Wawai Ngurra – “River Monster Country” in Darug language – is a destination play space in Nurragingy Reserve, Blacktown, Sydney. The playground theme explores the coexistence of Darug people and the area’s megafauna over thousands of years through an inclusive space of exploration and creativity.
AECOM’s landscape architecture team designed the play space in collaboration with Blacktown City Council, Darug artist Leanne Mulgo Watson, and the charities Variety and the Touched By Olivia Foundation.
In 2024, the Wawai Ngurra Inclusive Adventure Play Space was awarded a New South Wales Play Spaces award by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.
Enabling diverse play experiences
Wawai Ngurra was designed to support diverse play experiences for all abilities and ages, including children who are neurodiverse, have a visual impairment, or have a physical disability – exemplifying the New South Wales State Government’s ‘Everyone Can Play’ guidelines. Its centrepiece is an elevated accessible walkway with a variety of play experiences of varying difficulty levels along its path. This enables users with physical disabilities to experience play from above – a rare perspective in play spaces.
Play is encouraged on, over, with and under the structure’s slides, climbing nets, stone steppers, sensory panels, and chimes. A net at the highest point of the walkway allows users to lie back and enjoy the view of the dappled tree canopy. Other features include a fossil excavation sandpit, den-making area, inclusive swings, an accessible trampoline, and a river monster sculpture.
We worked with Vision Australia to develop a tactile site map to enable visually impaired users to understand and engage with the layout of the play space. Communication boards were also designed with braille key points to help non-verbal users enjoy the play space.
Embracing Darug culture
Infusing Darug language, art and storytelling into design elements has created a space that celebrates the local Darug culture and the landscape’s diverse history.
As part of the signage strategy, Darug language and artwork were integrated into all signage across the site. Infographic panels with QR links were developed to depict the area’s megafauna, with Darug figures to demonstrate scale.
Preserving Wawai Ngurra’s unique character
The design worked with the existing trees on site, with play elements located outside Tree Protection Zones and levels raised in areas to avoid impacting tree roots. As the playground is within a flood plain, we worked closely with our arborist and engineers to develop a subsoil drainage system across the site to allow the play spaces to drain without impacting the existing trees. We also expressed the central drainage swale through new native plantings and play crossings. The design uses native species in planting across the site and utilised excess stock from other council projects and additional Landcare Australia tree planting.
