After attending the “Meet the Candidates” meeting on Sunday night I came away thinking I must have been living in a different community for the past 30 years. My husband and myself along with our children moved to Tenterfield when things were very different.
Unemployment was through the roof due to the closure of the Riverstone abattoir which employed large numbers of locals and that was closely followed by the Anderson’s abattoir in Wallangarra which also employed similar numbers, many of which were from Tenterfield.
This all coincided with the demise of the Tobacco industry, local power station, timber industry and rail closure not long after. These events had enormous impacts on the community and saw the population levels drop dramatically, unemployment was high and businesses struggled, some closing and others having to diversify. This town was in a state of real depression.
Our family purchased the old Riverstone single mens hostel and set about transforming it into accommodation for groups such as bike clubs, photography groups, and especially Pipe Band functions. We named it “The Pipers Rest” and it was a successful business and we did it on a very limited budget without any expectation of help from council or any other group in the town.
Since those days I have witnessed Tenterfield develop many great things within the community. The Tourism Centre is a pleasure to visit and having travelled far and wide in this country it is far better than many I’ve seen. The School of Arts, our aged care facilities are brilliant and more so being built by our community, our parks are a terrific resource and have continued to be improved over the years, all on limited council budgets.
The services we have available here today far outstrip anything that was here 30 years ago and even with the shifting of some of the services from the hospital, we still have a well resourced and staffed facility.
I was dismayed to hear the continued cry that we lose our youth in employment. I am not so sure our tradespeople would agree with this as most have apprentices and in some instances can’t get apprentices to take on the 3 – 4 years required. There will always be young ones leaving their home town and furthering their education and employment prospects elsewhere – that is a fact of life everywhere.
Finally, I would like to reflect on the wonderful festivals and tourism activities that have been developed in Tenterfield since those grim days mentioned earlier – Oracles of the Bush, Brush with Verse, Wintersong, Food & Wine Festival, Jack Frost, Christmas Fair, Tenterfield Fishing Classic and the German Cultural Festival (all created by the community, not council). These are just a few of the activities that encourage people to our wonderful town.
Since I moved to Tenterfield I have witnessed the building of three motels, a plethora of bed and breakfast accommodation, many home based and technology based businesses and our small but exciting wine industry.
To those who aspire to become new councillors, I say good luck and I look forward to your progress, but, remember a high bench mark has already been set and you will need to work extremely hard and smart to get close to past achievements of this community.
I look forward to a new positive and invigorated council that puts COMMUNITY FIRST.
Jean McCabe
Tenterfield
