WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED/WORKING ON:
1. Philpot Bridge – Mick Colyer will cover in his report, however to add, we have engaged an engineer with
extensive experience in building railway bridges to prepare a report on the integrity of Philpot Bridge and
provide advice on decking and railing the bridge. We will now be in a position to work with contractors to
submit quotes in the short term. We have limited time to achieve this huge task to secure funding from DTMR
but we all have faith we will be successful in our bid by June 2024 if we stay focussed as a very high priority goal and don’t get too sidelined with other projects that could overshadow the importance of this job.
2. Story Boards & Signage – I have been working with Signature Signs in Rockhampton who have provided a suitable quote for installing storyboards and signage between Barrimoon and Golembil. Stories are currently being collated and forwarded through. Their graphic artist has been great to work with and will have some
drafts back to us over the coming week. We will have a number of the signs installed in time for the Event in
May and we will share the progress with you at our next meeting. All members are encouraged to forward
any stories. Another shout out to Bendigo Bank who have funded this project. Total signs will include: 12 storyboards, 1 story about Bradley Wolfe Braveheart Association, 2 large siding signs at Barrimoon & Golembil to include mapping & distances to tunnels, 2 totem poles to include maps for commuters on the trail, up to
forty distance markers between Barrimoon and Builyan, 1 x commemorative plaque on the toilet block at
Barrimoon, 2 x codes of conduct at both sites & 2 x stories about the siding. I would also like to add the
invaluable incite that Betty Laver has been updating me with over the past few weeks. She has been working
closely with Jimmy Harris bringing forward his stories and photos to both BBIRT and the community. I would
encourage you all to like Betty Laver on Facebook as this keeps her storytelling alive.
3. Barriers & Signage Posts – A big shout out to the Hauf family (Janice, John, Randell and Darryl) at JanForest
mill for supplying the timber to build our barriers between 5 & 6 tunnels and at the all-access section at Barrimoon. The price they have given us is well below budget as part of the Bendigo Bank funding $1,500 approx. They have also added in extra timber at no charge. Steve Alford and Steve Fordham have collected the timber and it will be installed this weekend over Saturday and Sunday. Steve Alford and myself will be installing voluntarily and Kev and Jen Roth & Meryn and John King will be assisting on Sunday. We will also be installing the posts for our signage that is in production.
4. Bridge Girders and Railway Sleepers.- Thanks to Denpaq once again for donating 8 x bridge girders and 20 old
railway sleepers. We have now collected the girders from Monto to Bancroft and we will work on having these
delivered to both sidings over the next couple of weeks. Plan is 4 x Golembil, 2 x 5 & 6 Tunnel and 2 x Barrimoon. Hopefully there will be time to have these placed in time for the event.
5. Gambling Fund Super Round – Jill has been working on the detail for the Gambling Fund Super Round application for funding up to $100k. We thank you for all your efforts on this. Jill has also worked with me on identifying a bucket list of items to be considered in upcoming funding opportunities. Members of our management team have been working on sourcing quotes for shelter sheds and composting toilet systems to include in our submissions.
Until next month,
Vicki
