From Horse Paddock to Playground – Parmelia Park, South Fremantle

When the City of Fremantle set out to renew Parmelia Park, they did something that shapes the best playground projects: they asked the community what they wanted first — and then they dug into the history of the place itself.

Parmelia Park is a socially and historically significant green space nestled between Parmelia and Chester Streets in South Fremantle. The land has a story. Once a horse paddock and stable, it was Mr. Fowler — a local identity — who envisioned it as a community space. That vision held. Formed in the interwar years to serve a growing suburb, the park became exactly what Fowler imagined: a shared backyard where generations of South Fremantle locals come together to walk, play, and relax beneath the shade of its trees.

Some of those trees — including the native groves and iconic olive trees — were planted in 1940 by children from Beaconsfield School. Today, those same trees frame the playground. The community's deep roots in this place are, quite literally, still growing.

A brief shaped by history

By 2024, the park's playground was more than twenty years old and due for renewal. The City's Projects and Place Team ran an open community consultation through their MySay Freo platform, gathering feedback and producing a formal Sense of Place document that would anchor the design. The brief that emerged was specific: the new playground should reflect where it stands.

One of the design requirements brought to VRI was direct — incorporate horse-themed elements, a stable or horse features, within the play structure. Given the site's history, this wasn't a decorative choice. It was a connection to the land itself.

The colour palette was equally deliberate. The design brief called for soft greens, creams, earthy naturals, and warm pastels — tones chosen to sit quietly within the park's landscape and to support children with sensory sensitivities by reducing overstimulation.

The Giddy-Up Forts — custom playground, South Fremantle

VRI's response to that brief was the 172-GFO Giddy-Up Forts — a dual-level West Australian Jarrah timber stable fort that draws directly from the history of the place. The custom stable shopfront beneath the elevated adventure deck bears the name Fowlers Stable, honouring Mr. Fowler's role in bringing this land to the community. Horseshoe details on the gable, white painted picket balustrading, and colour-banded dressage poles complete the theme.

Two linked platforms — an elevated adventure deck at 1,800mm and a stable-inspired lower platform at 900mm — are joined by a V-rope coconut traverse. The upper level is reached via a rope ladder, with descent via an orange wave slide or a stainless steel fireman's pole. The lower stable platform is accessed via a log scramble or carved haybale step. At ground level, a suspended coconut rope rocker invites cooperative play between children of different ages.

The structure is handcrafted in VRI's O'Connor workshop from locally sourced West Australian Jarrah hardwood, with a weather-resistant water-based oil finish throughout. The design draws from a similar character-led approach to VRI's earlier Shelley Beach Park project — another coastal Fremantle installation that informed elements of the Parmelia Park structure.

The 172-GFO Giddy-Up Forts was purpose-built for this project and is now part of the VRI range, available in customisable configurations for councils, schools, and destination playgrounds across WA and nationally.

A complete playground suite

VRI was engaged by head contractor Phase 3 Landscape Construction to design, supply, and install the full playground elements for this renewal project for the City of Fremantle. The complete suite at Parmelia Park:

• 172-GFO Giddy-Up Forts — dual-level Jarrah timber stable fort with custom Fowlers Stable shopfront, V-rope traverse, fireman's pole, orange wave slide, green slide, log scramble, and suspended coconut rope rocker
• 201-ABS A-Frame with Basket Swing — Jarrah A-frame with inclusive basket seat for multi-age cooperative play
• 731-SEE See Saw — Jarrah bush pole see saw with carved log seating and premium rocking mechanism
• 781-TAB Talking Tubes on Bush Poles — stainless steel talking tubes on Jarrah bush poles, creating an interactive communication network across the play space
• 005-LOG Log × 2 — natural Jarrah play logs for climbing, balancing, and landscape definition
• 001-STU Stepping Stumps × 6 — Jarrah stepping stumps for balance trails and natural movement pathways

The full installation sits on white sand softfall beneath shade sails, framed by the park's established peppermint trees. Adding another layer of community connection, local artist Olive Cheng is collaborating with Beaconsfield School students on a mural for the park's toilet block — continuing the tradition of the school's involvement in Parmelia Park that began with those tree plantings in 1940.

Delivered within a council capital works cycle

Parmelia Park is the kind of project VRI is built for. A neighbourhood park with a strong sense of place. A council capital works brief shaped by genuine community engagement. A scope that calls for custom design — with full design, supply, and installation delivered within budget and on programme.

Construction commenced in November 2025. The playground was open to the community by January 2026 — with the City making a particular effort to ensure the park was accessible over Christmas and New Year, even before the full project was complete. Fremantle's local community publication Freoview noted the gesture, calling the new installation a "wonderful new nature playground."

If you're planning a neighbourhood playground renewal and want a team that can take a community brief from concept to completion — get in touch with VRI.