News

Tears were shed in council chambers on National Sorry Day as the community gathered to forge a path towards reconciliation.

About 30 people met at Orange City Council today for an emotional ceremony, a number Mayor John Davis lamented was not closer 1,000.

He said it was the responsibility of Orange residents to stand up, speak up and engage with all members of the community.

“Today on Sorry Day, the council reaches out on the pathway towards reconciliation and it is important to pause to remember the past policies of forced child removal,” Cr Davis said.

“Here, we reflect on the sad and painful history of the Stolen Generations and recognise moments of resilience, healing and the power of saying sorry.”

National Sorry Day is an annual event, since 1998, to commemorate the mistreatment towards Aboriginal people under government policies, which resulted in the Stolen Generation.

Orange Aboriginal Community Working Party deputy chair Gerald Power said those gathered in the room had loved ones who experienced the hurt and suffering of previous government policies first hand.

“For those loved ones who’ve actually experienced it they’re just sad, it’s still too hard to talk at this point in time,” he said.

But he called on the Aboriginal community to rally together and remind all why it was important to mark days like National Sorry Day.

“It’s up to us to never be silent,” he said.

“We continually say these days are special to us and we want to tell you why these days are special to us.”

Mr Power said the council had shown its leadership in working towards reconciliation in ways such as employing Aboriginal staff members to engage with the Orange Aboriginal community.

Jordan Moore, Orange City Council’s Central West Aboriginal Engagement Officer, is one of those staff members who started in his position in January.

“I love it,” he said.

“I love seeing the difference you can make.”

WORKING TOGETHER: Orange Mayor John Davis, Orange Aboriginal Medical Service staff member Tracey Carnie and Orange City Council's Central West Aboriginal Community Engagement Officer Jordan Moore.

It is often termed the 'forgotten war’ but this weekend Orange residents will remember and honour those who fought in the Boer War.

Orange City’s Council’s Cultural Heritage Community Committee Chair Cr Reg Kidd said Orange had a close connection to the Boer War through former Mayor Sir Neville Howse.

“It is well known Sir Neville Howse received the Victoria Cross but the story of how that happened is not as widely known,” Cr Kidd said.

REMEMBERED: The monument at the northern end of Robertson Park where Sunday's ceremony will be held. Inset: Sir Neville Howse VC, former Orange Mayor.

“Sir Neville Howse was serving with the Second Contingent of the NSW Army Medical Corps when he saw a fellow soldier fall.

“He jumped on his horse to rescue the man but the horse was shot and killed from underneath him, but that didn’t stop him, he continued on and carried the wounded soldier on his back, while under fire.”

The Boer War raged from 1899 until 31 May 1902 and of the 16,000 troops from Australia who served in South Africa around 600 men died, about half from disease and half in action.

Sir Neville Howse was one of six soldiers to receive the Victoria Cross during the conflict and he went on to serve the city of Orange as its Mayor, twice and he was elected as the Federal member for Calare in 1922.

The community is invited to attend a memorial ceremony at Robertson Park on Sunday from 11am.

The Ceremony will be held at the Boer War Memorial located at the northern end of Robertson Park, Byng Street, Orange, commencing at 11.00am on Sunday May 29.

Descendants and anyone interested in the Boer War is welcome to attend.

Refreshments will be provided at 11.30am in the CWA Hall.

Anyone wishing to attend can RSVP to Renea Meacham on 6393 8216.

Orange City Council has secured $1.5 million to accommodate future growth in visitor numbers at the Orange Regional Airport.

The funding from the NSW Government’s Regional Tourism Infrastructure Fund will be used to spray a fine micro-seal across the runway surface making it more user-friendly for large jet planes, preventing small stone chips from potentially damaging jet engines.

That means a boost for the visitor economy through more chartered flights to inject funds into the Orange economy.

Orange Mayor John Davis said the council was grateful to the state government for the funding, which will boost the thriving Orange tourism industry.

“We’re very positive about the future for the Orange Regional Airport,” he said.

“It’s quite regular that we get chartered jets landing here and now we can increase that type of tourism, for example there’s been many enquiries from people who want to have conferences here, in the central west.

“Orange can be that centre for people to fly into.”

Member for Orange Andrew Gee said the funding will ensure the airport runway was in top condition for years to come.

“I am pleased to see the continued investment being made across the regions by the NSW Government to secure new opportunities for economic growth and job creation.”

Cr Davis said the upgrade to the runway complimented an earlier upgrade which lengthened the main runway and as such, council was well practiced in completing works to the airport with minimal disruption to flights.

“This about putting infrastructure in place for the airport’s long-term future and getting ready for the next upswing in the mining industry when the airport will once again be used regularly by jets.” Mayor John Davis said.

GRANT: Member for Orange Andrew Gee, Orange Mayor John Davis and Deputy Mayor Chris Gryllis at the Orange Regional Airport for a funding announcement.

The announcement that Orange’s Myer department store will close its doors in January has prompted responses across the local community.

Myer announced 20 May that departments stores in Wollongong and Orange would close.

Orange mayor John Davis said he was saddened for the Orange’s store’s 50 local staff and their families.

“There are many long-term employees who’ve served customers for decades in this landmark business in Orange’s main street,” Cr John Davis said. “Today’s announcement will be felt deeply by these employees.”

Mayor Davis said a representative of Myer management had been in touch on the day of the announcement, confirming that the company had looked closely at the Orange’s store’s future before making the decision to close.

LANDMARK : Myer will cease trading from the historic Summer Street store in January, triggering a a major re-furbishment of the building.

“While the Myer company is exploring a new direction, it’s a vote of confidence in strength of the local economy that the owner of the building is already making plans for a major upgrade and refurbishment of the building.”

“The plan is to create space fronting Summer Street for four smaller retail stores, along with two new speciality shops which will front onto Post Office Lane,” Cr John Davis said.

“There will also be room for two stores in the ’mini-major category’, as well as three new tenancies upstairs.”

Harris Scarfe to open in Orange

The Orange City Centre has announced plans to incorporate the Myer building into the design of the City Centre mall.

The proposal is for two specialty stores on either side of an expanded entrance into the City Centre from Summer Street.

A release from the Orange City Centre says work would begin in April 2017 and would include a new retail outlet in Orange for the Harris Scarfe clothing chain.

Mayor John Davis said the latest changes are part of a century and a half of retailing history in Orange.

“This building was originally built by the Dalton Brothers who opened a store during the gold rush. Since then, it’s been run by household names including in Western Stores and Grace Brothers as well as Myer. These changes are another step in that long retailing journey.”

Orange residents are being invited to take a photograph of themselves at the Orange Regional Museum in a campaign to mark ‘International Museums Day’

International Museums Day is being celebrated by the worldwide community of museums on and around May 18. This annual event is organised by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) to promote awareness of museums and their role to keep safe and protect the heritage that lies both within and beyond their walls.

The residents of the Orange community are embracing the new Orange Regional Museum and its nearby cultural precinct, as a stunning addition to the city skyline and open space.

Since the precinct opened, there has been a steady stream of visitors enjoying the walk up the ramp and the view of the city from the grassed rooftop.

Many people continue to come to experience the view of the city from the top of the new building. Families and couples can be seen seated on the grassed slope enjoying the last of the autumn sunshine and having a picnic.

To celebrate the international day, Orange Regional Museum is inviting people to take a photograph of their friends or themselves showing some part of the museum structure (or nearby cultural landscape) in the background. Simply tag OrangeRegionalMuseum on Facebook or upload to the Museum’s face book page https://www.facebook.com/OrangeRegionalMuseum/ by midday 20 May 2016.

Alternatively photos can be emailed to the museum@orange.nsw.gov.au

Judging will be on imagination and creativity for a Winner and Runner up. Winners will be treated to a behind the scenes tour of the Orange Regional Museum.

This year the theme of the International Museums Day is ‘Museums and Cultural Landscapes’.

The aim is to acknowledge the responsibilities and connections of cultural organisations towards the landscapes where they are located. According to this vision the landscape is considered as the context – geographic, historical, economic, social and cultural - in which museums exist and operate.

NSW premier Mike Baird, Deputy Premier Troy Grant and Local Government Minister Paul Toole held a media conference in Sydney Thursday 12 May to announce further details of proposed council mergers.

The bottom line : While the government is going ahead immediately with the amalgamations to create 19 new councils, Orange City Council is on the list of nine new proposed new councils where a merger is still pending.

The government has decided not to go ahead with a further 14 proposed mergers.

While Orange and Blayney councils told the government in formal submissions it would accept a merger, there has been recent media coverage about Cabonne Council's plans to challenge the merger proposal in court. The court challenge has been set down for 24/25 May.

According to a media release issued today : "Subject to the decision of the courts, the Minister has announced his in principle support for the" ... merger of Blayney, Cabonne and Orange Councils.

It's not known how long the court challenge could take to be resolved.

Mayor in Sydney on announcement day

Orange Mayor John Davis was in Sydney for a meeting of CENTROC on the day the latest decisions were announced.

“We are surprised it has happened today but the minister had little option but to announce that these first round of mergers would go ahead,“ Cr John Davis said.

“It’s unfortunate that the creation of another fourteen new councils, including Blayney, Cabonne & Orange has been delayed by a court challenge.”

“If it’s going to happen, let’s get on with it.”

“There are many, many changes to be made between now and September next year when the new council elections will be held. The longer we have to wait before we get started, the less time there’ll be to get the work done.”

“If a merger is to go ahead for Blayney, Cabonne and Orange the details of how that will proceed will be contained in the proclamation. On that we will have to wait and see.”

“In the meantime we will be providing services, running facilities, meeting the needs of the residents of the Orange City Council area and getting on with the job.”

Merger plans unveiled

A merger of Dubbo and Wellington councils is among the nineteen councils to be announced today. The name of the new body, to include both Dubbo and Wellington councils, will be 'Western Plains Regional Council.'

A merged Boorowa, Harden and Young council will be known as Hilltops Council.

There are more details about the merger proposal on the NSW Government's Stronger Councils website, including :

• A map of the proposal new boundaries of the proposed Cabonne, Blayney, Orange council area
• Funding available for councils which merge.

The website also provides information about the government's plans for implementing the changes surrounding a council merger, including that :

• The new merged council organisation would be run by a general manager and an administrator
• The new round of council elections would happen in September 2017.
• There would also be "Local Representation Committees, formed by the Administrator for each of the former council areas, to provide advice on local views and issues."

The Stronger Councils website also includes an FAQs page

Orange residents can save money and clean up their house at the same time this weekend, when Orange City Council holds its first ‘Free Waste Day’ at the Ophir Road Resource Recovery Centre.

Residents can take one ute or trailer load of waste to the centre on Saturday (May 7), without paying usual waste charges. (Household trailers up to 6‘ by 8’.)

Orange City Council’s Environmental Sustainability Committee chair, Cr Neil Jones said the event is one of two to be held this year.

“Under the new waste contract, there’s no longer any bulky waste collections, so it’s up to residents to explore how to deal with these new arrangements,” Cr Neil Jones said. “For waste that is not recyclable and is too big to fit in a wheelie bin, a day like this is a good idea.

“When it comes to items such as a disused mattress that won’t fit in a red-bin, this Saturday might be a good opportunity to borrow a friend’s trailer or organize a ute to deal with waste like this on a day when the usual charges wont apply.”

“Perhaps it’s something that a group of neighbours could organize together.”

“There’ll be two Free Waste Days this year, and this first event coincides with ‘National Compost Awareness Week’. If residents are taking out a full trailer load of rubbish, why not buy a trailer load of compost and bring it home for the garden.” Compost can be bought for $38.20 per cubic metre.

“The Don’t Waste Our Forests campaign to encourage people not to dump waste in Kinross Forest is also ramping up. I hope people will take advantage of the ‘Free Waste Day’ and choose instead to deliver their waste to the Resource Recovery Centre instead of dumping it illegally in a forest.”

The Free Waste Day will be held at the Ophir Road Resource Recovery Centre on Saturday 7 May, and again later in the year on Saturday 5 November.

To coincide with ‘National Compost Awareness Week’ there’ll also be free tours of the compost–shredding and landfill-baling facilities at the Centre. The tours will be held at 10 am and 2pm on Saturday 7 May.

No bookings are required for the tours. Simply arrive in time and ask for directions for parking at the weighbridge.

Orange’s water has picked up a major industry award, being judged a finalist for the best water in NSW award for the third year in a row.

The award was presented at the recent Water Industry Operations Conference held this year in Newcastle which drew more than 700 water professionals from across NSW.

As well as the best water category, the team based at the Treatment plant on Icely road were awarded the prize for the ‘NSW Best Operator of the Year’.

“It’s a credit to the commitment and quality of the work of the team here that this award has come to Orange”, Senior Plant Operator Mark Gogala said.

“Every member of the team works hard to keep this plant working well. It’s great to get recognition for this work.”

As well as the trophy, Mr Gogala, was awarded an 8-day study of water treatment facilities in New Zealand.

TEAM EFFORT : The team at Orange City Council’s Water Treatment Plant were delighted to learn staff were judged to be the state’s best water operators. (l. to r. ) Glen Wicks, Jake Livermore, Craig Rawsthorne and Mark Gogala are pictured with the new trophies.

A planned upgrade of internal roads on the Bloomfield hospital campus by Orange City Council is waiting on an archaeological assessment of the site, required by heritage authorities.

Orange City Council's planned work on the Bloomfield Health Campus internal roads project is in two parts :

• a link between Huntley Road and the Mission Australian aged care facility.
• a link between that stage and the Country Club and to the northern entrance off Forest Road.

Both stages have already been given Council development consent however the second part is also awaiting approval from the NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage.

The road works between Huntley Road and Mission Australia are expected to begin on 9 May.

The design for the second part of the project has been completed and funds have been allocated in the budget.

The total costs of the works is $670,000 which has been funded by Orange City Council, the Orange Ex services Club, Health Infrastructure and Mission Australia.

UPGRADE : The narrow road from Huntley Rd into the Bloomfield campus is one street to be widened once a series of improvements begin.

The project needs Council approval and NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage consent.

Orange City Council lodged the development application for the road works in August 2015 and sought NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage approval.

But, by January this year NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage approval had not been provided.

At that time Council chose to grant the consent that was within its powers.

Despite Council consent, work cannot proceed until NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage consent is granted.

Three weeks ago the NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage advised Council that an archaeological assessment was required before the matter could be considered.

Council argued that the roadworks would follow an existing road and the archaeological assessment was not necessary.

This argument was not accepted and Council is now seeking quotes for the assessment.

Parking in the precinct is a separate matter for Health Infrastructure. The road upgrades will provide linkages to the existing number of spaces but will not provide new spaces.

Orange City Council's purchase of the old Orange Base Hospital site has been finalised, with the contract now signed and settled.

Health Infrastructure (HI) and Orange City Council have been working on a contract that will deliver a positive community legacy and provide new development and employment opportunities for the city.

Orange Mayor John Davis said the finalisation of the contract was an important milestone for the project.

“Projects like these are rare in regional cities and HI and Council have been working together to get it right,” Cr Davis said

“There is a lot of work to do but once complete this will set Orange apart from other regional cities across Australia. It is an entire city block close to the CBD with great opportunities to create new types of residential living and commercial offerings. In the coming years this will be a significant driver of economic growth in the city creating up to 40 construction jobs a year across five years.”

Member for Orange Andrew Gee said there had been a great deal of community interest in what is to become of the old hospital site.

“People are very keen to see some action on the site and to get this important part of Orange rejuvenated,” Mr Gee said.

“The community has also been unanimous in its desire to see the site put to an appropriate use that is in keeping with the surrounding streetscape.”

“There is obviously going to be significant demolition costs and I’m very pleased that the NSW Government has adopted a practical approach in agreeing to place $2.3 million of the purchase price in trust to fund the demolition.”

Chief Executive of HI, Mr Sam Sangster, said Health Infrastructure had worked collaboratively in its negotiations with Orange City Council to ensure optimal community benefit from the sale.

“In addition to the benefits from the development of the new Orange Hospital, the community will now benefit from an urban renewal project designed to deliver a community legacy rich in development and employment opportunities", Mr Sangster said.

“The long-term future of this site has been very carefully negotiated and we are delighted that Orange City Council persisted in its vision for its future use.”

A Heads of Agreement was entered in April 2015. The Heads of Agreement established the terms of the sale for the site. The contract for the sale of the site consolidates the responsibilities of both parties.

While the contract was being finalised Council staff, in consultation with HI, have continued to undertake preliminary planning work to prepare for the next steps.

These steps include :

• a development application (DA) for demolition,
• demolition contractor engagement and
• seeking expressions of Interest for development options for the site.

The DA is scheduled to be lodged in June, demolition tender/negotiations completed in December and work anticipated to commence in January 2017.

The land sale price of the hospital site is $3.3 million (GST exclusive). Council paid Health $1million and Health has commissioned Council to carry out demolition works and remediation of the site which is expected to cost around $2.3 million.

The preferred masterplan development option for the project includes:

• 2000 m2 of park area and 700 m2 of verge widening
• 68 dwellings made up of 28 apartments in the redeveloped Ward block and 40 houses in a mix of terrace housing / townhouses and detached / duplex housing
• 10 mixed use properties (retail / commercial / residential)
• the refurbished Ambulance building forming a commercial development

There may be some community expectation of a quick turnaround for this project however given the size and complexity of the works it will run across a number of years.

A consultant's report has examined a number of possible re-development options for the site. The report, which can be downloaded here, (or viewed in a convenient browsing format below) will be part of the information pack put out to the market when expressions of interest are sought from the market.

Concept designs for the site(see below) include a range of architectural styles which make use of the former hospital's existing multi-level building with adaptions for high-ceiling apartments.

HERITAGE : The former ambulance station, which opened in 1931, is one of the site's few buildings that's planned to avoid demolition.