Description of the attraction
Baliang Park is located on the banks of the Baruon River in the Geelong suburb of Newtown. The park, created in 1973, contains many amazingly beautiful lakes and ecologically valuable wetlands. The total area of Balyang is 81 thousand square meters. m.
This territory once belonged to Captain Foster Fayans, who bought it in 1845. He built an estate here and named it "Bellbird Baliang" in memory of a young Aboriginal youth who accompanied the captain in the early years of Geelong's founding. The land was used mainly for grazing as it was low-lying and prone to flooding. In 1959, Newtown City Council reserved the area for a public park. But only ten years later, the then owner of Balyang agreed to sell his property.
In September 1970, a plan was adopted to create the park. Part of the work was carried out using the labor of the unemployed in the framework of the program to provide employment to the population of rural areas. In August 1973, Baliang Park, which cost the city $ 81.5 thousand, was officially opened by the mayor of Newtown and representatives of the government of Victoria.
A large lake, up to 80 cm deep, was laid out in the park. In the center of the lake, there are three islands, two of which can be reached via a pedestrian bridge. Water for the lake was supplied from a storm water collector and also pumped out from the Baruon River. At the entrance, a parking lot for 150 cars, toilets and information stands with indication of places for picnics were arranged. Several walking and cycling paths link Baliang to other parks along the banks of the Baruon River.
Today, several bird species can be seen in the park - swans, pelicans, Eurasian coot, black partridge, Pacific black duck, mallard, cormorant and gulls. In 2007, a number of restoration works were carried out in the park, in particular, the stone fences of the lake were removed in order to make it more similar to a natural reservoir.
