A new look for Somerville Park, and a proud day for Australian-made play

After a one in a generation upgrade, the park reopened on 13 June with a brand new playground, a multipurpose sports half-court, two outdoor fitness stations and improved walking paths through to Pearl Avenue. Right in the middle of it sits the City of Parramatta’s first multi-tower play equipment. That centrepiece was designed, engineered and manufactured by the Moduplay Group, right here in Australia.

Our lead designer and engineer Ellen Higgins was there for the grand opening, along with our Marketing Coordinator Amelia Morrison. The pair came back buzzing. The response from the local community was something special, and watching kids climb all over a structure you sketched, built and shipped yourself is hard to beat.

This one was a labour of love. From the first concept drawings to the final install, it was handled end to end by our Australian-based team. No imported flat-packs shipped from the other side of the world – our people, our factory and a lot of care.

That matters to us, and it should matter to the communities we build for. When a council backs Australian-made play, it backs local jobs, local manufacturing and local know-how. We do not take that responsibility & expectation lightly.

So a big thank you to the City of Parramatta for continuing to invest in Australian-made play, and in Australian manufacturing more broadly. Getting to work this closely with Council, from concept right through to delivery, is a badge we wear with real pride.

Thanks also to the team at Glascott, who took the reins on the final landscaping and helped turn a great playground into a finished community space.

A landmark project like this is never the work of one team. We want to acknowledge Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter, Donna Davis MP, Cameron Maclean and the whole crew at the City of Parramatta, including Adam Cook, Henry Webber, Genevieve McFadden and John Loney, for backing quality public spaces and for having us along on the day.

As a proud Australian designer and manufacturer of commercial playground equipment, our commitment is simple. Do more here, not less.

Here is to Somerville Park serving the Eastwood community for generations to come.