IT IS hoped recent work at the Moonbi Lookout will deter vandals and thieves from targeting the vantage point.
A few dedicated community members have banded together to buy and install a plaque on the side of the big rock in honour of the workers employed through a government depression project who built the park 80 years ago.
On Wednesday, the Friends of the Moonbi Lookout will officially unveil the plaque which is testament to the work of the past but it has a message for the future.
The group coordinated and funded the small-project and only had to ask council for authorisation to install the plaque.
Peter Ullman helped coordinate the project and he hoped it would lead to a larger scale restoration.
We’ll be looking at some sort of funding to restore it properly to fix the rocks.
- Friend of Moonbi Lookout - Peter Ullman
“The feedback I’m getting from council is they can see we’re prepared to do a bit ourselves, we’re not the only ones, there are lots of voluntary committees that get in and do their own thing,” he said.
He hoped it would spur-on other groups and individuals in town to show some initiative.
“If you show you are prepared to put a bit of your own money and time into something [council] will back you,” he said.
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“We fully appreciate the restraints they have on their budgets.
“We’ll be looking at some sort of funding to restore it properly to fix the rocks and put it back to where it was, but I think it is a masterpiece.”
The plaque will be unveiled by Tamworth man Michael Myers whose relatives worked on the lookout project in the 1930s.
Mr Ullman said he also donated a considerable amount to help raise the funds for the plaque.
“There was a large number of workers employed from this area and this is what they built.” he said.
“They were unskilled workers, look at what they did, they did a fantastic job.
“Maybe if we put a permanent reminder of who built it, it might get a little bit more respect and the vandals might not take the rocks away or graffiti it or whatever they do to fill in all of their idle time.
“I don’t believe it is the travelling public, I believe it is locals who use it for their landscaping and gardens.”
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
