There is no place quite like New Farm Park

Christopher Derrick founded the New Farm Park website in 2006.

Way back in 2006, a quick internet search revealed that a domain name for New Farm Park was available. I secured it. On the same day, a close friend secured www.storybridge.com.au.

A fortuitous letterbox drop led me to my first appointment for website design with the two enterprising young women behind “Ruby 6” in the Valley. Soon after, I contacted Aric Boyles in New York, the key ‘central-parker’ who operated the prestigious website ‘www.centralpark.com’. Aric was happy for me to emulate his typeface and tree design, for use in my logo for NFP.

The aim of ‘newfarmpark.com.au’ was to attract visitors rather than to sell products. Accordingly, Google Analytics for NFP once showed more than 10,000 visits per month.

In terms of website design and scope, it was felt that these categories best presented the Park: History, Farmers Market, Horticulture, Arts & Entertainment, Sport & Recreation and Weekend Gallery. The videos were popular, particularly the ‘sheepman clip’ in which I featured!

The History page benefitted from a close liaison with the local Historical Society, while the regular Saturday Farmers Market provided a wealth of content. Its founder, the late Jan Power, was very enthusiastic about my being able to feature individual stall holders, thereby offering greater exposure for everyone.

This was the perfect opportunity for the ‘photographer’ to hand out his card, thereby inviting people to drop into the website to see the results of the videoing and photography.

Convenor of Horticulture was Mary Jo Katter, a noted expert in the landscaped environment. Her tours “down the garden paths” of NFP were eminently popular among attendees. Huge numbers enjoyed the video of her tours on the website. Still on horticulture, I appreciated my many chats with the Head Curator of the Park. The annual “pruning of the roses” was always given quality airtime, plus he would tip me off about where the plovers were nesting!

When it came to Arts & Entertainment, who could possibly forget the LIVE performances in the park by the popular entertainers, The Whitlams and Guy Sebastian ?

Eventually there was a changing of the guard regarding the website, when Ruby 6 closed their business, and AsiaWeb picked up the reins. This coincided with the site’s gaining a ‘first’, with the naming of the noted David Hinchliffe as Artist-in-Residence. David’s week-long ‘Workshop in the Park’ was sensational, exceeding all expectations. Nowadays, he travels the world giving workshops in painting. I harbour the notion that his time as NFP’s A-i-R helped him on that trajectory.

While New Farm Park is a mecca for junior soccer, it’s also popular on Saturday mornings for Tai Chi, catering to an older demographic. This resulted in a good crossover with Rod Ferguson’s Living Chi website.

Lastly, an essential and delightful duty was always the Weekend Gallery. This was my opportunity to introduce myself to countless NFP visitors who were meeting for all sorts of reasons. Many were keen to pose for a group photo, knowing that the results would be globally online with hours.

It’s worth remembering that New Farm Park hosted the seriously popular ‘Italian Festival for many years, which was likely the most significant weekend gathering in the Park’s history.

All of that is history now. The website is in someone else’s capable hands, and though I am now a resident of the leafy western suburbs, I am sure that there are many in Brisbane who feel just as I do, that there’s no place quite like New Farm Park.