General News
9 January, 2023
Dunolly group work through camping setback to achieve RV Friendly Town status
“The free campsite was being used by people who were overstaying, there was a condition it was a 24-hour stay only and there was rubbish being left behind,” she said. “The old dredge hole is also full of water and there were safety concerns...
Boosts to visitation, tourism and local businesses are just some of the benefits an RV Friendly Town listing would bring to Dunolly, with one community group determined to see the town claim its place on the map.
Dunolly District Inc (DDI) have been working since 2019 to see the town recognised as an RV Friendly Town, a title bestowed by the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia.
The title helps signpost which communities feature facilities and amenities RV users can access, with a map of RV Friendly Towns listed online.
It’s been a long-term goal for Dunolly to secure its place on the map, however securing a listing involves a number of prerequisites, including a publicly accessible dump point, which was opened in early 2021, and a free camping site.
Up until recently Dunolly had one free camping site, located behind the Deledio Recreation Reserve, however the reserve’s committee of management asked the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to pull the pin, citing several issues, including safety concerns.
After the campsite was listed online, Central Goldfields Shire Flynn Ward councillor Liesbeth Long said the committee became concerned, among other things, for the safety of those staying due to a body of water present at the site and the risk it may pose to children.
“The free campsite was being used by people who were overstaying, there was a condition it was a 24-hour stay only and there was rubbish being left behind,” she said.
“The old dredge hole is also full of water and there were safety concerns for families with children.
“As volunteers, the committee felt it wasn’t appropriate they managed and policed the campsite and there were also concerns about the campsite’s impact on the perfectly good caravan park here in Dunolly.”
Cr Long said it was both disappointing but understandable the town is now without a free campsite, but said plans to secure an RV Friendly Town Listing are moving forward.
“This is a temporary setback while we explore other avenues and it is a sensitive subject, we need free camping to make it happen but the concern is that it will take business away from the caravan park,” she said.
“The other side of the coin is that if the caravan park is full and there’s no free camping, people are going to move on rather than stay a couple of nights and spend money in the town.
“It’s a fine balance that we’re working through at the moment.”
According to the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia, the nearest RV Friendly Towns to Dunolly are Avoca, Wedderburn, St Arnaud and Beaufort.
DDI president Rod Stuart said the project was a big one for the community, which would bring equally big benefits to the town.
“The idea for Dunolly to be an RV Friendly Town has been around for a while, but the push really grew two or three years ago,” he said.
“From a business point of view, this is something that would bring more people into town and they would stop, rather than keep driving through.
“This is one of our big focuses moving forward, we’re looking to get advice from other towns that are RV friendly and find out how they went about it.
“We’ve got all the main things in place, it’s just about securing a place for free camping now.”