An all-inclusive carousel will be installed at Warrnambool’s Cramer Street playground as part of a $52,000 project.
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Warrnambool’s Sue Cassidy began working on the project with a team of three others more than 12 months ago before she was elected to city council.
“My mum is an incomplete quad, so I know what it’s like not to have things that includes everyone,” Cr Cassidy said.
When Cr Cassidy applied to be part of the Leadership Great South Coast group, she mooted the idea of getting all-inclusive playground equipment installed in Warrnambool.
Three others – Portland’s Carly Garonne, Skipton’s Angela Gowans and Cobden’s Wayne Roberts – joined the project which secured $25,000 from Variety, $15,000 in-kind funding from Warrnambool council, $5000 from the A. L. Lane Foundation, $5000 from Cassign and $2000 from Leadership Great South Coast.
Cr Cassidy said that her dad, brother and husband had all taken part in the Variety Bash – a charity motoring event which involved driving old cars across Australia to raise money – and the organisation was keen to give back to communities that had supported them.
Footpaths and vegetation had already been completed, ready for the carousel to be installed in the next few months. Cr Cassidy said the carousel was suitable for adults and children, had wheelchair and pram access, and allowed everyone to play together.
She also agreed that more needed to be done to make Lake Pertobe more inclusive. “This is just the beginning,” she said.
Cr Cassidy said that her mum had been an incomplete quadriplegic for about 13 years and she understood the difficulties people with differing abilities faced.
“She did an over extension one day. It was as easy as that. She was actually putting up some curtains, and you know when you push a bit and something grabs in your neck,” she said.
“When it grabbed in her neck, that’s when everything went bad. It took probably another week for it to actually all happen, but that was the start of it.”
Cr Cassidy said that her mum still had movement in her arms, was able to get around quite easy with the help of carers, and keep herself busy by cooking and knitting
She said she was shocked when Warrnambool Special Development School missed out on funding in last week’s state budget for a new school.
“To have a special school on a hill is ridiculous when you’ve got wheelchairs and things.”
