Katanning’s Piesse Park takes shape

Excitement is brewing in Katanning as Piesse Park upgrades edge closer to completion after more than three years planning.

The historic spot is being transformed into a vibrant community space home to a new amphitheatre stage, botanic garden, nature-based playground and dog exercise area.

Shire of Katanning executive officer Julian Murphy said works were progressing smoothly, with the project on track to finish within four months.

“At the moment we are working on the amphitheatre and the construction of the stage — putting lighting, power and sound into that park to facilitate concerts and events,” he said.

A path network weaving around the lake will join an extension at Chipper Street which will offer extra parking to better connect park and town.

Mr Murphy said residents were already enjoying the pathways.

“We have also installed boardwalks across the Piesse Lake and they will connect to that path network to allow people to get in and around the man-made lake,” he said.

“With some good rain over winter hopefully we will see some green grass and the plants that we’ve planted start to take off a little bit and create more of a green space in an area which was once a wasteland.”

Mr Murphy said the space was central to the cultural identity of Katanning and the development would help to celebrate its history.

“Piesse dam and the Piesse Park area have great significance to the local Noongar community,” he said.

“The origins of the name Katanning spring from that area and from a Noongar perspective we recognise and respect that this is an important part of the town.”

Mr Murphy said the next stage of the upgrades would include the development of a 30-lot residential subdivision to the north-east of the park.

“In terms of the residential subdivision, we are still in the engineering and planning stage but I would expect we would be close to completion by the end of the year,” he said.