Lake Glenbawn
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I was delighted to read that the first steps are being taken to improve the dam and its facilities.
Regular readers will know that this is an issue I’ve raised several times.
I go on doing so because I fervently believe that the lake has the potential to be a major economic driver of our shire and the jewel in our tourism crown.
The last occasion I visited this topic in my notes precipitated a meeting at the dam attended by many of the people photographed on the front page of the Advocate recently, including Steve Edmonds the NSW Crown Holiday Parks Trust chief executive officer.
I remember driving home from that meeting slightly bamboozled, yet vaguely encouraged.
The bamboozlement stemmed from the identification of the three major impediments to progress at Glenbawn, two of which were access to water and power.
I know, who knew that a resort on the shores of the fourth largest earth embankment dam in the country with a five megawatt hydro power station fitted to its cloaca could struggle with such problems?
The third impediment was of course money, so it was a little disheartening to learn that the Parks Trust has just $11.5 million in funding to spend across its eight parks.
My encouragement stemmed from the belief shared by all who were present that Glenbawn is very special, has enormous potential and its problems are not insurmountable.
I was also encouraged by the then recent appointment of Steve Edmonds as chief executive officer of the trust.
He is a very capable bloke with a track record of getting things done, and if anyone can work through the plethora of issues with the myriad of agencies involved, State Water, Roads and Maritime Services, Fisheries etc. to deliver results it’s him.
I wish him well and will help in any way that I can, as I know will our new state member who is also acutely aware of the issues.
You can help too, if you’ve got bright ideas, clever suggestions or neat solutions for the lake, you can either forward them to council’s Economic Development and Tourism committee or look out for a discussion document to go up on the trust’s website (nswch pt.com.au) and submit to that.
Just at the precise moment in time when they could perhaps provide some practical assistance with this, Tourism Hunter, the Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) has resolved to enter a “period of dormancy”.
This is disappointing, and it appears from the outside looking in that the policy framework for RTO’s to operate successfully needs to be reviewed.
Tourism Hunter hasn’t been as effective as it could be and although Destination NSW states that there is “money on the table”, accessing the funds under the current policy appears to be problem.
I certainly hope that they get this matter resolved.
In the meantime we will continue to work closely with our own Upper Hunter Country Tourism and local tourism operators for the benefit of visitors to our area.
Aberdeen Highland Games
Dust off your sporran, sharpen the claymore and stuff the haggis, the Aberdeen Highland Games are nearly upon us.
This year’s event on July 4 promises to be bigger and better than ever with the drum major, Lithgow’s Ray Burgess, leading no less than 16 piped bands as well as the Maitland Brass Band through Jefferson Park.
The chieftain is John MacLeod, whose clan is from the Isle of Raasay, although he himself is a Tasmanian.
As ever, the hugely popular strongman events return with the Tartan Warriors tossing cabers, sheafs and lifting the five massive Clach Cuid Fir (manhood stones), as well as the Kilted Dash and tug-of-war competitions.
There are numerous stalls with food and Scottish heritage souvenirs as well on what is a fantastic family day out.
Keep enough energy in reserve though to have a hooley at the Ceilidh afterwards, tickets for which are on sale now at the Scone Visitor Information Centre for $65.
Tickets for the games are also available there and via the www.aberdeenhighlandgames.com website too.
The council is delighted to be a sponsor of the games and welcomes the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders on board as a Gold Sponsor of the event.
On a personal note I wish games president Barrie Lawn a speedy return to full health and wish acting president Charles Cooke every success with this year’s games.
There is a hard working and enthusiastic committee and army of helpers involved with the event, one of the main reasons it has grown year on year since its inception in 2000.
Conditional Gateway Certificate
A little more than a caber’s toss from the Jefferson Park home of the games, a Gateway Certificate has been issued to Idemitsu Coal for their West Muswellbrook Coal Project.
The certificate is ‘conditional’ as the project did not meet nine of the 11 assessment criteria.
The Gateway Panel’s report is interesting reading and gives an insight into the scale of the proposal, which has a mined area of around 30 square kilometres, a project disturbance area of nearly 40 square kilometres and will leave a final void the size of New York’s Central Park for posterity.
The proposed mine straddles the boundary of the Upper Hunter and Muswellbrook shires with a pit in each.
Council is opposed to coal mining within our shire and our position statement on coal and coal seam gas can be found on the council’s website at www.upperhunter.nsw.gov.au