Council now has in its trusty ownership a 3870 square metre strip of waterfront land begging to be turned into a riverside walk, ultimately linked with others along the Wollondilly.

It would capture just a little of an earlier, more genteel era of the early 1900s when men and women dressed in their finery enjoyed a picnic on the former Kenmore Pleasure Grounds or a spot of fishing and boating.

Only the boathouse remains, quietly asking for some loving attention.

The council bought the land from Boathouse Developments Pty Ltd director Graham Irving, following a decision last year.

The parcel formed the bottom strip of his nearby residential subdivision on the former Seventh Day Adventist camping ground in Wollondilly Avenue.

As it was zoned public recreation under local planning laws, Council was bound to acquire it from the developer when the offer was made. It paid $46,000 for the land.

Mr Irving says the land has plenty of potential. It would also provide a picturesque frontage for those who bought into the subdivision.

“It has been a very popular spot for a long time with boats and fishing and it’s open to what Council would like to see done out there, but there are a couple possibilities,” he said.

Mr Irving told the Post he could have held onto the land but selling allowed 30 blocks to have waterfront access, rather than just one.

All seven blocks, ranging between 700 and 1200 square metres, in stage one, have sold to a single developer.

Mr Irving is drawing up another development application for a further 29 blocks on site, including small, medium and large lots.

Currently some 10,000 square metres of the 30,000 square metre property has been sold.

Mr Irving has previously described the former Pleasure Grounds as the “jewel in Goulburn’s crown.”

“It’s a facility that has never been repeated in Goulburn’s history since its closure all of those years ago when the Seventh Day Adventists bought the site,” he said last May.

“Its potential return to the public domain is in our opinion a chance for Goulburn to gain a facility which provides an enormous boost to the region.”

The Pleasure Grounds closed in the early 1950s.

Council’s land and property manager Ken Wheeldon said there were no specific funds available in the current budget to develop the area as a walkway or to restore the boathouse.

However the matter has been referred to the Recreational Water Use Working Party which would review what could be achieved with the land, the boathouse and the resources needed.

Cr Andrew Banfield is also a member of the Working Party.

He’s previously expressed a desire to have a linking walkway along the Wollondilly River.