Repairs to the mural on the water feature in the Lightning Ridge Improvement and Beautification Committee’s (IBC) Gem Gardens are part of the makeover that is underway in preparation for a visit from an assessor from the Keep Australia Beautiful and Country Energy Bush Spirit Award.
Margaret Mansfield from the IBC said the awards recognised a community project that refused “to give in” when faced with a challenge.
There is no monetary prize attached to the award, however, Mrs Mansfield said the prestige and publicity the town would receive for winning it would be immense.
“With the help of labour from the CDEP and folk doing community service hours, we are weeding, cleaning, and repairing to get the gardens spick and span for August,” Mrs Mansfield said.
However vandals, who seem intent on wantonly destroying the mural in particular, have hindered the committee’s efforts
“We have a water feature in the gardens that no one else in the world has. It took eight of us nine months to make and would cost around $20,000 to replace,” Mrs Mansfield said.
“An artwork of this value would normally be in a gallery where people had to pay to go and see it,“ she continued.
“Here in the Gem Gardens it is something that everyone can appreciate for free.
“When it is vandalised it is like someone spray painting the Mona Lisa or someone walking into your kid’s room and busting up their most prized possession for those of us who made it.”
Mrs Mansfield said after fixing it this time the materials used to make the mural will be depleted and so repairs would no longer be possible.
“Each picture has changed from the original because of repairs and it is starting to look shabby. The time will come when it will be so ruined it will be carted away to the tip.”
“I just wish that the people who damage our park would realise they are vandalising their own heritage,” said Mrs Mansfield.
Mrs Mansfield said to have a chance of winning this award the IBC needed the combined effort of the community behind it.
The committee is asking people to respect and value the gardens; to pick up all their rubbish, including bread bag ties, cigarette butts and broken balloon pieces if they hold a party in the barbecue area; to stop graffitiing the tables because they have been painted with expensive, heat-resistant paint; to look after the trees planted around the barbecue because they are still small and when they are dormant the kids think they are dead and break them and to stop or report inappropriate behaviour.
“It is your park, your future in tourism and your heritage so it is your business to look after it,” Mrs Mansfield said.
The committee is also calling for letters recognising the value of the Gem Gardens and Ngiyaningu Yurrul to support the application for the Keep Australia Beautiful and Country Energy Bush Spirit Award.
Mrs Mansfield said letters needed to reflect the beautiful and relaxing nature of the project, its family orientation and its preservation of the cultural heritage of its traditional owners and the history of Lightning Ridge.
“Many people have partnered us both financially and with physical labour to bring this
park to fruition. We need their support again,” said Mrs Mansfield.
Letters need to be submitted to The Lightning Ridge IBC,
PO Box 781, Lightning Ridge 2834, by the end of July.
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