On Thursday 27 August 2020 the Manjimup Heritage Park won "Park of the Year" at the WA Parks and Leisure Australia Regional Awards of Excellence.
The Parks and Leisure Australia Awards of Excellence were established to highlight the very high standard and range of best practice and innovation the parks and leisure industry has to offer. The Park of the Year award, sponsored by Active Discovery, celebrates and promotes vibrant, successful well designed and managed new or significantly revitalised parks and open spaces by recognising and rewarding exceptional examples of best practice in terms of design and management.
Transformation of the Park commenced in 2013 when the project received $2.94m in funding through the SuperTown Royalties for Regions Program and $140,000 from LotteryWest for the installation of the adventure playground, followed by the giant 17 metre slide in 2016, however the project really began in earnest with the announcement of funding for stage two of the Manjimup Town Centre Revitalisation Project in 2016.
The transformation of the Manjimup Timber and Heritage Park precinct into a unique multipurpose attraction was one of eight components of the $33 million Town Centre Revitalisation Project amounting to $11.2m, and included:
- Creation of a new entry point and caf building;
- Refurbishment of the State Timber Museum;
- The construction of the Power Up Electricity Museum;
- Upgrades to and extensions to the historic hamlet including new ramps, a blacksmith shop and agricultural display;
- Construction of the Sandra Donovan Sound Shell:
- Conversion of the old sawmill display into a volunteer hub;
- Restoration and relocation of the rail and relics display;
- Function facilities;
- Visitor Centre;
- Caf;
- Recreational facilities;
- Landscaping works;
- Accessible pathways; and
- A range of infrastructure improvements.
Shire President Paul Omodei said "We are thrilled to receive this award, the success of the Heritage Park transformation has been a culmination of years of foresight, planning, lobbying, collaboration and detailed project management. I am honoured to have accepted the award along with our CEO and Director of Community Services, however, this was a considerable team effort with numerous staff, volunteers, consultants and contractors contributing to an exceptional multiuse facility and a totally re-energised entry to the Shire from the north."
Cr Omodei added "It is especially pleasing to see that Shire's efforts in bringing this facility to the region recognised. The Shire continues its strong track record of delivering infrastructure projects and I also congratulate the Project Manager Jessica Winters for a job well done."
