Lyell Iffla Reserve – an award winning small park
Hiding behind a hedge/fence at the low end of Dorcas St, South Melbourne is the recently transformed Lyell Iffla Reserve.
The City of Port Phillip has created a silk purse of a park for everyone from a formerly very dull space between Dorcas, Iffla and Lyell Streets.
The park designers have responded to the attributes of the space and the wishes of the surrounding community to create a delightful park. The current interest in nature based play in an inner urban environment is expressed in the design.
Although it’s only a small space, the park has a wild and a tame side. A child could easily have the sense of being lost in the forest while being in full view of a watchful adult. The grassed open space makes the park seem more spacious and is good for kicking a ball.
A signature large tree commands respect as a focal point in the park. Other large trees have been kept too and create the forested feel at the edges. The coastal salt bush creates some of that nature feeling while being low enough not to overwhelm a child.
Logs and rocks create a balancing circuit through the park and there is challenging equipment to climb.
This lizard, created by sculptor Andrew Smith from recycled timber, has a cheeky way of looking right at you.
There are gathering spaces for groups and a wooden platform/stage for the impromptu performances that children enjoy giving.
It’s a welcome relief that playgrounds have moved away from generic off the shelf solutions to imaginative parks that welcome nature, and provide challenging equipment and gathering places.
The community garden looks a bit fallow in the winter but feedback to the City confirms that people want the garden there.
And did I mention that the park boundary is planted with fruit trees, and there is a water fountain too?
The Lyell Iffla Reserve won the 2015 Parks and Leisure Australia Awards of Excellence for Playspace: minor (<$0.5 million) for the Victoria / Tasmania area. It is now up for the national award which will be announced at their conference in October
Thanks to Rob Grogan’s research on the history of South Melbourne streets, we can learn more about former South Melbourne Councillors Andrew Lyell and Dr Solomon Iffla.