by Shane Sody

Students from Loxton High School have been assisting Kadaltilla / Park Lands Authority in taking the first steps towards restoring the long-neglected Helen Mayo Park.

This part of your Park Lands alongside the River Torrens / Karrawirra Pari is one of several Park Lands sites that are part of our "restore" stream of activities.

Helen Mayo Park has been used as a dumping ground for contaminated silt dredged from the River and has been targeted, over recent years, with a series of speculative development proposals. See the “Recent History” timeline below.

Now, though, Kadaltilla/the Park Lands Authority has started looking at how your Helen Mayo Park might be improved, with better access including a pedestrian bridge over the railway lines from North Terrace, and a selection of landscaping proposals.

There is no money in this year's City Council budget to complete these proposals, but at its meeting on Thursday 28 July 2022, the Authority discussed a range of design options. The options included three designs presented by students from Loxton High School, and a series of images provided for discussion purposes by professional landscape designers.

Loxton High School senior students in Helen Mayo Park on 21 June 2022. Images: Kadaltilla /Park Lands Authority

It is hoped that throughout the coming financial year, the Authority will consult the public on a preferred option, which might be funded in next year's City Council budget. This is a key project that will attract debate during this year's City Council election campaign.

Which Council candidates will be prepared to back restoration of Helen Mayo Park?

Three concept designs submitted by students from Loxton High School

Helen Mayo deserves better than the current shoddy state of this Park. We will be backing Council election candidates who are prepared to endorse these sort of Park improvements in the near future.

RECENT HISTORY OF HELEN MAYO PARK

• 2017 - The Park Lands Management Strategy 2015-25 proposes a skate park;

• December 2017 - former Labor State Govt proposes 27-storey hotel;

• September 2017 - City Council considers commercial heliport;

• March 2021 - previous Liberal State Govt proposes 15-thousand seat stadium (aka "Riverbank Arena");

• August 2021 - APA launches petition: 'Save Helen Mayo Park' (eventually 3,998 signed);

• October 2021 - The 'Save Helen Mayo Park' picnic rally;

• January 2022 - previous Liberal State Govt re-zones the Park for "Entertainment";

• 6 March 2022 - APA volunteers clean up Helen Mayo Park on "Clean Up Australia" day;

• March 2022 - incoming State Labor Government scraps the proposed stadium, and promises to reverse the "entertainment" zoning;

• April 2022 - Launch of APA campaign: "Helen Mayo Deserves Better";

• June 2022 the Environment Resources and Development Committee of State Parliament recommends zoning of Helen Mayo Park should revert to 'Park Lands'. A ministerial approval is still pending;

• June 2022 - At the invitation of Kadaltilla/Park Lands Authority, Loxton High School Senior Students conducted a site visit to develop concepts;

• 28 July 2022 - Design concepts discussed at a meeting of Kadaltilla/the Park Lands Authority.

In addition to the contributions of Loxton High School students, the Authority also invited Birdseye Studios - Design Intent to also submit ideas. Their suggestions were:

• to take cues from Karra Wirra Pari representing the ripples in the water

• arcs ripple out from a central circle

• accentuate the freedom of water by natural paths representing tributaries to the River

Concept images provided to Kadaltilla/Park Lands Authority by Birdseye Studios

Helen Mayo Park has been named Pulthu Tininya in the Kaurna language. That name means ‘remnants of iron’. It's been named as such because the site was previously railyards and sheds.

Most of the images on this page were drawn from the public agenda of the Kadaltilla/Park Lands Authority meeting of 28 July 2022.