The City of Sydney has opened Gunyama Park in Zetland, its largest playground project to date, giving the rapidly growing Green Square precinct a major new recreational space for children and families.
The playground spans 6,300 square metres and includes 70 metres of tunnels and tube slides, a skate plaza, a water play area and more than 150 newly planted trees.
It has been designed with distinct zones for toddlers and primary school-aged children, featuring swings, a flying fox, climbing ropes, in-ground trampolines, a small sand play area, musical elements and obstacle features.
The name Gunyama comes from an Aboriginal Sydney language word meaning wind from the southwest, a reference to the strong southerly winds that regularly sweep through the area.
The district has been home to Aboriginal clans and families for thousands of years, and the design of the park reflects this deep connection to Country.
Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore said the new playground would serve as a vital outdoor space for a community where many residents live in apartments without private backyards.
She described the project as one of 40 parks being delivered across Green Square, a precinct she said is being built to become not just one of Australia’s largest urban renewal areas but one of its most liveable communities.
Image courtesy of City of Sydney / Will Jones
Moore noted that the playground sits alongside a sporting field, outdoor fitness equipment and the Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre, which she described as the largest swim facility built in Sydney since the 2000 Olympics.
Together, she said, these facilities offer something for everyone in one of Australia’s most densely populated neighbourhoods.
The park’s landscaping incorporates banksia scrub surrounding channels that echo the site’s original wetlands, along with native plants suited to the local environment.
The design also acknowledges Aboriginal knowledge of Country and the seasonal changes reflected in shifts to local flora, fauna and the movement of the stars.
A learning circle has been included to support intergenerational and cross-cultural education, alongside a large lawn area, barbecues, picnic tables, and bathroom and change room facilities for the adjoining sports field.
Sustainability features prominently in the project, with a green roof on the amenities building, habitat boxes to support local wildlife, seating constructed from rammed earth, and recycled water used to help sustain plantings across the site.
Green Square is Australia’s largest urban renewal project and is expected to eventually house around 63,000 residents, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the country.
Moore said the precinct’s success has relied on delivering community infrastructure alongside residential development, pointing to a $1.8 billion infrastructure plan developed by the City of Sydney in 2013, ahead of the area’s rapid growth.
Since then, the City has delivered a library and plaza, an aquatic centre, sports fields, childcare facilities and a creative hub, alongside stormwater drainage, roads, footpaths and cycling links, while also protecting a corridor for future mass transit.
With the recent completion of a new primary school and now Gunyama Park’s playground, Moore said Green Square continues to stand as a model for how high-density development can be paired with strong community infrastructure.
