Rocks Riverside Park

The Rocks Riverside Park at Seventeen Mile Rocks is a popular Brisbane parkland with residents, also serving as a Gold Coast riverbank stabilisation initiative. The Rocks Riverside Park is built on a 26-hectare site of reclaimed industrial land previously occupied by Queensland Cement Limited (now known as Cement Australia). The park includes playground equipment, water-play features and general amenities. The site’s industrial heritage has been highlighted by the use of public artworks and industrial debris such as remains of conveyor belts, crushing plant and wharf.

Key design criteria The key design criterion was to provide an aesthetic pavement solution for the Rocks Riverside Park. Concrete used Approximately 800m3 of coloured concrete was delivered and placed in the Rocks Riverside Park. The colours chosen by the Brisbane City Council Landscape Architect include Onyx, Light Peach, Black and Red Brick. The concrete was placed as walkways and decorative concrete features such as the children’s playground boats. Results achieved The Rocks Riverside Park was awarded the ‘Best Precinct’ at the 2005 Cement Concrete and Aggregate Australia (CCAA) Public Domain Awards. The awards are designed to recognise the innovative and functional use of concrete to enhance public domain areas. The award judges described the use and re-use of concrete in the park as ‘skilful and committed, even playful…’, providing a strong reference to the site’s previous industrial past.