General News
4 July, 2024
Council backs memorial tower takeover despite officer’s recommendation
The future of “the single most important structure in Maryborough” has been secured with the Central Goldfields Shire Council (CGSC) agreeing to become caretakers of the Bristol Hill Tower and surrounding land. The Department of Energy...
The future of “the single most important structure in Maryborough” has been secured with the Central Goldfields Shire Council (CGSC) agreeing tobecome caretakers of the Bristol Hill Tower and surrounding land.
The Department of Energy Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) are the current managers of the site after council withdrew their supervision duties in 2007 with the hope of placing the land under Parks Victoria management, a proposal which fell through.
The officer’s report, tabled at council’s last ordinary meeting, states “DEECA have indicated that they do not have the funds to maintain this asset and are looking to council to become the Committee of Management for some or all of the Bristol Hill reserve”.
The recommendation of the report advised council to decline the request, concluding that “adding additional costs to the annual budget is not recommended if we are to achieve our goal of improving the financial sustainability of council”.
Despite this, councillor Grace La Vella moved a motion for council to take over management of the precinct, calling it a “moral obligation”.
“The pioneers were far seeing men and women, history shows that their immediate ambition was to do something which posterity would benefit from and so they laid a foundation for future stability and progress catering for all branches of community life,” she said.
“The report notes if DECCA retains management, there will be limited ongoing maintenance and management of the site, I can deduce from that our historic tourist attraction will be back to wreck and ruined in no time at all.
“This tower has always been and [continues] to be the proud beacon towering over the Central Goldfields, our light of hope of which it is intended.
“We don’t only have a community obligation here, we have a moral obligation to take responsibility and support the dignity, prosperity and memory of our forefathers.”
The report estimates the management and maintenance of the reserve will cost council $40,000 a year, which does “not take into consideration any major renewal or upgrade items” or calculate any vandalism on the site which led to the tower’s closure in 2021.
Maintenance costs, particularly surrounding the roads and car park of the site were a contentious issue at the meeting, but according to Cr La Vella, an independent review on the current condition of the site states minimal financial burden.
“I gained feedback from an authority and an independent source [that the sealed access road’s] current condition will not require any work for at least five to six years,” she said.
“The tower itself... won’t require any structural maintenance for decades apart from cleaning when required — the tower grass area is 1324 square metres and the Friends of Bristol Hill continue to tidy the area and pick up rubbish on a weekly basis if not daily when required.”
Even in the best of circumstances, $40,000 a year is currently a price too steep to pay for local government according to Cr Chris Meddows-Taylor.
“There is a lot in Cr La Vella’s motion that I would endorse, of course this is a very special part of our community,” he said.
“The difficulty I have in this is simply this, we have our own assets that we don’t have the money to restore.
“The [Princes Park] Grandstand is a classic example, we have recently dealt with the outdoor pool complex that remains an issue that we’ve agreed we’ll give further consideration to.
“Council has existing commitments for its own assets, we can’t afford in my view to take on other assets that we might like to, that ideally we would want to and should do if we could do.”
However, Cr Geoff Lovett, who seconded Cr La Vella’s motion, said it was “absolutely incomprehensible” for council to shift responsibility of Bristol Hill over “some supposed cost burden”.
“Twenty-seven years ago, I was first elected to council on a platform to raise awareness of the history of Maryborough and Central Goldfields Shire,” he said.
“Until tonight, I’ve been quite happy with the progress made and can look back on many things, but this officer’s recommendation I find absolutely incomprehensible.
“The recommendation describes the tower as an important asset, in reality it is the single most important structure in Maryborough, a memorial erected to honour the men and women who founded our town.
“Ninety-one years after a previous council comprised of likeminded community representatives who proudly accepted the tower gifted to Maryborough as a memorial, we sit here and are asked to wipe our hands of it because of some supposed cost burden.
“We can find funding for an SBS documentary that went over like a lead balloon, we have just written an open check for a bike path between here and Castlemaine, but we can’t find some petty cash to maintain Maryborough’s most important memorial.
“I have no idea how this vote will go, but I hope our whole community is watching very closely how this vote goes — actions are far more meaningful than empty words.”
After a nearly 30 minute debate, councillors La Vella, Lovett, Anna De Villiers and Gerard Murphy voted in favour of council accepting management of the tower, while councillors Meddows-Taylor, Liesbeth Long and Wayne Sproull voted against.
It is likely the process of council assuming control from DEECA will take around 12 months, postponing any expenditure into the next financial year.
According to the report, DEECA suggests council consult with Parks Victoria on preserving a portion of the site for historic and cultural purposes, as was intended in 2007.