June 11, 2014
Wondai could become the sculpture capital of the South Burnett after a meeting on Wednesday night decided to erect a permanent memorial for the town’s beloved – and now sadly departed – emu “Charlotte”.
Members of the Charlotte The Emu Memorial Committee met at CROW-FM’s studios in Haly Street to receive preliminary quotes for several options the group considered at its inaugural meeting last month.
After examining photographs and wooden models of half a dozen different designs, committee members voted to press ahead with a life-size steel sculpture they hope to erect in Coronation Park near the highway roundabout.
The group will now seek a detailed quote for the statue, and meet again next month to plan fund-raising efforts.
Committee chairman Chris “Corky” Corcoran said the general feeling of members was that it was important any memorial blend in with Wondai’s existing sculptures (the dingoes near the Art Gallery and the bullocks near the Timber Industry Museum) to reinforce the town’s character.
It was also important any new sculpture be vandal-proof and complement the Village Green area.
The committee also wanted any memorial to be capable of being “scaled up” in the future – for example, by becoming part of an extended “emu walk” to local points of interest in the CBD and Charlotte’s final resting place near the Wondai tennis courts – so its tourism potential could be maximised.
To begin with, however, he felt it would be best to focus on a single project rather than a more ambitious set of targets.
Committee members voted to hold discussions with the South Burnett Regional Council over the next month to examine how the memorial could be integrated with the Village Green redevelopment.
Depending on the results of fund-raising efforts and construction time, they hope the new sculpture could be unveiled as early as Christmas, possibly in conjunction with a community celebration.
The group will meet again at CROW-FM’s studios at 6:00pm on Wednesday, July 16, to receive a final quote for the project and set its fund-raising target.
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