Rail trail project in final stages
Leaders of a unique community-led walking and bike trail project more than 15 years in the making hope to officially open the finished asset in spring.
The 11-kilometre Grampians Rail Trail starts in Stawell West and follows the former Heatherlie Rail Line, which from 1882 to 1949 was used to transport sandstone from Heatherlie Quarry.
Friends of the Grampians Rail Trail secretary-treasurer John Pye said the project was the first rail trail to be entirely managed, maintained and developed by a community group.
“This has never been done before,” he said.
“Every other rail trail in Australia is run by a council, Parks Victoria or the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning or equivalent in the states.
“It is always a committee answerable to someone else, not a committee in charge of it. This is a whole new approach.”
Mr Pye said Northern Grampians Shire Council was helping the committee with public liability insurance and licensing.
“We’re at the licensing stage at the moment and once that’s sorted we can do the last bit of work,” he said.
“We plan to have the official opening in spring, which should give us plenty of time for the final touches.”
Mr Pye, a former Stawell Secondary College teacher, said the project had been in the pipeline since the early 2000s.
“In about 2002 there was a grant opportunity through the Education Foundation,” he said.
“The money was from Powercor and they were looking for proposals to help disengaged students. It grew from there.”
Mr Pye said the school received a $6000 grant for three years, with Powercor eventually upping its input to $38,000.
“We started off with a guaranteed $18,000 and turned it into a half-million-dollar asset,” he said.
“It’s taken so long I thought it was going to be called the John Pye memorial track, but it took so long because we couldn’t just go and pay someone to do it.”
Mr Pye said for six years, Stawell year nine students organised permits and employed and supervised contractors.
They built four bridges including a 16-metre single span steel bridge and an 80-metre boardwalk bridge across a swamp designed to carry a vehicle.
“Students worked in small groups, ran the program, made decisions on how and where money was spent, did the on-ground work, became the focus of research projects and among the many accolades won a Worksafe Award,” Mr Pye said.
“At the start the students didn’t get a lot of support because people didn’t think they could do it, but they ended up being a very powerful force.
“When the students asked for something, people were impressed.”
Mr Pye said although the trail took more than 10 years to construct because of limited funding, the timeline enabled more than 350 students to participate in the ambitious project.
He said students enlisted support from government organisations and regional businesses and were able to access bushfire and flood recovery money via Northern Grampians Shire Council to carry out strategic track and drainage works.
“From $78,000 in accumulated grants the students have constructed a trail valued in excess of half a million dollars,” Mr Pye said.
“This trail has huge potential. It goes through flora and fauna reserves, a wetland and forest areas. It’s going to be an iconic trail.
“Aside from use by the locals, 1.5-million tourists go to the Grampians each year.
“There are not only opportunities for people to travel into Stawell in particular, but also for further linkages, such as a second trail from Heatherlie to Halls Gap.”
Friends of the Grampians Rail Trail was formed after the council decided it wanted a community group to manage the asset.
The group will be responsible for trail maintenance, marketing and promotion.
People can attend a fundraiser for the project at Stawell Entertainment Centre on March 9.
‘Absolutely 80s’ will see renowned ’80s musicians Brian Mannix, Uncanny Xmen, Scott Carne, Kids in the Kitchen, and Dale Ryder, Boom Crash Opera, share the stage for a big night of entertainment.
Tickets cost $45 and are available online at eventbrite.com.au.
People can call Diamond House on 5358 3366 with inquiries.