February 10, 2015
New South Burnett signs which will be erected around the region within the next few months will no longer bid hello and farewell to visitors travelling along the D’Aguilar Highway between Blackbutt, Yarraman and Nanango.
At present, travellers coming into the region along the D’Aguilar Highway are welcomed by a South Burnett Region sign near the top of the Blackbutt Range, then farewelled as they travel between Blackbutt and Yarraman (which is in the Toowoomba Regional Council area), then welcomed back again as they travel between Yarraman and Nanango.
The reverse applies if they travel in the opposite direction.
Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said today the Council recently let tenders for new regional and town signs but the “farewell” signs around Yarraman will be retired when the new signs are installed.
“Tourists don’t understand the way Council boundaries fall and it’s confusing for them to pass by so many signs,” he said.
“We think it’s better to welcome visitors to the region when they enter and leave it at that.”
The Mayor said he thought most tourists wouldn’t be aware they were passing through a different council area when they travelled through Yarraman, especially if Toowoomba Regional Council adopted the same policy.
However, he had not discussed the idea with Toowoomba Regional Council and didn’t know what their own attitude might be.
The new town signs will replace the blue metal signs erected by the former Nanango, Kingaroy, Wondai and Murgon Shire Councils under a uniform signage policy initiated by the former South Burnett Local Government Association in the early 2000s.
After the forced merger in 2012, the newly formed South Burnett Regional Council removed some of the old Shire boundary signs and substituted standard entry signs at the region’s borders, but left the old town signs in place.
The new signs to be introduced later this year will provide uniform regional entrance and town signage throughout the region.
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In March last year Toowoomba Regional Council announced its own $750,000 plan to rebrand the entrances to every town in the Toowoomba region with new welcome signs.
Yarraman and Cooyar residents were invited to have their say on the unique image or “icon” that would highlight the individual identity of each town on the new town signage in May.
A wattle was suggested for Cooyar and a horse for Yarraman.
Construction of the new signs was projected to begin in July.
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