Early this week, Council hosted a wonderful tribute to local historian, Dr Robin McLachlan, at the Pillars of Bathurst memorial garden, instigated by Robin and Council back in 2015.
The Pillars of Bathurst commemorates past residents who significantly contributed to the development of our community but for whom there were no other memorials to tell their story. From the historical figures who built the city’s foundation, to modern community leaders and remarkable activists; those acknowledged by the Pillars of Bathurst together present and preserve the intricate story of the city of Bathurst. I was delighted to see such a large crowd arrive for the event, all having a story to tell and a shared connection with one or more of the individuals represented in the garden. Additionally, honouring Robin’s extensive work, at this tribute event the first Dr Robin McLachlan Heritage Award was presented to the deserving community group, the Friends of the Bathurst Agricultural Research Station. This award celebrates and aims to publicly recognise community successes as Council’s prestige award in heritage interpretation, research and/or promotion in relation to the Bathurst Region, in Robin’s name. Congratulations again to the Friends of the Bathurst Agricultural Research Station on this accolade.
Wednesday evening featured our second Ordinary Council Meeting for the year, where prevalent issues were debated, including the Community Engagement Strategy (CES) and the Ngurang Arts Residency (BARN) project. It was gratifying to see such a large representation of the community present at the meeting, indicating valuable civic interest in the topics discussed. It was encouraging to have the draft CES document approved following community exhibition; this is a highly useful strategy that indicates how and when Council opens projects and issues for community review. We are committed to working with the community and the engagement strategy provides the framework for this.
This was in fact put into practice for the Ngurang Arts Residency, with Council’s community survey receiving 458 responses across its exhibition period. This provided valuable data which was assessed in detail at Wednesday’s meeting. Following which, the project was approved by Council to proceed as per the final project plan.
Additionally, late this week I travelled to Sydney to attend the Regional Cities NSW Board Meeting. This group was created to form a united voice to influence State Government policy and investment on issues such as population growth, regional infrastructure and investment. Joined by fellow Mayors and Council representatives from across Regional NSW, this event provided a terrific sounding board for the shared issues faced across regional cities.
Robert Taylor
Mayor of Bathurst