Thurles St Reserve

For me, this playground is a solid three star rating according to my philosophy of what I like from a playground area.
There’s nothing here too challenging for the youngsters, which probably means there’s not too much that will occupy the older children for too long.
There’s a basketball hoop and plenty of space, although I was surprised to see that it was so close to the road and not fenced.
There’s a table/​chair but it’s not that close to the playground. There are bench seats as well.
No drinking fountain… no surprise for Mitcham Council and not a lot of shade apart from the dappled tree shadows.
*Dogs allowed*

This is not a bad park and it has heaps of room, but it has not toilets or BBQ facilities so it can’t go over 3 stars.
Basically I lived about 2 blocks from this reserve a few years back and it was great to have a park so close to walk to. There was a proper path all the way through the middle of it. My child got one of those 6V cars to ride on and the battery didn’t last long enough to go far so this park was perfect. He would ride there and along the path, then park his bike and have a play on the equipment, then back to bike path.
The older kids could use the basketball court at the same time so it had something for everyone.

As a boy, I liked to ‘enter’ a park and treat it as a sort of different dimension or planet. It’s hard to do that when there’s nowhere to enter, no gateway to walk through. There’s no fencing here. And it’s a petty gripe, but I find it hard to respect a park without a perimeter.
Indeed, neither is their the capacity a barbecue, unless you bring the meat cooked and ready. But the discouragement of a meal is, perhaps, a boon in disguise, as there are no toilets to… complete the process.
In fact, the one thing I feel this park has going for it is the basketball ring. And I can get one of those at home. Well, I can get a barbecue, fence and toilets at home too, I guess. So therein lies a loop in logic. I’ll concede to that.

Right smack in the neighbourhood, Thurles St Reserve in St Marys, is a great playground with many facilities.
With a basketball court, huge open space for a game of footy and a fantastic playground, it is a favourite with the community here.
Some of the best features include:
Basketball ring
See saws
Swings
Slide
Hang & Glide
Benches
Some cons to consider:
No BBQ facilities
No toilets
No fencing
All in all, it’s a fantastic playground to amuse your kids post school hours or during the weekends.