Caribbean Gardens
Caribbean Gardens was a 100 acres (0.40 km2) market, gardens and amusement park located in the outer eastern suburb of Scoresby in Melbourne, Australia, on the north/west side of Caribbean Lake, a large 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long artificial lake along the northern (right) bank of Corhanwarrabul Creek (a major tributary of Dandenong Creek).
Caribbean Gardens and Market operated from 1965 when it started with only a handful of traders selling wares from their car boots and water ski shows. What once was "a handful of traders" grew into a bustling undercover market with over 1000 stall sites. It was known as one of the largest markets in Victoria, occupying a 10,500 m2 (2.6 acres) pavilion.
On the 1st of July 2020, it was announced that the park would close permanently after the COVID-19 lockdowns forced a temporary closure which greatly impacted the park financially. Despite the closure, "Caribbean Market supporters are calling for the 'institution' to be saved".[1] After the official announcement, the Facebook post on the Caribbean Market's page attracted over 5000 comments of support.[2]
There are development plans to expand and transform the now-mostly defunct market into a business park that would "become the largest office precinct outside of the CBD". The comprehensive masterplan of the new Caribbean Park is delivering new office buildings, expansive lakeside parklands, integrated landscaping, new retail areas, lifestyle facilities and now a Hyatt Place hotel, with plan to add a minimum of 10,000 new trees within the parklands every year.[3]
History
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s and chairlifts above the eastern portion of the lake]]
In 1945, the Spooner family acquired around 300 acres (1.2 km2) of land in Scoresby.[4] In 1958, whilst overseas, Arch Spooner found fibreglass and realised the material's potential in the boatbuilding industry, and soon after, he established the Caribbean Boat Factory. It soon became necessary to have a large enough waterbody for testing the boats, and in the early 1960s, Lake Caribbean was built. It was subsequently opened to the public and further developed by one of his sons, Rod Spooner, as Caribbean Gardens.[5] The much loved Caribbean Gardens and Market opened in 1976, and in the 1980s the next generation of the Spooner family began developing a technology and office park that blended into the surrounding environment.
The site is significant being Victoria's "first local example" of a theme park,[6] with many original features (Japanese gardens, railway, chairlift, jungle cruise & picnic areas) still intact today.
It was noted in The Woman's Weekly 1966 that the Spooner family "aims to turn the area into a kind of local Disneyland, and already the shores many islets at one end of the lake are dotted with fibreglass crocodiles, elephants, hippopotamuses". The park also included "ski kite-riding from the Cypress Gardens" in the US.[7]
The chairlift ride was built by Jack Griffiths and chairlift manufacturer Ron McCallum,[8] originally from Whistlestop Amusement Park[9] in Skye Road, Frankston which closed in 1974.
Caribbean Gardens also has a preserved sugarcane locomotive (1924) from Victoria Mill, Ingham.[10]
The park also has a number of other features including cast iron street lamps originally from Melbourne dotted around the gardens.[11]
See also
References
- ^ "Heraldsun.com.au | Subscribe to the Herald Sun for exclusive stories".
- ^ Sakkal, Paul (1 July 2020). "'Sad time': Much-loved Melbourne market closes after 55 years". The Age.
- ^ "Our Future Vision - A Micro City". Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "The Park - Generations of Success". Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "No pirates as Caribbean Gardens celebrate 50 years". ABC News. 2 February 2016 – via www.abc.net.au.
- ^ "Survey of Post-War Built Heritage in Victoria: Stage One" (PDF). Volume 1: Contextual Overview, Methodology, Lists & Appendices. 1 (1): 30. October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "Fun among the "crocodiles"". Australian Women's Weekly. 26 January 1966.
- ^ "Australian ski lift directory: details of 500 lifts & ropeways". Australian mountains.
- ^ "Whistle Stop Amusement Park". www.onlymelbourne.com.au.
- ^ "Preserved Australian sugar cane locomotives". lrrsa.org.au.
- ^ "Survey of Post-War Built Heritage in Victoria: Stage One" (PDF). Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure. Heritage Alliance prepared for Heritage Victoria. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2017.