Koomba Park
Encyclopedia
Koomba Park is one of the parks comprising the Dandenong Valley Parklands in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne
, Australia
. It consists of 92 hectares, of which 33 hectares is publicly accessible, and is bounded by the Dandenong Creek
, Boronia Road, EastLink
, Mountain Highway
and Burwood Highway
in a clockwise direction. The park opened in December 1981.
and the EastLink Trail
both run through the park on the same primary north to south concrete path, before the trails split paths near the southern car park. All trails were originally of fine crushed gravel, but in mid-late 2007, the existing Dandenong Creek Trail was upgraded to 3 metre wide concrete from Boronia Road south to the former toilet block as part of the construction of EastLink
. A new path of the same standard was constructed which leads further south to the Mountain Highway intersection with Burwood Highway, which forms part of the EastLink Trail, which opened in Mid 2008. The primary path exit at the north of the park leads under Boronia Road and continues to run alongside the Dandenong Creek while the southern path (the EastLink Trail) leads further along EastLink to the south and the south west path (the Dandenong Creek Trail) crosses the Dandenong Creek and meets the Burwood Highway in Vermont South, with this link being constructed as a raised boardwalk and opened in 1997. The boardwalk is currently closed for repairs and will reopen in October 2010.
s were also removed at the same time. Information boards are located at the north and south pedestrian entrances to the park. A drinking fountain is also located at the junction of the Dandenong Creek and EastLink trails. The adjoining Wantirna Reserve, managed by Knox City Council and located at the southern end of the park features a sporting oval with an adjacent clubhouse and cricket nets
which caters for australian rules football
and cricket
, while the Wantirna Tennis Club clubhouse resides in the middle of ten private clay tennis court
s. A scout hall and playground are also situated within the reserve. All facilities are accessed by dirt access roads with associated parking areas provided. The Victorian Jazz Archive is also located on the left side of the southern entrance to the park.
.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It consists of 92 hectares, of which 33 hectares is publicly accessible, and is bounded by the Dandenong Creek
Dandenong Creek
Dandenong Creek, originally known as Narra Narrawong, runs from the Dandenong Ranges in the Dandenong Ranges National Park, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, through the urban areas of Boronia and The Basin, eventually meeting Mordialloc Creek and the manmade Patterson River...
, Boronia Road, EastLink
EastLink, Melbourne
EastLink is a A$2.5 billion tolled freeway linking a large area through the eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It is a part of Melbourne's Metropolitan Ring Road project....
, Mountain Highway
Mountain Highway
Mountain Highway is a 18 km highway in Eastern Melbourne. Mountain Highway starts from Burwood Highway and runs through The Basin, then uphill to Sassafras. For most of its length it is dual carriageway, with 2 or 3 lanes in each Direction. From Burwood Highway to Forest Road in the suburb of The...
and Burwood Highway
Burwood Highway
Burwood Highway is a major transportation link with Melbourne's eastern suburbs. It begins in the suburb of Kooyong, Melbourne at the junction of the Monash Freeway as Toorak Road between Monash Freeway and Warrigal Road, and finishes in Belgrave, Victoria in the Dandenong Ranges...
in a clockwise direction. The park opened in December 1981.
Cycle paths
Both the Dandenong Creek TrailDandenong Creek Trail
The Dandenong Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows Dandenong Creek through the outer eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.-Following the Path:...
and the EastLink Trail
EastLink Trail
The EastLink Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the EastLink tollway for most of its length from Ringwood to Dandenong, in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.-Following the path:...
both run through the park on the same primary north to south concrete path, before the trails split paths near the southern car park. All trails were originally of fine crushed gravel, but in mid-late 2007, the existing Dandenong Creek Trail was upgraded to 3 metre wide concrete from Boronia Road south to the former toilet block as part of the construction of EastLink
EastLink, Melbourne
EastLink is a A$2.5 billion tolled freeway linking a large area through the eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It is a part of Melbourne's Metropolitan Ring Road project....
. A new path of the same standard was constructed which leads further south to the Mountain Highway intersection with Burwood Highway, which forms part of the EastLink Trail, which opened in Mid 2008. The primary path exit at the north of the park leads under Boronia Road and continues to run alongside the Dandenong Creek while the southern path (the EastLink Trail) leads further along EastLink to the south and the south west path (the Dandenong Creek Trail) crosses the Dandenong Creek and meets the Burwood Highway in Vermont South, with this link being constructed as a raised boardwalk and opened in 1997. The boardwalk is currently closed for repairs and will reopen in October 2010.
Walker paths
There are also a series of official fine course gravel criss-crossing paths which are located in the park designed for walkers, although can be used by cyclists. These paths are usually very poorly maintained, with sections bumpy, narrow and even impassable due to overgrowth and fallen trees. A number of unofficial paths have also been created by visitors in the park.Facilities
A joint picnic shelter and toilet block (which was originally a football/cricket oval pavilion) existed in the park for some time but was demolished in mid 2008 due to numerous crime incidents (see crime section below). Electric barbecueBarbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
s were also removed at the same time. Information boards are located at the north and south pedestrian entrances to the park. A drinking fountain is also located at the junction of the Dandenong Creek and EastLink trails. The adjoining Wantirna Reserve, managed by Knox City Council and located at the southern end of the park features a sporting oval with an adjacent clubhouse and cricket nets
Cricket nets
Cricket nets are practice nets used by batsmen and bowlers to warm up and/or improve their cricketing techniques. Cricket nets consist of a cricket pitch which is enclosed by cricket nets on either side, to the rear and optionally the roof. The bowling end of the net is left open...
which caters for australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, while the Wantirna Tennis Club clubhouse resides in the middle of ten private clay tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
s. A scout hall and playground are also situated within the reserve. All facilities are accessed by dirt access roads with associated parking areas provided. The Victorian Jazz Archive is also located on the left side of the southern entrance to the park.
Crime
The park is known by locals and the police to be a meeting point for drug deals and gay sex, due to its remoteness from residential areas and densely wooded forests, especially at night. In 2006, the male toilets were permanently closed in a bid to curb gay sex meetings. In the middle of 2008, the entire toilet block/picnic shelter was demolished in a further bid to stop the meetings. On 7 May 2010 at approximately 1am, a drug deal in the park lead to the stabbing murder of a 41 year old man from DandenongDandenong, Victoria
Dandenong is a suburb and major urban centre in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 30 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Situated on Dandenong Creek and mostly flat land at the foothills of Mount Dandenong, it is the main administrative centre for the City of...
.