For more than 12 months the Kensington Residents’ Association (KRA) Committee has been investigating how to increase the accessibility and amenity of Pioneer Park in Maesbury Street, working closely with landscape architects Amanda Balmer and Carina Sidwell from WAX Design.
Pioneer Park is on the site of an old graveyard attached to the Kensington Village Chapel (now a private residence). Both the building and open space are important historic sites within the local community and have Local Heritage status. A Conservation Management Plan developed in 2007 considered the building and open space, and recognised the contribution of artist Cedar Prest, who resided in the Chapel for a time, to the internal design of the building.
The history of the Park as well as the buried remains on site (confirmed by 2007 investigations) demand a design approach which is sensitive to this context and carefully manages the impact of development on the site.
Consideration of the aspects outlined above led to a clear DESIGN VISION – to create a quiet place of reflection which is open to all users and is sensitive to the historic and natural context of the site – to be achieved by adhering to three DESIGN PRINCIPLES:
- Recognise and celebrate the site’s value historically to both Colonial and First Nations peoples;
- Protect and preserve built and natural elements; and
- Improve accessibility to and through the Park to support all users.
The images below illustrate the past, present and a possible future for Pioneer Park in the form of a conceptual landscape design prepared by WAX Design for presentation to the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters Council. As the owners of the Park, Council permission was required to enable the KRA to progress the project. At the February 2025 Council meeting, elected members voted unanimously to allow the KRA to apply for a Green Adelaide grant to cover the costs of re-landscaping. Ahead of the grant application, the design will be finalised in consultation with the community, including Kensington residents, Kaurna representatives and the Council.
