Watson Maliyan Park
Project details
Location
Canberra, ACT
Client
ACT Government – Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
01 / Challenge
Challenge
North Watson’s new neighbourhood park needed to serve everyday life in a changing suburb. The ACT Government’s brief called for places to play, exercise, relax and gather, with connections to surrounding paths and future housing at Section 76.
The site already had a strong landscape character. Established trees framed the open ground, while the design brief sought natural materials, varied play and opportunities to learn about Ngunnawal history and connection to Country. Bringing those ambitions together meant considering the spaces between activities as carefully as the play equipment itself.
Maliyan Park and its established tree setting, photographed in July 2024.
02 / Response
Response
Redbox Design Group developed the landscape design from the established park concept, bringing together play areas, paths, seating and planting. The design brief placed particular emphasis on younger children, with places for adults to supervise and space for informal recreation alongside the playground.
Curving paths connect a series of play settings and open lawn. Timber elements and stone define smaller spaces within the broader park, while seating and picnic tables give accompanying adults somewhere to settle. The arrangement creates a choice of activities without losing the relationship to the surrounding trees.
Ngunnawal cultural contributions give Maliyan Park its particular identity. The Maliyan, or wedge-tailed eagle, structure sits among artworks and interpretive elements developed with Ngunnawal involvement. Landscape design brings these contributions into the park’s physical setting, while their cultural meaning belongs to the people who shared it.
Overhead view of Maliyan Park’s play areas, paths and gathering spaces, July 2024.
03 / Outcome
Outcome
Maliyan Park opened in 2024, adding a local recreation space to north Watson. The park combines play, exercise and room to gather within the wider Section 76 landscape.
Its design gives the neighbourhood a recognisable place: an eagle form above the gathering area, timber and stone at the scale of play, and established trees around the edges. These details connect the practical requirements of a local park with the character of its setting.
Timber play elements, stone edges and the Maliyan structure, July 2024.
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