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The Moorabool News – 29 March, 2022 Page 7
World Heritage, a golden opportunity By Lachlan Ellis There are 13 councils, including Moorabool Shire Council, that have joined forces in a bid to get the Central Victorian Goldfields region on the World Heritage List – and they’re building a compelling case. If the bid is successful, it is expected to bring greater awareness to the region, and in turn, greater tourism and investment opportunities. Moorabool Shire Mayor Cr Tom Sullivan said the listing would provide a range of benefits to Moorabool, particularly towns with strong mining history such as Blackwood, Mt Egerton and Gordon. “Fundamentally, this is something that came from the Cities of Ballarat and Bendigo, and the Central Goldfields Shire, to get the Central Goldfields World Heritage Listed… there’s been some work done to determine whether it meets the criteria, and the initial assessment is that it does and is all still fairly intact,” Cr Sullivan told the Moorabool News. “The mining operations in Moorabool were particularly around Blackwood, Gordon and Mt Egerton, which all grew into mining towns. There are even some sites in Morrisons as well. “Creating a comprehensive experience…we believe it could be a huge economic tourist benefit. But there’s a long way to go, there’s a lot of work to be done, but the initial view is the bid does have merit,” he said. Trevor Budge is the Strategic Projects Officer at the City of Greater Bendigo, and one of the bid’s two coordinators. At the earliest, Mr Budge said, UNESCO
Photo: Helen Tatchell
could place the Central Goldfields region on the World Heritage List within five years. “There’s three stages we’re at, we’ve got a funding bid through the Enabling Tourism Fund we lodged on 4 March, that’s based on the region contributing $125,000, and the State Government giving us $500,000. That’s to establish sites of significance, and create what’s called a master plan for the region, made up mainly of shortfalls across the region such as infrastructure, and also
what’s called ‘World Heritage Journeys’,” he said. “Best case scenario, it would probably be up to five years before UNESCO would say to the area, you’ve achieved World Heritage status. That’s been the experience in the past, sites in other parts of Australia have taken that sort of period of time. “We know though that when the State Government says, ‘we’re backing this site for World Heritage’, it creates a real storm of
interest, because suddenly it’s on everyone’s radar. We’re expecting that the moment we get that backing, and some funding from the State Government, then the sort of visitation we’re hoping to see will start to happen.” A British World Heritage expert is also being consulted, and has called the Central Goldfields “unparalleled” compared to more than 40 other gold mining regions. “He’s done a number of these around the world, in his words he’s just blown away with what we’ve got. The next stage will be to get him to come out, together with some other people we’ll engage, to have a look at the draft list of potential sites,” Mr Budge said. “It’s not just the mining sites we’ll be looking at, it’s also the provision of water supply, the development of railways, the development of legal systems with courthouses, police stations, local government…all that’s part of the fabric of the region.” For more information on the bid, visit its website at www.goldfieldsworldheritage. com.au.
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Stamp duty and other costs are payable in addition to the deposit. Eligibility and lending criteria apply with selected banks and restrictions and obligations apply after purchase. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.
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