Plans finalised
and an army of Rural Aid volunteers are on their way to makeover Cunnamulla
With
Queensland Mental Health Week kicking starting today, one rural town is set to
receive a much needed boost.
Cunnamulla
Queensland is ready for their town’s makeover, as Rural Aid Community and Farm
volunteers head west tomorrow to assist.
Rural
Aid and 33 Community and Farm Volunteers will arrive in town from 11 to 17
October armed with tools, an enthusiastic willingness to help and smiles ready,
bringing Cunnamulla projects to fruition while also bringing a welcoming
financial injection.
Rural
Aid CEO John Warlters said it has been a long road and wait since October last
year when Cunnamulla was announced as one of the winners of the Our Towns
makeovers.
“These
long-term renewal projects have been made possible thanks to the generosity of
our volunteers in giving their time and expertise for such a great cause; as
well as the remarkable Cunnamulla community. Cunnamulla’s community has worked
hard, coming up with ideas and forming those ideas into a plan for their vision
of their future.”
Cunnamulla’s
vision is “Continuing to be a progressive community in thought and action where
all our people and organisations thrive.”
“Our
thanks also go out to Ergon Energy Network for adding their generous support to
the Our Towns initiative, with Cunnamulla our third town supported, following
Gayndah and Monto, all in Queensland.
“Rural
Aid Community Builders Series webinar sponsors, Bushells is also sponsoring
town community meetings, such as Our Towns, and will be providing much needed
cuppas in Cunnamulla.
The
Our Towns Makeover initiative is Rural Aid’s way of supporting small rural
communities.
Cunnamulla Community Projects
The
Cunnamulla community have identified the projects for the Farm and Community
Volunteers to work on over the week to help give the town a much-needed start
to their long-term renewal.
- Cunnamulla Showgrounds will have a general clean up,
painting of multiple buildings, repairs and maintenance to the toilet blocks,
replace the main boundary fence, tree planting to create shade areas, paint
wrought iron main gates and landscaping around the entrance, water system for
trees, install rainwater tanks, and repair and install gutters to capture rainwater
for the tanks.
- Undertake and general tidy up
of the Pony Club.
- Community Op shop – clean and tidy up the shopfront façade and assist
with setting up local craft club.
- Racecourse – clean and repaint amenities and ticket box. Paint and
refresh Gun Club buildings, fences, the entrance and amenities as well as a
general tidy up.
- Cunnamulla Railway Theatre Project – building a set as a backdrop
inside the new theatre building for their production “Cunnamulla All Aboard’
- Three farms in the Cunnamulla area will also receive much needed
makeovers.
END
About Cunnamulla
Situated
on the banks of the Warrego River, Cunnamulla is approximately 780km west of
Brisbane and 140km north of the New South Wales border and is the
administrative centre of the Paroo Shire Council. Prior to European settlement,
Cunnamulla and surrounding area was home to people of the Kunja Aboriginal
language group. Cunnamulla was created by Cobb & Co in 1879. Farmers moved
into the area and found the area perfect for sheep grazing. It was a lively
place during sheep shearing with all the shearers in town. Today – Cunnamulla
is known for its natural outback beauty and hospitality. The Warrego River is a
great place to swim, fish and kayak as well as picnic on the banks.
Thing to see and do in and around
Cunnamulla:¹
- Cunnamulla Fella Centre, Art
Gallery and Museum – is the Visitor Centre and houses the Artesian Time Tunnel,
a local art gallery, the museum and the Cultural Theatre.
- Artesian Time Tunnel –
transports visitors back 100 million years in time to the beginning of the
Artesian Basin when dinosaurs roamed the planet. The beginnings of the Artesian
Basin preceded opal formation and the Age of Mammals. The first Queensland flow
from the Great Artesian Basin was near Cunnamulla in 1887. When you visit
Cunnamulla you will be standing on the world’s largest underground river.
- The Cunnamulla Fella
Sculpture – the song, “The Cunnamulla Fella”, was written by Stan
Coster and recorded by Slim Dusty. In 2005 a statue which was twice life size
was created by sculptor Archie St Clair. The statue sits outside the Paroo
Shire Hall in Jane Street and depicts a Cunnamulla Fella – a typical Aussie
bushman with a wide-brimmed hat and a mug of tea.
- Cunnamulla Bushlands –
located off the Mitchell Highway, and clearly marked, this is an easy, flat 1.5
km walk which traverses Mulgalands, Gidgee and Wetlands.
About Out Towns initiative
Over
the next five years, each of the Our Towns will receive $100,000 in projects
and support to renew their town. This includes $10,000 allocated for the
community to workshop with community change and renewal experts on their ideas
for their town’s long-term future and sustainability. The $90,000 will
be spent, over five years, on materials for maintenance projects identified by
the community, that fits within Rural Aid’s scope of work. If available,
materials and trade expertise will be sourced locally to support local
businesses.
¹
Information sourced from: www.aussietowns.com.au/town/cunnamulla-qld
Media
enquiries: Lyndsey Douglas 0424203935 |
media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au
Media
spokespersons: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters – 0409 618 641
About Rural Aid
Rural
Aid is one of Australia’s largest rural charities. Well known for the highly
successful ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign, the charity also provides financial
assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood or
fire. Other initiatives support its vision that farming and rural communities
are safeguarded to ensure their sustainability both during and after these
natural disasters. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these
programs and other support for our rural communities.
Visit
www.ruralaid.org.au/snapshots for Rural Aid’s latest assistance statistics.
Follow Rural Aid for updates on:
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@ruralaidaustralia | @buyabaleofhay
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Rural Aid Ltd
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