Port Stephens Mayor Ryan Palmer accepted the donation at the reserve on Wednesday morning, and said it would be used to fund much needed upgrades to the park and its amenities. 

“The Lions Club of Soldiers Point are active members of our community who take pride in where we live and work tirelessly to support our local community,” Cr Palmer said.

“This generous donation will help fund the renewal of the park which is already underway.

“The works include new accessible amenities, new picnic tables and shelters, and dune fencing and landscaping improvements.”

Port Stephens Council is carrying out the upgrade works.

It is not the first time the club has helped with the upkeep of Bob Cairns Reserve.

In 2016 the toilet block was in poor condition, however it had a further two years until its scheduled replacement.

The Lions Club painted the block and funded a Port artist to paint a mural on it which Cr Palmer said kept the park “beautiful until it could be revitalised”.

“I want to thank all of the Soldiers Point Lions volunteers for their generous donation and for all their hard work over the years - not just on this park, but for our whole community,” he said. 

Christine Lilly from Soldiers Point Lions Club said it was great to be able to give back to the local community.

“The Lions Club of Soldiers Point has been part of this community for 40 years, and has been worked tirelessly to make Port Stephens a better place,” she said.

“This is our Centenary Project and we’ve been saving money for two years to make this happen.

“It’s wonderful to see our donation go towards much-needed improvements at Bob Cairns Reserve which will benefit the entire community.”