Collector Calling! Public Meeting

Collector Creek Bridge | 20 June 2010

There was an excellent turn-out at the Collector Bridge today for the "Collector Calling!" Public Meeting. People came from as far away as Sydney to attend the meeting, their last opportunity to visit the historic structure.

The Collector Creek Bridge is located at the centre of the historic Macquarie Precinct, site of Governor Macquarie's naming of near-by Lake George in 1820. (For more information regarding the Collector Macquarie precinct, please click here)

Attendees inspected the heritage beam configuration on the underside of the bridge and took in the soon-to-disappear beautiful views of the Collector Creek and Plains from the top deck.

After grabbing a sausage sandwich and cuppa, attendees then settled down to listen to local, professional and one Councillor speak. Creek-side resident Helen Stephens, Collector Community Association President James McKay, Collector and District Historical Association Secretary Frank Ross, Councillor Michael Coley (who spoke on behalf of himself and not Council), and residents all spoke of the various heritage, environmental, legal process and public consultation concerns of the highly contentious issue.

Also visiting, Dr Julia McKay, an expert on chain-of-ponds, spoke of the large environmental impact the proposed low-level concrete culvert would have on the virtually untouched chain-of-ponds creek system

The dissatisfaction of Collector residents at the lack of community consultation and high-handed treatment they had received by the Upper Lachlan Shire Council was made clear to attending media during the speeches.

After the speeches, attendees defied council barriers for public bridge-walk - barriers which had been illegally placed there due to a failure of Council to follow due legal process, according to James McKay - Collector Community Association President

Council demolition of the 120 year old bridge is scheduled to commence tomorrow. At this stage their options for a replacement are a low-level concrete culvert or a high level one at the same height as the current bridge.

Click on the image below to view

Ancient timbers of Collector Creek Bridge (Photo - Ann Hegyi)	Beautiful Collector Creek vistas (Photo - Ann Hegyi)	James McKay & resident catch upon the bridge news (Photo - Ann Hegyi)
Crowd shot (Photo - Ann Hegyi)	Frank Ross, local Collector historian speaks (Photo - Ann Hegyi)	Chain-of-Ponds expert Julia McKay, (Photo - Ann Hegyi)
Helen Stephens, Collector resident (Photo - Barbara Bryan)	People came from far-and-wide to attend the meeting (Photo - Barbara Bryan)	Michael Coley, ULS Councillor (Photo - Ann Hegyi)
Collector residents finally had the opportunity to speak their minds (Photo - Barbara Bryan)	Michael Coley (Photo - Ann Hegyi)	Bridge-walk in defiance of the ULSC "illegal" closure (Photo - Barbara Bryan)
Bridge-walk in defiance of the ULSC "illegal" closure (Photo - Barbara Bryan)	Bridge walkers stop to chat about the Collector residents plight (Photo - Barbara Bryan)	Local children take their last run across their historic Collector Creek Bridge (Photo - Ann Hegyi)

Return to the Save Collector Creek home page here

Why is Collector Creek & Bridge so undervalued by Council?
(Click on image to enlarge)