Diamond Park rotunda could celebrate Queen Elizabeth's jubilee

Should Murray Bridge celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee with a nod to the past – a new rotunda at Diamond Park?

That’s the idea being put forward by local history buff Peter Crowley this week, as Queen Elizabeth II marks the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne.

A modern gazebo could provide a reminder of the original without breaking the Murray Bridge council’s budget, he reckoned.

It could also feature plaques celebrating some of the buildings which historically surrounded the park: the Ozone Theatre and the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, which still stand, but also the former Masonic Hall and Methodist Church.

Existing trees and other features wouldn’t need to be moved to make way for the structure either, he said – it could be built in a grassed area.

“(This year) will mark the 70th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and the installation of a gazebo, named the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Rotunda, would be a most fitting way of celebrating the platinum jubilee,” he said.

“Diamond Park was constructed in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.

“To celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee, in 2012, a tree was planted in Diamond Park, hence the park has a long association of celebrating the reign of the existing monarch.”

Murray Bridge Councillor Andrew Baltensperger has pushed several times for a rotunda to be built, or rebuilt, in the park.

The council is still waiting on a feasibility study it commissioned in January 2021 before deciding whether to go ahead with the project.

A previous study, back in 2015, suggested a new rotunda could cost as much as $200,000, but Cr Baltensperger and Mr Crowley both disputed that.

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