Josiah Mitton Reserve Playground & Fitness Park

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Posted 2013-05-19 by Dave Walsh ⇒ follow

The Josiah Mitton Reserve in Brompton is an oasis of green space in a sea of changing landscapes.

Named after a lively and much loved pionee r in the area who died in 1918 , the reserve is overlooked by a striking reminder of Brompton's past - Walter Burley Griffin 's Reverberatory Incinerator built in 1936 to transform rubbish into re-usable material for road making.

The park in Adelaide's north western suburbs is a large open space with trees on the periphery, and is equipped with a playground for children, three pods of gym and fitness equipment, basketball mini-court, and a shelter with picnic tables.

With the rapidly increasing number of young people moving into the area, this playground in Brompton is sure to become a centre of life for nearby residents. It's pleasing to see that the City of Charles Sturt have catered for all ages by providing different types of recreational exercise equipment.

A growing family may have teenagers using the basketball courts while their younger siblings are on the play equipment - and who know, perhaps the parents might exercise on the fitness equipment too!

While most of the play equipment was placed on bark chips as a safety measure, the two newest arrivals were not as they have probably not been completely installed yet. One was a rotating climbing net - something I haven't seen in any other park before.

The other new piece of play equipment was what I believe is a pod swing - something for a few kids to sit on at the same time. It was capable of rotating and swinging, something bound to be popular with young kids.

There were a couple of families enjoying the park when I visited, and they were happy to chat. It seems a very friendly area. The dual swings were in constant use, as was the combination unit that included a slippery dip, climbing frame and mini tunnel.

The play equipment at the Josiah Mitton Reserve is not in the same class as adventure playgrounds such as the St Kilda or the Dunstan Adventure Playgrounds , but for a suburban playground it is very good.

A short distance from the play equipment were the pods with gym and fitness equipment - said to be suitable for ages 10 and up. I was completely puzzled about what to do with them until I noticed that each has a helpful sign to explain their purpose. It does assume the ability to understand smilies and stick figures, but these days it is probably a safe bet.

I was just a little tempted to try out the equipment, but remembered that my On Ya Bike heritage tour was what I had come for. Reluctantly I left the fitness equipment gleaming and pristine, and returned to the reverberatory incinerator for a quick look.

There were nearly twenty reverberatory incinerators built around Australia, and many were extraordinary buildings - highly decorated art deco temples to the art of waste destruction. It is worth taking a #8206 ;">look at photos of some of the others. Those at Thebarton, Glebe and Pyrmont are all incredible designs.