Mayor’s Column: Ross Ebbels from the Borough of Queenscliffe, July 30

WE HAVE been helping our businesses stay COVID-safe by providing local shopkeepers with a sticker pack containing State Government-approved signage and documentation to place around the premises of their business. This includes ‘1.5m physical distancing’ reminder posters, stickers to place on the ground to allocate where customers can stand, and a ‘fill-in-the-blank’ poster for your door allowing shopkeepers to easily display how many customers are permitted to occupy the premises at any one time. You may also have seen some large-scale COVID-safe signage on the way into the Narrows and also entering Point Lonsdale, reminding us to wash our hands, practice physical distancing, and take all the usual precautions whenever out and about.
On the ground, we’ve been getting to work. You may have seen our recent Facebook post highlighting the restoration of the historic Queenscliff Wreck Bell, first installed in that very same location at the end of Gellibrand Street way back in 1891. We painted the two-metre high post with a fresh coat of white paint, and brought in an old-school sign writer to make the shipwreck warning notice legible once more.
We’ve also made the decision to close the Bunny Woods area of the Point Lonsdale Foreshore to undergo revegetation works, as we need to repair some of the damage that has recently been caused to make it sure it doesn’t have long-term impacts on the environment. There’s good news for BMX riders, though. Not only are you allowed to continue riding at both the ‘Humps and Bumps’ track (by the Rip View car park) and the Point Lonsdale Primary School track, but we’re also looking into options for a more substantial bike track in the Borough. We’ve written to DELWP to ask for their support in this project, and we’re looking forward to inviting local riders to engage in the design process to ensure we get the best outcomes for everyone.
There’s plenty happening behind the scenes at the Queenscliffe Hub too, and we’ll have more news on the next phase of the design consultation soon. Until then, stay safe, look after each other, shop local, and I’ll see you around the Borough.

Cr Ross Ebbels
Mayor, Borough of Queenscliffe