By Aaron Cordy
THERE are few sounds sweeter than children laughing and playing. It is a sound that drifts through the trees between Mooroopna and Shepparton, just off the causeway, as hundreds of thousands of children explore, celebrate birthdays and make KidsTown a place to build core memories.
There are few places in the Greater Shepparton area where you can take the family for an hour or the whole day with little to no cost for some wholesome family fun, but the news that KidsTown may be closed has locals and former locals outraged that the beloved adventure playground could be lost due to a lack of investment by GSCC.
“I can’t believe the Council isn’t doing more to support KidsTown. It’s the only place in Greater Shepparton where families with young children can enjoy the outdoors safely,” said a local father and businessman.
“Thousands of families—including mine—have made wonderful memories there. Our kids loved running around, playing, and celebrating birthdays. It was always a place of excitement and joy.
“In a time when children are spending more and more time on screens, it makes me angry that the Council isn’t taking stronger action to protect and support a space that actually gets kids outside and active. KidsTown deserves to be looked after—for today’s kids and for future generations.”
Greater Shepparton City Council do a great job promoting healthy activities for people in the community with programs like Activities in the Park, yet many can’t make it to these events due to work and other commitments.
KidsTown has been that place to take the family, get them outside and off screens, which children have become more reliant on in modern society, that anyone can access when it suits them. Whether it is a birthday planned months in advance, or on a whim, “Get in the car, kids, we’re going to KidsTown,” this region needs places like this.
No place in the Goulburn Valley has celebrated more first birthdays or first big birthday parties for foundation children than KidsTown. It is where grandparents watch children play, it is where locals grew up and take their own children to play now. It should not be a place forgotten and abandoned by a council with some of the highest rates in the country.
Have your say, Greater Shepparton, don’t let them close the doors on our playground.
