August 17, 2021
The overgrown Hivesville railway yards may take on a new lease of life in the next few years.
At last week’s Communities Standing Committee meeting, South Burnett councillors voted unanimously to approve a lease of the land to the Hivesville Progress Association (HPA), subject to approval by the Department Of Transport and Main Roads.
HPA wants to use grant funding to build a free, short-stay caravan parking area, children’s play area, off-leash dog park, picnic area and community garden on the site, along with a Men’s Shed that could be used by both sexes.
The HPA told Council it plans to tackle the project in stages over several years as grant funding became available.
Their long-term aim was to attract more caravanners to stay overnight in the village – something that’s proved successful for Proston – as well as improve community amenities for residents.
The group also plans to preserve the former rail corridor that crosses the site to allow for the possible future development of a Proston-Hivesville Rail Trail.
The overgrown yards – affectionately known as “Mother Of Millions” park to many locals – have sat disused for several decades after the former Murgon-Proston railway line was closed in 1993.
HPA told Council that if their lease application was approved, the group’s first action would be conduct a controlled burn before the end of 2021 to see what debris might be hidden under the site’s long grass that needed to be removed.
An initial burn had already been undertaken by Mondure’s Rural Fire Brigade, they said.
Council officers told the meeting Council had a lease over the entire Murgon-Proston rail corridor from DTMR until 2037.
Because of this, any development on the land would require approval by DTMR as well as Council.
Council would also need to co-ordinate activities between the three parties if any part of HPA’s plans were disallowed.
