Mayor Jennifer Alden with Justin Lange, Kerry Errington, Glenn Woodhatch, Rob Taylor and Neil Ozanne. Picture: Darren Howe, Bendigo Advertiser.
Woodvale residents have won their decade-long push to improve ageing facilities at their recreation reserve.
The City of Greater Bendigo has announced it will spend nearly half-a-million dollars on a new, multi-purpose community hub with public toilets, a kitchenette, storage, meeting spaces and a separate storage shed.
Improvements around the recreation reserve could not come soon enough for “delighted” reserve management committee chair Kerry Errington.
She said the public toilets, in particular, did not meet modern standards, but many of the much-loved facilities were ageing.
“At the moment we have a 40-year-old shed and the 35-year-old tennis courts that were built by local farmers, plus the toilets which we try to keep open for members of the public,” Ms Errington said.
The reserve is not just a community hub. It has a history that stretches back to 1860, plus a place in Australian sporting folklore.
Legend has it that 19th century cricketing legend, Harry Boyle, honed his talents at the oval. He later used those skills to devastate English batting line ups during the first Ashes tours in the 1880s.
Bendigo’s council plans to spend a $495,000 Australian government grant on improvements at the reserve, mayor Jennifer Alden said.
“This is fantastic news all round and the city is very grateful to the Australian government for supporting this important rural project in greater Bendigo,” she said.
Ms Errington said the community had worked hard to raise funds for the project and was looking forward to having a facility that would have so many different uses.
“It just proves something about rural communities. When they work together they really can achieve something special,” she said.
This article first appeared in the Bendigo Advertiser.
