Ta’ Qali picnic area labelled 'Jason Gravel Park' on Google Maps

Ta' Qali picnic area has been labelled 'Jason Gravel Park' in what appears to be a joke by pranksters poking fun at the ongoing controversy. 

The satirical listing, which appeared earlier this month, names the park after Jason Micallef, the head of the unit administering the national park. 

He has been under fire since issuing a €311,000 direct order for gravel to be  laid on the site in an intervention that the prime minister has admitted could have been handled better. 

Jason Gravel Park or Jason Park is listed as “permanently closed” and features photos of the actual area as well desert-themed photos, including camels in deserts and stills from the film Dune, portraying Ta’ Qali as Arrakis, the film's lifeless desert planet.

Some of the photos listed for Jason Gravel Park Photo: Google Maps

It has been accompanied by a slew of sarcastic one-star reviews. 

“Perfect for Star Wars cosplayers wanting to recreate scenes on Tatooine. Not good for much else though,” one review says. Another reads: “Not too shabby for a €300k gravel pit. Still waiting for Jason to tell the grass it’s meant to be a park.”

Google Maps allows users to submit locations using their Google accounts, a process usually reserved for businesses, landmarks and public sites. While businesses usually need special approval from the operator to change a name, a landmark is easier to add. After registering it and adding photos of the site, Google would just need to verify it is real before approving it. 

The issue at Ta' Qali was raised by actor and business owner Thomas Camilleri , who shared side-by-side photos of the picnic area: one from 2021 showing lush grass, the other from last summer showing a dusty, gravel-filled landscape.

Micallef dismissed the criticism as “nonsense”, insisting the gravel would reduce dust in summer and allow grass to regrow in winter. He also promised the grass would return in that area by mid-December. It has not.

Micallef has since lashed out publicly at his critics, including podcaster Trudy Kerr, whom he called a “failed podcaster”, and threatened legal action. He also attacked a Newsbook journalist for covering the Ta Qali saga as well as her brother, the President’s spokesperson. 

Jason Gravel Park is not the first place added to Google Maps in jest. In 2019, students renamed Hornsea School in East Yorkshire as “Hornsea Prison & Hell on Earth”, a fake label that remained online for days.