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Greenock Centenary ParkPrint Page 
The park commemorates the centenary of European settlement of South Australia from 1836 to 1936.
In 1936 South Australia celebrated a centenary of European settlement. Despite continuing economic recession, government and community groups organised a full program of parades, sporting events and conferences that spanned the entire year. The mood throughout was upbeat.
At a meeting of the Greenock Centenary Park committee presided over by Mr. B. Braunach, it was decided to open the new park on October 24 with a Back to Greenock gathering. On the Friday evening, October 25, a ball will be in charge of the Queen committees. On Saturday, October 24 in the morning, a back to school will be conducted by the school committee and Mr A. F. Giles. In the afternoon, a procession and sports has been left to the Lodge Sports committee to arrange. In the evening a concert will be arranged by Messrs. L. and A. Kernich and R. Radford. The Queen competition will close in the evening and the Premier (Mr. Butler) will be asked to declare the park open and Mrs. Butler to crown the Queen. On Sunday, October 25, a back to church will be arranged by the churches.
Advertiser (Adelaide), 11 August 1936.
Location
| Address: | Martin Street, Greenock, 5360 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.458954 Long: 138.928628 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Park |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Landscape |
| Sub-Theme: | Settlement |
| Approx. Event Start Date: | 1836 |
| Approx. Event End Date: | 1936 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 24th October, 1936 |
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Plaque on gate :
Greenock Centenary Park
Opened by Hon. R. L. Butler M. P.
24th October 1936
Plaque in park :
Greenock Centenary Park
Greenock Centenary Park was officially opened by the Premier of South Australia, Hon. R. L. Butler, on Saturday 24th October 1936 during the weekend of the "Back to Greenock" celebrations.
The South Australian Government actively encouraged Districts throughout the State to establish tangible projects to mark the Centenary of the Colony, to include the word "Centenary" in the name of the project and approved projects would also receive a Government grant.
A huge local effort was undertaken to find a suitable site for the park property so that all sporting bodies could use the same venue, to fund the project and to engage the local community to contribute many hours of voluntary labour to achieve this goal.
The establishment and ongoing development of Greenock Centenary Park represents the most significant local community effort in the District`s history.
The project initially gained a Government grant of 50 pounds, and a donation of 50 pounds from the Greenock Lodge (Manchester Unity IOOF) on the proviso that a member of the Lodge was a trustee of the park or member of the Management Committee, which did occur for many years.
Since its establishment, the Park has benefited enormously from input by Greenock Lodge in earlier years, the football, tennis, cricket and soccer clubs, the local community through fund raising initiatives, and grants from State and Federal Government programmes, sporting management bodies and Light Regional Council.
The Park ownership is now vested with Light Regional Council and managed by a local Management Committee.
The photo of Greenock Lodge members standing on front of the large (and many hundreds of years old) gum trees, located between the tennis courts and cricket practice nets, was taken on the day of the official opening of the Park in 1936.
