Eddison Park

Eddison Park Master Planning—Community Consultation

A park for peace in Woden and Weston Creek

• Location
• Facilities
• History
• Recalling the Eddison family
• A formal design with a botanical / horticultural theme
• A park for the people of Woden and Weston Creek
• Reference

Location

Eastern edge of the Woden Town Centre in Launceston Street, Phillip.

• A map showing Woden/Weston Region with the location of Eddison Park marked.
• A map of Eddison Park.

Facilities

Picnic area, public toilets, seating and parking.

History

The formal gardens of Eddison Park are being developed progressively with a strong botanical and horticultural theme for the people of Woden and Weston Creek. The park's name links it to the site's prior rural use and to those who served their country for peace.

Recalling the Eddison family

With the urbanisation, commencing in the 1960s, of the Woden Valley, the Eddison family's rural property Yamba in the area now known as Phillip was fully resumed. Much of Phillip was developed subsequently as Woden Town Centre which included a site for a town park between Yamba Drive and the Woden Cemetery.

Planning and development of this park commenced in 1972, but it was not until 1988 that it was named after the Eddison family and development began to move more speedily. World War II claimed the lives of all three Eddison sons and this has influenced the manner in which the park has been developed and used.

The park was officially opened in February 1992 with the completion of construction of an entry gateway facing The Canberra College on Launceston Street.

A formal design with a botanical / horticultural theme

Work on the park in the 1970s laid the foundations for the more detailed development to follow in the 1990s. Basic ground shaping and grassing was followed by tree planting and the previous bareness of the site had been eliminated by the late 1980s.

The new design takes the radial design approach used in the adjacent cemetery and adapts and connects it to the park site. Whereas a fountain lies at the hub of the cemetery design, a substantial ornamental pond takes the central postition in the design for the park. These two hubs are linked with a common axis which in turn extends to the main park entrance on Launceston Street.

The remainder of the park will follow the cemetery's radial planting geometry. As is the case with the cemetery the planting will be strongly exotic in character.

Execution of this design approach has been concentrated initially on the common park-cemetery axis. Construction has included the entry gateway and red brick paved boulevard, the pond with a gazebo on an island and two World War II elements. Planting strengthens visually the axis, extending it to the cemetery.

The two memorial elements, the initiative of the Woden Valley RSL, recall the loss of the three Eddison sons in the Second World War. The first, dated 1966, comprises a small obelisk, the inscription on which reads: "In Honour of the men and women who served Australia in time of conflict during World War II". It was erected as part of the "Australia Remembers 1945-1995" program. The second comprises a circular brick paved gathering point placed there on Anzac Day 1996. Its inscription records the gathering of young people at that spot each Anzac Day to remember those who 'served their country so that we may live in peace'.

A park for the people of Woden and Weston Creek

The popularity of this park increased from the 1980s onwards. Informal sports can be played in the eastern part of the park and picnicking is becoming more common. As the development on the common axis matures, the pond and its associated memorial elements are becoming a focus for public use. Aquatic birds have taken up residence around the ornamental pond. The annual Anzac Day memorial services commenced in 1992 still attract up to 4000 school children. Amongst the park's growing natural beauty and memorial elements there are important messages of peace for the people of Canberra.

Reference

Gray, J (1997) The Historical and Cultural Background of Selected Urban Parks in Canberra.