How to build a sand pit?

Question

Wonga Park - Melbourne - circa 1992(?)

My builder/carpenter father with my eldest brother's son building a sand pit. My brother has the negative and somehow converted it to a PDF and sent it to me, but I think there is distortion. Even the base of the spirit level looks wavy and a 'warped' star picket next to it?

But I can't fathom the construction. I think I'm seeing his left boot and has he cut the sleeper into a very sharp taper? If so, why? Is that dark area to the left under the sleeper a gap? Looks like he trenched the background sleeper into the earth, which makes sense. And there would have been serious digging to remove earth for the sand?

My brother has no memory other than it turned out to be a "normal" four-sided sand pit.

Just curious as I love analysing photos and I would like to know what a DIY audience thinks.

Cheers.

Graeme.

(The blue-booted youngster is now a rocket scientist living in New Zealand.)

Noyade · Answer

Afternoon @JacobZ

"I can't say I have any idea why it was built like that though."

Same here. But he was a very capable ingenious man - so there musta been a plan methinks. My brother moved to WA - and Google satellite maps says the pit is gone.

"A lovely memory regardless."

Absolutely! Thanks for looking!

Cheers.

JacobZ · Answer

Hi @Noyade,

There's definitely some distortion going on. Looks like the original photo was scanned and the physical photo was sitting a bit wavy when it was being scanned.

It definitely looks like the sleeper has been cut with a taper so that it runs over the natural ground. The dark area under the sleeper definitely looks like a gap to me. Not sure if you can see your father's boot but I can definitely see something that lines up with it, maybe a boot, maybe a shadow.

The sleeper at the back does seem to be dug in, whereas the one at the front is running over the natural ground. I can't say I have any idea why it was built like that though.

A lovely memory regardless. I didn't stop to take any photos, but my little boy who is 15 months old was helping me build a veggie garden about a week ago. This is strikingly similar, even down to the blue gumboots. I wouldn't be disappointed if he ended up being a rocket scientist, but if current interests are anything to go on, I think he'll be a landscaper.

Thanks for sharing.

Jacob