Victorian rocket playground blasts off towards heritage listing

One of the last rocket playgrounds in the state is on course to win a heritage listing amid the disappearance of similar space-themed structures across Australia.

Heritage Victoria executive director Steven Avery last week recommended the Benalla playground rocket be included in the Victorian Heritage Register.

The eight-metre-tall local landmark has been deemed a rare surviving example of past forms of childhood play and the influence of the 1960s space race on Victorian culture.

Benalla’s Botanical Gardens rocket was assessed as the most intact of the last four in the state, including one in Hawthorn’s Central Gardens that was saved from demolition but modified in 2021.

Bernie Hearn, mayor of the Benalla Rural City Council, remembers climbing the rocket as a child with her eight siblings. Years later, she enjoyed taking her two children to the playground to do the same.

“‘Meet you at the rocket’ is an iconic saying in our town,” Hearn said.

“Children that are playing on it now have parents and grandparents that have been here and done that. So it’s pretty amazing.”

Local heritage consultant Deborah Kemp initiated the push to better protect Benalla’s rocket after the council once considered replacing its metal slide with a plastic version that met new safety standards.

The municipality eventually ditched those plans and joined Kemp’s advocacy to Heritage Victoria, arguing a listing would help recognise the Cold War space race interest in booming postwar Australia.

“Space and all its iconography has largely been lost, but this is one of the few items that has been retained,” Kemp said.

“It would be good to have it promoted as such – not just as a toy feature in the landscape, but as something that represents a really important period of our development.”

Heritage Victoria’s report on the Benalla rocket (erected in 1966) said the earliest known playground rocket emerged in California before Life magazine featured a design that spread across the world.

It is unclear how many existed in Australia at their peak, but up to 38 were reportedly built by one fabricator in the Blue Mountains as the baby boom led to a surge in demand for children’s play equipment.

“From the 1980s, ongoing concerns about the safety of playground rockets in Australia and internationally gradually led to their demise,” Heritage Victoria reported.

“Many were either removed from playgrounds or altered to prevent falls, typically by replacing metal slides with enclosed plastic slides.”

About 15 playground rockets are estimated to still exist across Australia, including Victorian rockets in Benalla, Hawthorn, Mount Waverley and Moorabbin.

The latter two, however, were moved from their original locations and can no longer be climbed.

The Hawthorn rocket is covered by a broader heritage overlay for the Central Gardens precinct. Kemp said a specific state-level heritage listing could protect it further, though the council had already changed it via a new plastic slide.

“We just chip away at things, and we are just left with skeletonised items,” Kemp said.

A spokesman for the City of Boroondara said: “Council has not considered heritage listing the Central Park rocket ship, but in 2022 we extensively refurbished the structure and made changes to ensure it meets modern Australian standards for safety.”

The Benalla rocket’s metal slide may sting on a hot day, but it still attracts families, including those looking for a pitstop as they travel along the Hume Highway in north-east Victoria.

Hearn recalled that she felt slightly nervous as a child when she clambered to the top of the four-level rocket in a strong wind to play with its steering wheel.

However, she now appreciated it had been maintained for generations to explore.

“I think it’s a fantastic thing to have that can bring families together,” Hearn said. “If it’s listed, I know that it will be looked after forever now.”

A similar rocket in Moree was added to the NSW heritage list in November.

A new rocket was installed at a Sydney playground in 2023 amid growing nostalgia for space-themed play equipment.

The Benalla rocket’s recommended listing will be advertised for feedback on Heritage Victoria’s website until March 17 before it is put to the independent Heritage Council for a vote.

If no one is opposed, a decision is expected in mid-2026.

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