{"id":259209,"date":"2020-06-05T20:04:55","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T10:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=259209"},"modified":"2020-06-30T17:05:15","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T07:05:15","slug":"murgons-1-59m-dream-comes-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/06\/05\/murgons-1-59m-dream-comes-true\/","title":{"rendered":"Murgon’s $1.59m Dream Comes True"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CCA members Glenda Geraghty, Richard O’Neill OAM, Carolyn Summers and Lee Porter were “over the moon” when they received news their proposal for a Murgon Cultural Centre had received an almost $1.6 million grant from the Federal Government<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 5, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Murgon’s planned Cultural Centre – including an art gallery and fossil museum – will become a reality following a Federal Government grant of $1.596 million announced on Friday.<\/p>\n

The funding, announced by Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien, is from Round 4 of the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF) program.<\/p>\n

Other local projects funded in this round include the Kingaroy CBD upgrade<\/a><\/strong> and support for a new festival in Yarraman<\/a><\/strong> (see separate reports).<\/p>\n

The Creative Country Association (CCA), a not-for-profit community group, applied for the funding for the Murgon project.<\/p>\n

Group members have been developing the project for several years.<\/p>\n

Their first application to the BBRF last year was unsuccessful but after tweaking their submission their dreams came true in the latest round.<\/p>\n

The Cultural Centre will be built on a block of land in Macalister Street which has been donated to the CCA by a Murgon family.<\/p>\n

CCA spokesperson Richard O’Neill OAM said the group was “absolutely over the moon” to hear their grant application had succeeded.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“This project will be the first brand new development in Murgon for many years,” Richard said.<\/p>\n

“Over the past few years, Council has upgraded the Jubilee Pool and the Youth Park, and they’re currently upgrading the footpaths in the CBD.<\/p>\n

“Some members of our business community have also upgraded their shops, hotels or service stations.<\/p>\n

“But these were all about maintaining or upgrading existing assets in the town. This project will build something completely new for the community.”<\/p>\n

The Cultural Centre will feature an art gallery focusing on both Indigenous and non-Indigenous art; a museum showcasing fossils found in the Murgon area; a gift shop; a workshop; and an open air “prehistoric garden” in a central atrium, along with a kitchen and office area.<\/p>\n

The vacant block of land where it will be built is near the Murgon Men’s Shed and the South Burnett Rail Trail.<\/p>\n

On Friday afternoon, CCA members joined South Burnett Mayor Brett Otto and Division 5 councillor Kathy Duff to inspect the site.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mayor Otto congratulated the group on their successful application.<\/p>\n

He said the project, when completed, would add a new tourism attraction to the region and bring many benefits to Murgon and the wider community.<\/p>\n

Cr Kathy Duff – who admitted she had been doing star jumps after the funding announcement – said the project would also put an end to a 12-year struggle to get an art gallery for Murgon.<\/p>\n

Construction work is expected to begin later this year once the necessary Council building approvals are obtained.<\/p>\n

Mr O’Neill said he expected the project could take a year or more to complete.<\/p>\n