About this place
What to expect
The Jim Pollock Whyalla Wetlands is a popular picnic and recreation area with BBQs, shelters, toilets, and a nature playground. Visitors can walk along paths around the lakes, which include benches, bridges, a gazebo, and wheelchair-accessible ramps. Developed by the City of Whyalla with support from the Rotary Club of Whyalla Norrie, the wetlands combine recreation with stormwater capture. The site features about 7 hectares of artificial lakes that attract many aquatic plants, animals, and birds. Built on 24.8 hectares of the former aerodrome (which operated until 1951), the wetlands are part of the Whyalla Heritage Trailways and are named in honour of Jim Pollock, a respected community leader who served as mayor from 2003 to 2016. Elected to council in 1997 before rising to Deputy Mayor and then serving as Whyalla's Mayor from 2003-2016, Jim was a popular civic leader who always had the city of Whyalla and its people at heart. The 14-tonne lump of iron ore that carries the special plaque in Jim's honour is indeed, likened to the man himself "Like a rock for Whyalla with a heart that probably weighed in around the 14-tonne mark." The wetlands is a place that represents so many of the things Jim wanted for Whyalla, good facilities, beautiful attractions and wonderful places for the whole community to enjoy.