Cronulla town centre has undergone rapid evolution from a remote fishing village to a densely populated urban and commercial centre. The construction of Cronulla Mall in 1988 was a significant change to the area and created much of the built form that exists today.

Play has been a longstanding feature of the Cronulla Mall, and provides an important recreation service within the town centre. Originally constructed in Ocean Grove in early 1990s, a pirate ship play space became an iconic feature of the Mall’s identity. Redevelopment of Ocean Grove in 2017 necessitated removal of the pirate ship play space and due to its advanced age and poor condition it was replaced with a temporary playground of conventional design at the northern end of the mall adjacent to the Kingsway. This playground covers approximately 120m2.

Consultation with stakeholders during development of the master plan and subsequent schematic designs has clearly identified that there continues to be strong community demand for play within the town centre. The design for Stage 2 of the master plan originally included a new water feature for interactive play as part of the revitalisation of Cronulla Plaza Town Square. Further community consultation on the design revealed that there was a desire for more traditional forms of play. Given the substantial cost of the water play, and middling community response, it was determined that this feature would be replaced by the two place spaces included in this project.