Special thank you to those who built the gardens
Published on 13 August 2018
Thousands of people may have had an unforgettable experience at the Kershaw Gardens Redevelopment on Saturday and, thanks to one local business, the opening was just a little more special for the people responsible for shaping the gardens over the past three decades.
Five people were presented with their own 1:36 replicas of the giant leaf statues at the Knight Street entrance of the gardens;
Tom Wyatt – former Rockhampton City Councils Parks and Gardens manager who originally curated the Gardens;
Jim Webber – former Mayor who oversaw the creation of Kershaw Gardens;
Neil Kershaw – member of the Kershaw Family after which the gardens are named (Cliff Kershaw was the Chief Health inspector during the development of the old landfill into the gardens);
Kaleb Roberts, North Rockhampton Rotary President – Rotary donated one of the original Garden’s most iconic and much loved elements – the monorail; and
Des Ryan – who accepted on behalf of the Hasker Family. who were responsible for the original Sensory Garden to everyone could access the gardens.
Mayor Margaret Strelow said that amid all the fun and excitement of the day, it was important to thank the people who started the project 30 years ago.
“Saturday will be an unforgettable day for thousands of people who came out to mark the 30th birthday of Kershaw Gardens and experience the wonderful redevelopment,” Mayor Strelow said.
“To give these unique, handcrafted replicas to those people who started it all was a really nice moment during all the fun and excitement because, without them, none of us would have been there celebrating.”
Rebecca Rocha from Precision Engraving designed the replicas and said her business was thrilled to be involved.
“We helped with the cutting of the larger statues so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to recreate these versions – just at 1:36 the size,” Ms Rocha said.
“They are an exact replica – including the paint, design and patterns – and we were thrilled to help out not only with the bigger statues but also these smaller ones which we hope will be a really special memento for those people who shaped the gardens.”
To see more pictures of the Kershaw Playground Reopening and Birthday Party, head to Council's facebook page.