Maidenwell Seeks More Improvements

20170322 Maidenwell Community Group — Maidenwell Community Group members Bronwyn Spencer and Jason McNaughton are proud of their town, and proud of the improvements the group have helped bring about over the past three years

March 22, 2017

Maidenwell may not be a large South Burnett town, but it has a hard-working community group at its heart whose big achievements dwarf their relatively small membership numbers.

Over the past three years, the sixteen members of the Maidenwell Community Group (MCG) have been quietly working to transform the historic Bunya Mountains town by tackling – and solving – a number of Maidenwell’s long-standing infrastructure problems.

In partnership with the South Burnett Regional Council and major sponsors Heritage Community Branch Nanango and Stanwell Corporation, they secured funding to level and returf the Maidenwell Sports Ground; demolish the town’s old tennis courts so the Maidenwell Rural Fire Brigade could extend their shed; and got a solar-powered bore water pipe built to pump water from Tanduringie Creek into the town centre.

The pipe, which is estimated to save the community as much as $10,000 a year, now supplies water to the sports grounds, the dump point and the town’s public toilets, as well as providing an alternative water supply for the Rural Bush Fire Brigade in an emergency.

The group have also built a permanent shed on the Sports Ground, and recently added an all-weather cricket pitch thanks to a grant from Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington.

And just this month, the Council completed roof replacements on the old announcer’s box and kitchen at the Sports Ground with materials designed to complement other MCG infrastructure nearby.

The non-profit group, which was formed in 2013, held its Annual General Meeting last Tuesday.

Cr Spud Jones was re-elected as president; Dean Cullen as vice-president; and Ros Kidman as secretary/treasurer.

MCG member Bronwyn Spencer told southburnett.com.au the group believe they’re now in the “middle stretch” of the town’s upgrade program, which was drawn up in 2014 with assistance from the Council.

In the past three years the group have ticked off roughly half the 22 town improvement goals on their list.

The MCG’s next project is to build a meandering open pathway with occasional arbours along Maidenwell’s median reserve.

Ideally, they’d like to see the pathway carry markers or plaques that briefly outline the history of the area, and one idea they’re exploring is to put the plaques on local boulders transferred to the site.

They’d also like to see ageing tables and benches replaced with more contemporary weatherproof furniture.

The MCG was instrumental in securing funding to upgrade the town’s War Memorial in the centre of the median strip, but will need to raise extra funds to pay for the footpath and associated improvements.

The group would also like to build a second shelter on the oval, and connect the bore water pipe to the Sports Ground’s toilets to ensure they are guaranteed supply regardless of the weather.

They will be seeking grant funding to carry out both projects in the coming 12-18 months.

Right at the moment, members of the MCG are busy helping to promote the up-coming Maidenwell Marathon, which will be run on the Easter weekend, April 14-16.

The event now incorporates the Maidenwell Bull Ride, which was added to the Marathon last year.

Bronwyn said nominations for this year’s Marathon have been coming in “from all over” and it looks like its third outing will be the biggest to date.

She said Maidenwell now has a number of annual events which draw large numbers of visitors to the town, including Raising Hell In Maidenwell, the twice-yearly Maidenwell Folk Gathering and now the Marathon.

Improvements to the Sports Ground had led to increased attendances at events that use it, and the group hope further improvements to the town’s heart will have a similar effect on visitor numbers.

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