Dimboola park honours pub history
The former site of the Dimboola Hotel has been revitalised as a space that fosters community and connection once again.
Dimboola’s Tower Park, on the corner of Lochiel and Lloyd streets, officially opened at the weekend – almost 20 years since the hotel burnt down in October 2003.
Dimboola Arts Inc facilitated the project and after five years of planning and construction, the committee welcomed crowds on Saturday night to celebrate and open the revived space.
President Angela Walker said the park was a ‘beautiful’ space to catch-up with people, have a picnic and enjoy being outdoors.
“It’s a space for healing, too. The site was a demolition site for 15 years and it was hard to walk past,” she said.
“It’s really exciting for the town to be able to use this area of the main street again. The community has been waiting a long time for this.”
Mrs Walker said the project had evolved as the 10-member committee worked hard to create a park for the community.
“Our initial thoughts are different to what we see at the park today. It’s an eclectic mix of ideas that all work together,” she said.
“At the opening, you could tell the excitement was palpable and people were thrilled to see the park open.”
The park was funded via a State Government Pick My Project grant of $200,000 – a fundraiser in partnership with Dimboola Community Bendigo Bank which raised nearly $60,000 from local businesses and individuals and another fundraiser raised almost $20,000 through the sale of about 630 engraved pavers that feature at the site.
Committee member Al Griffiths was the project manager and said the park reflected the site’s past.
“Originally the park was going to replicate the rooms of the pub. It didn’t end up exactly like that, but a decked area sits over the cellar and is an exact footprint of the original bar,” he said.
“The park is an abstract representation of the façade of the old pub.
“The concrete through the park is the footings of the pub and we used crushed rock to include another piece of the original building.
“We started planning before COVID-19 restrictions and the bigger construction took us five to six months, so I am happy to see it open for the community.”
Former Dimboola Hotel publican Gary Price said the new park was a magnificent area on the main street for people to be able to view and sit.
“I have a strong connection with Dimboola – not only was I in the hotel in the 1970s and ’80s, but I worked 20 years in real estate at Dimboola, too,” he said.
“I think the praise goes to the committee for its work and the foresight to get the park up and going.
“It’s a nice meeting place for visitors to come and I think we will see benefits of that for the wider community, too.
“It was a pleasure to be master-of-ceremonies at the opening and it was a good day out as people of Dimboola get behind events and projects like the park.”
Landowner Graeme Schneider purchased the Dimboola Hotel site in 2015.
“It was just a pile of rubble at that time and I figured someone was going to have to do something about that space, so I felt compelled to buy it,” he said.
“It was a prominent site in town that wasn’t being used to its capacity, which was a shame.
“My mother and brother still live in Dimboola, so I visit often, and as a former Dimboola son I figured someone had to grasp the opportunity to support the development of the site.”
Mr Schneider said he planted an oak and a maple tree with Wergaia elder Uncle Ron Marks at the site in 2017.
“On that day we had a questionnaire for people to let us know what they wanted to see at the site and quite a significant margin was a public open space,” he said.
“That’s how it evolved gradually and I approached Stoph Pilmore at Dimboola Arts Inc and we received funding, so it progressed from there. The attendance at the opening was exceptional and the feel about the place was good, too.
“It was very pleasing to be a part of the project and Dimboola Arts Inc has done a fantastic job with the community because there were a lot of contributors who donated time, expertise and money.”