By Dominique Tassell
While many locals have expressed concerns over the Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) parks optimisation program, there is at least one park in the region that locals are happy to see sold off.
Alexander Manfield, Chieftain of the Warwick Caledonian Society, wrote to SDRC late last year requesting that they restart the process of looking into issues at Glen Cairn Park in Hermitage.
There had been an earlier meeting and information gathering in relation to this park undertaken by SDRC with input by Warwick Caledonian Society.
He stated that Glen Cairn Park is not currently maintained to the safe and welcoming state that many of our region’s parks are.
“Glen Cairn Park is behind a chained gate, has many extreme trip hazards, is not mowed regularly and has a large Araucaria bidwillii dropping leaves etc in the park.”
He stated that, in his view, today the park is fundamentally unusable by the public.
The park has memorial cairns celebrating the founding of the Warwick Caledonian Society over one hundred and fifty years ago.
Alexander stated that these monuments are part of the rich history of our region and form an important link to the early European settlement of the area.
He requested that the Warwick Caledonian Society be involved in relocating those monuments to a suitable spot, preferably a park in Warwick.
Alexander stated SDRC would then be able to sell off or find another use for the land at Hermitage.
SDRC Mayor Vic Pennisi stated that he doesn’t know if they will sell the land, but will definitely look into moving the cairns.
“We need to have a conversation with Warwick Caledonian Society,” he said.
He also stated he would like to meet with the families whose names are honoured on the cairns.
Mayor Pennisi stated they would look at moving it to a suitable location “so people can actually visit it”.
He also raised that one of the trees in the park may be of significance, and they would have to take this into consideration.
