January 22, 2018
A plan to move the former Wooroolin Railway Station from the town’s sports grounds to a site near its original location has been given a go-ahead by the South Burnett Regional Council.
At its January meeting last Wednesday, Councillors voted 5-2 to support a proposal by the Wooroolin Lions Club to relocate and restore the station building.
The Lions also plan to erect a steel shed to house a 1920s Stolzenberg Engineering peanut thresher to showcase Wooroolin’s peanut growing history.
The Council voted to grant the club a licence to occupy a portion of Dalton Park for $82.50 per annum, subject to the condition the Lions Club will be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the railway station building and shed.
Last August the club received a $32,784 grant from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund to pay most of the costs of the project.
The Lions hope the relocation of the building to a site near the South Burnett Rail Trail will not only help preserve Wooroolin’s heritage, but also create a new tourist attraction for the town.
The railway station served Wooroolin from 1904 to the 1990s, when the Kingaroy-Theebine line closed.
After this, the building was moved to the Wooroolin Sportsgrounds where it was used by local sporting groups.
The sports grounds have fallen into disuse in recent years, and the arrival of the Rail Trail prompted the Lions to consider moving the building back to Dalton Park.
But in December some Councillors expressed concerns about the proposal, saying the lack of a master plan for the South Burnett Rail Trail could lead to haphazard developments that might damage its uniqueness.
Others expressed concerns that if the project went ahead, Council could be left “holding the baby” if the Wooroolin Lions Club ceased to operate.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Cr Gavin Jones said he had concerns there could be unforeseen costs in the project that ratepayers would need to pick up.
“As we know, community groups do many wonderful things. But history shows that when they complete their project, they usually look to Council to take up the ongoing maintenance,” Cr Jones said.
He said it was hard to estimate what those future costs might be, but he would support the project anyway.
Cr Terry Fleischfresser said he was opposed to the project for the reason Cr Jones had outlined.
“We can’t look into the future, but if a community project is on Council land it will eventually wind up being a cost to the ratepayer,” Cr Fleischfresser said.
He reminded councillors the SBRC faced a “Budget black hole” last year because it already owned 121 items of infrastructure it had to maintain.
However, Cr Ros Heit pointed out the Wooroolin Lions had served the community for the past 40 years and during that time had built and maintained many items of public infrastructure at no cost to ratepayers.
Lions projects included a bus shelter at Tingoora; a toilet and picnic table at Gordonbrook Dam; a shade shelter in Memerambi; and in Wooroolin, they had built a bus shelter; the ramp to the QCWA hall; and fencing, a ramp and a gazebo for the playground.
“I don’t think any other Lions Club does as much for the community for its size, and our region is richer for the contribution this and many other community groups make,” Cr Heit said.
She added that ever since the railway station had been moved to the Sportsgrounds, the Wooroolin community had maintained it, connecting it to power, painting the building and removing asbestos, all at no cost to ratepayers.
Cr Heit said concerns the project would run over budget were also unfounded because local businesses had indicated they wished to contribute to it, too.
“These proposals will add considerable value to the tourism potential of Wooroolin and the wider South Burnett while preserving the rich history of the area for future generations, and for these reasons I fully support this application,” Cr Heit said.
The motion to issue the licence to occupy was carried 5-2, with Crs Fleischfresser and Frohloff opposed.
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Crs Jones and Fresser are hard to follow sometimes as they both voted to purchase the old Ergon building earlier in this Council term. That building was to cost ratepayers $200K from memory and then cost further with ongoing maintenance costs to ratepayers to house more bureaucrats at ratepayers’ expense.
According to them, then, all of that is apparently all right but they then argue that Council can’t support a community group who have received a grant and are taking on responsibility for the facility because after 40 years they COULD fold and Council COULD end up with the costs?
Cr Jones changed his mind, thankfully, on the Ergon building however Cr Fresser still voted to purchase it. None of this makes any sense to me I’m afraid.
Thank goodness sanity has eventually prevailed in Council. Congratulations Wooroolin Lions. No doubt this project will make another valuable contribution to the Wooroolin township and our South Burnett community.