Ethan, 3rd from the right at the opening of the skate park
As a younger boy travelling through rural towns on holidays with his family, Ethan noted that many towns, smaller than St Leonards, had better facilities for young people. Jeparit (population 400), Rainbow (pop. 700) and Dimboola (pop. 1500) all had decent facilities – namely good skateparks. Some years ago a campaign by another young local for a skatepark was commenced, but didn’t gain much traction at that time. St Leonards’ Skatepark was in name only, noted as the “worst skatepark” by one skating publication, it consisted of a rough asphalt area and a couple of metal bars – no ramps, no dips, just a flat, lifeless area that was never utilised.
In 2019 Ethan commenced an online petition on Facebook which attracted some 850 signatures and elicited positive reactions from locals. Soon local community members got on board with the idea. Marie Reed brought along the St Leonards Progress Asssociation, Libby Lesock, Lyn Donnelly and several others as well as Portarlington Lions Club and St Leonards Primary School, all pitched in to varying degrees and helped to make the local skatepark a reality. Pretty soon the City of Greater Geelong and some local politicians increased their interest.
What started out as an idea in a young boy’s mind, began to take shape and become a reality. At the time of writing, construction is well and truly underway.
Humans in St Leonards 