King Edward Park

King Edward Park is one of my favourite little parks in Brisbane. I have occasion to pass through here often because part of my family lives across the road and so I often detour through the park when I’m travelling between the city and the fam. It strikes me as the underdog of parks. It’s small, steep, and often-​overlooked. To me it’s quite a special-​feeling place, tucked next door to the Tower Mill and hidden underneath large fig trees. There are numerous secluded benches, a big chess checkerboard, and a windy path for those not inclined to tackle Jacob’s Ladder. The trees and grass are allowed to become a little overgrown which I like. A perfectly manicured landscape is overrated in my opinion.
Jacob’s Ladder provides a handy shortcut from the top of the park to the bottom, but it’s not for the cardiovascularly challenged. I often see personal training groups running up and down those stairs and boy do I admire them. The steps were painted rainbow last year which looked awesome, but now they’re all red. There are light projections at night that decorate the stairs. There’s just something about this park. I love it.

I don’t deny that King Edward’s a pretty park. It’s rather long and thin and not a place to accommodate a playground or BBQ area. It’s more of a «stroll through and look at the structures or just sit and relax away from other people» sort of park. The grass is always green, even during long dry patches (and boy don’t we have them in Brisbane). King Edward Park also sits alongside a long, very steep stretch of stairs that joggers or people who are simply insane like running up and down while wearing sneakers, little shorts and listening to an ipad.
Obviously the park itself is therefore quite steep in areas. The north end faces onto St Paul’s Terrace, which is dotted with many specialist medical centres and a hospital. For some reason, vagrants are drawn to this park, possibly because it’s not heavily policed. Some of them sit around in groups drinking. You can also see people from the hospital here trying to take a break; hopefully the drunken unsavoury crowd leave them alone.

Since its construction in the 1940s as an air raid shelter during WWII, King Edward Park has received numerous facelifts and restorations, and the site is still constantly changing. At one stage the park was yarn-​bombed, messily so, but for a few weeks the shelters and surrounding trees were sheathed in knitting. A month ago, there was a crew of youngsters practicing parkour on the steep, rainbow-​coloured staircase that’s since been painted over in red. And before the Brisbane floods, my brother and I found a tawny frogmouth sitting on the staircase that we believed was injured but was actually just resting in the rain. The bird attacked and took flight. These days, a few homeless people call the shelters home.
This isn’t the kind of park where events are held, but there’s always something to see and watch. There’s also enough places in the park where you can disappear if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the city. The park does its best to create the illusion you’ve entered a forest disconnected from the city; it’s an odd little place, located smack bang between Spring Hill and the CBD, but it’s not without its charms. You’ll find a collection of sculptures dotted around the park that are just waiting to be discovered. It would be a cute location to have wedding photos done if you’re after something quirky. There’s even a giant chessboard that you can use if you bring along some friends to battle it out, Harry Potter style.