An ambitious proposal to have oval lights installed at Collins Park six years ago has culminated with a total investment of more than $400,000 in facilities for the iconic venue.
The formation of the Collins Park Lighting Committee, an initiative launched in 2008 by Mr Trevor Druce who became inaugural chairman, led to a significant Narrabri community project which has seen the lights, fencing and now new seating provided for Collins Park.
Next week, 19 tiers of seating will be installed on the perimeter of the oval, tripling the outdoor seating capacity and bringing to a conclusion this phase of the committee’s improvement objectives.
“Collins Park is the showpiece of the town, the jewel in the crown of Narrabri sporting and outdoor recreation venues” said chairman of the Collins Park Lighting committee, Mr Ian Duffey.
The seating, a combination of old and new funded by a $20,000
donation from Santos, will accommodate 250 spectators.
Construction of the new seats has been co-ordinated by Narrabri Rotary.
The original project to install lights at Collins Park was the start of the improvements.
After successful completion of that project, the product of contributions in time, money and voluntary technical work by Essential Energy crews, the committee moved on to fencing the area.
A seven foot heritage style powder coated fence, costing $50,000 now rings the venue.
The completion of the seating on Monday will fulfil the committee’s commitment to this stage.
However, the committee will remain in place.
“There may be other projects in the pipeline” said Mr Duffey.
The total expenditure, not including considerable investment of in-kind labour and expertise, saw an investment of $300,000 in lighting, $50,000 for the fencing and $20,000 for the seating.
“This wouldn’t have happened except for the initiative of inaugural committee chairman Trevor Druce” commented Mr Duffey.
“He was the catalyst and prime mover to get the lighting project underway and guide it.
“These projects have added much to the community’s recreational infrastructure.
“And Collins Park is for all activities, sporting, cultural and community. The oval is for everyone and everything.
“The venue is unique among country towns, it is right in the middle of town, and is highly visible to locals and visitors crossing the bridge.
“Collins Park is the envy of many towns.”
What next?
It has been suggested that a new project whose time has come is the replacement of the Tom Cunningham scoreboard with a new scoreboard which would still carry the original name.
“An electronic scoreboard could be a logical next step in the further development of Collins Park” a committee member suggested.