The Active Pier Park

(All map references in this article refer to maps in the Hervey Bay Pocket Book 20th Edition)

Pier Park at Urangan, on Map 34 F2, is an active park for all members of the family.

The parents and grandparents might take a stroll through the well shaded paths and use the comfortable seating, whilst enjoying the market on the 1st and 3rd Saturday mornings.

The children have the terrace art, the 'boy with the fish' statue and swimming, while the youth charge down the pier and emulate the statue with their own fishing adventures. Many of the get-fit-brigade start their 5 km run here at the Rotary Club's 0 kilometre mark, proceeding to run along the foreshore's shaded path. These markings each half kilometre are great, especially when some of the runners do interval-training.

Interval training is when you jog for 500m and then run for 500m, sometimes a flat-out sprint but more than often a three-quarter pace run and then jog again for the next 500 metres.

The 5 km Parkrun at 7am Saturday morning, starts near here in the Lions Park (Map 34 F2) and does a U-Turn, at 2.5 km, just past Witt St (Map 34 A2). Even at 63 years of age, I often participate the Parkruns in the various Pocket Book areas and look forward to attending a few in Hervey Bay this year. The Hervey Bay Parkrun attracts some 420 runners of all ages.

The Lions Club has been very busy setting up parts of this park, while the municipality has shown that it understands what visitors and residents would like in this area. Bar-Be-Que areas, toilets including disability conveniences, showers, parking and the views, make this a very pleasant part of the Fraser Coast.

The Tree

The Park

The Shelter & the Pier

The Terrace

The boy and fish Statue erected in bronze in 2006, called 'The Duet' by Terry Summers, born 1929 in England. The plaque says “DUET” - 'Young Boy and Fish Singing the Happy Fisherman's Song'. Commissioned by the Hervey Bay City Council.

The lads fishing at the end of the 868 m pier, and the pelican.

Perhaps a stronger light fixture, instead of the spikes, would have been kinder.

Shaded area on start of path

Awaiting a picnic

The curves of the boardwalk

Visiting tourists from England enjoying the view, while Ibis visitors await their tidbits of lunch.

Celebrating their centenary in 2005, the Rotary Club has cleaverly placed 0 km under their zero-age start year of 1905.

Gerry Clarke B.PED