150th BIRTHDAY OF RAGLAN STATION THIS WEEK

The 4th of March 2023 marks the 150th anniversary of the opening of the “first” railway station at Raglan, 8kms from Bathurst.

The Raglan Station Restoration Committee is pleased to announce an important milestone for this State heritage listed gem, and encourages everyone to visit the site firsthand. An informative information brochure is obtainable at the Bathurst Rail Museum and the Bathurst Visitors Centre.

The building of the railway line from Sydney had reached Raglan on 4th March 1873, with the first station at the end of Elephant Street, now called Locke Street. The structure was a temporary building of brick and timber and was used until 1890. Raglan’s first Station was the terminus of the Great Western Line from its opening until March 1876 when the Bathurst station was opened.

The Raglan Railway Station, which we see today, opened 20th October, 1890 and closed on 18th April, 1988.

The “new” Raglan Station is an interesting site as it is nonstandard and built at a time when the railway administration was radically changing and the first use of standard buildings was being introduced. It is important, illustrating the change of design and policy. The station building is the last remaining Type 9 in NSW. It is a non-standard timber building with brackets and a tin roof. The station has an island platform made from brick. Raglan railway station was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

On 26 March 2019 a community meeting was called with all stakeholders attending, including John Holland Rail, Bathurst Regional Council, The National Trust, railway groups and Raglan residents. The concern was that the station building was rapidly deteriorating, in danger of demolition by neglect, and was becoming an eyesore. for playground equipment in Bathurst

Issues were discussed and identified, and the community’s wishes were recorded. An activation committee was established. An internet facebook group with over 300 members was also established, enabling views to be further expressed, and many historic and current photos to be published.

A Strategic Plan has been prepared to define strategies and actions for the development of projects, policies, procedures, programs and other initiatives that will contribute to preserving and enhancing Raglan’s historic heritage.

√ $954,250 for construction of Bathurst Rail Museum

√ $650,000 for replacing footpaths in Bathurst

√ $300,000 for upgrades to the Civic Ballroom at Lithgow for use as an evacuation centre

√ $205,000 for upgrades to Machattie Park

√ $54 million for the CSU Medical School

World Cross Country Championships Come To Our Region

The stars of world athletics descended on our region for the World Cross Country Championships. It was great to see our region host a major international sporting event - this time in Bathurst!

This was the first World Athletics Series event to be held in Australia in 25 years.

In fact, this was the first time the Cross Country Championships were held in Australia, and only the second time they were held in Oceania, following the 1988 edition in Auckland, New Zealand. It was bronze for the Aussies in the mixed relay with all of our athletes doing our country proud!

Benjamin Limo, Kenya’s 5000m world champion in Helsinki in 2005 was loving his stay in our region and Australia’s own Linden Hall (Tokyo Olympic finalist with a PB) was very generous with her time, chatting to her many fans who were undoubtedly inspired by her presence in our area.

Congratulations to all the athletes and everyone who made the Championships such an outstanding success, including the hundreds of hardworking volunteers!

Bathurst Health Services Need Proper Funding

The decision by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians to withdraw medical registrar training accreditation (and four medical registrars) at Bathurst Hospital is deeply concerning.

Sadly, it’s the latest symptom of a problem that residents have been trying to call out for years: the chronic underfunding of Bathurst area health services. When the College of Physicians starts pulling its doctors out, you know things are very serious.

At Bathurst Hospital it’s been a lack of funding for enough beds, doctors, nurses and allied health staff.

How could a city that’s growing as fast as Bathurst have one of the worst performing emergency departments in the region? Answer? Lack of funding. The hardworking staff there need more support.

It’s also very disappointing that community nursing services have been downgraded at Wattle Flat, Sofala and Hill End.

A good way to get more nurses is to pay them better.

The College of Physicians has called it out. It’s a mess that needs sorting out on the double.

Coffee To Go At Doppio

It was great to stop in and grab a cuppa at Doppio at Tremains Mill in Bathurst on the weekend. Enterprising Harry also owns the Railway Museum Cafe in Havannah Street. It was very informative to discuss small business and the challenges facing this vitally important sector.

Telstra Connected Communities Grant Program

Telstra has announced the Connected Communities Grant Program, supporting Australia’s remote, rural, and regional communities with $600,000 to foster inclusion and resilience over the next three years.

In partnership with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal, grants of up to $10,000 are available to not-for-profits to help them build resilient, sustainable, and liveable communities. If you know of a community group or not-for-profit organisation that could use a hand – the Connected Communities Grant Program might be for them!

The program has three themes:

• Resilient communities that are well prepared and socially connected, with the ability to renew and recover together when disaster strikes;

• Sustainable communities that are diverse and inclusive, through planning for the health, wellbeing and prosperity of their people and planet;

• Liveable communities that have digital capability, helping to equip people with the skills to live, learn and work in a digital society.

Funds will be available for new or existing not-for-profit programs to help them scale their impact to help more Australians in rural and regional areas become better connected.

Applications for the 2023 Telstra Connected Communities grant round will open at 9am on Wednesday 1st of March 2023 and will close at 5pm on Thursday 30th of March 2023. This first round will make $200,000 available for applications of up to $10,000 each. Successful grants will be announced in June 2023 and successful applicants will have 12 months to complete funded projects.

For more details, visit https://frrr.org.au/funding/place/telstra-connected-communities-program/ There is also a webinar for grantseekers on Monday 6 March from 12pm. To attend, visit https://events.humanitix.com/telstra-connected-communities-grantsprogram-2023-workshop.

Oberon Rodeo

Ahuge crowd, world class riding, country music, and cold ones on the hill! The Oberon Rodeo had it all! It was a great day of rodeo action followed by a great night of music.

Congratulations Bree Rowlandson and the Oberon Rodeo Association committee on a job very well done!

The Oberon Rodeo is now a major regional attraction and a huge boost for Oberon!

Sofala Show Shines

46 years of the Sofala Show is certainly something to celebrate!

The show started in the late 70s and continues to go from strength to strength, supporting agriculture and bringing the community together.

And while my scones sadly didn’t catch the judge’s eye this time around, I got some excellent tips from CWA legend Jenny Nott and the craft team for the next one (putting two scone trays in the oven at the same time was a big rookie mistake!). We were joined by Jac Underwood from 2bs 95.1 FM - perhaps she’ll enter a plate in ‘24!

Thank you very much show Prez and scone appreciator David Murray, the team of committee members and volunteers and the whole community for your hard work and hospitality.

You just can’t beat a country show!

√ $14 million for highway upgrades between Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange

√ $181,818 for Bathurst’s War Memorial Carillon

√ $11.4 million for expanding and supporting aged care facilities in Lithgow

√ $398,500 for crisis accommodation in Bathurst

√ $1.2 million for CCTV in Bathurst and Calare communities

√ $200,000 for new synthetic courts at Wattle Flat Recreation Ground

√ $480,000 for Wallerawang

Community & Sports Club

√ $19.75 million in federal funding for bushfire recovery projects in Lithgow and Calare communities

√ More than $1.6 million for supporting childcare centres in Calare, including Bathurst Family Day Care

√ $925,000 for the Bathurst Animal Rehoming Centre

√ $60 million for drought and COVID-19 recovery to our local councils for local projects

√ Record Australian Government funding for hospitals, schools, childcare and the NDIS

√ $125,000 for canteen facilities at Bathurst Sportsground

√ New headspace service for Lithgow

√ 47 mobile phone towers and base stations for Calare