Greens MP Dr Amanda Cohn heard loud and clear what a 'precious community asset' Walka Water Works is when she visited the site on April 3.
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Dr Cohn was joined by Maitland Greens spokesperson Campbell Knox and the The Save Walka Community Alliance who raised their concerns for the site's future.
Walka Water Works closed to the public in early 2022 after asbestos was identified in some parts of the site.
Certain parts of the site, including the playground and the main picnic area remain closed.
Save Walka campaigner Michele Keith said the answer is always the same whenever the group asks the state government or Maitland City Council why some parts of the site remain closed.
"The response is always, 'EPA has told us we have to close it off the way it is,'" she said.
A Maitland City Council spokesperson said an important step to any future use of the Walka Water Works site is to deal with the contamination issue and undertake remediation.
"The remediation works have been staged and are dependent on future funding from Crown Lands over multiple financial years.
"Council is working with the NSW Government to determine if funding allocations can be redirected from the Regional Tourism Activation Fund to the remediation works for both the land and pumphouse building."
Dr Cohn said she will put questions to parliament and hopes to get the community some answers.
Another concern for the heritage-listed site is the development plans for a caravan park.
Ms Keith who was a former director of the Hunter Wetlands Centre said if the plans go ahead, the community will lose a fantastic icon, lose parkland and lose the site's wildlife reserve.
Dr Cohn, a general practitioner said she knows how important passive recreation is for physical and mental health.
"As communities grow, open green space actually becomes more and more precious," she said.
Dr Cohn believes the state government should be funding the maintenance of the natural and heritage assets of the site so that it can be developed in a way that the community wants.
"I'm quite disgusted to hear that council has been put in a position where it feels like it has to accept a for-profit accommodation service to be able to do the maintenance that the site needs."
Mr Knox said Walka Water Works represents the significance of Maitland's past and the spirit of the community's future.
"We've spoken with people who have had to beg council for weeks now just to mow the lawns at Walka and when sites like this get neglected, the community overall gets neglected and we've had enough of that," he said.
Everyone in the community has a tie to Walka Water Works, he added.
"Even with the closures that council has put on the site, people are still trying to make use of it, whether that's for wedding photos or a family picnic."'
Generations of children and families have come to know and love Walka Water Works, Ms Keith said.
"Our 138 years of cultural heritage is being ignored and allowed to fall into disrepair," she said.
Ms Keith said instead of a caravan park the people of Maitland would like to see the pumphouse restored as the first water and steam museum in Australia.
"We would love for visitors to be able to understand what an engineering success it was and how it led to improvement in human health, agriculture and industry such as coal mining not just in the Hunter Valley but across Australia," she said.
Laura Rumbel
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
