Buronga Nature Play Area works ongoing

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Construction of a new Nature Play Area is underway at Buronga.

Nature-themed equipment in the play area includes rope play structures, scaling ropes and a fort and slide structure.

On top of the playground equipment construction will include picnic tables with a river view, public seating and benches, shade structures, a new car park area including bollard fencing, landscaping, vegetation, grassed area, irrigation, bins and timber elements.

Part of the project also encompasses the rationalisation of paths through the eastern and western sides of the George Chaffey Bridge.

Works on the project commenced in early 2021 with the general landscaping components to be finished by the end of May.

The shade structure and playground equipment will be completed by the end of July.

See below for progress photos from April 2021

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Bendigo Bank Agency Open at Midway Centre

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Wentworth Shire Council Team Leader Customer Service Annette Fraser (right) with Customer Service Officers Julie Simpson and Mel Hoskin at the Midway Centre Bendigo Bank Agency Buronga.

A Bendigo Bank Agency is now open at the Midway Centre in Buronga.

The agency, operated by the Community Bank Wentworth and District and staffed by Wentworth Shire Council’s Customer Service Team, offers core day-to-day banking facilities to existing and new customers of Bendigo Bank.

“We are super excited to be able to offer real time banking services in the Buronga and Gol Gol area and we look forward to re-investing local dollars back into the local community,” Wentworth Shire Council Team Leader Customer Service Annette Fraser said.

The agency’s hours are Monday to Friday 10:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm to 4:00pm.

Puppet Show at Pooncarie a success

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School of the air student Monty and Palinyewah students Arden, Issy and Millie play musical chairs while waiting for the show
Jenny Ellis of Little Wing Puppets
Little Wing Puppets’ Jenny Ellis is given a hand during the show by student Ethan

A little bit of the arts was brought to Pooncarie on Thursday 18 March when Jenny Ellis of Little Wing Puppets performed “A Little Bit of Blue” at Pooncarie Town Hall for students from Pooncarie Public School, Palinyewah, Pomona and the School Of The Air as well as some of their family members and staff.

The 46 gathered students, many of whom live remotely on stations or outback properties, were treated to an excellent show.

Pooncarie Public School’s Adele Fernandez was integral in coordinating the schools and barbeque luncheon afterward

The event was funded by a Restart Arts Grant awarded to West Darling Arts and facilitated by Wentworth Shire Libraries.

“To be able to come together and watch a live performance, especially in a small town like Pooncarie was really special,” Wentworth Shire Libraries’ Gabrielle Murphy said.

“The show was really engaging and the puppetry quite mesmerising to watch.

“To have the event come together after so many things being cancelled for so long was wonderful. It was just a really brilliant day.”

The show was also rolled out to Wentworth and Gol Gol public school students, with the latter show including students from Dareton Public School.

MURRAY REGION OVERLOOKED IN FEDERAL TOURISM SUPPORT PACKAGE

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Murray Region tourism businesses have been overlooked in the recently announced Federal Government Tourism Support Package.

Murray Regional Tourism Chair Wendy Greiner was disappointed at the announcement Albury and Mildura’s airports would not be included in the $1.2 billion cut-price flights scheme.

Prior to COVID-19 and border closures the region would welcome annually 6.5 million visitors across our river communities supporting around 2,500 tourism businesses and providing over 18,000 jobs in the region.

Visitors spent nearly $2 billion in direct expenditure and enjoyed 10 million nights in the region.

“The Murray region’s tourism industry has been decimated by COVID-19 and the border closures unlike any other location in Australia,” Ms Greiner said.

“With two regional airports servicing the Murray region from key source markets we are extremely disappointed to have again been overlooked for vital support for our region.

“We implore the Federal government to review the current arrangements and urgently request Mildura and Albury are added to the list of eligible destinations in the support package. These short sighted and unfair subsidies as they currently stand will reduce visitation, net visitor spending and only lead to an alarming increase in job losses”.

Tourism operators in the Murray have endured the highest lockdown measures in Australia with over 41 weeks of interrupted trade in the past 12 months as a consequence of Coronavirus restrictions implemented by both the NSW and Victorian governments. 

Wentworth Shire Council meets with Crown Land Commissioner

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Wentworth Shire Council met with the NSW Crown Land Commissioner Professor Richard Bush and his Senior Project Officer Clint Willoughby on Tuesday to discuss Council’s submission on the Evaluation Of The Crown Land Management (CLM) Act 2016.

Professor Bush is currently reviewing the CLM Act, which incorporates the almost-complete first State Strategic Plan for Crown Land.

The Commissioner’s role is to provide independent advice to Crown Land users, stakeholders, the community and Government regarding the management of Crown land.

He has a responsibility to represent the interests of all Crown Land users independently and bring transparency and open communication to the management of these important assets to deliver economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits for the people of NSW.

“Our Crown Land estate is remarkable in terms of scale, diversity and utility,” Professor Bush said.

“In an independent role as Commissioner I have the privilege to talk with a wide range of people about Crown Land and it is clear, from my conversations, the estate is highly valued and people are passionate about the future of Crown Land.

Wentworth must keep registrar services

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Wentworth Shire Council has urged the New South Wales Government to keep the Wentworth Local Court registrar service operating.

In a letter to the Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections, which was then forwarded on to the Attorney General’s office, Mayor Susan Nichols sought assurance the Wentworth Local Court could continue to uphold the services previously offered by the now retired registrar Peter Fitzpatrick.

“This is a service our remote community cannot do without,” Cr Nichols said.

“Further to this, the future operating model must be the same capacity as it existed when Mr Fitzpatrick was the registrar.”

Mr Fitzpatrick had served the Wentworth community for more than 40 years, finishing at the end of January.

Under his watch the Wentworth Local Court operated Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 4:00pm offering face to face personal appointments with clients in need of the services provided.

Interim arrangements at the Wentworth Local Court involve a relieving registrar opening the registry on court sitting days and for two days the week prior to prepare for Court.

Court sits at Wentworth five days per month, Monday to Friday of the first full week of each month.

The community can continue to contact Wentworth Court at local-court-wentworth@justice.nsw.gov.au or through the NSW Court Services Centre on 1300 679 272.

There are also a number of online services available, including LawAccess, which can be contacted via https://www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au or at 1300 888 529.

The Department of Communities and Justice will undertake community consultation before making a decision regarding the ongoing provision of registry services at Wentworth.

New pavilion a winner for the Wentworth Showgrounds

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The new Wentworth Showgrounds Community Pavilion is ready to go for the return of the Wentworth Show in 2021.


The new building, completed in December 2020, replaces the old Barrett Pavilion that served the community for 114 years.


The pavilion will be used by the Wentworth Show Society, the Wentworth Racing Club and the broader public.


Wentworth Shire Councillors, including Mayor Susan Nichols, toured the new pavilion on 22 February.


“It’s certainly very upmarket, it’s fit for purpose and I believe it’s one of the better buildings you are going to find in a small country area that can be used for a multitude of purposes,” Cr Nichols said.


“It’s huge, it’s just great.”


CPM Building Contractors undertook the construction throughout last year, and although delayed by COVID 19 restrictions Wentworth Show Society president Marcus Moore said they did an outstanding job.


“CPM Contractors have been terrific and have worked well with all stakeholders to deliver a quality end product,” he said.


“It’s been a relatively simple process for such a big project.”

Mr Moore said the new building opened up a lot of possibilities for the community.

“It’s a wonderful redevelopment of the area,” he said.

“Now we have a contemporary building that’s of far more use to us.”

Features of the new pavilion include ample meeting and display space, a large kitchen, disabled toilets and plenty of outdoor cover in the event of rain.

Funding for the project came via various sources including Council, Wentworth and District Community Bank, Relentless Resources, the Wentworth Racing Club and David and Liz Dawes.

This was on top of the Wentworth Show Society’s own funds combined with a $450,000 grant from the NSW Government’s Stronger Country Communities Fund for the $1.1 million project.

“The pavilion has been designed to blend in with the surrounds and it will also be useful for the wider community,” Mr Moore said.

“It’s one of those things that has been needed … it’s just going to be good for the community.”

Dareton draft strategy captures community pride

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Wentworth Shire Council’s draft ‘Our Town, Our Future – Dareton Revitalised’ strategy aims to revitalize the township of Dareton and the wider Coomealla district and ensure its future is secure and well planned now and in the future.


The draft strategy will be placed on public exhibition from March 6 until April 9 after councillors endorsed its release at the February meeting of Council.
Research for the plan started in early 2020 and whilst COVID-19 prevented in-person consultation for the most part a community survey with close to 150 responses helped drive the draft strategy.


Wentworth Shire Council Mayor Susan Nichols said the community feedback highlighted just how much pride the people of Dareton take in their town.


“The Dareton community is one that is incredibly proud about the place they live and this strategy will ensure they can take ownership of its future,” Cr Nichols said.


“It is exciting to see in an age where small rural townships have historically been in decline that the Dareton community is really passionate about making sure it won’t be one of those townships.”


The draft strategy looks at existing development in and around Dareton, vacant buildings and their potential for reuse and large lot residential development.


It will look at zoning, including rectifying anomalies and rezoning unused primary production land for residential areas.


The ‘Our Town, Our Future – Dareton Revitalised’ draft strategy will be available on the Wentworth Shire Council website at https://www.wentworth.nsw.gov.au/council/publications-policies-forms/public-exhibitions-hearings/


Further consultation with business and community groups will commence shortly and copies of the draft strategy will also be on display at the Dareton Library.


“We want the community to drive the plan and I encourage everyone to take a look at the strategy and have your say on the future development of your community,” Cr Nichols said.
A pop up information session will also be held during the exhibition period.


“It really is an exciting time for Council and for the town and I look forward to the next step in ensuring the people of Dareton have something to call their own for years to come,” Cr Nichols said.

Wentworth Aerodrome Open to daytime traffic

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The Wentworth Aerodrome is now open for daytime traffic.


The main runway is operational, however the North-South runway is still closed for ongoing works.


There is ample parking space for aircraft and there is access to fuel.


Daytime traffic was able to use the main runway from Wednesday for the first time since April 2020 when work on the $9.12 million Wentworth Aerodrome redevelopment project commenced.


Wentworth Shire Council Mayor Susan Nichols said the redevelopment, which is the biggest project Council has ever undertaken, was nearing completion.


“It is exciting to see planes back in the air from Wentworth Aerodrome,” Cr Nichols said.


“This project really is a jewel in the crown for the Wentworth region and I can’t wait to see the finished product when we will have an all-weather facility able to be accessed 24 hours a day.”


Wentworth Shire Council advises there will be intermittent closures as the aerodrome redevelopment project continues, however work can largely continue while the main runway is in use.


Aviators will be notified by NOTAM of closures.

Library

A $500,000 Library Infrastructure Grant win for Wentworth

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Wentworth Shire Libraries is the successful recipient of a Library Infrastructure Grant of $500,000, which will assist in the relocation of Wentworth library as part of the Wentworth Shire Civic Centre redevelopment project.

There has been no renovations undertaken on the Wentworth library since it opened in 1995. “Unfortunately our current library no longer suits our needs. We have outgrown it and we are overjoyed with the successful grant application,” commented Library Team Leader Emma Holgate. “This success is the result of a strong team effort” she said.

With public spaces vital to communities, libraries are not just places to borrow books; they are safe community hubs for everyone. People gather to meet, learn and simply just be, and Wentworth Shire is committed to continually improving library services that benefit the local community.

“The most important job we have is ensuring that the community are able to come here and be exactly that; a community” said Emma.

Emma and her team envision great initiatives for the future of the Wentworth Library saying, “We are thrilled to be working towards a beautiful space that can be used by everyone. With a completion date expected late- 2021, our new library is going to overlook the Darling Barka River and will be spacious, vibrant and welcoming. We encourage the community to share their love of public spaces with us and thank everyone for their ongoing support”

Wentworth Shire Libraries provide many activities for the community, including free technology classes for seniors, craft activities for adults and school holiday programs for children. Whilst COVID-19 has proven to be a blow for gatherings, such as book clubs and story time, the libraries have now reopened and looking to the future when programs can be re-introduced.

Currently Emma Holgate is focused on supporting locals return to the library “We have been really concerned about our patrons that have experienced extreme isolation at this time, we are so happy to be opening our doors again,” she said. For those wanting to stay at home, the library will still be offering free home delivery, to locals in the Wentworth Shire.

To find out more about library resources contact Wentworth Shire Libraries on 5027 5027 or visit the library Facebook page @LibrariesWentworthSC Successful recipients and grant requirements can be found here: https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/public-library-services/subsidies-and-grants/public-library-grants