Thilina Gunasekara
Secret State: It Took a Court Case to Reveal ...

It took a Federal Court case to find out what the State Government is actually planning for John E. Brown Park. 

A two-storey driving range, 108 car parks, up to 400 metres of netting, an 18-hole mini-golf course, retail facilities, new roads, water tanks and other infrastructure — all on public Park Lands. 

These are significant changes, yet despite repeated questions, the community has had no meaningful opportunity to see or comment on the plans. 

Why did it take a court case for South Australians to find out what is being proposed for their Park Lands? 

Secret State: It Took a Court Case to Reveal Plans for John E. Brown Park
Thilina Gunasekara
MotoGP Deemed Too Dangerous for Street Circuits ...

“MotoGP has not raced on a street circuit since 1982, and the reason for that was that riders kept dying.” As Adelaide plans to bring MotoGP back onto city streets, safety concerns could have profound consequences for the surrounding Park Lands. 

MotoGP Deemed Too Dangerous for Street Circuits Since 1982
Thilina Gunasekara
Sophie's story. Young People Love Park Lands ...

For 16-year-old Sophie, the Adelaide Park Lands are more than a park — they’re her backyard, her running track and part of her home.

Sophie's story. Young People Love Park Lands Too!
Thilina Gunasekara
Finding Connection in Adelaide Park Lands

For almost a decade, Trees for Life’s Regenerate program has been bringing people together in the Adelaide Park Lands through Bushcare, nature, culture and connection. 

We talk with Tricia Curtis about how caring for nature can also mean caring for ourselves—and why the Park Lands are such an important place for community wellbeing. 

Finding Connection in Adelaide Park Lands
Thilina Gunasekara
Newsletter: 04 August 2026

CONTENTS

1. Editorial: From the President: The Movement to Stop the Chop Is Growing

2. Members are Ready for Battle: Park Lands Association Forum

3. Park Poetry - Flying foxes (Fruit Bats)

4. Pic of the Month – Dr Bird Nerd

5. Charles Sturt and Prospect Council Join the Campaign for Your Lands

6. The Pen Is Mightier than! 28,000 signatures and counting

7. The First Hints of Spring: Guided Walk Through Red Gum Park / Karra Wirra

8. OPINION: Time to Debunk Some Misinformation

9. SE City Residents Raise Concerns About Proposed MotoGP in the Park Lands

10. The Mosquito vs the Elephant: Save Festival Plaza Update

Newsletter: 04 August 2026

Park Poetry

Possum Park

by Renate Homburg

The machines came in the night
stealthy, slinking, stinking
reeking of destruction and corruption
manned by greedy, crooked men

Creatures of the peaceful forest
awoken soft and stark from slumber
grabbed, struggling, blinking
into unforgiving daylight

Old homes viciously torn down
pulverised, vandalised
gentle beings roughly displaced
brutal disregard for their lives

With dollar signs in their eyes
heartless humans distract and destroy
no reverence for beauty,
for sanctuary, sentience, sacredness

Ploughing with violent hands
transforming majesty into dirt
ears shut to the pleas of the Earth
to the cries of animals who have lost

their homes, their hollows, their havens
now adrift in a sea of confusion
scattered and terrified
in this sacrilegious new world

Yet WE hear you, precious souls
we cannot ignore terrorism
against the innocent, the irreplaceable
our hearts break but not in vain

We will speak for you with
compassion, determination, indignation
standing for justice, for life
your small faces bright in our minds

Dwelling in embracing green
free from desecration and condemnation
sheltered, cherished, nurtured
this is what you truly deserve



Renate Homburg

In Renate’s words – 

I have always enjoyed expressing my thoughts and ideas through poetry and frequently write about animal and nature protection, which are the issues closest to my heart. I am Adelaide born and bred but have travelled widely and now appreciate our beautiful city even more. The magnificent trees and wildlife of our Park Lands are sacred, and must be valued and protected.  

Apart from writing and advocacy, I am also training to be a psychotherapist. 

See other “Park Poems” in our series

Make a submission for our “Park Poetry” series. Contact Deb Stewart: poetryintheparklands@gmail.com

Flying foxes (Fruit Bats)

by Jules Leigh Koch 

after a day of hanging upside down 
the bats leave Botanic Park  

fully mobilised and self fueled 
their colony of 20,000 plus 

swarm into the evening sky 
like an inland Tsunami 

endless wing formations 
are patterned overhead 

their road rage chatter echoes out  
deterring birds of prey 

as they fly along 
the Torrens Valley 

looking for pollen 
and native fig trees  

while others find only 
power lines and barbed wire 

their journey ends 
where it started 

upside down and always  
before daybreak 

 

Jules Leigh Koch

Jules Leigh Koch is an award-winning Adelaide poet and the author of five poetry collections. He has been a recipient of two South Australian Literature grants. He was a guest reader at Adelaide Writers’ Festival in March 2017 and has been a judge for three biennial John Bray Festival Awards in 2017, 2019 and 2021.

See other “Park Poems” in our series

Make a submission for our “Park Poetry” series. Contact Deb Stewart: poetryintheparklands@gmail.com

Seasonal change

by Geoff Goodfellow

Photo by Emma Docherty

Geoff Goodfellow, aka ‘The People’s Poet’ has been writing and publishing poetry for over 42 years. He has often been referred to as an Activist Poet, having been the poet-in-residence to the now CFMEU and also in the same role at Yatala labour Prison. He has published 12 books of poetry, 2 text books, a boyhood memoir and a verse novella. His most recent book ‘Nostalgic Adelaide: poems political, social & cultural’ was launched during the 2026 SA History Festival by former South Australian Premier & Arts Minister, Mike Rann.

It’s mid-May in Adelaide

& my apricot tree is beginning

to shed its leaves

while in the Adelaide Hills

autumn leaves glow with colour

& in the North Adelaide parklands

possums scurry & birds flee in fright

as the roar of heavy machinery

& chainsaws echo & reverberate

while trees fall . . .

in the wake of Mali’s ratings.

See more Adelaide Park Lands poetry here: https://www.adelaide-parklands.asn.au/park-poetry and send contributions to our Park Lands poetry editor Deb Stewart at poetryintheparklands@gmail.com