At five years old, sports mad Onslow twins Keenan and Rashard Tucker are probably a little too young to understand what all the fuss in their town was about when a contract was recently awarded for the construction of a Multi Purpose Complex (MPC).
The Shire of Ashburton recently accepted a tender for the building of a long sought after recreation/evacuation centre in its township of Onslow. Located almost 1,400 kilometres north of Perth, Onslow is a coastal town with a population of 573 people.
The MPC is expected to be complete by November 2010 and will include indoor sports courts, a daycare centre, kiosk, office and change rooms.
Due to the annual threat and impact of cyclones and flooding on the town, the complex will also double as Onslow’s long awaited evacuation centre, catering for 250 evacuees for up to five days. In addition, it will be a venue for various cultural and social events.
After many years of securing funds from a variety of sources including Emergency Management Australia and the Department of Sport and Recreation, the $7 million MPC got the green light when funding from the Western Australian Government’s ‘Royalties for Regions’ program was granted.
Onslow Ward Councillor Kerry White said the MPC has been a community desire for many years, but fully funding the project had been a challenge.
“With the Royalties for Regions grant, we can now achieve a really fantastic facility for our town – one that will provide opportunities for our young people that they could only have dreamt about before,” she said.
Plans are in hand for Premier Colin Barnett and Minister for Regional Development Brendon Grylls to attend a ceremony early in 2010 to mark the start of work.
