Voices

Hear from the people who love the park, in their own words.

Ross McKinnon AM

Retired Curator-Charge, Brisbane Botanic Gardens

Forty two years of my working life were devoted to developing and curating Brisbane’s “new” Botanic Gardens at suburban Mt. Coot-tha.

Now Brisbane’s second largest tourist attraction ( after the combined attractions of South Bank )..our Botanic Gardens have established, internationally, Brisbane’s “green” credentials.

To contemplate another of Brisbane’s green iconic spaces, Victoria Park concreted over with a sporting stadium is an outrage, an abomination that will reverberate around the world: the desecration of public open space.

Besides, Victoria Park is right next door to our states largest public hospital, The Royal Brisbane Hospital!

Victoria Park is a highly valued green reserve in suburbia for hospital patients  and public alike.

As an Olympic venue, Victoria Park will become a major, noisy, dusty construction site for the next seven years, a rowdy meeting place for the foreseeable future. Surrounding streets will be clogged with construction workers cars then venue attendees vehicles!

Join the thousands of Queenslanders and myself in saying NO to Victoria Park as an Olympic venue site when there are plenty of other places available that do not alienate public parkland.

John Brannock

Former Chair of the Queensland Heritage Council and Adjunct Professor, University of Queensland; awarded John Howard’s Centenary Medal for “services to conservation and the environment through the 20th century

Every inch of Victoria Park’s 64ha is protected under State and Council heritage legislation. As a former Chair of Queensland Heritage Council, I am highly supportive of this high-level recognition due to its intrinsic cultural heritage values. 

To have this inner city cultural asset desecrated by massive Olympic structures, one even larger than the Gabba stadium, would not only ruin its heritage values but ridicule our city on the world stage.

Victoria Park was conceived as the emerging city’s “lungs” 150 years ago by being gazetted in 1875 by the Colony of Queensland government. Officially registered for its significant cultural heritage value, Victoria Park holds a unique place in our city’s history and identity.

The Olympic Host Contract (VEN08) provides clear instructions: “Ensure no permanent Olympic or Paralympic construction occurs in statutory cultural protected areas…” A proposal to build a large stadium on this land would violate that principle. 

Such a development would permanently destroy a cherished heritage site, diminish our city’s historic character and compromise the area’s natural beauty. The loss would be irreversible - a final, devastating blow to a park that has endured as Brisbane’s green heart for 150 years.

Michael Kerry

Former Chief Town Planner and Head of Urban Management for the Brisbane City Council (1992-2004)

I remember distinctly a conversation around the success of the Brisbane bid to host the Olympics focusing on its relative affordability stemming from the reuse of key infrastructure and city facilities. We were assured that 2032 is to be a sustainable Olympic event. There was general agreement this would pave the way for a new generation of games. 

Meanwhile, Council has on numerous occasions made a strong commitment to deliver a world standard new park for the city at Victoria Park and has taken the first step by closing the public golf course. 

Victoria Park will be the centrepiece of a major new city park commensurate with the scale of the anticipated growth of south east Queensland. 

Now it appears there has been a change of opinion and Victoria Park is under threat of Olympic stadiums and high-rise residential development.  As the former head of planning and infrastructure in Brisbane City Council (1992 to 2004), I am calling this out as not keeping faith with the promise.  
 
I have devoted much of my working life to helping make Brisbane a world-class city of which we can be justly proud. Unfortunately, the destruction of a large part of this park would make Brisbane a laughingstock among world cities. It would certainly tarnish the environmental reputation of the Olympics if the 2032 stadium was built over the top of such a magnificent inner-city park. 
 
As cities expand upwards and out, green spaces become even more important in the city's environmental and cultural life. They help define a city just as much as any man-made construction and they are the lungs of a growing city.  
 
Victoria Park has faced many threats since it was first established by the new Queensland state government in 1875 - 150 years ago as the ‘Hyde Park’ of Brisbane. It was (and remains) Crown land. It is held in trust by Brisbane City Council. Its purpose under the Deed of Grant was and is for park purposes only. 
 
Five years ago, Council committed to close the golf course (1931-2019) and return Victoria Park into what it was intended for 150 years ago. Council signed off on a Master Plan process to convert the park into what Lord Mayor Schrinner said would be Brisbane's ‘Central Park’. 
 
Now the park is threatened by the proposal to build the Olympic stadium, aquatic stadium, entertainment centre and extensive high-rise residential towers on the ridgeline of Victoria Park. This would overwhelm the park with concrete and steel construction. Stadiums should ideally be constructed on brownfield sites – to revitalise old, out of date industrial land that can be repurposed for sports facilities.  
 
New York would never build a stadium in Central Park. London would never build a stadium in Hyde Park. If we miss this chance, the parkland will be gone forever. The Olympics last for a few weeks, but the park is a permanent legacy.  

Let’s keep Victoria Park intact for the city and our future generations. 

Rob Camping

Civil Engineer, Project Manager, Gabba Redevelopment & Other Major Sports Venues

Firstly, as a civil engineer there are significant environmental attributes that I have developed over time, including to always analyse all options and to seek alternative solutions to matters under consideration.

For instance, why would you demolish a perfectly serviceable existing stadium such as The Gabba and replace it with a new stadium somewhere else for a two-week event. Is this environmentally sustainable or even financially responsible? It is not.

Specialist events can be accommodated by the provision of Overlay Works to suit the event. It is clear from the Victoria Park Barrambin Master Plan 2023 that Council has adopted a significant redevelopment plan that provides Brisbane with broad scale public parklands, as well as acting as the lungs of the city.

The only reference to the Olympics is as temporary venues for BMX and equestrian.

Secondly, as an experienced construction project manager, I know that it is imperative to understand the obligations under any agreement and to deliver same to budget and time. No more, no less.

The IOC Future Host Commission Questionnaire Response Final Submission - May 2021 (94 pages) represents the State’s proposal to the IOC and for which there were no other contenders. This document clearly outlines how the staging of the Games should be delivered.

This submission to the IOC states that we will “Maximise use of existing venues: The review will prioritise the utilisation of existing venues and infrastructure to minimise new construction, thereby enhancing cost-efficiency and promoting sustainability. There is no mention of any new major public venue facilities at Victoria Park, or anywhere else for that matter. Victoria Park should be left as it is and redeveloped in line with the 2023 Master Plan.

My view is that sustainability is best demonstrated by the adaptive re-use of existing buildings and facilities, and that the best way to minimise new construction is to have none - especially in relation to the major venues. As Brisbane aspires to be a global city, and if it is good enough for Paris, London, or New York, why shouldn’t Brisbane have its own large public green space to function as its playground and be the lungs of the city? My view is: upgrade The Gabba in line with the implied obligations of our Final Submission to the IOC.

  • Campbell Newman (Lord Mayor 2004-2011)

    “Victoria Park was set aside in the 1870s by citizens who had a vision of a wonderful 130 hectare inner-city park. A massive stadium is a body blow to that vision – it’s vital to now protect the park so that it remains fully accessible public green space for all time.” Photo: X / Twitter

  • Jim Soorley (Lord Mayor 1991-2003)

    “People keep talking about a legacy. What better legacy is there than to have a park like this, so large and so close to the city with brilliant views. It’s our very own Central Park. It would be madness to build over it with a stadium.” Photo: Courier Mail

  • Tim Quinn (Lord Mayor 2003-2004)

    “Hyde Park, Central Park and The Domain give London, New York and Sydney their character and their breathing space. That’s what Victoria Park should be. Not a stadium. Fix up the other stadiums and keep Victoria Park as a permanent green legacy.” Photo: Brisbane Times

  • Bryan Walsh (Lord Mayor 1975-1976)

    “The Olympic legacy for which we should aim is a successful Games in venues that we can afford and which will be fully utilised in the future – not some legacy of bricks and mortar with limited use and accompanied by the loss of a great and beautiful open green space on the door step of the inner city.”

  • Sallyanne Atkinson (Lord Mayor 1985-1991)

    “Brisbane needs green spaces close to the city to be its lungs. As a local councillor I fought – and sadly lost – a campaign to save important green space in Fig Tree Pocket. We must not lose this one.” Photo: sallyanneatkinson.com.au

I love Victoria Park

I love Victoria Park