The Ruth Park playground is one of Canberra’s newest parks.

We made our first visit to the Ruth Park playspace in Coombs. Approaching from nearby you can see the big slide towers and it is a really large park.

I’m not sure if Ruth Park has any connection to Canberra, she was born in New Zealand and a lot of her adult works are based in the rough streets of Sydney. Her work aimed at children includes the Muddle Headed Wombat, Playing Beattie Bow and When the Wind Changed, among many others.

Building this huge park without toilets has been an issue of controversy. In terms of other facilities, there are BBQs and some seating areas by the pond. The playground has trampolines, a variety of different slides, sand play and plenty of climbing areas across various levels.

You can see some more about the building of the Ruth Park park in this video.

Here is an interview with Ruth Park almost 50 years ago after winning the Miles Franklin prize.

These big seed pods are designed in the style of the infamous “bommy knocker” style plant. They are similar in some ways to the acorn pods at the National Arboretum.

There is also a fence running some way along the pond so that children don’t jump straight in for a splash.

The Ruth Park park is located in Edgeworth Pde, Coombs.