Water park will make a cool splash

TOOWOOMBA bar attendant Kristen Fitzsimmons has joined a growing chorus of locals calling for a water park to be established in the Garden City.

Having grown up an “army kid” and living in several Australian towns to which her military family was stationed, Ms Fitzsimmons has seen much of what different centres have to offer.

Now a “local” of eight years, she feels a water park would give Toowoomba an added attraction.

“I don’t think we’ll ever get one, but it would be great to have a water park here,” she said.

“Kids love water parks and they are good for families.”

Ms Fitzsimmons said a Southbank-style water park had been built in Sydney’s west so there was no reason a similar facility couldn’t be established in Toowoomba.

However, while a water park might appear some time off, she believed there were a couple of other attractions the Garden City could do with in the meantime.

“I think we need an entertainment centre,” she said.

“An entertainment centre would attract bigger bands to come here.

“Toowoomba has a lot of live music, but the bands can only play in pubs and they’re just not big enough.

“One of the good things about Toowoomba is that it’s not far

Toowoomba has a lot of live music but the bands can only play in pubs and they’re just not big enough.

– Kristen Fitzsimmons

from Brisbane or the Coast so you can easily travel down to see a concert.

“But Toowoomba is a big enough city to have an entertainment centre to attract some big acts.”

Having spent some time in her youth on army bases, which don’t always have a lot for the kids, Ms Fitzsimmons appreciated towns and cities that catered for young people.

“We lived on the army base, went to school on the army base and couldn’t wait to leave the army base,” she grinned.

However, one of the family’s postings introduced the young Ms Fitzsimmons to the drive-in movie experience.

“We used to go all the time in Townsville,” she said.

“I’d like to see Toowoomba have drive-in movies.”

Toowoomba’s two drive-in movie theatres – The Drayton Drive-in and Downs Drive-in – closed down long before Ms Fitzsimmons arrived in the Garden City eight years ago.