| Historical notes: | STATEMENT OF COUNTRY
The Moree Rocket is on the land of the Gamilaroi People (AIATSIS, 1996), who have cared for this Country for countless generations. The Gamilaroi people maintain an enduring connection to Moree despite the profound disruptions of colonisation, dispossession and discrimination.
Moree holds particular importance in the history of Aboriginal activism in Australia. The Moree Artesian Baths became a site of national attention in 1965 during the Freedom Ride, when activist Charles Perkins, local Aboriginal people and student activists challenged the racial segregation that excluded Aboriginal children from this local pool. This powerful act of resistance exposed the deeply entrenched racism in regional Australia and marked a turning point in the struggle for civil rights and recognition.
JOHN YEAMAN - INTRODUCTION OF THE PLAYGROUND ROCKETS
John Yeaman was born in Marrickville in 1907 and graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from the University of Sydney in 1929. He moved to Blackheath in late 1938 and began working as an engineer for Blackheath Council (later Blue Mountains Council) in early 1939. (Morocombe, 2024: Jackson-Stepowski, 2018).
In 1961, Yeaman visited the United States, where leading playground equipment manufacturers like Jamison Manufacturing in Los Angeles and Miracle Equipment Company in Iowa were producing space-themed playground structures. Upon returning to Australia, he developed plans for a playground rocket in May 1962, nearly identical to those by Jamison. It is unclear if these drawings were purchased or copied. The first of these "moon rockets" was fabricated under his supervision at the council's Albion Street blacksmith works and installed in Blackheath Soldiers' Memorial Park, funded by the local Rotary Club, of which Yeaman was a member. This rocket is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia and helped launch a broader movement of space-themed playgrounds (Morocombe, 2024: Jackson-Stepowski, 2018).
Yeaman later passed the rocket design on to local fabricator Dick West, facilitating the production of dozens more rockets across NSW (Jackson-Stepowski, 2018).
DICK WEST - PRIMARY MANUFACTURER OF THE ROCKETS
Dick West was born in Carlingford in 1932 and grew up on rural properties, where he developed blacksmith and metalworking skills through hands-on experience rather than formal training. He worked as a fettler on the Blue Mountains railway line before settling in Blackheath in 1956. In 1959, he established his own business, R.J. West Engineering, on the corner of Railway and Station Streets, Blackheath, initially fabricating car and boat trailers and decorative wrought ironwork (Unknown, He builds pipe dreams, 1971: Jackson-Stepowski, 2018).
In 1963, using the rocket plans provided by John Yeaman, West began manufacturing steel playground "moon rockets." He is believed to have produced up to 38 of these rockets, primarily for NSW playgrounds. West's rockets are often marked with a manufacturer's plaque, as is the case in Moree. Many of these rockets were funded by Rotary Clubs, demonstrating the strong connection between community service organizations and playground development in mid-20th-century Australia (Unknown, 1971: Jackson-Stepowski, 2018).
ROCKET PLAYGROUND HISTORY
During the post-war era, playground equipment in NSW started to evolve with the introduction of generic commercial products. This coincides with an evolution into the insights of childhood and liberalisation of the NSW education system, with educators seeking to foster curiosity in children. There had come an improved understanding of child development and from this 'adventure playgrounds' were developed. These adventure playgrounds sought to enable children to develop their own play spaces and imagination with an emphasis on physical fitness and the development of motor skills (van den Broek & Morris, 1997). Play equipment by the 1960s sought to cause creative play, the theory being that 'physical active play allows children to test and develop all types of motor skills[and] promotes significant health and wellbeing benefits' (Jackson-Stepowski, 2018).
These insights come during the same time as the Cold War, a state of geo-political tension. While enabling physical fitness is seen as positive for childhood development, many studies suggest there is a second benefit of this, general fitness of a nation reflecting the ability of a country to defend itself in the event of war. As part of this Cold War tension, there is a desire to be the first to launch a man into space (BM Journal). Space dominated popular culture during this time and people's keen interest in space is thought to have influenced Councils in consideration of rocket ships in playgrounds. The Rocket climbing frame acts as a symbol of the active Cold War soft propaganda and societal fascination with the Space Race while fulfilling new ideals in children's play equipment. By the early 1960s, playground rockets could be found in countless United States magazines with Life even featuring an article on space-related play equipment noting 'playgrounds take a space-race spin'. Rocket climbing frames were even found throughout the Soviet Union, Jackson-Stepowski noting regardless of where you lived, 'to climb [the Rocket] was to be an aspiring astronaut' for your country (Jackson-Stepowski, 2018).
After the first rocket is built in Blackheath Memorial Park by John Yeaman, the structure was supplemented by other fantasy pieces designed and fabricated by Dick West. These included a Gemini Space Capsule, a Tiger Moth Plane, an Old Woman's Shoe, a Stage Coach which has since been reinstalled, an elephant slide, a vintage car, an endeavour boat, a submarine, a dinosaur and a Gulliver Clown (Jackson-Stepowski, 2018).
Particularly in the 1990s, concerns grew around the safety of these kinds of playground equipment. Most rockets were removed or altered during this decade to better accommodate changing safety standards after a 1991 Warrnambool City Council court case is thought to have sparked major revaluations on the safety of antiquated playground equipment. (Louise Thom Heritage Consultants, 2022: Canberra Times, 2 March 1991: Bowring, 2023).
The rockets as a group are considered to have a high level of social value due to the nostalgia that surrounds them. Many have been reinstated or reinterpreted and some parks that once had rockets but have since been removed are still referred to as 'Rocket Parks' such as Winifred Park in Mittagong and the playground in Centennial Park, Sydney. Many of the locals in Moree also refer to the Kirkby Park as the Rocket Park, and it has even an alternative name on google maps to this effect.
MOREE ROCKET, CENTENARY OF EDUCATION
In June 1972, it is thought a 'Centenary of Education' Ball was held in Moree to raise funds to erect a rocket climbing frame in Kirkby Park for the children of Moree and visitors (NSW Department of Customer Service, Moree Rocket Park, https://www.nsw.gov.au/visiting-and-exploring-nsw/locations-and-attractions/moree-rocket-park). Moree's citizens had a high interest in space themes and felt strongly about the Space Race due to the role the Moree Overseas Telecommunications Commissions (and its many employees who lived in purpose built homes in the town), played in the delivery of the Moon landing footage (Spain, 2018). The Rocket was built in 1972 by Dick West, identified by his maker's plaque on the rocket. The Moree Rocket is to the same specifications used for the original Blackheath Rocket, that were given to West by Yeaman.
During the Centenary of Education week of celebrations in 1972, a plaque was unveiled on the Rocket structure. This plaque, dated 22 July 1972, notes the connection the structure has to the Centenary of Education.
In 1998, the slide was removed, in line with the upgraded safety concerns following a 1991 court case in Victoria. Access to the internal climbing structure has also since been removed rendering the Rocket a static sculpture.
There have been proposals in the past to remove the rocket, but these have been met with strong opposition from the local community. Instead, the space theme was reinforced, with a second rocket installed in 2009 during the International Year of Astronomy to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing. This second rocket no longer exists after an arson attack in May 2025.
OVERSEAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Overseas Telecommunications Commissions (OTCs) were charged with the responsibility for all international telecommunications service into, through and out of Australia. The Moree OTC and the Moree Rocket have a shared connection to the Space Race that deeply shaped the cultural landscape of Moree in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
As late as 1966, there was no way to get live television signals from Australia to the United States. With the advent of the Apollo program, NASA wanted secure, reliable communications. Originally, it planned to establish satellite earth stations near each of its tracking stations, contracting the work to a United States entity, but the host regions objected (CSIRO, 2019).
Australia's international telecommunications operator, the OTC, accepted responsibility instead. The first satellite earth station was established in Carnarvon, Western Australia. This was quickly followed by a second earth station at Moree, which opened in March 1968 (CSIRO, 2019). At the time, the Moree Earth Station was Australia's most advanced commercial Earth tracking station (Barlass, 2023).
During Apollo 11, these stations transmitted signals from the mission to communications satellites, which relayed them to the United States. The Carnavon station sent telemetry from experiments on the Moon's surface, while the Moree station sent the TV pictures which were caught by the Parkes radio telescope (Barlass, 2023).
Scientists and technicians associated with the tracking station lived in purpose built homes in Moree. The dish from the original Moree OTC, as well as a second location in Moree, have been dismantled. The official station opening plaque, the old switchboard and the stairs to the dish tower are said to still exist and are used as offices for a local irrigation company, Irritek (Spain, 2018).
The Moree Rocket can be understood as a product of both cultural influences and a local expression of pride in the town's unexpected but critical contribution to the space race through the OTC. The Rocket's installation came just a few years after the Moon landing, reflecting and reinforcing the town's identification with space age technology. Many residents of Moree had personal ties to the OTC. The community's choice to raise funds for a rocket climbing frame as a centrepiece for children's play, shows how deeply the themes of space exploration had permeated local culture. While the satellite of the OTC has been dismantled, the Rocket remains a tangible reminder of Moree's role in a global historical moment and anchors this legacy in a place of everyday significance. |