SIGHTS ON CULTURAL CAPITAL Concert hall tipped to be a major drawcard
SKY News anchor Paul Murray is coming to Townsville and he wants to know about the issues that matter to locals.
The television personality is bringing his show Paul Murray Live to Townsville for a live broadcast on Wednesday night at Townsville Civic Theatre.
Murray ( above) hosted the show at The Brewery last year and is now coming back to Townsville in his On The Road tour to find out if the city is headed in the right direction.
The show is being put on in conjunction with Fox Sports, with Murray promising a V8s flavour ahead of the Supercars event, local guests and more.
“I cannot wait to come back to Townsville and I can’t wait to see your great Mayor Jenny ( Hill), who last time showed me around in her very impressive V8,” he said.
The Townsville Bulletin has teamed up with Foxtel to offer 10 lucky readers the chance to join Murray for lunch at the Watermark Restaurant from 12.30pm on Wednesday.
For your chance to bend Murray’s ear over a lunch hosted jointly with Townsville Bulletin editor Ben English, go to townsvillebulletin. com. au/ competitions and enter your details. To be part of the Paul Murray Live audience from 9pm on Wednesday, visit foxtel. com. au/ townsvilletour
Foxtel will also broadcast some other big shows from the Civic Theatre on Wednesday, with Inside Supercars and Queenslanders Only starting from 4pm, followed by League Life at 7.30pm before Paul Murray Live at 9pm. The event begins at 3pm. Visit the website above for more details. A STATE- of- the- art concert hall could transform Townsville’s CBD, putting renewed emphasis on cultural activity and providing a precinct that caters to all demographics.
The concept is among 14 development recommendations in Pure Projects’ Transformation of Townsville document, which also includes a seaside lagoon and a revamp of Central Park.
The masterplan, which was adopted by Townsville City Council this week, outlined a need for “cultural activation” and found a concert hall could help position the city as a new cultural hub.
Pure Projects chairman Don Morris AO said similar projects had had positive returns in other cities.
“The Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart has completely transformed the city,” he said. “Then there’s the Sydney Opera House, which has the longest and most attended opera season in the world.”
Pure Projects found there were three options for the lo- cation of the concert hall, based on a review of an expression of interest campaign opened by the council.
One was within The Hive development, which had been proposed for an area fronting The Strand and Flinders, King and Wickham streets.
While Central Park at Dean St and an extension and refurbishment of the Townsville Civic Theatre were considered, Pure Projects recommended The Hive.
Mr Morris said cities like Brisbane were being transformed by culture.
“If you look at Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, it had nearly one and a half million visitors last year,” he said. “For Brisbane, that’s not bad.
“So for Townsville, it is very important that there be a significant cultural precinct for everybody.
“They are honey pots, they attract the full spectrum of Townsville’s demographics.
“We’re not being arty- farty or black- tie and snobby, we’re talking about having a welcoming and fabulous place.”
Professional Arts North Queensland chairwoman Lorna Hempstead said a new cultural precinct in the region was “desperately needed”.
“If you turn the clock back, Townsville was the cultural capital of regional Australia,” she said. “But everyone has caught up with us and outstretched us.”
Ms Hempstead said the region had not received a new dance performance space