DRT Media Release No 13 | Tourism Opportunities remain

Despite the drought and dreadful summer fire season we must not forget that the opportunities for tourism in the Dungog Region continue to be strong, and remain as one of the Region’s most promising avenues for economic and community development. I believe there is increasing interest in domestic travel including more people choosing to holiday at home due to the Coronavirus, and also there is a desire by many to travel to country areas to boost economic activity given the drought and fires.

Dungog Regional Tourism (DRT) has been working on long term initiatives to support tourism. A number of brochures promoting local attractions and activities will soon be available online and from the Dungog Shire Visitor Information Centre and local businesses. Work also continues on expending the grant to enhance camping and outdoor recreation especially at Dungog Common and Gresford Recreation Reserve.

In the next week or two DRT will be undertaking a small but very important survey to record the economic impact on local businesses of the closure of the local State Forests and National Parks over the Christmas New Year period and the low levels of the rivers in the Shire. We suspect that there has been a significant impact on local businesses in Dungog, Gresford and Clarence Town in particular.

We are planning to prepare a Destination Management Plan for the Region. While it is easy to dismiss such activities as just more words on paper with nothing happening on the ground, these plans are vital when seeking future grant funds. DRT was established as a result of a similar report in 2015, so needs to be replaced with an up to date report. This will guide future developments and identify opportunities for further investment, be it private or public.

The DRT Board has a new member, James Slack of Eccleston. James has a background in business, farming and some interests in local tourism. We look forward to James’ perspective and contribution especially as we embark on the preparation of a new Destination Management Plan.

There are plenty of headwinds out there, so we must all collaborate and work together to make things happen, including with Dungog District Chamber of Commerce, Dungog Arts Foundation and Dungog Shire Events. We need to communicate the issues and the opportunities, share the problems and also the successes.

Cameron Archer AM | Chair

6579aca@gmail.com

0427 202 948

October Long Weekend and the School Holidays around the Shire

By all accounts the School Holiday period and in particular the Dungog Festival over the October long weekend attracted many visitors to the Dungog Shire. Our congratulations once again to the Dungog Festival  organisers on very successful action packed event.

Wendy Farrow from the Dungog Shire Visitor Information Centre has reported that the VIC was busy over the school holidays, and the Long Weekend was particularly busy. Over the Long Weekend Saturday saw approximately 180 visitors, Sunday about 112 and Monday 94. On average over the school holidays Wendy says the average number of people at the VIC was at least 50 to 60 people on weekdays.

Many businesses have reported excellent trade over the Long Weekend period and it was particularly busy on Saturday.  Chris Ahearn, owner of Chic & Antique in Dowling Street reported a continuous stream through her shop non-stop until 2.30 pm and she and two other staff were busy all day.  Monday, and particularly Sunday, were quieter than Saturday but overall takings to the weekend were “phenomenal” and probably double a normal long weekend.

Local camping sites including those in the State Forests were at capacity along with other locations with for example, Williams River Holiday Park at Clarence reporting it was full over the Long Weekend.  Local cafés and other businesses also did good trade over the weekend with reports that one café ran out of food by Sunday afternoon.

As reported elsewhere in the Chronicle, the Sculpture on the Farm event at Fosterton, now in its second year, proved to be just as popular as it’s first with large numbers coming through the gates.  Oktoberfest at Wallarobba Hall was also very successful with the Dachshund races attracting a large crowd which was reported at nearly 500 people and it was considered “amazing” by the organisers.

At Blue Gum Loop trail in the upper Williams at Salisbury the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service organized a guided walk on the Saturday of the Long Weekend and were very happy with the numbers who attended.  The walk was part of the 50th birthday celebrations of Barrington Tops National Park plus the 25th anniversary of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia listing with UNESCO World Heritage.

In the Paterson Valley visitor numbers were also very good.  At Vacy,  Ian and Jo Muncaster from the Vacy General Store reported excellent trade over the Long Weekend from both locals and visitors to the area.  In fact, the whole School Holiday period was excellent, although this could be a result of them now offering pizzas as well as their using range of food.

President's Column | October 1

Passionate volunteer groups are the back bone of Dungog Shire and our community is privileged to be able to enjoy the generous spirit of so many.  Volunteers of all ages participate in many activities even though they may never see or know the name of someone who benefited from their work.  As gratifying as it is to see the immediate impact of our volunteer effort, volunteers who chip in behind the scenes can take pride in knowing that they are making a contribution to the greater community good.  And, when they see or learn about the impact there effort has made, they can smile and know that volunteers like them probably helped make it happen.

Together with many others Dungog District Chamber of Commerce, is a volunteer group of local business people who are passionate about supporting and maintaining local business within our beautiful Shire.

A recent (Facebook) comment that the Dungog District Chamber of Commerce should be held accountable for the recent closure of a local business has got me thinking. Our committee spends many hours of their own time promoting local business, events, other activities, and the shire generally. We are continually trying to find ways to encourage people to shop and use services locally, keep our businesses open, maintain our vibrant town and village streetscapes and support businesses throughout the district. We are a not for profit association, run by volunteers. Our promotions, events and initiatives are funded predominately by our membership fees. The occasional grant or funding from any outside source is always embraced and utilised to its maximum benefit.

Perhaps you have some new ideas to bring to the table? I can always be contacted at president@ddcc.org.au.

Our next Chamber dinner network meeting will be something a little different. To offer an opportunity to get to know some of our accommodation providers and tourism operators in the Shire, we will be meeting at Retreat 2 Main Creek for our dinner. The evening will offer the opportunity to not only inspect Retreat 2 Main Creek but also visit the fabulous Carawirry Forrest Escape together with Yeranda at Barrington Tops and Bower Cottages. A smorgasbord dinner will be available. Members and guest are welcome. To book email dinner@ddcc.org.au.

New sign for Lioness Park

Article by Michelle Mexon

There’s a welcoming new sign for visitors coming in to Dungog from the south.

The $20,000 sign in Lioness Park replaces one which was already in disrepair and further damaged in the April 2015 storms forcing council to remove it.

Dungog District Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Lewis said the chamber had been researching funding options to replace the sign since it was first damaged.

At this year’s Chamber Business Awards, Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald announced the chamber would receive a $19,662 grant from the Premiers Rural and Regional Fund.

"We wanted the content of the sign to say far more than welcome to Dungog so we set about the challenge of designing a new sign,” said Ms Lewis.

The easy-to-read sign shows a current map of the shire which was adapted from the Dungog Drives brochure which shows the horseshoe map.

Information and attractions in each village of the shire is detailed and there are photographs by young photographer Aithyn Grove and Ros Runciman.

“The content was developed by the chamber committee with the invaluable assistance of Ivan Skaines, Economic Development and Tourism Officer Dungog Shire Council and Dr Cameron Archer, Chair of DRT,” said Ms Lewis.

The design is by Danthonia Signs, erected on concrete footings with a cover over head and solar panels to ensure it is illuminated at night.

“The sign has been strategically placed with consultation from the Lionesses so as not to obscure the view of the existing iconic Dungog sign and complements the banners which were erected earlier this year,” she said.

The grant funding had to be used by the end of this year and with just a few weeks to spare the new sign was erected late last week.

“A number of projects have finally come to fruition for the chamber this year including this sign,” said Ms Lewis.

“We are very proud of what we have achieved.

“We look forward to working with the Community, Council and the Lioness Club of Dungog to developing a master plan to further enhance Lioness Park”.

EVENT BANNERS FOR LIONESS PARK

Way back in 2017 Dungog District Chamber of Commerce applied for a grant through the NSW Community Building Partnership to install streetscape banners for our community advertise events and celebrations. Our original grant application was for the banners to be erected in Dowling Street. Unfortunately, only partial funding was received, however not to be beaten we used our funding and relocated our banners to Lioness Park. Finally today our first banners went up. Our thanks to Dungog Shire Council, in particular, Ivan Skaines and Dungog Shire Events for helping with the project. Also many thanks to Col Norman for hanging them.

If you would like to advertise your community event or celebration please contact me at president@ddcc.org.au or Ivan Skaines at IvanS@dungog.nsw.gov.au

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