Where did that month go? Things are certainly ramping up to our EPIC 4-day Adventure Ride through the tunnels section of the trail Barrimoon to Golembil. We now have over 150 attendees registered to attend! I would also like to pass on our congratulations to our patron cr. Desley O’Grady, who has retired from her councillor role after a tremendous eight (8) years supporting the Gladstone community. We are privileged that she will be continuing to
support BBIRT in the future as part of our management team.
We have also had a couple of changes in our management committee. Mark McLachlan has resigned from the secretary role; however, he will continue to support BBIRT with our IT support and website. We truly are privileged for Mark’s dedication and achievements since the group’s inception in both the Chair and then the secretary position more recently. Thank you to Lyndal Slater who has offered to take up the vacant position as Secretary until our next AGM.
WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED:
1. Slab Creek Bridge Project, Mundubbera – has now been completed and looks great! This is the first bridge
that BBIRT have deck & railed. Thanks for all the efforts of Mick Colyer vice- President who has coordinated this project from the start with contractor Mark Postle (Posco). What a great achievement. We must also thank Dept of Transport for providing the funding and advice as we needed it. Here’s to the next successful bridge project in the near future.
2. Barrimoon Siding – Yet another project complete in the past month! The long-awaited composting toilet block has now been installed at Barrimoon Siding as part of the all-access section of the trail. This section will be open officially over the May Long Weekend. A big thank you to Kev & Jen Roth who have coordinated laying of the concrete slab & plumbing with contractor Rob Beutel and delivery and installation of the block.
Also, thanks to Steve Alford for levelling out the surface.
All volunteer work……..What a huge effort!
3. Concrete Sleepers – We had a very successful working bee at both ends of the Golembil to Barrimoon section in February undertaking slashing, weeding, rock picking and other maintenance activities in February. We were donated around 80 concrete sleepers in which we have now had delivered to the Golembil section. These will be used to create an overpass on some of the creek bed crossings through this section. In addition to installing these sleepers DTMR have agreed to assist us with funding to fix a few of the washouts in this section and in the Boyne Valley. We will have these issues sorted in time for the event in May.
WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON:
1. Philpot Bridge – We are in the initial stage of decking and railing our next bridge which will be Philpot Bridge in Mundubbera. This bridge has been prioritised as there is about 7 kms outside the trail that commuters need to travel on a main road to traverse the area. We are currently working with engineers to identify the extent of damage on girders and grids and then will go out to tender for quotes before the end of the financial year is upon us! Mick Colyer will co-ordinate this project also. We are lucky to have him as a volunteer.
2. Isis Sugar Co-Share Arrangement, Gayndah – We have raised this in the past as a great opportunity for the trail in the future to approach Isis Sugar to seek a share arrangement with BBIRT to share the trail leased by Isis Sugar in order for users to traverse the area between Gayndah to Reid’s Creek. Isis Sugar currently have a 20-year lease on the rail corridor Mungar to Reids Creek. Situation is that rail trail users have to travel 12kms to Mt Debateable to access the trail. We have sent a letter to NBRC to seek their support to progress the discussions. We are awaiting their feedback and will then progress discussions with Isis Sugar Mill.
3. Story Board Signage – Thanks to the kind donation from Bendigo Bank, we can now start work on placing story board signage and a few safety barriers on the Barrimoon to Golembil section. We have hoping to have this done by
the May Event. We have initiated quotes and design work. The plan will be to have cantilever plaques placed at each tunnel opening with historical stories and facts. These stories are being collected from the stories written by local historian Jimmy Harris who recently visited the trail with Desley O’Grady and Mark McLachlan. We will also have a plaque on the toilet block outlining the All-Access Section and another to thank the Bradley Wolfe Association for their funding of $80k to see this project eventuate with a matching contribution from DTMR and Qld Govt.
WHAT WE PLAN TO DO:
1. Mundubberra Rotary Project – The Mundubbera to Ski Area section is coming up a treat. We are privileged
that the Rotary group are keen to work with BBIRT to get further things done in their area. Presently the group
are quoting an all-access surface from Mundubbera through to the ski gardens and working with DTMR on the
possibility of decking and railing another two bridges in the area that are difficult to traverse through creek
beds often running with water. Let’s see how they go and we know their efforts will be rewarded by use of our rail-trailers! Great work all involved.
2. Road Signage – Desley and Lyn Colyer have put together a report on the road signage “brown & white road
signs” that will divert main road travellers to sections of our trail as they can be difficult to find from main
roads. This report will be sent to DTMR through an online application which can take up to six months to
approve. We are prioritising these signs as we are receiving feedback from commuters on necessity.
3. Memberships/Volunteers – With all the achievements this month, it has left us a little short on time to focus
on our memberships. As mentioned in my last report, we are reviewing all our current members including
business, individuals, in-kind and reciprocal memberships so we can increase our membership base. We want
to promote our businesses online across our website and through our marketing. We also want to get out to
all our volunteers to see if anyone is interested in helping out with committee tasks that suit your expertise or
interests. The more we can make the jobs achievable the easier it will be on our current volunteers. If you
are interested in volunteering on our committee or for the upcoming event you can register on our website.
We look forward to our next meeting which will be held on FRIDAY 12TH APRIL at GOLEMBIL SIDING.
We will be holding another working bee at Golembil and Barrimoon over this weekend to ensure all is in order for the event in May. We will hopefully have the signs ready to install, install the post & rail barriers, the girders donated
by Denpaq, have a contractor in place to lay the concrete sleepers and fix the washouts. Come along if you like as more hands make like work. Whipper Snippers and mowers are always very useful on these days.
Until next month,
Vicki Mackay
