Edging closer : Reserve committee calls for upgrades

WITH its growing population of young families, Mount Egerton needs more funding dollars directed to its recreation facilities, locals say.

Members of the Mount Egerton Recreation Reserve Committee say an influx of new households and families over recent years means there’s a growing need for the old local rec reserve to receive more attention from any and all tiers of government.

In particular, they’re calling for more funding support from local and State governments to help develop a children’s playground and sporting facilities at the reserve as first priorities.

A safe walk-cycle path linking the growing locality to Gordon is also high on the list.

Mount Egerton Recreation Reserve Committee member Megan Wells said they’re grateful for support received so far from bodies including the local community bank, shire and Moorabool Wind Farm, having secured grant approvals for internal works on the rec reserve rooms.

But the reserve’s old tennis courts, once an important part of the town, have fallen into disrepair with surface cracking and decay, and there’s no usable cricket pitch.

Alongside the the oval and rec reserve rooms, the barbecue rotunda was destroyed when a tree fell on it last September and still hasn’t been replaced.

Committee members like Ms Wells and Kat Long are among those determined to breathe new life into the rec reserve as a focal point for the community, restoring the centrality it once had in the recreational lives of Mount Egerton residents.

In the three years since they began working to restore the reserve, graffiti and vandalism that had been starting to accumulate has been banished, replaced with bright murals and welcoming signage, and many regular community gatherings have been taking place on site.

Among these are the keenly anticipated upcoming Halloween feature event, and a community market and car boot sale set for 16 November. Committee members have met with some local councillors on site, and this week they also met with Member for Eureka Michaela Settle as they strive to make their message heard.

They’ve also surveyed locals, an exercise that Ms Long said clearly shows strong support for the upgrades.

“There was a tennis club here in the 80s and 90s,” she said.

“There was a soccer club as well, and this is also where the Gordon Football Club started. But you can’t start any sporting clubs if you have nothing.”

Ms Wells said it can sometimes feel like Mount Egerton is being left behind.

“We’d really love a children’s playground and a basketball hoop, a walking-bike track so children can cycle safely to Gordon,” she said.

An off-leash dog park, at least one restored tennis court, and a functional cricket pitch as part of a re-invigorated oval are also in their sights.