Local Governments across Australia are examining new opportunities to build up the arts in their communities.
The City of Greater Bendigo in central Victoria has applied to the Federal Government for close to half of the
$25.8 million required to build a 1000 seat theatre at the old Bendigo Jail. Council applied for the funding under the Federal Government’s Regional Development Australia Fund to build the theatre and convention centre inside the walls of the old jail.
The proposal, dubbed the Sandhurst Performing Arts Centre, will be a joint project between Council, Bendigo Senior Secondary College and the Education Department.Concept plans include the theatre, an art gallery, dance studios, cafe, canteen and food technology classrooms.Council will contribute
$3 million and seek a further $3 million from Regional Development Victoria.
City of Greater Bendigo Chief Executive Craig Niemann is confident the funding application will
be succesful.
“We’ve had conversations at an officer level in Canberra and it ticks a lot of the boxes,” he said.
Dungog in New South Wales could also be home for filmmakers under its plans for a new film school. With a population of over 8000, the success of the Dungog Film Festival has prompted Council to investigate establishing a residential film and television college in the town.
In Tasmania, the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council and Orford Primary School, are providing some much needed entertainment for the community in Orford, for whom the nearest cinema is an hour’s drive away.
A new cinema is driven by a volunteer committee comprising Glamorgan Spring Bay Council Manager, Community Development Lona Turvey, Finance Officer Gavan Barber, Administrative Assistant Angela Higgs, Orford Primary School Principal Phillip Wells and resident and former actor David Kirk.
“It’s about providing a cinema experience that’s accessible to the community, particularly the elderly and the young,” Lona Turvey said.
