Words by Meg Mayger. Photos by Wade Trevean and Nicky Hayes.

They say when you look at Central Australia from outer space it just looks red.

That was true up until recently. It’s still the same spread of delicious red dirt but now, a speck of grey sits stickered in the north. And if you zoom in a bit further you can see people of all ages and colours skating and hanging around it. It’s central Australia’s first ever skatepark and it’s thanks to Wade (of East by West Co) and a bunch of other hard working legends that it exists. Last time I spoke to Wade he’d just finished building a skatepark in Laos (read it here). Laos is just one of many skateparks he’s brained and brawned. Since then he’s been dirtying his hands on local soil. Working in collaboration with Nicky and Georgia from Spinifex Skateboards, Brodie, Louie, Benno, Steve and Lucy from Grind Projects and numerous Ltyentye Apurte locals, he’s brought to life the first ever skate park in an Indigenous Australian community.

Wade had been in chats with Ltyentye Apurte’s community for roughly four years prior to its completion. Inside those four years were two on-site consultation visits, a couple of miscellaneous hiccups, one insidious pandemic and just a whole heap of creative minds pressing on. Just a small peek into the behind-the-scenes of getting a skatepark live. Construction started in August just passed and ended five weeks later. The crew were working everyday turning dirt into concrete which would be welcomed by the whole community with wide open wheels. It may be the first skatepark to be built in a remote indigenous community, but it’s already concreting the way for a bunch more…watch this space. But until then, pack your board and (if you’re not already there) head up North for a play on the brand new concrete. I spoke to Wade recently about the build.

First of all, how’ve you been?

Ahh yeah, hectic (laughs). Feels like I haven't stopped. We finished the build which was five weeks, then came home for a week, then went back up for the opening which was amazing. Then tomorrow I’m flying to Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste to build a skatepark there.

So this skatepark in NT, where exactly were you building and what was it like there?

The project was in Ltyentye Apurte which is a mission, and the mission is called Santa Teresa but the indigenous name is Ltyentye Apurte. It’s in central Australia, about 80 km outside of Alice Springs. The community’s about 500 people and everyone was super supportive. It’s just a beautiful community around the East MacDonnell Ranges with incredible landscape. At the end of each day, there was this hill we’d go up and just watch the sunset over the commune… really nice.

Oh right, only 500 people in the community?

Yeah so if you live there, you know everyone (laughs). And - ‘cause they saw us delivering a project which they knew’d be beneficial to their community - they were just so stoked to have us there. Including the Traditional Owners who we couldn't thank enough. Some of the elders and TOs took us out to country, showed us paintings, took us out for kangaroo tail…they’d cook it in the fire and we’d sit down with them. We were so fortunate to be asked to share those things. And just to see such a strong sense of community and sense of land. People who are so proud of where they live. It’s strong and beautiful. 

Everyone would’ve known your name...

(Laughs) Especially the kids. They were at the construction fence nearly everyday asking ‘How long, how long, how long?’ Through that we got to really know them. And having gone back there last week (for the opening) a lot of them were like ‘Oh hey! Wade! How long are you back here for?’ and it’s like ‘Ahh stop it kids...’ (laughs).

You don’t want to go and it just be work work work. It’s the same as going anywhere, you wanna learn something from the area, you know? Especially a place so rich and…topical at the moment. Coming into the referendum, it was so good to be there and ask those kinds of questions. We all wanted to learn from it and fortunately we had people there that allowed it. ‘Cause something like 95% of Australian’s haven't been to a remote community before. And yeah, it’s not always easy to because you might need permission or something like that, but it was just so good for us - to not only deliver the project but - to come back richer in knowledge and share those stories back home. Like, not shove it down people’s throats, but if they have questions just being able to say ‘Well this is what I experienced…’

Run us through a day in the life on the build.

We averaged about ten hour days. At the start it’s playing around in dirt; shaping it, getting the earthworks right, all the levels and everything. All really important stuff. We had triple road trains coming on site, as you can imagine really, really big trucks just dropping dirt. Yeah, at the start it kinda just looked like we were playing in dirt. But then we had the machinery to start placing it around and the skatepark began to take shape. Then we’d do the timber work and get on with the concrete. The concreter’s would get there at 6am so we’d make sure to be there nice and early before that to make sure everything was prepped. Concrete would be pumped in and poured then we’d just work that for the next six hours and start prepping for the next day. And somewhere in there if/where possible…stop for lunch (laughs).

So it was you and who else on the site?

Yeah so me (East by West co.), Benno, Louie, Brodie, Steve and Lucy (from Grind Projects) they build skateparks full time, and Nicky (owner of Spinifex Skateboards) he was there nearly every day photographing/working. There was also a local guy, Matto. He helped on numerous days which was really good ‘cause there was always an intent to engage the local people…not necessarily due to needing it, but more so to pass on those skills and also to allow them to be a part of their community project.

I’ve done overseas builds with Benno and Louie and now they're some of my best mates, so it was amazing to get to do this with them as well. It’s not like building a park in Sydney city, you know? It’s a really unique experience, and was a beautiful thing to share with people… and share we did (laughs) beause you’re living in each other’s pockets; working long days together and staying in the same accommodation. It’s nice to be able to do it with such close friends.

Where were you guys staying?

We stayed at the church (laughs) which was really nice. The rooms were very basic, but we had our own room and that was great. Compared to other times when we’ve had like 12 people in a room sharing a bed...I’m too old for that now.

So you were in the perfect place to wake up and pray that it would all be fine?

Yeah (laughs) definitely.

Any personal highlights from this build? 

One of the warmest experiences for me was…so, throughout consultation, the kids were always really creative, colouring and painting things. One of the things they were painting was the Indigenous flag which we managed to get in the skate park and as an actual skate element: a hipped bank. A pretty standard element in a skate park - usually with a flat platform - but through design and construction we were like, let's do one side red, one side black and then the sun in the middle. You see it and straight away know it’s the Indigenous flag. Which was great because it’s obviously so unique, like that’s not in any other skatepark in the world. The kids were really excited about it because they’ve got such a strong connection to that flag.

We also ended up painting all vertical surfaces in the park yellow and I just said to the kids, ‘Anything that’s yellow go ahead and paint on.’ So the kids came out - with I think one of their art teachers - and just painted them all. It looked incredible. Lets’ be honest not everyone is gonna ride or skate it. There might be a creative kid that just really loves painting and well, now here’s an opportunity for them to paint. Then when they’re walking through their community they can be like ‘Mum/dad/friends, look I painted that!’ and hopefully that’s pretty rewarding for them.

What did the opening day look like?

It was really special. It’s usually a really quiet road but there were a lot of cars on it that day. It started at 11am but I got there a bit before and already the people and the buzz was there…kids absolutely everywhere. It attracted a hugely diverse crew, a lot of people drove in from Alice and further afield. Songlines were there activating the space. They’re a First Nations skateboard company that activate openings and run competitions, workshops and skateboard tours throughout the nation, so having them there was amazing. We had a smoking ceremony, we had a Welcome To Country, we had some traditional dancers led by Chirs Wallace, one of the elders there. We ate roo tail, there were kids painting skateboards, tie-dying Spinifex t-shirts…It was just so well activated, such a positive vibe. Really just makes you forget about the four to five weeks working, like, it just washes away you know? You just gotta look over your shoulder and see how much the kids’ are enjoying it and it’s like ‘Yeah, that’s worth it’.

What were the kids’ reaction?

Well, (laughs) I’ll be honest…a little subdued because they’d been sneaking in and skating it for two weeks prior to the opening. At the end of every day we’d leave and - we had these construction fences up - when we’d come back the next day there’d be a little gap in those fences and a lot of skateboard/tyre marks (laughs). It was fine though, we knew that was gonna happen and it didn't impact the park at all. So yeah, they’d already been skating it well before the opening but at least on the opening day there was actually an audience for them - which they hadn't experienced the times they snuck in. There’d be a tap on your shoulder and they’d be like ‘Look at me do this!’ So that was good; something new for them to experience.

What’s the future of Ltyentye Apurte’s skatepark look like?

Next stages are putting in a shelter, and landscaping to really soften up the space. As you can imagine, it’s pretty hot there. We’ve also sent up a lot of skateboards and safety gear so ideally there’ll be workshops. Spinifex already do workshops in the community but now they’ve got a skatepark to do it at. So hopefully more of that stuff.

And now you’re off to Timor for another build? Already?

(Laughs) Yeah look…I haven't stopped. I fly to Timor tomorrow. I’ve got this sea of luggage and tools behind me; everything I've gotta put in a bag in the next twelve hours. There’s a team of us flying in from all over, we’re gonna meet there and yeah, deliver the project in Dilli over the next four weeks.

Wade you’re a legend, it’s all very exciting.

Ahh.. yeah when you say that, ‘legend’, it doesn't sit well… I know it sounds a bit over the top, but I'm the lucky one, you know? To be able to go to a community like Ltyentye Apurte, it’s amazing. And it’s not just me, it’s a team of people. It was such an amazing project, really rewarding and it may have been the first skatepark in remote Aus but hopefully…nah I know it won’t be the last.

Hopefully the first of MANY skateparks in central Australia.

Yeah. I know other communities will see this and think ‘Why can’t we do that? We’re a remote community too, things are hard here but they’ve done it, why can’t we do it as well?’. And that’d be so great, having multiple parks in various communities means kids (or whoever) from one community can go to the next one; somewhere they may have never been before. Now they might think ‘Well I don’t really have a reason to go to these other communities… but they do have a skatepark’. And then going there for a skate. Then so much more comes from just going for a skate; all those cross-cultural ideas, conversations, new experiences, just further connection in general.

Wade and the Timor Skate crew are currently delivering a skatepark in Dili, East Timor. You can donate here. Their goal is 20k and anything extra will go to ensuring the park remains activated post-build.