June 9, 2017
Three oral expressions of interest have so far been received by the South Burnett Regional Council to take over the operations of Ringsfield House in Nanango.
The historic building, built by renowned Queensland architect Robin Dods in 1908 for the Graham family, had been operated for the past 20 years by the Nanango Historical Society.
But in March this year the Society had to relinquish control of the Council-owned property, citing an ageing membership and a lack of volunteers to carry out routine maintenance work as reasons they were unable to continue running the complex.
Ringsfield closed its doors to the public on March 31 to allow the Society to catalogue all the historical artifacts held there, and the audit was initially expected to take 6-8 weeks.
This audit period was later extended to allow the Society to complete their task, so Expressions Of Interest for a new operator were not released until May 19.
This week South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell told southburnett.com.au that so far the Council had received three separate oral expressions of interest, though he was not privy to the details of who had submitted each one or what they proposed.
But since formal EOIs will not close until June 30, he thought it was possible Council officers would receive others before the closing date.
The Mayor said he remained confident a new operator for Ringsfield would be found, and the complex can be reopened to the public as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, the Council will seek a part-time groundskeeper to look after Ringsfield’s lawns and gardens for a three-month period between July and September while Council officers work through the process of selecting a new operator.
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