By Aaron Cordy
ONCE rated as the sixth best adventure park and playground in Victoria by Time Out magazine in 2020, Mooroopna’s KidsTown is now a shell of the “place to have some serious fun.”
Built in 1995 as a community project before being taken over by GSCC in 2005, KidsTown was known as the largest adventure playground in Australia and one of the premier attractions in the region. With regular events and holiday programs for children and the trains, the playground holds many great memories for children, parents and grandparents locally and a lot further afield.
Today, KidsTown has taped-off sections and broken, rusted and damaged equipment in every part of the park, mould on the shade sales and the beloved trains have not worked since the October 2022 floods. The floods are the easy scapegoat for KidsTown’s current state, but any regular visitor to the playground leading up to October 2022 could tell you that there were sections already taped off and the park was already in decline.
What is most alarming the people of Mooroopna and surrounds are the persistent rumours that KidsTown will be permanently closed, which greatly concerns the Mooroopna Community Plan Steering Group (MCPSC).
“It’s something we don’t want to lose just because there’s a lack of investment. What you’ll see is that the longer we wait, the more time they’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s not worth the investment because it’s already too far gone.’ It’ll cost more and more money, then the justification just goes in a circular fashion,” said MCPSC Chairperson Rowan Farren.
“I think the big priority is doing a bit of a revamp. This could be a tourist spot. When I was younger, there were events here all the time. There was stuff that kids would come to, not just from Shepparton, but all around the Northern Victoria region. It was a good spot to act as a tourism attractor, especially for the local economy of Shepparton and Mooroopna. It’s something that can bring people in.”
It has not all been doom and gloom for KidsTown. In 2023, the Kiwanis Club of Shepparton Sunrisers received international recognition for their Sprout Healthy Lifestyle Garden and Outdoor Education Centre. Taking home a silver medal in the Kiwanis International Signature Project Awards.
Shepparton Sunrisers still make an active effort to encourage people to the park with Mud & Messy Fun Day events semi-regularly. Yet it is a far cry from the events that used to be held in the large open space.
The question remains, what will Council do with KidsTown?
“Council is in the process of investigating and determining a way forward for KidsTown and its operations. Council acknowledges that the community has a real connection with KidsTown and understand the significance of the site. The community will be kept informed and engaged where appropriate on the future development of the site,” said Mayor, Cr Shane Sali.
If Council abandons KidsTown, what will become of the land and the existing infrastructure? Will it be another ruin fallen into decay for vandals to destroy, where locals fondly remembered playing as kids?
