There was a great turn out for the official park naming ceremony for Cactoblastis Corner, Sherwood last month.

The riverfront site at the end of Ferry St was the former home of the Prickly Pear Research Board, later renamed the Alan Fletcher Research Station, and played an important role in the management of Prickly Pear in Australia. Many of the former staff and scientists from the Research Station were in attendance at the park naming, including former Director Dr Dane Panetta who helped me cut the ribbon on the park name sign.

Last year, local residents and former staff of the Research Station were invited to vote on a name for the park. They settled on “Cactoblastis Corner” in recognition of the cactus moths that were reared at the site and sent to prickly pear infested areas to erradicate the weed.