Published March 2025
Brisbane’s Victoria Park is under threat. A place that should be a sanctuary of green space for all is now being eyed as the site for a massive Olympic stadium. If this happens, a crucial piece of our city’s history – and one of our last inner-city green havens – will be lost forever.
Great cities around the world are defined by their parks – New York’s Central Park, London’s Hyde Park – places where nature is protected for the people, not sacrificed for concrete and steel. In the 1860s, when Brisbane was a tiny settlement of 25,000 people, visionary leaders set aside 130 hectares for Victoria Park. It was meant to be Brisbane’s own Central Park, a gift for future generations.
But over the decades, piece by piece, that vision has been eroded. The university, the busway, the bypass, the tunnels – each took a slice. And now, just five years after the Lord Mayor promised to restore Victoria Park to the people, we face losing even more.
With Brisbane’s population growing rapidly, green space is more precious than ever. We already have less parkland than Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide. Once public land is taken for a stadium, it never truly returns to the people. Lang Park, Ballymore, Perry Park – history proves this.
Imagine a city where our children and grandchildren can escape into nature, not just concrete. That vision is still within our grasp – if we fight for it.
Brisbane doesn’t need a stadium in Victoria Park. There are other options: Woolloongabba, the Mayne rail yards, Hamilton North Shore. What we can’t replace is our park.
If you care about the future of Brisbane’s green spaces, now is the time to speak out. Victoria Park belongs to the people – not the developers. Let’s keep it that way.
