Councillor column – 29th June 2023

Published on 29 June 2023

Cr Michael Grout – Heritage, Planning and Infrastructure

A good day to all those in the Borough of Queenscliffe. Councillor Grout here, Councillor responsible for the Heritage, Planning, and Infrastructure Portfolio.

I feel fortunate to live in the Borough, not just because it is a beautiful place to live in, but because so many people here genuinely care about our townships.
Over the last fifteen years, I have witnessed many contributions from generous locals to make the Borough a better place. These people provide skills, energy, and most of all commitment to improve things. I want to talk about three big infrastructure projects that would never have happened without the hours and hours of effort from committed people in our community.

When I came to Queenscliff in 1990 the Monahan Centre was a large red brick building that was used by a small handful of squash players and indoor cricketers. While the centre had been built for sports use, it did not meet the needs of our clubs. This changed when Max Stewart generously donated money to the cricket and footy clubs. This was then matched by the Council, then Vic Gov, so we had $1m to make the Monahan Centre fit for its original purpose as change rooms, club rooms and grandstand.

There was massive disappointment when quotes came in well above that amount. Local builder (who happened to be president of the footy and netball club) and tradies came to the rescue: they gave that red-brick building the complete makeover so it became one of the best sporting facilities on the Bellarine Peninsula. People mostly gave their time freely, and the grant money was used to purchase materials and equipment, as well as specialist services.
As we neared completion to a standard fit for basic use, our community raised the last several thousand dollars by purchasing decorative bricks in the new entrance upstairs – check out those donors. Since that rebuild, government grants have enabled the addition of an extremely popular gym as well as other facilities. The Monahan Centre is now used every weekend and several times each week by our cricket, footy and netball clubs, as well as by visiting clubs and groups – it is a testament to community initiative, ingenuity, collaboration, and hard work.

In the last two years, the Borough has embarked on one of its biggest projects by redeveloping the Queenscliff Library, Visitor Information Centre and Queenscliff Historical Museum: Wirrng Wirrng. This entailed hours and hours of volunteer work in first logging and packing then moving all inventory to temporary facilities and storages, then returning everything on completion. This was an impressive, coordinated effort from some incredibly committed hard-working individuals, nearly all of whom were volunteers. In addition, some skilled and dedicated individuals provided significant input to support the design and build, including expert curation for the museum. Again, so much time was freely given – true labours of love.

I mention these two public buildings because they are the outcome of hours and hours of community involvement and because we are about to start stage two of the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse Reserve Development. Last year the Borough refurbished the structures and all externals of the P1 Huts, now we hope to launch into some more major improvements on the site: improving accessibility, restoration of two military structures, providing electricity to buildings and levelling the area around the lighthouse. Community members have been instrumental in obtaining the $1m funding from the Victorian Government. Again, the success of this project will depend on appropriately skilled and committed community input.

The Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee (MEMPC) for the Borough of Queenscliffe is now seeking expressions of interest from community members who would like to join the committee. The MEMPC is seeking to appoint two representatives, who can effectively represent our community, including local businesses, for a term of two years. The positions are voluntary, and you must be available to attend at least four meetings annually. You can learn more about the selection criteria and how to apply on Council’s website by visiting here.

It is a wonderful thing to live in a community where so many give of their skills, time, and effort to building a better Borough. When we collaborate and work together like this the process and outcome are an expression of the values of our community.

Nyatne baa Gobata

(Thank you and take care)

Cr Michael Grout
Councillor, Borough of Queenscliffe