PLANS for the Lightning Ridge Opal and Fossil Centre received a boost on Monday when Walgett Shire Council pledged $500,000 over five years to the project.
Its decision put aside one of July 14 this year when it resolved to go back to the community and gauge the extent of support for the centre.
Councillor David Lane, president of the Opal and Fossil Centre committee, wrote to council after that meeting to express disappointment with council’s decision, saying it was a bit late to be redoing consultation when it had voted to proceed with the project in February 2001, had hired a museum advisor for 12 months and subsequently appointed an architect.
The total project was estimated to cost $6.5m but the decision by local businessman, Herman Kreller, to construct an opal centre and give space to the Opal and Fossil centre meant the committee only had to raise $1.5m for the exhibition, council was told.
Council’s contribution was vital to attract additional funds from government and non-government sources, according to Councillor Joan Treweeke.
It was important to remember the centre would not just be a tourist attraction for Lightning Ridge but for “every shire and town north of Dubbo,” she said.
Driving towards the Stockman’s Hall of Fame in Longreach one could see that for hundreds of kilometres towns had linked their tourism events into the hall of fame – and that could happen here, she said.
Other attractions did not have “the Australian Museum offering them whole collections of opalised fossils,” she said.
It was true that once the centre was built it could require ongoing financial assistance to meet running costs – which was why it would be important to link up with “astute businessmen like Mr Kreller” and other end-users, she said. Council voted to approve the funding and would report back to the December meeting with details of where those funds would be sourced from council’s budget.
