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Park Goss. November 2016:

G’day once again and welcome to a Park update. If you have been keeping tabs on our Facebook page you will be aware of the numerous activities at the Park in recent months. Christmas is once again rushing to lighten our wallets and entice us into all sorts of enjoyable activities. We trust that it will be a safe and good one for you and your families.

The ongoing work at the Park has been consistent and rewarding as your committee and volunteers strive to improve our community oasis. With the arrival of the warmer months, the committee has re-introduced the ITAVA family evenings every Friday and to assist a more ‘hands on’ management approach, a permanent manager has been appointed for a trial period to better promote and personally manage the event. Obviously, we still need your help so spread the word to your friends etc. and bring the family along  from time to time to assist us in achieving a more proactive result for the benefit of all! Couple of likely lads at the re-launch, aka President Tim and Secretary Martin.

Back in August we were pleased to host the National Drone competition for the first time which was a marked success with a possible return in 2017. Check out the image gallery under “Highlights” for some of the exciting weekend action. Five winning participants went on to represent Australia in Hawaii at the international competition. Also in August we provided the venue for the Gold Coast, Disc Dogs annual competition and again the event went without a hitch. Special thanks to our committee and volunteers who assisted in a successful outcome.

Phil from Novaskil and Stewart and his men’s shed team have been busy on a number of projects with support from a number of workgroups whom they manage on the site. Note the accompanying images of the conversion of one of the old bus shelters on the hill and the work done to allow walking access through the bamboo thicket. The other shelter on the hill is currently having a front deck added courtesy of workers from the PCYC managed by Barry. The two shelters will be good future vantage points for activities on the oval.

The PCYC work party have also been responsible for the paint job on the proposed coffee outlet building and they renovated two of the old stables, converting them into hireable space. Phil’s ‘Work for the Dole” group have successfully completed their second stage at the site which will now be rolled into a third. The  “All Trades” work group managed by Zac have been concreting for the Healing Hooves precinct. A big ‘well done’ to all and we hope that this valuable contribution is ongoing well into the future.

On the Licensee front, September saw the return of the annual Coast Acoustics, two day festival at the Park which was well attended on the Saturday however a rather wet Sunday unfortunately saw a down turn in attendees. Later the same month we hosted the GC Torana Club with the committee providing refreshments and the club donating monies towards costs.

The 16th of October witnessed what was probably the largest single day’s planting when approximately 500 children and adults gathered at the site to plant 17,000 seedlings along a portion of the creek frontage. The activity was hosted by the Nerang Riverkeepers, in turn supported by the City of Gold Coast's Catchment Management Unit, Cr Peter Young, Sid Cramp MP, and the Gold Coast Catchment Association.

Highlight of the day was reported by President Tim. As he was tripping around the music and concession/display area when he was approached by a female visitor (hails by the moniker of “Flick”) who enquired about the Park. Following a brief overview she asked if we could use a golf cart and the upshot of the conversation was that she donated the cart in the accompanying image. “Thanks and love your work Flick” was posted by Tim on the CPP Facebook page.

A mix of local entertainers supported the day, along with workshops, refreshments and activities for all ages. A superlative result and a big thank you to all who contributed and participated. A week later this event was followed by the “Eat Your backyard Community day” and here again a good win for the community.

With an AGM coming up in November the Committee would once again take this opportunity to thank one and all for their support and let us look forward to adding to the success story in 2017 and not forgetting the very best wishes to you and yours for the coming festive season!!

Park Goss. August 2016:

Well those past few months certainly got away from most of us. Great to be busy but there still doesn’t seem to be enough time to do it all! It has been an unusually wet few months as well which has seen the old creek rise and parts of the site become a shallow lake.  On the up side, the commendable mitigation efforts done by our River Keepers seems to have performed as expected allowing the water to disperse quickly which was witnessed by those visiting the oval the next day.

Our President has moved to a new work location which is keeping him on the hop but he managed to squeeze in time to take the missus on a well earned break OS and no doubt a full report will be forthcoming over a convivial ale.  Unfortunately  our Treasurer has moved on and we thank Kerri for past efforts and wish her well for the future.  All of our on site licensees  are doing well with the Sheila’s Shack pursuing an active agenda with an ever increasing membership of enthusiastic ladies.
Equally, Stewart and the men’s shed team are continually in demand to assist with the numerous projects going on around the Park in addition to their own agenda. They recently teamed with the Sheilas Shack to produce and set up some wildlife shelters at the Park. Good to see the positive interaction between the groups. To improve the old coffee shop area it was decided to renovate the front section and move the refreshment servery to that location and turn the previous section into a store etc. room for Coast Acoustics. This has been completed and put to good use.

The River Keepers are continually on the move spreading the ‘green’ word both on and off site where they move between area beautification to weed control and watercourse, bank stabilisation etc. The conversion of the old horse swimming canal to a replica native bush stream and waterfall with appropriate natives planted to enhance the area is well underway and proving quite challenging.

The NovaSkill team and others are busy with various projects around the grounds including the refurbishment of the old heritage buildings at the entrance to the main site area. One of these will become the rumoured Coffee Shop that I am told will be run by folks from the fsg camp who are now based in what was the Learning Annex behind the reception centre.

GC Acoustics maintain a busy schedule with their members and their annual musical gatherings are coming up in Spring so come along and support their worthy efforts. Details may be read on the ‘Whats On’ page.  For those interested, check out their web site via the link on their CPP Licensee page. The old power box has gone from the oval being replaced with a welcome lighting tower which will expand the use of the oval after daylight hours.

There is active co-operation between these groups on a number of local projects which also underpins the community nature of our operation. FSG is now well settled at the park and was recently the planner and provided the management team behind the successful Funanza, family event in recent weeks. Congratulations all round! The garden club is likewise experiencing a positive cycle. They recently put in a bore to source a water supply that can be used in lieu of town water. New concrete paths and wheel chair access have also been constructed at the precinct so there is always plenty to do and volunteers/new members are always welcome. Check out the images on their Licensee page.

You will see some odd looking frames with yellow bands and chains etc. mounted on a vertical pipe set up around the site. Well my friends these are for a competitive game known as frisby golf. Won’t bother explaining as a quick Google search will do it much better than I but we welcome another active group to the grounds.

That brings this scribe to the end of a brief snapshot of park happenings that have been observed and not necessarily communicated and therefore no correspondance will be entered into!