A five-year-old girl suffered a deep foot laceration while playing in the splash pad at Hinterland Adventure Playground in Cooroy, Queensland on March 20th. The injury, reported to be approximately 5 cm in length, required six stitches. The incident was linked to a sharp object within the water play area, believed to be a broken rock or pipe component near a bubbler outlet.
The child’s mother later shared on social media: “I called council on the way to the hospital that night (Friday) to alert them, and I followed up with an email and photos (Tuesday), but the splash area is still open, so I wanted to make people aware.”
Following the incident, the splash zone was closed, drained, and inspected by council staff. The identified hazard was removed, and temporary barriers were installed while further safety checks were carried out.
As reported by Janine Hill (Sunshine Coast News, April 8), The Hinterland Adventure Playground had already been partially closed from February 24th – March 7th for pond surface and water play area works, with ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred creating further complications. After the cyclone and heavy rainfall, the park required extensive cleanup but remained too wet for works to proceed. Softfall was also damaged, and the water play area required cleaning and inspection.
