Enormous turnout from Griffith community for Pioneer Park's Action Day

Car parks were few and far between for those who made their way to Scenic Hill to catch all the action as the park, which captures a Griffith of a yesteryear, came to life.

Children and adults alike enjoyed blacksmith demonstrations, old-time farming machinery and historical lessons in printmaking to name only a few activities.

Having volunteered as part of the Griffith Lion’s Club for the past eight years Les Corner said it was one of the biggest turnouts he had ever seen.

Diligently manning the barbecue Mr Corner said the team were almost out of fishcakes by 1pm after meeting the enormous and steady demand throughout the day.

By his side was Englishman Josh Keown who was blown away by what was on offer, something he says you couldn’t get in his hometown of Manchester.

“It is great to see all of the old tractors and machines, I’ve not seen anything like this before, you wouldn’t get a park like this where I am from,” he said.

For fellow volunteer Noel Hicks, who has helped out at his share of Action Days, there is a simple explanation behind the day’s success.

“I think it is just a lovely family day. People are looking for somewhere to take their families and show them how things used to be,” he said.

Mr Hicks enjoyed seeing how technology had transformed people’s lives.

“I saw two small kids pushing a push mower around on the lawn,” he said.

“They were having the time of their lives, you have to wonder if they had ever seen one before.”

A standout performance on the day undoubtedly went to the ladies from the Griffith Italian Museum who whipped up traditional bread loaves from scratch for an eager crowd.

Connie Catanzariti and Rosa Staltari first learned to make the loaves from their mothers back in Southern Italy – decades later they used those skills to feed the masses as they helped mark Good Friday in Griffith.