The All Ages All Abilities Playground | University of Wollongong

Hayley Hughes​​​​, Team Leader, Foothills Day  Options

"The inclusive playground in Stuart Park is a great resource for our team to get our participants out in the community. Our participants love interacting with others at the playground and it gives them access to the park equipment whilst in their wheelchairs. They’re also able to explore the sensory items around the park by being able to touch things. Participants are able to use all the pathways to walk around the entire park and there are accessible tables and chairs for a picnic lunch in the large beautiful grass seating area. 

Having the Stuart Park playground is a great way for our participants to feel apart of our beautiful community, giving them access to play on the equipment, observe the wonderful surroundings, discover sensory objects throughout the entire park and enjoy a relaxing picnic in nature, and all is easily wheelchair accessible." 

Justin and Olivia Healey

(Olivia has a number of disabilities, including intellectual delay, profound hearing loss, and limited mobility requiring wheelchair use).

Olivia (19 years old):

"I love that park, it's really cool and pretty. I like the merry-go-round because I can fit on it with my wheelchair. I like sharing the park with lots of other kids and grown-ups. I like the wide paths, the swings and the gardens and cool statues. It's the best!"

‍Justin Healey (54 years old)

"My 19-year-old daughter Olivia experiences a sustained sense of loss and social isolation over not being able to visit the playgrounds of her earlier youth due to the progressive nature of her condition which now confines her to a wheelchair. To see her interact again with so many kids and adults of all abilities at the Stuart Park playground, which is in such a beautiful setting, is heart-warming, to say the least.

There are very few public spaces Olivia can access with ease, let alone take joy in, however this playground sets the community benchmark for fun and inclusion. The imaginative playground features such as the modified adult-sized play equipment, natural landscaping and colourful gardens, the gorgeous artwork, and the amenity and central location in Wollongong, all contribute to a wonderful, full sensory, play experience for all who come here. The Stuart Park All Ages and Abilities Playground is such a fantastic and inclusive initiative." 

Testimony from Belinda Monroe, mother of three boys, one who has Angelman Syndrome

"We love visiting the all-abilities playground at Stuart Park as it is a place our whole family can enjoy. As a mother of three growing boys, one of whom has both an intellectual and a physical disability and is nonverbal, I have been on the lookout for a playground where all my sons can play together.

Due to our son’s physical disability, he requires a walker to move around. As such, he is unable to enjoy most mainstream parks, as the surfaces are often uneven or unsuitable for using a walker, there is not adequate access to play equipment, and the equipment does not provide the necessary support for him to enjoy and keep him safe.

No person, regardless of their disability or capability, should be denied the enjoyment of playing in a playground with their siblings and peers. It can often feel very isolating as a special needs mum, not being able to take one’s family to the park, or often left trying to entertain your disabled son while his siblings play on equipment that he is not able to use.

The all-abilities playground has opened a world of new opportunities for inclusion and socialisation with our community. It is accessible, the equipment is adaptable to meet different physical needs of people with a variety of disabilities, and this means our son, no matter how old or big he gets, can enjoy going to the park and having fun with his two older brothers."