31 December 2012 | Tennis Queensland

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has unveiled the first stage of a riverside park at Tennyson named after arguably Brisbane’s greatest tennis player, Ken Fletcher, to coincide with the start of the Brisbane International tennis tournament.

Cr Quirk said he hoped people would make the most of Brisbane’s newest riverside park and its facilities during the tournament and over the summer holidays.

“Ken Fletcher was one of the great tennis personalities for the city, and what better way to honour him than a park opposite the Queensland Tennis Centre,” he said.

Ken Fletcher captured the mixed doubles Grand Slam in 1963 with Margaret Court and the pair amassed a total of 10 major mixed doubles titles in the 1960s. A popular player and ‘larrikin’ by nature, Fletcher lost a battle with cancer in 2006 but was posthumously inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012.

Cr Quirk said construction commenced in April this year and the 2.9 hectare Ken Fletcher Park set a high standard in Brisbane for accessibility and offered a new accessible and inclusive play space, open-air amphitheatre, public plaza, picnic facilities with barbeques, and a public pontoon to enable water access for non-motorised craft.

Ken Fletcher Park has its own internal car park and on-street parking is available along King Arthur Terrace. Stage two of Ken Fletcher Park is due for completion by mid-2013.

Pictures:

Top – Chris Freeman – Vice President, Tennis Australia, The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Ashley Cooper – Director, Tennis Australia, Tony Roche, Ken Laffey – President, Tennis Queensland at the opening of Ken Fletcher Park.

Below – The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor Graham Quirk making it official.