made in the next council plan. This time, the adventure playgrounds were separated into two distinct projects, with the Skinners Adventure Playground Upgrade budgeted to cost $1.063 million and be finished in 2025, and the St Kilda Adventure Playground Upgrade budgeted to cost $2.76 million and be finished in 2024. Again, no works were actually undertaken on the St Kilda Adventure Playground.
In 2024, council did a new round of community consultation and issued a new timeline. They held community pop-ups, online surveys, and numerous workshops with the children who use the playground. It was extensive and it was expensive. This time, they even produced a concept design. But the promised construction start date in 2025 came and went without any works commencing.
A new beginning
Now, in mid-2026, nearly a decade after the original promises were made, the St Kilda Adventure Playground upgrade has finally commenced. Importantly, it also looks like council is going to deliver the concept design that was informed by extensive community consultation back in 2024. Let’s hope the children who were consulted are still children by the time the playground reopens.
With a whopping $2.44 million price tag, partially funded by a Commonwealth Grant, the project is set to be delivered over two phases.
Phase one is landscaping, including pathways, lighting and new play equipment such as a treetop walk and tall slide tower. It’s nice to see some influences from the past, with plans to install a new flying fox and plane. This phase is due for completion in October this year.
Phase two is the new clubhouse, which is set to include a huge flexible wet and dry area, kiln, communal kitchen and storage. It’s due for completion in May next year.
As a community, we need to watch carefully to make sure this new budget and timeline is delivered. St Kilda Adventure Playground is too important to allow council to break more promises.
St Kilda Adventure Playground programs will temporarily operate from the Cora Graves Community Centre until construction is completed in mid-2027.
