The Fairbridge Farm School was home to almost 1000 orphaned or poor British children trained as farmers and servants. The Fairbridge Children’s Park is a site representing a journey through the lives of those migrant children from 1938 – 1973, with a strong narrative interpreting the children’s Origin, Passage, Farm Life and Turn Out. The intent of the park is to be a place of beauty and tranquillity-an antidote to the hardship and isolation of its former residents.
Located in the Central West region of NSW, along the Mitchell Highway, just east of Molong, the park is a tourist attraction and a place to stop, rest and reflect on the local history. The design and construction of the park was a collaboration between The Old Fairbridgians Association, Clouston Associates, Carbonne Council, the Traditional Owners and Co-Ordinated Landscapes.
Constructing in a rural setting does bring with it some challenges, such as wildlife, an ongoing drought and no one could have predicted a global pandemic! With attentive management, utilising local contractors and purchasing water from local bores, the program and budget were met. The park includes car park facilities, public art, interpretive elements, concrete & paved paths, picnic settings, native trees, shrubs and grass planting. Project highlights are the sandblasted dated path outlining significant events, the large photographs of the actual children arriving and the original village bell. Fairbridge Children’s Park opened in March 2020, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects described the park as “a place or rest and reflection…an example of landscape architecture’s ability to contribute to healing.”
Photo’s courtesy of Brenton Cox Photography