By Mikayla van Loon
After 10 years of having a neglected playspace in Selby, the final piece of the redevelopment has been installed creating the Wombalana Adventure Space.
A funny looking creature from the Pleistocene epoch that looks similar to a giant wombat but is known as a diprotodon, has taken up residence in Selby.
As a permanent feature in the Selby Community House playground, house manager Anna Reid hopes it will be a draw card to the area.
It’s taken 18 months of working with industrial designer Stephen Mushin and RB Landscapes to not only get the diprotodon to Selby but to recreate an environmentally focused playspace.
“Between the two of them, they’ve created a masterpiece of the most beautiful, natural garden, children’s play space, a place where the community can come together which didn’t really exist or doesn’t exist in this area,” Ms Reid said.
“We’re one of the oldest community houses in the area. We’ve got a very strong environmental focus that’s been around for over 40 years.
“It ties in all of the things that Selby Community House holds dear which is all about nature and preserving the environment.”
Richard Bellemo and the team from RB Landscapes redeveloped the space using large boulders, vertical and horizontal logs, giant ferns, meandering pathways and stepping stones to create an other-worldly garden space inspired from the natural world.
Diprotodons used to roam what would have been the Dandenong Ranges over 50,000 years ago and with the return of one to Selby, it will be the only true to size replica of the megafauna in Australia and perhaps the world.
“Wombalana is a magical wilderness. A journey tens of thousands of years back in time – perhaps even before humans inhabited the land we now call Australia,” Mr Mushin said.
Made from all recycled industrial materials by fabricator and sculptor Sam Deal, Ms Reid said it is a bit quirky but she hopes it will allow the children’s imaginations to run wild.
“It’s incredible to think that something like this existed here and it walked through this area,” she said.
“The concept is something that’s never been done before. It’s otherworldly, it creates creativity with children, it sparks interest in all ages, it’s not just children, it could be any age that’s fascinated by this.
“We’re really pushing the bar and trying to be creative and different but also create something that we’re really proud of and it’s a real nod to our incredible nature and history of the area.”
The children lucky enough to be at Selby Primary School and the Selby kindergarten on Wednesday 13 October were able to watch as the diprotodon was lifted into position and installed and were perhaps the first to give it a test run.
Ms Reid said this was very much a soft launch of the diprotodon ready for the real unveiling at Selby Fest on 4 December where she would like to see everyone exploring the garden and taking selfies with the curious creature.
A naming competition for the diprotodon, which will be announced shortly, will also be awarded at Selby Fest.
Stephen recently designed Terra Wonder Adventure Playspace at CERES environmental park – including a 500:1 scale mechanical millipede as big as a bus! www.ceres.org.au
