February 13, 2021
Construction of Murgon’s $1.59 million cultural centre, art gallery and fossil museum will begin within weeks.
The official sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of the project was held on site in Macalister Street on Thursday morning.
It follows years of planning by a small committee of local residents, the Creative Country Association (CCA).
CCA president Richard O’Neill, Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien and builder Jim Adcock, from Murgon-based Sellwood Constructions, took turns on the shovels.
Jim told southburnett.com.au there was still some paperwork to sort out, but he expected to begin construction of the centre within the next couple of weeks.
The sod-turning ceremony was compered by Murgon Business and Development Association past president Leo Geraghty after a Welcome to Country by CCA member Aunty Annie L’Estrange.
Leo said it was an historic day for Murgon.
The building will include a gift shop, fossil display, art gallery and art workshop built around a central garden.
As well as displays of local Indigenous and non-Indigenous art, the plan is to hold art workshops to support mental health.
Funding came from Round 4 of the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions Program.
The land, adjacent to the South Burnett Rail Trail, was donated to the committee by an anonymous local benefactor.
The building will fill the whole site and aims to add to the tourism experience of visitors to Murgon.
The railway bumpers on the land will be removed but a large bottle tree at the front will remain.
Mr O’Brien said he was pleased to be present for the “shiny shovel” moment but he was really looking forward to the opening of the building.
He thanked the volunteers for their hard work in getting the project to this point.
“We want more people to come here and experience Murgon, understand what its about and the Creative Country Association cultural centre will do that,” he said.
Richard said the project had been the dream of a lot of people in Murgon for 12 years and he thanked Mr O’Brien for his help.
He said the amount of interest which had been shown in the project was “unreal”.
“We’ve had people come forward – the last people you’d ever think of – with fossils,” Richard said.
Mr O’Brien said the project would be an important boost to the local economy.
“We will start to see some immediate benefits from this investment with about 40 jobs during the construction phase, and a further four permanent jobs once it opens early next year,” he said.
“It will bolster the valuable South Burnett tourism sector by adding to the range of products and experiences on offer in the region.”
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And This Is What All The Fuss Is About …
A wide range of vertebrate fossils has been recovered from a secret site near Murgon since the 1930s.
Scientists have identified fossils dated to about 55 million years ago, before the final break-up of Gondwana.
As well as fish, turtle and crocodile fossils, traces of Australia’s oldest marsupials, frogs, snakes, non-marine birds, the oldest bat in the Southern Hemisphere and an early condylarth-like placental mammal have been found.
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