Maiden Gully Recreation Reserve is a 4.5 hectare site set in a natural environment and located at 19 Beckhams Road Maiden Gully. The reserve is located on Crown Land managed by the City of Greater Bendigo and is one of the main recreation reserves in the Maiden Gully township with current entrances located off Beckhams Road and Carolyn Way.

• In March 1900 Mr Jas Howard sent a letter to the Lands Department asking for an area of land to be set aside for the purpose of recreation for the residents of Myers Creek (now Maiden Gully).
• In 1909 an area of approximately 20 acres was proclaimed an area for recreation by the Lands Department.
• In 1946 the reserves name was changed from Myers Creek to Maiden Gully, to bring it in line with the changed name of the Primary School in 1938.
• Work was undertaken to establish two earthen tennis courts in 1946.
• During 1970 an overall plan was developed for the future needs of the community with regard to recreation. The two tennis courts were sealed and an additional court area levelled and fenced. A start was also made in clearing land for purposes of constructing an oval.
• In 1972 a tennis pavilion was completed and the oval was constructed.
• In 1979 action was taken to have reticulated water connected to the Reserve, a start was made in having a Cricket Club pavilion erected and a tractor driven mower was purchased.
• In 1981 the Committee commenced the process of having the toilet block erected.
• In 1988, Australia’s Bi-Centenial Year, a gas barbeque was erected to commemorate the occasion.
• A major reconstruction of the oval was undertaken in 2006.

The infrastructure at the Maiden Gully Recreation Reserve is old and ageing and no longer meets the diverse needs of the growing Maiden Gully community.

The reserve needs to be redesigned to meet the current and future needs of the community to address the changing way people participate in physical activities and use different types of spaces to gather, meet and play.   

The need for an Infrastructure and Services Site Plan for the Maiden Gully Recreation Reserve is driven by renewal of the four existing failed tennis courts that support social and club-based tennis in Maiden Gully.

Initial investigations have determined the renewal of the tennis courts would remain in the current location along with the associated tennis infrastructure and connectivity between the courts and the rest of the reserve.

However, the primary aim of this project is to develop a draft site plan to look at improvements for the wider site to serve the growing and diverse Maiden Gully population now and in the future.

The City wants to ensure that the reserve can become a place for all people regardless of age, gender, ethnicity and ability, a place where people can recreate and enjoy many and varied activities.

The draft site plan has considered the opportunities and limitations of the Maiden Gully Recreation Reserve site and features:

• New bike and walking paths
• Identification of site for potential skate park, BMX track, outdoor fitness or parkour activities
• Potential relocation of cricket nets
• Potential site for playspace renewal
• Spectator seating
• Service vehicle access with turning bay
• Parking areas

The reserve features:

• One oval catering to senior cricket and junior AFL
• Cricket hard wicket
• Two cricket training nets
• Sports field training lights
• Four tennis courts
• Small tennis clubroom facility
• Community pavilion with kiosk, change rooms and toilet facilities.
• Club storage facilities
• Car park
• BBQ
• Internal walking pathways
• Nearby playspace

The reserve is currently home to Maiden Gully Tennis Club, Maiden Gully YCW Eagles Junior Football Club, Maiden Gully Cricket Club and Bendigo Lacrosse Club.

The City of Greater Bendigo has developed the draft site plan with feedback received from internal and external stakeholders following completion of a Gender Equity Impact Assessment of the site in 2022.

Equity Impact Assessments look at who is using a City service or a public space like Maiden Gully Recreation Reserve and perhaps more importantly, who isn’t - and why? What barriers are there for certain people groups and how can they be removed?

One of the key aims of this project is to retain the natural surrounds of the reserve as much as possible. This means that any future improvements would need to incorporate the majority of existing mature and healthy trees located on the reserve.

The tennis court and associated infrastructure renewal has received funding in the City’s 2023/2024 Council budget.

The overall redevelopment of the reserve is currently unfunded. When the site plan is finalised the City will need to allocate funds from future budgets to undertake detailed design and staged works featured in the plan.

It depends on the activity. For example, if a BMX track is the preferred activity, it would need the entire space. If the preferred activity is a half court, that could be constructed alongside outdoor fitness equipment for example.

Yes

Neighbourhood playspaces are designed to serve a catchment area of up to 500 metres from the site (a five minute walk or a one or two minute drive). This playspace could feature a modular unit with a slide, opportunities for climbing and scrambling, steppers, dual swing set and seating. Barbecues, bins or toilets will not be provided at the playspace. These facilities already exist at the Recreation Reserve.

Delivery of the plan is subject to:

• Native vegetation and biodiversity survey
• Consideration for service connections, drainage
• Statutory planning requirements
• Future development around the Recreation Reserve overlooking the reserve, resulting in open boundaries, matching the surrounding residential streets

It is possible, but the activities that are possible on each site are different, so it would depend on the community’s preferred activities! Activities like skateboarding, BMX or kicking a ball would be located beside the tennis courts and away from the high quality indigenous vegetation. Outdoor fitness equipment could be located at either space.