Ray Pascoe Park Upgrade: Enhancing Community Recreation and Riverfront Amenities

Ray Pascoe Park, a beloved destination in Tweed Heads, is currently undergoing a signifcant transformation with a $990,000 upgrade project well underway since the commencement of construction in early March. Situated adjacent to the Kennedy Drive boat ramp along the scenic Tweed River, this revitalization initiative marks the latest endeavor to enhance recreational offerings in the Tweed Heads area.

The primary objective of this endeavor is to modernize and enhance the existing children’s play area and park amenities, aligning them more closely with the evolving needs of the local community both presently and into the future. Commencing on Monday, March 4th, construction efforts are anticipated to conclude by August 2024, subject to weather conditions.

Murray Smith, Manager of Parks and Active Communities at Tweed Shire Council, underscores the signifcance of this upgrade in enhancing the quality of life for Tweed Heads residents. He expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of delivering enhanced facilities that cater to the needs of both locals and visitors who frequent this picturesque riverside park.

Smith stated, “We are committed to providing improved facilities not only for today but for the years to come as the region grows. The community told us they wanted to see better quality parks and public toilets and we are delivering with these improvements. We are upgrade as a signifcant investment in Tweed Heads’ future.

In addition to the government grant, Tweed Shire Council is contributing $500,000 towards the project, which includes funds grateful to the NSW Government for assisting us with funding this exciting project.”

The funding for this ambitious project has been made possible through a $400,000 grant from the NSW Government, aimed at supporting critical infrastructure and the development of high-quality open spaces to accommodate the region’s growing population. Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, emphasized the importance of investing in quality open spaces to foster vibrant communities, underscoring this allocated for the construction of a new amenities block. The comprehensive upgrade will encompass various enhancements, including additional play equipment for children, inclusive play elements, nature-inspired features, new barbecue and shelter facilities, picnic tables, seating with shelters, public toilets, accessible parking, integration of river-themed elements, and landscaping improvements.

Furthermore, the park upgrade will be complemented by additional enhancements catering to boat enthusiasts, including the installation of a new fsh- cleaning table, improved lighting at the boat ramp, and minor foreshore protection works. These supplementary improvements are jointly funded by NSW Fisheries and Tweed Shire Council.

Throughout the construction period, efforts will be made to minimize disruptions to park users, with the existing playground temporarily closed and toilet facilities undergoing a brief closure for approximately two weeks during the installation of the new amenities block.

Council expresses gratitude to the community for their patience during the construction phase, recognizing the importance of this project in enhancing public open spaces in Tweed. The Ray Pascoe Park upgrade aligns with Council’s broader commitment to improving the quality of public spaces in the Tweed region, as outlined in its Open Space Strategy (2019–2029).

For more information about the project and ongoing updates, visit yoursaytweed.com. au/raypascoepark.

Additionally, for details regarding the NSW Regional Housing Fund, visit planning.nsw.gov. au/plans-for-your-area/ infrastructure-funding/ nsw-regional-housingfund.

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BEYOND each of us having a name, doing what we do, and how we appear; our own selves in ourselves are really only ever known to ourselves alone, and even then, the clarity of signal we get can be much like a scrambled TV reception on a stormy day.

Relatedly, the Italian Nobel Prize winner, Luigi Pirandello’s last novel was called One, None and a HundredThousand; the title itself refers to all the different people we can be and seem, not just to others on any given day, but to ourselves also. The inner realm of subjectivity is truly a dim-lit house of mirrors, mirrors that reflect our inclinations, motivations, desires, fears and phobias. Who any of us are, is a genuine riddle of mythological proportions.

To be a person is soaked and cloaked in symbolism that leads all the way back to ancient Greece, the word itself stems from ‘persona’ which meant ‘mask’, like those worn by actors in the theatre; which couldn’t be more of an apt description for those who excel at hiding behind the façade of what they seem.

Throughout Pirandello’s above-mentioned novel, his main character is forever delving into the end points and pitfalls of his own personality.

At one stage he simply reflects, “Who was I? Was I, I? But I might also be another! Anyone might be that one there… Why must I, this being, be like this?”

‘We are who we are because we can’t be anything besides’, might be the response of your non-reflective surface dweller, but for anyone that has even the vaguest curiosity as to who they are, this explanation doesn’t pass for a loose premise, let alone a sketchy conclusion. Perhaps Jose Saramago expressed it best when he said, “Innumerable people live within us. If I think and feel, I know not who is thinking and feeling, I am only the place where there is thinking and feeling…

Between what I live and life, between what I appear to be and am, I slumber on a slope, a slope I will not leave.”

Which is a wonderful way of saying that he was not willing to compromise or take the soft option of making sense of such things on more ‘stable’ ground, ground that is so easily flattened by the forces of self-delusion. As if giving the ultimate advice as to how this seemingly irresolvable conundrum might be simplified, the Swedish writer Tomas Transtromer once suggested, “Two truths draw nearer each other. One comes from inside, one comes from outside and where they meet we have a chance to see ourselves.”

In full view of his own expansive, albeit ever-evolving self, Andre Gide once aptly noted, “I only esteem myself for my possibilities… Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. To observe oneself is to arrest one’s development.

The caterpillar that tried ‘to know itself’ would never become a butterfly.” Thus, allowing ourselves to be, without any selfimposed restrictions, is the best way to advance so as to continuously grow towards our true potential.