By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Akoonah Park will be dancing with tulips and wooden clogs this weekend but it is an under-appreciated and under-utilised treasure trove of fun, says volunteer administrator Gayle Joyce.
The 11-hectare showground and recreation reserve is host to a range of community groups and events, including a Dutch Festival on 8 April – and of course the annual Berwick Show.
But there’s always room for more, says Ms Joyce – who is secretary of Akoonah Park’s committee of management.
“A lot of people would just know it as a showgrounds,” Ms Joyce said.
“What we’d like the community to understand is it’s more than a showgrounds but provides so much more for the community.
“There’s a lot of people just moving into Casey that don’t know about this beautiful reserve, Akoonah Park.”
Some of the little known features are the meeting rooms, the reserve’s 200-capacity function centre, a Men’s Shed, a camping ground, horse dressage arenas, dog walking area and a walking path along Cardinia Creek into Beaconsfield Reserve.
It is an annual host of the Cancer Council Relay for Life 24-hour walkathon, the Dandenong Valley Historic Car Club and City of Casey Kids Carnival, Ms Joyce said.
The reserve also holds a Sunday market of fruit and vegies, bric a brac, handmade crafts and a variety of stalls.
Ms Joyce said the reserve was run by a committee of volunteers who meet “without fail” each month.
“We put in many unpaid hours on the tractor or shovel doing all the maintenance and improvements that can be seen on the grounds.
“We just want people to know that Akoonah Park is there – just for fun.”
The Dutch Festival is at Akoonah Park, Berwick on 8 April, 10am-10pm.
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