Big Splash Waterpark

Story

Big Splash is a waterpark in Canberra, Australia. It is located in the suburb of Macquarie and is the only waterpark in Canberra. It originally opened with a 50m Pool with a kids pool at the end of it in the late 1960s.When the pool opened it was Government-owned and known as Macquarie Swimming pool, also often referred to as Jammo Pool. The slides were introduced in the early 1980s.The pool was sold from government ownership. It was bought by a family and then later sold to the Watkins family in the 1990s.The current name for the facility is Big Splash Waterpark. It now has a total of eleven water slides - the Family Slide and the Kamikaze slide that extend downwards from the top of Splash Tower, The Hurricane Twins that begin at the Splash Viewing Platform. Big Splash includes a children's area called Splash Island which includes 3 slides and playing area. There was the Yellow Bubble pool for toddlers, which had two small water slides landing into shallow water. However this was removed in the 2014/2015 season and a new playground was installed for smaller children. There is also a Learn to Swim Pool and a 50m Pool. Big Splash also has a dry Inflatable Obstacle Course for Children, and wet Inflatable Obstacle Courses for Adults and Children.Following the 2010 closures of the Speedcoaster and Twister slides at Wet'n'Wild Water World on the Gold Coast, Watkins personally purchased both rides for $1.5 million. The rides were installed in 2012, but red tape delayed their opening until 2013. The slides were actually purchased for much less from Wet N Wild however installation costs were high.