A Good Year, Despite Drought

President’s Report 2013-14

Murgon and our surrounding districts are enduring one of the toughest times since 1940, according to some of our rural community.

We are in a severe drought condition in most parts, yet our community is banding together and helping each other.

During this past year we have again worked closely with our council, attending a significant number of meetings to gain the best possible future for an expanding population, and a very progressive community.

Our whole community should be proud of our town and its achievements and be a part of it, and with your help continue to improve the local economy and our quality of life.

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Most of our meetings during the year have been well attended, especially our breakfast ones, and we look forward to further input from our members in the coming months. Together, we can do great things.

Our Christmas Fair and Christmas promotion “Try Local” and “Be Surprised” is going to be our 21st with new major prizes on offer, and we wish to thank the Murgon RSL Services Club for being our major sponsor in 2014.

It was pleasing to see lots of our members having major input into this year’s fair and promotion.

We have some of the best tourism with Bjelke-Petersen Dam, Boondooma Dam, world class scenic views, first class sporting facilities, the wine and olive industry and the Queensland Dairy & Heritage Museum, constant cattle sales plus the special yearly weaner sales.

We, in Murgon, excel in promoting these opportunities, as well as our courteous and friendly nature.

Our five promotional blocks (ie sub-committees) are (1) Promotions & Traineeships (2) Tourism (3) Real Estate & Housing (4) New Business and (5) Police Liaison. Whilst not actively functioning as blocks, we have seen several members attend many meetings.

We will continue to email information to our members, and continue to be a major player in ongoing communications with our police and Council.

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Although we have some shops to fill, there has been a major increase in town development with new businesses, new houses being constructed, extensions to pallet production at The Gumnut Place, major road works, the new Castra, and many new extensions at the Dairy Industry Museum, local schools and the Murgon Golf Club.

Major extensions to the local tannery are also in the initial stages, and should happen in 2014/2015.

Once again during this past 12 months we have sadly lost some of our great community workers, volunteers and family and we extend our sympathy to all these families.

The relocation of Doreen Campos to the city will be a great loss to our town and district.

Since enlarging your local newspaper, The Murgon Moments, we are currently printing a minimum of 3300 copies with 56 pages, with a major part now in colour. We have now printed 103 monthly issues.

It is our job to ensure it continues, and I’d like to give special thanks to our newspaper experts, script writers, the many story tellers, and committees for backing this, and to Mick Kemp in delivering to the Murgon town area.

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I would also like to especially thank our hard-working Secretary Margaret Long, and all office bearers and promotional committees, especially our Christmas Fair committee and all those who presented reports to our meetings. I forward to further working with you.

Special thanks must also go to Mrs Lyn Koy and husband Darryl for their great effort they give to Margaret and with typing for the Murgon Moments and help in delivering.

With everyone’s help and generosity we believe we will remain a major player in the promotion of a progressive and friendly Murgon.

We also wish to thank the volunteers for their commitment to our town at the Visitor Information Centre and the Museum and those responsible for some of our major events including The Murgon Rotary Music Muster, major festivities at the wineries, the Bjelke-Petersen Dam Family Fishing Classic, the Murgon High School Annual Speech Night, South Burnett and Cherbourg on Show and many others.

Special thanks must go to Greg Griffiths and the council staff, too, for their beautification of our central park area, and also to the commitment shown by our area representative Councillor Kathy Duff.

We extend a very big thank you to all our volunteer organisers, service clubs, police and security officers and to all concerned in promoting “Murgon at the foothills of Boat Mountain, in the heart of the Burnett Valley, part of the Great South Burnett and 2 1/2 hours from city or sea” and look forward to a great 2015.

We would also like to congratulate all our Australia Day Award winners.

To all those wonderful people who created it and update it, Murgon is very grateful for our website murgon.net.au and our Facebook page.

Angelfield has once again been an enjoyable place for the Burnett Flyers with an average of 25 to 30 planes a month landing there.

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We also extend a warm welcome to all our new Murgon citizens and business owners to become part of our family.

Murgon’s main concerns in the coming year will be to get our share of new development; the maintenance of all our facilities including the Murgon swimming pool; the further promotion of tourism at Bjelke-Petersen Dam; establishing further small industry; and putting houses on our estates.

During the year I was honoured to represent Murgon at Patrick Tiernan’s 70th anniversary in the Netherlands, an experience I will never forget.

To later lose one of our friends – Philomene Tiernan – in another plane crash before she could make it home was heart-breaking.

I have enjoyed my time in the position of President, but remember: new blood can only help.

So if you believe we are heading in the wrong direction or you would like to lead this organisation, now is the time to tell us.

Have a safe and wonderful Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

Leo Geraghty
President,
Murgon Business and Development Association