Greater Shepparton City Council is considering an ‘avenue of flags’ to promote our multicultural diversity.
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Back in 1975, Shepparton Rotary Club established (with council support) the International Village which had an avenue of flags and a village of inspirational multicultural buildings.
When my boys were young, we went to the village often for a barbecue and for the kids to play in the playground.
They had a ball.
It was free at the time but due to the high cost of maintaining the facilities and expansive grounds, they introduced an entrance fee of about $15 for a family.
This was the demise of our regular visits for a barbecue and a play and I am sure for many other locals as well.
Shepparton Rotary Club members and the many volunteers should be applauded for their vision, hard work and in later years fighting a prolonged battle to save the village and Parkside Gardens.
Council progressively bulldozed the project in 2004 and it is now a residential development with the Aboriginal Bangerang Keeping Place and Philippine House managing to survive the ‘wrecking ball’.
You can read more about this project on the the Facebook page Shepparton International Village.
~GA
Village will be remembered
By Margaret Marlow (Lost Shepparton co-editor)
The International Village at the north end of Shepparton has long gone but like the Raymond West pool it will be remembered for a very long time for those who spent many fun-filled hours there.
In the initial planning stages in the 1970s there was much support from local businesses and ethnic leaders.
The theme for the village was “encouraging international understanding, goodwill and peace’’.
This was certainly the vibe as you began your journey around the globe.
The Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, China, Philippines, Greece, Italy and for Australia, the Aboriginal Keeping Place.
All featured living displays of their very own cultures and crafts.
The Dutch windmill with its enormous sails was an eye-catching landmark and it was quite a pleasant surprise to walk through the door to see a shop with a lady behind the counter in typical Dutch costume selling wares from her home country.
I still have a beautiful coffee table, all carved by hand that I bought in the Philippines House and it’s one of my most prized possessions.
But back to touring around the world there was still more to see.
The village was surrounded by a man-made canal and this is where the restored paddlesteamer, the Alexander Arbuthnot waited to board passengers for a cruise through the waterways.
Many families made a day of it and prepared a picnic lunch or fired up one of the barbecues while the kids played in the well-equipped, large grassy playground.
The International Village playground was described as state of the art for its time and the eager excitement from children as they went from one plaything to another was testimony to that fact.
The triangle swing was extremely popular as were the Yogi Bear climbs for the more agile and, for the littlies, the ever-popular slippery slide.
The Yogi Bear climbing poles presided over the activity below and Yogi with his eternal smile beckoned one to master the pole and ring the bell beside him at the top.
As a visitor to the village I believed like many others that this unique adventure land would go on to bigger and better things and with more and more various cultures settling in and around Shepparton it would create better understanding of each others customs and beliefs, but sadly, it wasn’t to be.
The complex began to need costly renovation and was closed in 1997 and in the early 2000s was demolished to make way for housing estates.
For those who spent many happy hours at the International Village, those memories can never be demolished.
A few Facebook memories of Shepparton’s International Village:
Rodney Reuben McDonald
Would love to see this back to its former glory with events again we had so much fun there growing up.
April Bazz Halliday
Shepparton Rotary Club started it and worked on it till it closed, they put a lot of money into it, but council of the day wasn’t interested.
Pip Cooper
Used to love the International Village, my dad Jack Grist was a big part of it. Rowena Grinter, my sister, took this photo.
Jenny Houlihan
The International Village was a visionary project set up to showcase our multicultural make up. It was proudly promoted. The flags were seen upon entry plus ‘country of origin’ buildings, artefact displays and gardens. Once again, instead of adapting and retaining what was best, the entire place was destroyed by a council (after council amalgamations took place) wanting to develop the land. So much community input went down the drain. Very sad.
Kate Rogers
My husband worked for Miracle Playground Equipment and erected this slide. The slide was assembled and brought to the site. A front end loader was used to lift into place and bolted in place. Stays added to keep it from wobbling. One of the favourite pieces in the playground.
Geoff Hayward
I used to take my kids and their friends out there to have a play and mad runaround. The good old days.
Mick Lindsay
A treat place to go swimming back in the day. I remember that Tarzan rope around the back in the big red gum tree. It was a lot of fun times jumping off the paddle steamer from the top roof. The good old days up the north end.
Ann Murray
When my son was little he’d have little holidays in Shepp with mum and a dad. The International Village was the main attraction every visit. He still has a windmill lamp and miniature Vietnamese figurines which he treasures.
Leanne Brown
I tried to climb the Humphrey Bear and reach the bell but failed each time. My aunt is a Phillipino and we’d go the Philippines House to watch her perform traditional dance.
Jacqui Harlow
Had good times growing up there as a kid and helping pop bring down the flags at the end of the day then rolling down the hill.
Wayne Reither
When I worked with the council I had to mow this place with a push mower. It was like painting the harbour bridge.
Shaun McNamara
What a waste of an awesome place to hang out. I lived in Olympic Ave (shop end) and we were over there at International Village almost daily. Fishing. Swimming. Climbing trees. Riding bikes. Getting told off by the caretaker. Haha. Was a fun place. Now it has a few houses and a lot of weeds.
Maureen Ball
The International Village was the best family venue in Shepparton back then. Free to all and the kids all loved it. Very sad to see it go.
Mark Mcintosh
What a waste. The international Village was a great place to visit where you could get a small taste of the world from the local Aboriginal history right though to the Dutch with the windmill. By today’s standards it could have put Shepparton on the world stage, but now its just a eye sore and a complete waste.
Pics of the past columnist