Caribbean Gardens

Caribbean Gardens was a 100-acre (40 ha) market, gardens and amusement park located in the outer eastern suburb of Scoresby in Melbourne, Australia, on the north/west side of Caribbean Lake, a large 1.2 km (0.75 mi)-long artificial lake along the northern (right) bank of Corhanwarrabul Creek, a major tributary of Dandenong Creek.

Caribbean Gardens
The widest western portion of Caribbean Lake, with Caribbean Market on the left and the Dandenong Ranges in the far background
The islets in the central portion of Caribbean Lake, where boat tours of the Caribbean Gardens were held

Caribbean Gardens and Market operated from 1965 when it started with water ski shows and a handful of traders selling wares from their car boots. What once was "a handful of traders" grew into a bustling undercover market with over 1000 stall sites. It was known as one of the largest markets in Victoria, occupying a 10,500 m2 (2.6-acre) pavilion.

On the 1 July 2020, it was announced that the park would close permanently, after COVID-19 lockdowns forced a temporary closure which greatly affected the park financially. Despite the closure, Caribbean Market supporters called for the "institution" to be saved.[1] After the official announcement, the Caribbean Market Facebook page attracted over 5000 comments in support.[2]

The Spooner family subsequently announced plans to expand and transform the mostly defunct market into a business park that would "become the largest office precinct outside of the CBD". The comprehensive masterplan of the new "Caribbean Park" involved new office buildings, expansive lakeside parklands, integrated landscaping, new retail areas, lifestyle facilities, and a Hyatt Place hotel, with the aim of adding a minimum of 10,000 new trees within the parklands every year.[3]

History
A sculpture of a chef's head in Caribbean Gardens

In 1945, the Spooner family acquired around 300 acres (1.2 km2) of land in Scoresby.[4] In 1958, whilst overseas, Arch Spooner became interested in fibreglass and realised the potential of the material for the boatbuilding industry, and established the Caribbean Boat Factory. It soon became necessary to have a waterbody large enough for testing the boats and, in the early 1960s, Lake Caribbean was constructed. It was subsequently opened to the public and further developed by one of his sons, Rod Spooner, as Caribbean Gardens.[5] The much-loved Caribbean Gardens and Market opened in 1976 and, in the 1980s, the next generation of the Spooner family began developing a technology and office park that blended into the surrounding environment.

The site was significant for being Victoria's "first local example" of a theme park,[6] with many original features, such as Japanese gardens, a railway, chairlift, jungle cruise and picnic areas.

The Woman's Weekly noted in 1966 that the Spooner family "aims to turn the area into a kind of local Disneyland, and already the shores and many islets at one end of the lake are dotted with fibreglass crocodiles, elephants, hippopotamuses". The park also included "ski kite-riding from the Cypress Gardens" in the US.[7]

The chairlift ride was built by Jack Griffiths and chairlift manufacturer Ron McCallum,[8] and was originally in Whistlestop Amusement Park, in Skye Road, Frankston, which had closed in 1974.[9]

Caribbean Gardens also had a preserved sugarcane railway locomotive, built in 1924, from the Victoria Mill, Ingham, Queensland.[10] Other features included cast iron street lamps, originally used in central Melbourne, dotted around the gardens.[11]

See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caribbean Gardens.
  1. Armitage, Laura (4 July 2020). "Caribbean Market: Scoresby icon closure upsets Knox community and traders". Herald Sun. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  2. Sakkal, Paul (1 July 2020). "'Sad time': Much-loved Melbourne market closes after 55 years". The Age.
  3. "Our Future Vision – A Micro City". Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  4. "The Park - Generations of Success". Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  5. "No pirates as Caribbean Gardens celebrate 50 years". ABC News. 2 February 2016 – via www.abc.net.au.
  6. "Survey of Post-War Built Heritage in Victoria: Stage One" (PDF). Volume 1: Contextual Overview, Methodology, Lists & Appendices. 1 (1): 30. October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  7. "Fun among the "crocodiles"". The Australian Women's Weekly. 26 January 1966. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  8. "Australian ski lift directory: details of 500 lifts & ropeways". Australian mountains.
  9. "Whistle Stop Amusement Park". Only Melbourne. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  10. "Preserved Australian sugar cane locomotives". lrrsa.org.au.
  11. "Survey of Post-War Built Heritage in Victoria: Stage One" (PDF). Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure. Heritage Alliance prepared for Heritage Victoria. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2017.

37.908°S 145.228°E / -37.908; 145.228

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