Celebrating the opening of The W!
On Sunday, 1 March 2026, Town of Walkerville celebrated the official opening of The W: Walkerville Recreation Centre with an action-packed Family Fun Day event.
This event provided the community with the opportunity to visit and enjoy all the new recreation centre has to offer.
The W: Walkerville Recreation Centre was opened by Town of Walkerville Mayor, Melissa Jones; Hon Peter Malinauskas MP, Premier of South Australia, and the Hon Lucy Hood MP, State Member for Adelaide.
Mayor Jones said during the opening speeches, "We are truly proud of what has been achieved, and are grateful that [our community] made our vision a reality, because in this Township, community is at the centre of everything we do.
"While The W officially opened its doors to the community on 12 January, we deliberately chose to hold our celebration a little later. We wanted to give people time to settle in, to explore the space and to truly make it their own.
"We have been genuinely overwhelmed by the response. Every program has been well attended. Every space has been used. From early morning fitness classes to children’s programs, social sport, gymnastics and community events – people have been coming through these doors in numbers we hoped for, but couldn’t fully predict.
"The W is more than just a new building. It represents a long-standing community desire for a place to play, move, connect and belong."
Also in attendance at the celebration was Federal Member for Adelaide, Steve Georganas MP; Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing of South Australia, the Hon Rhiannon Pearce MP; Member for Torrens, Dana Wortley MP; Candidate for Torrens, Meagan Spencer; Walkerville Deputy Mayor Steven Rypp, and Walkerville Councillors - Jay Allanson, Liz Trotter, Aman Kaur and John Zeppel.
Throughout the day, there were a lot of exciting activities to participate in - from jumping castles to block play equipment, to volleyball and gymnastics sessions, there was a lot to keep the whole family entertained.
Many smiling children were walking around The W with their faces painted and a balloon animal in hand!
An exciting flagship basketball game was also held during the event, which included two players from the Adelaide 36ers, Magok Manyang and Blake Jones; the Hon Lucy Hood MP; Walkerville Councillors - Liz Trotter, Jay Allanson and Deputy Mayor Steven Rypp; Norwood Flames Basketball Club players and Adelaide Community Basketball Association (ACBA) umpires.
Photos by Simon Casson.
