Kingsford playground was officially opened on 8 May 2021.

Set against the backdrop of the Darling Scarp, the new playground is just one element of an 8,200sqm nature-inspired community parkland at Kingsford (Bullsbrook), connecting down to the Ki-It Monger Brook which meanders through the estate.

A substantial park, the aim was to provide a community hub with a large open shelter for community gatherings and a family-focused playground with more offerings for little ones. The playground is a combination of nature play and traditional elements, themed on a local Aboriginal yarn about the origins of the local watercourse emerging from the cliff face. Backing onto a steeply defined brook, it provides plenty of opportunity for the older kids to escape from mum and dad. Local stone is a key feature throughout, with stone carving to create waterplay rills.

Kingsford is certainly something special, a community hub that preserves the existing peaks and valleys, capitalising on the existing mature trees and the Ki-It Monger Brook to ensure balance and harmony with the natural Bullsbrook landscape. The site presented key issues in sensitivity that required protection and enhancement of the existing landform, vegetation, its history and associated cultural connections, and Emerge Associates’ engagement with the project has helped to guide the visioning for the creation of an authentic urban village and its master planning.

The project to date has brought us various challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic and a changing budget, and we are proud of the results to date. We now eagerly await the next stage of Kingsford, with a suspension bridge over the brook.