Published on Thursday, 10 August 2017 at 12:00:00 AM
The remediation of the Olive Street reserve from a brown field site into a parkland was recently completed ahead of schedule and under budget.
City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said Council was very pleased to have saved time and money in delivering this decades old legacy project.
“Remediating the Olive Street reserve has been talked about for more than 50 years,” he said.
“Council is absolutely rapt to have completed the remediation and landscaping works before the 31 August deadline and delivering the project $1 million below budget.”
Mayor Van Styn said undertaking the project had provided economic benefits to a number of local businesses.
“Local contractor Red Dust Holdings did a fantastic job with the onsite management of contaminated materials in accordance with obligations under the Contaminated Sites Act 2013 and the construction of a drainage system and ephemeral wetland on the eight hectare reserve,” he said.
“Almost all of the 285 native tree saplings and 69,726 native seedlings, which have been planted along the outer edge of the large grassed recreation area, were sourced locally from either Drylands Permaculture Nursery, Mooreview Plants and Trees or the Community Nursery.
“This project has enabled the City to help boost the local economy whilst creating a beautiful recreation area for the Geraldton community.”
To ensure the recently planted trees, grass and seedlings have the opportunity to establish themselves the reserve will open to the public in a few months’ time.
“The City will be closely monitoring the growth of the plants and grass over the coming months and once we are confident they will be able stand up to rigorous community use the reserve will open,” said Mayor Van Styn.
The reserve will also feature a memorial commemorating Leonard T. Green and other area residents who lost their lives in WWI.
“In 1961, Frank Green gifted land in Mahomets Flats to the City to be used for recreational purposes and at the time requested a memorial be created on the land that recognised his son Leonard T. Green and other citizens of the Geraldton district who lost their lives in active service in the First World War,” Mayor Van Styn explained.
“At a later date, the gifted land was needed to facilitate traffic management and Eldred Green, Leonard’s brother, agreed to exchange the land with the Olive Street Reserve.
“Now, 56 years after the original agreement was made, the City has created the recreation area and when the memorial is in place the bequest will be fulfilled.”
The City is currently working with the RSL to design the memorial, which will be installed on the reserve before it opens to the public.
Picture Caption: The Olive Street Reserve features a large grassed area in the heart of the eight-hectare site; an ephemeral wetland surrounded by thousands of native trees and shrubs and shaded seating areas.
Back to All News