Dinosaurs bring fun and record attendances to Nicholas Street Precinct
18 July 2023
Dinosaurs led the charge to a record number of 50,000 attendances to the revitalised Nicholas Street Precinct during the recent school holidays.
An immersive dinosaur display saw more than 28 life-like, animatronic dinosaurs provide an exciting way for visitors to learn about the pre-historic creatures, as well as family-friendly games, activities and dinosaur themed food and services.
The record number of attendances also swelled customers to local businesses and services, with the Ipswich Central Library welcoming 9,686 visitors and the Ipswich Children’s Library 23,674 visitors during the school holidays.
The visitors figure for the Ipswich Children’s Library is nearly triple the amount compared to average visitor numbers of 8,748 in a two-week period while school is on.
Ipswich Central Redevelopment Committee Chairperson Councillor Marnie Doyle said the energy and popularity of the precinct was growing which is really exciting for the city.
“This council has gotten on with the job of revitalising Ipswich Central and is delivering a thriving city heart for the benefit of the entire community,” Cr Doyle said.
“Our focus is on creating a beautiful and diverse city centre with options for recreation, dining, education and entertainment – newly opened restaurant Bun Bun Bao is the most recent example of this.”
Division 3 Councillor Andrew Fechner said drawing people to the Nicholas Street Precinct benefited the broader Ipswich Central area.
“Visitors to the Nicholas Street Precinct also explore the businesses, shops and services in the wider Ipswich Central precinct, so it’s encouraging to see places like Bottle Alley activated and in use, and projects such as the Green Walkable Streets Artwork Project creating an interesting destination,” Cr Fechner said.
“We know there are environmental, social and economic benefits to encouraging people to use active transport and explore our city on bicycle and foot, so we hope these initiatives add incentive to do so.”
For more information about the Nicholas Street Precinct visit Nicholas Street Precinct.