Wickham celebrates Saylor Park return

The new park that opened in Wickham on the weekend has an old name with the return of Saylor Park to the town.

Hundreds of Wickham and surrounds residents streamed through the new park and took part in an open day at the Wickham Recreation Precinct on Sunday. Residents got to try a range of services now available since management of the facilities moved from Rio Tinto to the City of Karratha.

A 100m foot race was also run between Wickham sporting clubs.

Tyson Nichols won the sprint and $500 for his club, the Wickham Wolves.

Saylor Park, named after the Torres Strait Islander Saylor family for their contribution to the community, was previously next to Wickham Drive before the parkland was used for Rio Tinto's $300 million town expansion.

The park was the first to be completed by not-for-profit organisation Nature Play WA in the Pilbara.

Nature Play WA chief executive Griffin Longley said the park was designed to encourage imaginative play for children.

The park consists of a massive slide, swings, rock climbing, shade for the parents, and large spinning tops representing a toy made from material like coconuts in the Torres Strait Islands.

Members of the Saylor and other Torres Strait Islander families were present at the opening and performed traditional dances and singing for the occasion.

Michael Saylor said his father Tom first came to the Pilbara region in 1965 to work on the railway lines with his brothers and cousins.

"He landed in Hedland and from there he worked on the Hamersley Iron lines," he said.

Tom Saylor was originally from the far eastern islands of the Torres Strait and travelled to Queensland for work in the pearl and sugar cane industry before moving to WA. Tom worked on other railway lines in WA in Perth and Katanning and came back north in 1971 to work on the Robe River line.

His wife Wendy came up with young Michael and daughter Raylene in 1972 where they lived in a railway camp until the town of Wickham was built.

Tom and Wendy had two more sons, Arona born mid-flight over Roebourne, and Thomas who was born in Wickham.

Michael said he went to school in Wickham, did an apprenticeship in Wickham and now has four of his own children growing up in the town.

"Today was a big thing for us, we've got a big close-knit family," he said.