Orange Cultural Centre -- "conflict in acccess issues for pedestrians"

Orange City Council is scheduled to discuss a major new development project tonight (Thursday May 17) which for many people would bring to mind one of singer Joni Mitchell’s great songs.

Remember “Big Yellow Taxi?” And the refrain: “Don’t it always seem to go/That you don’t know what you’ve got/Till it’s gone/They paved paradise/ And put up a parking lot?”

It must be admitted that the sprawling, over-crowded Woolies car park between Anson and Sale streets is certainly no “paradise.”

But it does include one of Orange’s most historic community buildings, the Cultural Centre, housed in an old school built in 1883 which, if the project is approved, will be torn down and replaced by a concrete ramp leading vehicles from Sale Street up into a proposed three-storey 620-vehicle car park.

Hence the Joni Mitchell lyrics, and particularly the lines “That you don’t know what you’ve got/Till it’s gone.”

Not only is the proposed retail and office development likely to take the Cultural Centre away in yet another historic clash between private developers and a community’s cultural soul, but it will also rob the Orange Art Society of its tiny longstanding workshop/meeting place and gallery.

And, as anyone in the art world knows, especially in Orange, getting gallery space is well nigh impossible these days.

SHOCK AT SUDDEN RELEASE OF PROPOSAL

The city council’s sudden release of information on the huge project has shocked the Art Society and other users of the Cultural Centre, which include the Orange lapidiary, lacemaking and quilting societies, the kennel club and the Colour City Dance group, which uses the old gym in the centre for ballet lessons.

These are modest but important arts/crafts groups which will hardly be in a position to oppose the development, but face two key problems: where to find other premises in a city that’s bursting at the seams, and how to survive after having been broken away from the tight, traditional cultural group that they belonged to for many years.

As with the Cultural Centre itself, there’s certainly the prospect, even though the city must “move on,” etc, that we won’t appreciate what we had until they’re gone.

Neil Skinner, president of the Art Society, says the problem for his group is not so much finding new society premises but getting space for their art gallery.

Art Society's Apple Festival exhibition -- new gallery space imperative

“We have to have a place where the public can see our artworks,” Neil points out. “It’s essential. There’s little point in being an art society if we can’t regularly exhibit what we do.

“The other organisations in the centre don’t have this problem, but for us it’s a matter of our survival as an essential part of Orange’s cultural tradition.”

Neil says the council has said everybody in the building will be found a new suitable place to move to, and one plan that’s been mentioned is putting up a new purpose-built building for community groups on the old basketball courts in Moulder Park. But what happened to talk about building a multi-purpose youth centre there?

Neil says the society was expecting to be given gallery space in the new museum earmarked for the Orange Regional Gallery complex, “but we’ve now heard there’s no money.”

“One possibility we’ve been thinking involves a proposal to relocate the Orange Visitors Centre to a new site on Bathurst Road,” he says. “We could take the existing centre on Byng Street, which already exhibits local artwork for sale to visitors.”

THUMBS DOWN ON ARTS CENTRE FROM “HERITAGE IMPACT”

A report on the city council’s website states that a “heritage Impact Statement” was taken into account in the development proposal, referring obviously to the 129-year-old Cultural Centre.

The council’s view appears to be that while the Cultural Centre has “heritage impact” it’s already been virtually hemmed in  by the car park and retail development around it to the point where it’s been “compromised b y the commercial development in  the area, commercial uses of the Cultural Centre itself” – (art, lapidiary, lacemaking, quilting?)

And by the car park surface, it says which has ”negatively impacted the building’s cartilage,” (“a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs,” according to Wikipedia).

“The statement also notes the conflict in access issues for pedestrians (shoppers) around the Cultural Centre “ – as if the centre and not the retail development around it was the access problem.

It should be remembered that when Woolworths proposed in 2003 to build a petrol station on the intersection of Summer and William Street, initial council approval was rescinded after a five-day hearing in Sydney, involving four Orange councillors among 11 protesters, on the grounds of “visual amenity [and] heritage.”

The project was later approved on appeal to the state government.

A VEHICLE RAMP TO AN “INCA TEMPLE”

Artist's drawing of project looking from Sale Street

A media release put out yesterday by the city council says that the Occasional Child Care service which uses a cottage on Kite Street within the proposed development area “would move to a new location in March Street. Discussions are under way with current user groups … to discuss alternative venues.”

As artist’s drawings show, the main feature of the development plan is an eight-storey building where the current Woolies car park is, with a ground floor retail area and speciality shops, three levels of car park doubling the area’s present capacity and four upper levels of accommodation and offices.

That, and the concrete ramp on Sale Street carrying motorists up, like worshippers to an ancient Inca temple, to the three floors of parking.

The report going before the council tonight (Thurs) recommends that the project be put on public display for comment. “The next critical step is community feedback,” the council says.

There seems to be very little prospect of the recommendation being turned down tonight – the council presser states that the drawings “will (our emphasis) be on public exhibition from (tomorrow) May 18 to June 14.”

This year's entries -- "really really good."

How can Dunedoo NSW, population 836, a tiny town straddling State Route 86 from Gulgong to Gilgandra, manage to stage an annual art exhibition which attracts entries from artists all over Australia?

Its Art UnLimited competition and exhibition, being hung this week, has attracted nearly 400 entries – 300 hanging artworks and photography and the rest ceramics – and this isn’t even a record year.

“We had a lot more last year,” says Penny Stevens, one of the Art UnLimited committee members who organise and run the annual event.

“But why do we get that many? It’s all because of the hard work and promotion that the committee put in through the year to attract entries and keep the standards high.”

Penny describes the creative quality of this year’s entries as “excellent, really really good,” and the prizes reflect the standard of most of the artists.

The Pro Hart Prize for Hanging Art is $3,000 this year, and the same amount goes to winners of the photography and ceramics sections.

There are also smaller prizes for best emerging artist, indigenous artists and others.

The exhibition is officially opened, and the winners announced, this coming Friday (May 18) in the event’s regular gallery at the Dunedoo Central School.

Orange News Now photographed some of the more vivid entries as they were arriving for hanging last weekend.

Entry forms will be ready in the next few days for one of Orange’s most ambitious art events, the Taste Orange Frost Fest art contest and exhibition in August.

The Frost Fest Art Exhibition is aimed at Orange regional painters, sculptors and art ceramists and offers prizes of $2,500 1st and $1,000 2nd for each of two categories, 2D hanging art (paintings, drawings, etc) and 3D sculptures and ceramic interpretations.

The theme is “Fire and Ice” but entrants are advised that they can enter works either interpreting that theme as a whole or just “fire” or “ice.” Entries are open to all artists in the Orange region and as far afield as Molong, Canowindra, Blayney and other centres of Cabonne and Blayney shires.

The entry fee is $30 for two submissions ($15 for members of the Orange Art Society). Entry forms will be available online from the Taste Orange website at www.tasteorange.com.au and from Orange News Now, and can be collected in person from Taste Orange at 28A Sale Street in Orange, the Orange Art Society’s gallery in the Orange Cultural Centre at the Sale Street entrance to the Woolworths car park and from Central West Photo News at Suite 3, 241 Lords Place.

The contest and exhibition are being staged in the Orange Function Centre from Saturday August 4, the event’s official opening, to the following Saturday August 11.

HOPES FOR ANNUAL SHOW

The exhibition is the inaugural event of what’s hoped will become an annual Frost Fest art festival in Orange, and follows on the success of the Taste Orange Slow Summer competition and exhibition last January.

It owes its establishment to Taste Orange’s executive officer, Rhonda Sear, who’s widened the Taste Orange festival reach to include art as a key creative and cultural product of the Orange region.

It’s hoped that festivals and exhibition like these will provide more opportunities for regional artists to display and sell their works in a city which, unlike most of its neighbouring centres, has no commercial art gallery.

The Frost Fest Exhibition is supported by various art groups in this area, including the Orange Art Society, Colour City Creatives, The Rogue Sculptors and Studio 15. Brad Hammond, Collection Manager at the Orange Regional Art Gallery has agreed to be a judge of the exhibition, and he’ll be joined by two other prominent local art figures as the event approaches.

MARTIN PLACE EXHIBITS — AND RUGBY ART EXHIBITION

Rhonda Sear is also planning to include examples of local art in a “Taste Orange@Sydney” promotional event in Martin Place on August 23 and 24.

“We’re adding art to our local food, wine and other produce as part of our campaign to increase awareness of Orange and its surrounding region,” she says.

“We want people to appreciate that we have a culture that includes a great many artists and a high level of creativity along with the products we’re most noted for.

“Sydney’s Martin Place attracts around 60,000 to 80,000 pedestrians daily.”

The Frost Fest Exhibition will also include a regional Arts Trail inviting visitors to galleries, artist’s studios and locations in Orange – Colour City Creatives at the Old Barracks, for example –and throughout the region.

And the festival will also feature a unique bonding of art and sport.

Players from Orange’s two premier rugby clubs, Orange Emus and Orange City, will be swopping the football for paintbrushes in aid of charity during the Frost Fest week.

Grade players from each club will take part in art classes run by local artists before presenting the “Fire and Ice” artworks for display and later auctioning at half-time at their respective home games  — the Emus at Endeavour Oval on Saturday August 4 and Orange City at Waratah Sportsground on Saturday August 11.

THE APPLE OF ONE’S EYE

Orange Art Society did the city’s arts scene proud with a special exhibition to mark the newly resurrected Orange Apple Festival on the Mother’s Day weekend.

Society members demonstrated their versatile creative skills by submitting a series of apple-themed paintings that drew high praise from visitors to their gallery in the Cultural Centre throughout the festival and following week.

Here are some pictorial highlights of the show:

GET OUT THE DAKS AND PAINTS FOR DAYBREAK’S ART DAKO

With prostate and testicular cancer being one of the most dreaded killers of men, it’s little wonder that health services are running major media and information campaigns to make men aware of it.

But in publicity terms, there’s been nothing quite like Art Dako campaign that Orange Rotary Daybreak is organising for September.

Art Dako is an art exhibition that Daybreak says “is designed to increase community awareness of issues around male-only cancers, specifically testicular and protest cancer.”

Daybreak is calling for artworks on this issue from just about every art and craft genre there is – “people who can paint, sculpt, weld, weave, write, knit, carve, crochet, pot, cook, sew, quilt, photograph, embroider, scrapbook, arrange flowers or create lace, felt, jewellery, icing or paper art.”

And the theme? Creative works need to relate to “men’s underwear or shorts, daks, codpieces, male anatomy or anything that relates to male-only cancers.”

ENTRIES “CAN BE HUMOROUS“

Needless to say, the organisers are keen to see a wide range of creative expressions and stress that exhibits can be humorous “and should convey a message to raise awareness and educate the community.”

"Art Dako" as interpreted at a TAFE student exhibition in Orange last year

It’s not the first time an art exhibition has been held to promote cancer awareness – there’s a Bra Art event that deals with women’s breast cancer, but not quite as anatomically intimate as Art Dako.

Sue Moffatt, Daybreak’s Art Dako Committee chair, says the exhibition will “have both creative and educational components involving community groups and individuals – particularly males – without geographical restriction.

“The creative component will consist of displays and the sale of visual arts items in multimedia; the educational component will be provided by relevant groups such as the Cancer Council, Orange Prostate Support Group and Lifeline.

“There’ll be no fee to exhibit, and prizes will not be awarded.

“The donation of items for sale on a commission basis is encourages, but items can be marked ‘not for sale’.”

Art Dako is set down for the evening of Friday September 14 and all day Saturday 15 at the Orange Function Centre in Eyles Street.

You can express your interest in submitting artworks by phoning Sue on 0414 961 390 or contacting her by email on susimoffatt@gmail.com.

O’BRIEN CENTRE’S ART GROUP – A THERAPY FOR MENTAL DISORDERS

For 13 years the O ’Brien Centre has been operating as a vital volunteer support group for patients and ex-patients deep within the sprawling grounds and facilities of Bloomfield psychiatric hospital in Orange.

With very little community attention and certainly no fanfare the centre has provided, “fun, friendship and a place to recover in a social inclusion,” to anything up to seventy people at a time whether they are institutionalised at Bloomfield or have gone back  into the community, but still need support.

“It’s a good mix,” says Jenny Coleman, whose own suffering with bi-polar disorder prompted her to launch the centre in 1999.

“We find that the people who come here, whether hospitalised or in their last stages of care or living outside, all help each other.

“And no-one says you’re sick and I’m better than you.”

Amenities at the centre include a vegetable garden where produce is grown for the kitchen, and the kitchen dining room which is shortly to be extended with a $40,000 grant.

CERAMICS AND PAINTING FACILITIES

Helen Wolsley with two examples of art at the O'Brien Centre

Then there’s an entertainment shed with table tennis, a bandstand and lighting for music practice and rock shows, and facilities for the creative pastime and therapy that’s becoming recognised as a vital aid to mental recovery – art.

There’s a ceramics workshop with two kilns which is getting ready to exhibit its crafts to the public, and an arts and crafts centre with computers and hanging artworks that have been produced by the centre’s painters over the years.

The arts group is run by Helen Worsley, who’s president of the O’Brien Centre committee and says she did a lot of painting herself as a girl 30 years ago, “but went into nursing instead because there were no paid jobs for artists.”

Helen says the painting workshops, “help people with severe depression or other mental disorders to concentrate, explore their feelings and express them through imagery.

“I’m here to help them explore their hidden talents.”

WORKS EXHIBITED AT MAJOR SHOWS

The centre’s artworks were exhibited recently in the Pine street art gallery in surrey Hills, Sydney.

Eleven paintings went on show, one painting was sold, and the rest were declared, “highly
recommended.”

Says Helen: “We’ve also had an exhibition at the Orange Regional Art Gallery that was well received.

The group also exhibited their artwork at this year’s Orange Show in May, along with cards, ceramics and other crafts.

The OBrien Centre is strictly a volunteer setup — for instance, its PR manager Tanya Navin, doubles in the kitchen as an assistant cook — and relies on grants and donations to fund its activities and operational costs.

It’s a place of shelter, comfort, companionship, counselling and activity-based therapy for mental health patients in need of support and friendship, taking up where the hospitalisation leaves off.

As Helen Worsley says: “We help people who often have nowhere to go and be nurtured by friends and family.

“We had one man in here who sat on a chair and said nothing for a whole year.

“He eventually opened up to us, but what would have happened to him if the O’BrienCentre hadn’t been available?”

KALUUM MAPLE – PRIZES GALORE AT ORANGE SHOW EXHIBITION

Orange region’s boy wonder of art, Kaluum Maple, has had more success with his paintings and drawings, carrying away virtually every prize in the schools section of the art contest at the Orange Show.

The 12-year-old Mullion Creek whizz kid, disabled and partially blind from meningitis which he caught in Orange Base Hospital when he was seven, drew special attention with paintings that he submitted to last January’s Taste Orange Slow Summer art contest and exhibition (see KALUUM MAPLE – THE BOY WHO TURNED TRAGEDY INTO TRIUMPH, February

In emails to Orange News Now over the past few days, Kaluum writes:

Kaluum's grandfather's Land Rover and dam -- 2nd prize

“I just thought I would write and let you know how I went with my artwork in the Orange show.

“I placed my pencil drawing of my friend’s dogs in the open age black and white and came first which I was very happy with.

“The ladies at the front desk told my dad that the other art pieces had to be placed in the children’s age groups because of my age, so we put them in the under 14′s instead of the under 12′s so it was more fair.

“I placed 1st and 2nd and I received a highly commended. I have attached some photos for you to see. I have decided that, as I only won $5 prize money and it cost $6 to enter, next year I may try my work in the Royal Easter show in Sydney and see how I go.

“Anyway, I better get back to my school work. I hope you like my pieces.”

In Kaluum’s second email he writes:

“I just wanted to let you know something that happened to me because I am very excited.

“I made my first $100 from my artwork. The sketch of the dogs “best buddies” that I entered in the show I actually painted for a lady in Mullion Creek.

Pencil sketch of friend's dogs -- 1st prize

“She saw one of my other sketches and asked me to draw her dogs as an 18th birthday present for her son.

“Anyway I took it to her on Sunday night and she gave me $100 for it. I was very happy to have made my own money from my artwork.”

And let’s hope you’ll make a lot more, Kaluum.

Self-portrait pencil sketch -- "me at age 5" -- highly commended

Teddies reading -- "painted when I was nine" -- 1st prize

Bissys and manager Kirstin Rossiter -- where the ORA leadership's questionable campaign began

The “vendetta” issue surrounding top officers of the Orange Ratepayers Association and Councillor Fiona Rossiter’s family cafe, Bissys, has taken a highly questionable new turn with the group’s executive rejecting a membership application by the councillor’s husband, Paul Rossiter.

Mr Rossiter’s application was dealt with at a confined, apparently undisclosed extraordinary meeting of the ORA attended by six members, four of whom are board members directly involved with the controversial moves to oppose a liquor licence by Bissys cafe.

Their president, Brian Wood and other executive members, have also been publicly accused of waging a vendetta against the Rossiter family and the Mayor of Orange, John Davis, of whom Fiona Rossiter is a firm supporter. (See ONN articles “Bashing Bissys – A Special ONN Report,” February 27 2012, and “Mayor Charges Group With Vendettas,” February 29).

Paul  Rossiter’s rejection and the circumstances in which it was conducted reflect the abject secrecy with which the ORA and its president have been operating in recent months, ignoring repeated questions put forward by Orange News Now about the  group’s membership, structure, mission, records and conduct.

The group has also been asked, particularly, but has so far declined to answer, whether Brian Wood had the full support of the group before he put his rambling, uninformed comments to the Central West Daily opposing the Bissys licence application in February, or whether that support was arranged and voted at a meeting after.

The only response from Mr Wood since the controversy began has been two typed and signed pages sent to Orange News Now and Orange City Council denying a personal vendetta.

The issue has been particularly stonewalled by the ORA’s secretary, Janette Churchill, who promised three months ago to provide details about the group, which ONN contends the public have a legitimate right to know of  — the ORA being public community group – but which it has so far remained silent about.

ROSSITER ISSUE A FAILURE OF CREDIBILITY

The case of Paul Rossiter’s membership application adds to the failure of credibility which the ORA board has displayed since the Bissys affair became public.

Paul Rossiter says in a written statement that on May 4 he delivered his application and $10 membership fee “to become a member of the Orange Rate Payers Association (ORPA) to Churchill Mechanicals in McNamara Street and asked if it could be passed on Janette Churchill, as she was out at that time.

“On Tuesday [May 8] I contacted Mrs Churchill to see where my membership was up to, and she told me my application had to be decided by the committee at the next meeting.”

Paul Rossiter says he found out the next day that “the meeting” had in fact been held the night before, on Tuesday May 8.

“Thursday [May 10],” he continued, “I phoned Mrs Churchill to see how my application had gone. I was told I would be informed in writing in 3-4 days time.

“I asked can you give me a yes or no answer?  only  to be told ‘I am too busy now Paul I am trying to run a business, sorry but I have to go’.

”I asked is this how applications are normally processed? Again I was told ‘I have to go’.

“Mrs Churchill was unable to give me a ONE word answer but could manage a 19-word excuse before hanging up on me.”

It was Thursday May 10 that Paul Rossiter received a written statement from the ORA , signed by Janette Churchill, saying “I regret to inform you that your application has not been successful.

“Your letter of application was tabled at an extra ordinary (sic) business meeting of [the ORA] on May 8, 212. We usually endeavour to process membership applications prior to a general meeting as we do not wish to cause applicants any undue delay.”

A VERY “EXTRA ORDINARY” MEETING

Mrs Churchill provided a written statement of the minutes of that meeting, and it was “extra ordinary” indeed!

Chaired by president Brian Wood, the quorum included Janette Churchill, VP Garry Kind and Paul Wettin – with Messrs Wood, Kind and Wettin all having spoken out in opposition to the Bissys liquor licence application. The group included two other members – ”F. Finn and B. Alexander-Fisher.”

It was a swift hanging: the discussion referred to “Membership form not filled out, concern expressed by secretary about incomplete details in members register. No Proposer or Seconder nominated by applicant. Chair Person calls for Motion to be moved.

“MOVED:  Nil.”

The minutes showed that the meeting had opened at 7.17pm. “There being no further business meeting closed at 7.25pm.” The whole ignoble travesty had taken exactly eight minutes!

Paul Rossiter has been told by Janette Churchill in the statement announcing his rejection that “if you wish to reapply I would advise you to find two financial members  … who are willing to propose or second a motion for your membership.”

Obviously, with only six members on hand at special meetings, that is well nigh impossible.

Mr Rossiter asserts that not only was he not told that he had to fill out a membership application form, and therefore submitted a written letter of application instead, but that Janette Churchill failed her obligation as secretary of the ORA to mention the required form in the telephone calls he made to her on May 8 and May 10.

Instead, she wanted him off the line – and no wonder: the whole issue had already been decided at a meeting of just six members – four with definite conflict of interest — the first day he’d called.

DID ORA MEMBERSHIP KNOW OF MEETING?

Not only that, but was the eight-minute meeting itself strictly legal?

According to meeting regulations for associations required by Fairtrading New South Wales, with which the ORA is registered, a “special resolution” which of course the membership application could be judged as – why else would the meeting be called “extra ordinary” – cannot be conducted like a kangaroo court and dealt with in virtual secret.

“Members must receive notice 21 days before the meeting date,” the rules state. “The notice should include the terms of the resolution and a statement that it is to be passed as a special resolution.

”A quorum of members must be present at the meeting.

“Votes must be in person or by proxy, if allowed by the constitution.

“Support from at least three-quarters of the votes cast is required.”

The ORA may indeed claim that it did notify all members 21 days before the “extra ordinary” meeting, but it would seem to be very unlikely that it did — Paul Rossiter’s letter of application and $10 fee was delivered on May 4, and the eight-minute meeting was held four days later.

By the association rules, the meeting should have been scheduled for May 21, seven days from now.

PAUL ROSSITER RAILROADED BY GROUP’S LEADERS

In all other respects, of course, the ORA can claim it conducted the issue by the rules, or its own rules anyway, but to any reasonable person’s mind it is clear that the group had no intention from the start of allowing Paul Rossiter membership and literally railroaded him out of the picture.

The structure of the meeting also raises severe doubts. The “motion” was put to the tiny group and rejected by a quorum that was made up of a majority of ORA principals who have hounded the Rossiters and Bissys, allegedly on behalf of the full membership.

But it’s obvious that the full membership was not included in the decision-making of May 8. Nor, apparently was it informed that the meeting, stacked as it was with anti-Bissys principals, was being held.

It again raises questions about the public comments in the Central Western Daily by Brian Wood attacking the Bissys liquor licence application before the allegation of a “vendetta”emerged in February.

Orange News Now submitted written questions to Brian Wood after his crude comments on Bissys, one of which asked whether he had the full support of the ORA to publicly oppose their liquor licence in such terms.

It’s understood that Mr Wood immediately called a meeting of the ORA and pushed a motion of support through.

Questions about this, along with other queries about the organisation structure and conduct, have been put to Janette Churchill over the weeks since February.

She has never replied to any of them, but in an email today headed “Private and Confidential,” the nature of which  ONN had informed her beforehand would not be recognised, she wrote:

ONN CHARGED WITH  “BIAS AND MISREPRESENTATION

“With regard to your questions in your previous email I wish to advise that the Orange Ratepayers Association feel that due to your continuing bias and misrepresentation of the Association, further comment to you by the Association would be an exercise in futility.

“I would like to refer you to our regular news column which is printed in the Central Western Daily on the 3rd Monday of the month. We supply details of our meetings and our contact details. Contrary to your assertion that we are not open and transparent we do in fact provide this information where it will not be distorted or used to our detriment by a journalist with an obvious grievance.”

Apart from the fatuous reference to it, the item, in the CWD is not a “news column” – it’s a community notice.

If there is any question about the ORA’s transparency, the Paul Rossiter issue has a great deal to say about it.

As we’ve written before, “bias” and “misrepresentation” and “grievance”are the keywords that most small activist organisations counter-attack with when their conduct – especially that of their targets or executive officers – is legitimately questioned by the media.

This latest issue shows quite clearly that until the group’s questionable credibility is resolved – perhaps by added new members and a new board — it will continue to be governed by a quorum of activists, mounting attacks wherever they please, dealing with people in any way they see fit, whilst claiming to represent the thousands of rate-paying households and businesses of Orange.

And if Orange News Now has any sort of “grievance” — that’s exactly what it is.

UPDATE:  PAUL ROSSITER ACCUSED OF “HARRASSMENT”

(Posted May 16 2012)

Paul Rossiter went to the office of Churchill Mechanical Repairs on Monday (May 14) in response to Janette Churchill’s insistence that he needed a new application form if he wanted to re-apply for membership of the Orange Ratepayers Association.

He described the response from Mrs Churchill as “pure contempt – another example of the hostility with which the ORA has been treating my family.”

Mr Rossiter said he walked to the doorway of Janette Churchill’s office and saw she was dealing with a customer.

He says Mrs Church looked up at him waiting at the door and asked: “Can I help you?

“I said I’d come here to pick up a membership application form.”

He says Mrs Churchill then exploded into anger and, even though having asked him if she could help, accused him of interrupting her business. “She said ‘I’m dealing with a customer. How dare you butt in on our conversation’.”

Mr Rossiter says he replied: “You asked me whether you could help me.”

He says he again told her he was seeking a membership application form, and she called to one of the male employees in the store and told him: “Can you escort this gentleman out of the building?”

Again, Mr Rossiter says, he asked for an application form, but was told by Mrs Churchill: “You are so rude barging into my office and talking over me.

“I’m fed up with you harrassing me.

“Get out of my business.”

Regarding to the charge of harrassment, Mr Rossiter explained that his contact with Mrs Churchill had been just two telephone calls he made to her on May 8 and 10 asking whether his original letter of application for membership of the ORA was being dealt with.

He says he was told on May 8 that his application had to go before a “meeting” but not that the decision was being taken by the ORA executive that very evening. He says on May 10 Janette Churchill told him nothing about the rejection of his application, only that she was “busy” and hung up on him.

This encounter says a great deal more about the highly questionable conduct and credibility of the executive members of the ORA.

It seems quite incredible, apart from unprincipled, that the ORA leadership, having already made fatuous and quite hostile claims against the Rossiter family over their application for a liquor licence at Bissys, are now treating the very people they attacked and hounded with rudeness and contempt, and obviously branding Mr Rossiter as a trouble maker.

Orange News Now has invited Janette Churchill to comment on Mr Rossiter’s  account of the incident, and we respectfully await her reply.

That question was put to city councillors and others by Orange News Now last fortnight as the event drew closer and there appeared to be no quarter being given in the administrative and operational struggle between the city council and the Orange Showground Committee.

The decision by Mayor John Davis to arrange a crucial “one more crack” negotiating meeting with the committee chair, Peter Naylor – due to happen in the next two weeks – has eased the deadlock to a certain extent, with both sides appearing anxious to come to an agreement.

And there’s no denying that the 2012 Orange Show itself was an admirable success, attracting thousands of people – mostly families with young children – and balancing a breathtaking hi-tech array of rides, sideshows and children’s recreational attractions with the more traditional agricultural, livestock, equine and arts/crafts displays.

For Peter Naylor it was more than just another successful show. It had to impress upon John Davis and his fellow city councillors that the show is as popular as it’s ever been, will remain so in the future, is vital to the city’s cultural heritage — and that all this is due entirely to the hard work and governorship of the showground committee.

It’s significant that Peter Naylor’s invitation to councillors to meet with him on the opening day of the show resulted in a meeting, guided tour and “a really good discussion” with the council’s General Manager, Gary Styles.

But one thing about the show that struck this writer, and indeed other people I’ve spoken to, is that there were two distinct shows going on at the same time on the May 5-6 weekend.

On the one hand, the vast bulk of the crowds were attracted to the Showman’s Guild funfair – its rides and its fast food, drinks, sideshow prizes and candy floss — and, on the other, there were comparatively very few visitors, and many of them in the over-50s age bracket, watching the traditional dressage, show-jumping and livestock events.

It begged the question: should the Orange Show not be separated into two shows – “all the fun of the fair” and the agricultural show – at different times of the year?

“NO MANPOWER” FOR TWO DIFFERENT SHOWS

Peter Naylor -- crucial show for committee's future

Peter Naylor says the Showground Committee hasn’t got enough manpower to run two distinct events.

Also, he says the funfair attracts the families and kids and actually pays for the traditional sections of the show, enabling it to turn a profit.

“The show is separated enough as it is these days,” he says. “People can go to, say, the arts and crafts exhibits and ignore the rest of the show.

“Also, where families don’t have enough money for their kids to enjoy all the funfair rides, they have the animals and birds and poultry and other events to enjoy free.”

Point taken.  The other big question of course is where does the show and its showground go from here?

In a bid to get down to the fundamental arguments for and against the show, Orange News Now emailed the following questions to all city councillors:

1. Why does Orange need a showground, and for that matter, an annual show?
2. What purpose should the showground serve?
3. Who should use it?
4. To accommodate these uses, what facilities does it need to have?
5. To build these facilities to standard, should a private commercial enterprise be the goal?
6. If owned and operated by the City Council, how should it be structured?
7. Can we achieve (4) with the showground as it exists, and at what cost?

MARKED SENTIMENT FOR CONTINUING, BIGGER SHOW

The response so far has shown a marked sentiment on the council to retain the show as a cultural hub or icon of the community and to upgrade the showground to make it a bigger reflection of our heritage in the future.

In an ONN Video interview with Orange News Now, this is what Cr Fiona Rossiter had to say:

As for other council responses, Cr Chris Gryllis says the annual show is “part of our heritage, is well patronised, and should continue so.”

Cr Glenn Taylor wants the show to remain an annual cultural highlight, but asserts that “there no way around the fact that we have to resolve the current legal issue” – a move threatened by the Orange Show Committee to challenge the council’s bid to replace its deed of covenant on the showground with a Crown Lands Trust agreement.

“I have nothing but utmost respect for Peter Naylor as a completely honest, hardworking, well-meaning bloke and for what he’s accomplished over the years,” Cr Taylor says.

“But we have to resolve the agreement dispute and get on with forward planning to try to attract the funds we’ll need to upgrade the showground to a multi-purpose facility.

“The Showground Committee and other users must trust that we will give them an unequivocal commitment to the present showground site if they can reach agreement with the council.”

SHOW “DEFINES WHO WE ARE, WHERE COME FROM”

Dressage and showjumping -- comparatively few spectators

Cr Neil Jones describes the Orange Show as a “unique event that not only reflects the agricultural importance of our region and defines who we are and where we come from, but it is the one event that brings the community together for two days of the year.”

Cr Jones defends the present showground itself as invaluable public open space that not only caters for a wide range of exhibitions and events but also provides “opportunities for sport and passive recreation amidst beautiful trees and level grassed areas.

“[It] can also,” he says, “provide an outdoor display area for significant historical items — e.g. machinery – that could not be accommodated inside the proposed Orange Regional Museum.”

On the question of the showground site, Chris Gryllis feels that “in an ideal world if funds were available” it could be relocated elsewhere to provide much-needed new parking space and new facilities.

“But that’s in an ideal world,” he stresses, ”and an ideal world would need around $15 million which we just haven’t got.

“Meantime, we have to treat the present site with tender loving care.”

PRIVATE/PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP COULD UPGRADE SHOWGROUND

Both he and Cr Fiona Rossiter believe that private developers could be an answer to the cost of turning the showground into a cultural mecca, but strictly in partnership with the city council.

It worked satisfactorily with the new Orange Hospital, they both point out, but Chris Gryllis reckons an issue like that must include the views of “the show people.”

And he warns against taking complete control of the showground away from the long-experienced showground committee and its users. “Once you’ve dismembered a group like that for whatever purposes, it’s very hard to get it together again.”

Says Fiona Rossiter: “If private business wanted to build a function centre in the showground it would be to the betterment of the city and have no impact on ratepayers.”

And, as she says in her video interview with ONN, she discounts completely any question of moving the showground and shows to the currently reviving Towac Park.

SHOWGROUND SITE A “DINOSAUR” SAYS SAM ROMANO

One councillor who remains convinced that Towac Park is the right venue for the show is Sam Romano, and in fact he wants the council to rescind its decision to pour $250,000 in development funds into the present showground if and when a new administrative agreement is reached with the show committee.

“I’m not prepared to spend $250,000 of our ratepayers’ money to upgrade what is in fact a dinosaur that’s unappealing, has disgraceful parking limitations and is not an ideal location,” he says.

“I’m not prepared to pay $600,000 to put a drainage pipe through the site either.”

Cr Romano sees Towac Park as the obvious new location where, as he says, “we can develop a multi-purpose complex, with an indoor arena for shows, for instance.

“When the Sydney Show moved to Homebush the traditionalists said it wouldn’t work, but it’s been a success – you don’t hear any complaints about it these days.”

And what about the existing site? “The state government owns it, we don’t,” Sam says. “It could be used for new housing.”

These are just some of the views and opinions of our civic leaders that both John Davis and Peter Naylor must be mindful of when they hold their crucial talks in the coming days.

In analysis it’s obvious that no-one really wants the Orange Show to end, and most want the present showground retained along with the Showground Committee to ensure the show continues to reflect our community values and heritage in the coming years.

It’s also clear that an agreement that reflects, as close as is possible, the needs of both sides must be negotiated, and it must end once and for all the growing distrust between the council and the committee that has made this such a damaging, divisive public and political issue.

SHOWGROUND QUESTIONS UPDATE

Councillors Neil Jones and Reg Kidd responded in writing to our invitation to reply to our questions regarding the showground and its future, and these are their full written comments:

Cr Neil Jones:

1.       Why does Orange need a showground, and for that matter, an annual show?

A Showground is the focal point for the whole community for a wide range events, activities and services.  It is a large area of public land centrally located in the city; easily accessible to all (walk, bike, car and bus), and particularly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds who live nearby.  It can meet the needs of everyone in the community; no matter who they, where they come or what their interests are.

And yes, Orange needs an Annual Show.  It is a unique event that not only reflects the agricultural importance of our region and defines who we are and where we have come from, but it it is the one event that brings the whole community together for two days of the year. Whether you are an exhibitor, participant, spectator or visitor; there is something for everyone to be involved in or simply watch and enjoy.

Rides and showbags. Children, teenagers, older persons, families, business people, farmers and orchardists all mixing together enjoying themselves. Exhibitors and competitors being rewarded for effort and excellence, business people showcasing products, and service clubs and community organisations volunteering.

And “The Show” and other events bring visitors from outside the city who spend money locally benefiting a range of businesses.

Money raised at many of the activities and events by different organisations is often donated to needy community groups.

2.       What purpose should the showground serve?

Because it is a large area of public open space with pavilions and sheds, the Showground provides a venue for not only “The Annual Show”, but for almost any activity that requires space for many spectators and participants, for animal/ livestock events, for motor vehicle displays, markets, camping, concerts and plays. And much, much more.

The Showground can also provide opportunities for sport and passive recreation amidst beautiful trees and level grassed areas.

The Showground can provide an outdoor display area for significant historical items (eg machinery) that could not be accommodated inside the proposed Orange Regional Museum.

It can provide a large overflow or specialised camping area for large touring groups or for other events in the city.

3.       Who should use it?

Everyone!

4.       To accommodate these uses, what facilities does it need to have?

A multipurpose round or oval “show ring” with good spectator viewing.A large multipurpose covered/enclosed pavilion, with catering facilities. Restoration of the original “Agricultural Pavilion” for special events in keeping with its heritage and rustic appeal.

5.       To build these facilities to standard, should a private commercial enterprise be the goal?

No!!  It should be run by the Community for the Community. If it came under control of private enterprise, the very essence of community ownership, involvement and responsibility would be lost.  A Business Plan as part of the Redevelopment Strategy should identify sources of funding, and any appropriate commercial opportunities.

6.       If owned and operated by the City Council, how should it be structured?

Irrespective of who “owns” it, it should have a Management Committee of representatives of the Show Society and other user groups, and community organisations and Chamber of Commerce.

7.       Can we achieve (4) with the showground as it exists, and at what cost?

Of course we can, and at a cost that is comparable with other major community projects; the Aquatic Centre/Anzac Stadium/Museum/Library/Gallery/Wade Park.  It would have more widespread use than all of these other facilities put together.

Cr Reg Kidd:

SHOWGROUND – ORANGE COMMUNITY OPEN SPACE AND FACILITY

Greenspace accessible to all the community in an area bordered by low socio-economic area, new suburbs and access to Northern Distributor road and public transport. A multifunctional greenspace.

Accessibility from three roads, therefore lends itself to easy access and egress with a suitable traffic management plan. Also, lots of internal parking, and parking that could be developed outside the precinct.

Events that have/and or could be conducted at the showground: motorcross, fireworks, circus-type events, car/bike rallies, sporting events, dog shows, country fair shows (as there is an increasing awareness of our children re-connecting with the sources of their “food and fibre”).

Simple “open space” where folk can go to fly a kite, let the dogs have a run, and basically have space to “play” that may not be available at home (particularly in units or small urban backyards).

Therefore a “show” is only part of a community facility. At present it is used by various horse groups, including comp draughting and rodeo and lots of others that seem to be ignored in the present debate.

If the amenities had not been run down, i.e. the toilets etc, there would be more groups using it.

The drain access to the site was put there by the council and should be a covered pipe.

Some general maintenance, modification etc could see the pavilions used for all sorts of events – farmers markets, bird shows, sales.

I have attended balls and other fund-raising events in the pavilion, including events to raise money for cancer, sportspeople, schools and other community charity organisations.

I have visited many showgrounds across Australia and whilst called “the showground” they are very much more than that.

As an example, recently I have been at Condobolin, Cobar and Mudgee at very successful “gardening weekends” – all held at their showgrounds.

It is also a space where camping can take up the accommodation overflow. Perhaps also an area for RVs.

It is easy to give negative aspects and easy to talk up things like how it would work in conjunction with thoroughbred horse training and racing facilities [Towac Park]. It would not!

I have been involved in thoroughbred racing at a number of levels for many years and I am adamant that many of the comments being made show a complete lack of knowledge of the racing industry, security, animal welfare and a number of other issues.

Basically, all events at the showground are run by volunteers for the benefit of the whole community, and as such it shows a need in itself.

Remember the ELF, Environmental Learning Facility was specifically built and funded as a community resource at a location where it was easily accessible by sections of the community in possible most need — i.e. the indigenous community. Thus the Aboriginal input in mural at the ELF.

Also the community garden at the ELF. This was opened by Governor Marie Bashir who commented on its appropriateness and suitable location. This facility is a community benefit, no different from the indoor pool, library and parks and gardens that do not pay for themselves.

But the area could easily move towards self-sufficiency if a community-driven Management Committee could be formed and supported and encouraged to develop a strategic plan and associated business/marketing plan. There are so many possibilities.

NOTE: Also, the caravan park is in the grounds of the showground. If it is to stay where it is it must be part of the overall package.

There needs to be transparency and genuine consultation. That has been lacking to date.

Stage 2 drawing of master plan shows central twin arenas with new carnival, equine, camping and pavilion precincts around it

As crucial “key man” talks between Mayor John Davis and Orange Show Society Committee chair Peter Naylor approach, the city council is hoping that promises of immediate maintenance and redevelopment funding will break the showground management deadlock between the two bodies.

Management is what the current dispute is all about.

In the Deed of Covenant signed between the two in 1986, council rescued the show committee from bankruptcy and agreed to pay for the maintenance and improvement of the showground, but clause five of the trust agreement’s nine clauses actually cut the council out of the showground management.

Clause five stipulates: “The structure of the Management Committee, with the balance of the Committee being such that the Orange Show Society’s representation always exceeds (our emphasis) all other representatives.”

As the council’s Orange Showground Plan of Management and Master Plan, drafted in May 2010, describes the agreement: “In essence, the Deed of Covenant provided protection for the Show Society to continue to operate at the site into the future whilst at the same time requiring Council to take over the asset deterioration, financial management and ongoing maintenance costs.”

Again, management has been the key issue of the deadlock between the society and the council in recent months – the council’s responsibility for “financial management” enabling it to withhold $250,000 in funding for maintenance and improvement of the site.

And this has given it a clear edge in its campaign to get the 1986 Deed of Covenant torn up and replaced by a Lands Council trust agreement  sharing the management responsibility between the society, the council and other showground user groups.

IMPROVEMENT FUNDING AND MASTER PLAN AWAIT AGREEMENT

That $250,000 is still there, waiting to be spent the moment a new accord is reached with the society, according to John Davis, and he’s promised that a start will also be made, once the ink has dried, on drawing up a development plan for the future.

The Master Plan puts in writing what the council expects from any new agreement.

“Establishment of the Orange Showground  Advisory  Committee as a committee of Council.  Initially the representation would include representatives of each of the user groups (the current reference committee), elected councillors and council staff,” it states.

That same Advisory Committee would be responsible for “implementation of the Orange Showground Master Plan.”

Show carnival moved in Master Plan to Phillip Street boundary

This effectively puts the showground, inevitably, under sole council control, in consultation with the user groups, and on the surface it doesn’t bode well for an understanding with a society and showground committee that’s deeply distrustful of the council’s intentions regarding the site.

However, while calling for greater utilisation of the site, the plan as it stands now states that “the Orange Show Society is recognised as an integral tenant of the site but the facilities required to stage the event can, and must, also be used by other groups.”

And the master plan does indeed appear to put to rest one of the main causes of distrust – the suspicion that the council is prepared to sell the showground site.

MORE SHOWGROUND USERS, UPGRADED FACILITIES

Greater utilisation, or more users and events, seems to be the main target of the master plan, or as the plan states “a key driver in the future development” of the showground.

It calls for “upgrading of the equine facilities,” addressing among other  things  the “poor supporting amenities; dilapidated stables; the size of the Appaloosa arena [limiting] dressage usage,” and says these improvements should “target a capacity to meet regional and potential State level events.”

Car shows included in proposals for Master Plan's new main arena

The plan cites the centre square as “poor in quality … and [with] no clear focus” and needing redevelopment.

It wants “improved supporting services and hygiene upgrades” at the Agriculture Pavilion.

It says there “appears to be  an opportunity” to build a new multi-purpose exhibition space in the showground – something that community groups, businesses and the events industry of Orange would definitely mark as a priority.

As for the showground’s main environmental problem, its poor drainage which often results in flooding, the plan calls for a new pipeline through a “new grassed drainage swale” extending from Leeds Parade that would direct the stormwater to a capture point at the Margaret Street exit.

CARAVAN PARK MAY GO ELSEWHERE

The plan considers that the current caravan park is “not located in a prime location to attract a higher utilisation,” reflecting the view at large that it’s difficult for visitors to Orange to find.

“Generally caravan parks are optimally situated near a main attraction/and or a key gateway into the township,” it says. “The current location does not have either of these attributes.”

Showjumping, dressage cited for ring two in showground Master Plan

So, the plan suggests that the park be relocated “within a 10-15 year time-frame” and says the options  for the council are whether to develop a new park itself, develop it in a public-private partnership, lease the new site long-term for private development and management, or get private industry to develop the whole thing.

As for the funding of all this showground redevelopment, the council cites a substantial number of sources including various federal and state government departments and commercial and community fund-raising.

MASTER PLAN DRAWINGS SHOW FUTURE SHOW SITE

Finally, there are dramatic drawings of proposed stages and options for redevelopment of the showground site in which the centre square is transformed into a large oval containing, side by side, a main arena and a showjumping arena with a main centre stage and public plaza.

It shows a carnival precinct on the Phillip Street boundary of the site, set around the proposed multi-function building, with a pavilion precinct next to it.

There’s an area for outdoor markets and conference facilities with its own parking in front of the existing, renovated Agricultural Pavilion.

A main parking area is proposed on Leeds Parade where the caravan park would no longer be, with an “ancillary camping area” where the park now runs alongside Margaret Street.

But it’s not all going to happen overnight. The redevelopment plan comes in two stages, and there’s also a “Masterplan Option 2 Longer Term  Option (> 10 years).”

The vision is certainly a massive improvement on the state of the showground as it remains at this time.

And it’s almost certainly going to be on the table as a vital element of the discussions when John Davis and Peter Naylor meet, as they’ve both agreed, in the days to come.

Mongolian survey team at site near Canowindra

If there’s a marked undercurrent of expectancy for a possibly rich future in Canowindra these days, it’ll be because of about 30 Mongolians who descended on the town around this time last year.

To use a popular euphemism, it virtually blew everybody away – stocky, ruddy-faced modern-day descendents of Genghis Khan living in the Riverview Motel, eating at Taste Canowindra and looking completely at home in the shops of Gaskill Street.

They stayed almost five months in the town, and the expectancy has been rife ever since they left – for they were engaged in a major gold prospecting survey that could, if the project pans out, turn Canowindra into a mining capital like Orange in the future.

The Mongolians were brought to the region by the Sydney and Lucknow based company Gold and Copper Resources, and there were good reasons for bringing them all this way.

Says the company’s geologist at Lucknow, Rosie Da Costa: “They were gold prospecting experts – very highly trained “– who’d gained their skills surveying the world’s biggest copper porphyry deposit in Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia.

“And they knew how to use the Zeus Super IP system, exclusive to our company, to search the area.”

THE POWER OF ZEUS

The Zeus system is a mobile transmitter and a network of cables on power poles, linked to sensoring receivers the size of electronic  notepads, that broadcast a weak electrical current that can detect “anomalies”, or possible deposits, more than 600 metres and even up to three kilometres underground.

Zeus portable receiver -- "a targeting tool"

It mystified some Canowindra and regional residents for a time – groups of up to four people walking around the countryside seemingly doing nothing – not to mention the strange faces among them.

According to one source, even when they realised who these people were and why they were there, some asked why Mongolians were being hired to do the job and not local people.

But it soon became clear that these were gold prospecting experts from an ore-rich central Asian parliamentary republic and they became favoured guests of the town.

Bob Craven, who owns the prestigious Taste Canowindra Restaurant, says the Mongolians came “20 to 30 at times,” for breakfast and lunch at the restaurant, seven days a week.

It took a while to work out how to cater for them, he says.

“Our brief was that they knew English and were prepared to eat Australian food.

“But it soon became clear that very few spoke English and most of them didn’t like the local cuisine.

“So we had to get special recipes sent from Mongolia.”

GROUND SURVEY ONLY THE START OF SEARCH

The Mongolians mainly surveyed the Belabulah River and Woodstock areas, along with the Canobolas State Forest, according to Rosie Da Costa, as part of the 200 sq km search of the region.

Rosie emphasises that this was just a ground survey, and there are several more processes to go before a decision is made to actually mine for gold and copper.

“The Zeus survey equipment doesn’t distinguish between gold, copper or silver deposits,” she explains, “and the signals merely measure a reaction to sulphates, graphites and sediments in the rocks.

“It’s a targeting tool, and we have to analyse the data to decide whether to go back and map the rock types.

“Then, if we think we’ve possibly got something, we drill for samples that are 10 cms in diameter but can go as deep as 200 metres.”

Geologist Rosie Da Costa -- "by and large, people are happy"

Rosie emphasises that Gold and Copper Resources is at pains to work with the local communities and landowners and, unlike the widely dreaded coal seam gas prospectors, the company seeks agreements with farmers at each stage of the process.

“We reach agreement first for the survey on their land, then if we decide to drill for samples we make another deal with them.

“We make sure we don’t disturb their business, allowing for them to complete the winter lambing, for instance, before we step on to their land.

“We’re a small company, and we’re conscious of our relationship with communities, and by and large people in the area seem to be happy.”

AGREEMENT “SLIP-UP” NOW BEING REVISED

The company has learned from a recent “slip up,” as it called it, in which it distributed a standard agreement drawn up by the NSW Minerals Council to regional farmers and immediately triggered a protest movement.

According to the company’s acting geological manager, Peter Lewis, it was a mistake because the agreement was “too general” and included a reference to drilling.

As the Sydney Morning Herald reported it: “Reference to drilling would be removed because the intention initially was to allow the company to conduct a geophysical survey …  with minimal impact.”

The SMH quoted Peter Lewis as saying “There’s no going into a property without approval or prior notice. There is no carte blanche in this.” And he added that the document was starting point and farmers could negotiate their terms.

Gold and Copper Resources has exploration licences totalling more than 2,000 sq kms in the Orange region.

Rosie says the company’s surveying is not linked at all with Newcrest at Cadia, but its website says all of its prospects lie within 50 kms of the Cadia Valley mine.

So, is Canowindra and its region in store for a possible new gold-based development  boom? Rosie says there’s a lot of time and work to go before anything like that can be determined.

But she admits that Canowindra is seen as the most likely hub of the company’s operations if it looks like there’s another Cadia Valley in them thar hills.

Natalie Reid at work in her studio shed

As this story and interview was being published on Orange News Now, Natalie Reid was hard at work with her husband and sons shearing their big flock of merino sheep on their 3,000-acre property near Stuart Town.

But rough work comes easily to Natalie. When she’s not tending the farm with her family she’s cutting and welding steel plate to make sculptures as one of the founding members of the region’s outcast art groups, Rogue Sculptors.

“Outcast” may be a rather strong term to describe the Rogues as, but they’ve certainly suffered the proverbial cold shoulder on the part of the art world in this region, compared with its glowing and abiding support for “2D” art — paintings.

But Rogue Sculptors was formed to reverse the situation, to bring sculpture and sculptors, especially in Orange and the Central West, “in from the cold.”

The group of more than 20 artists, scattered through the Central West, is busily preparing for a major exhibition at the Orange Regional Art Gallery later this year.

Meantime, the Rogues are being invited to submit their works for the inaugural Orange Arts Festival – an art competition and exhibition being staged by Taste Orange during Frost Fest in August (Saturday August 4 to Saturday August 11).

This is an exhibition specifically designed for both paintings (including drawings, sketches and even woodcuts) and sculptures (including art ceramics), and both categories offer a first prize of $2,500 and $1,000 for second.

As Natalie Reid says in this ONN Video interview, filmed on her sheep farm, “it’s exciting to see local art groups getting together to stage an exhibition like the Frost Fest event, and to see it’s a possible annual festival.

“We’re hoping there’ll be more venues like this available for regional sculptors in the future.”

Suma Park Dam at 30% capacity in April 2009

Orange City Council’s controversial Macquarie River Pipeline Project has been given what Mayor John Davis calls an “encouraging” boost by an expert report which says the city would have had plenty of water if the pipeline had been operating during the long, harsh drought.

The report, the findings of a long-term modelling conducted by the environmental and civil engineering consultants Geolyse, asserts that the city’s dams would have remained at 50 percent full and emergency water restrictions wouldn’t have been needed.

Moreover, it says that at the height of the drought in 2010, when the dam levels fell to 23 percent, water from the pipeline would have maintained a level of more than 60 percent.

The Geolyse report was produced for a hydrology and water security assessment as part of the state government-required environmental assessment of the pipeline project.

Not surprisingly, the city council has welcomed the findings on a number of fronts: it goes a long way toward supporting and vindicating the council’s decision to stick to its guns on the pipeline scheme; it fires a potentially muffling shot across the bows of environmental and community groups bitterly opposed to the pipeline; and it could well remove the pipeline project as a probable major, divisive issue in the September council elections.

According to John Davis, the Geolyse report is the “result of modelling across more than 100 years of information [on Macquarie River capacity and flows] which demonstrates the project is viable.

“While some people believe there had been little or no flows in the Macquarie River for much of the last decade,” he says, “the actual data tells us as very different story.

“MINIMAL IMPACT” ON RIVER

Chart shows 10-year dam capacity (blue line) and estimated pipeline input (red)

“What the data reveals is that even when the city was in drought the Macquarie Pipeline would have delivered water security to the city with minimal impact on the river.”

The modelling estimates that the pipeline’s annual average extraction of water from the river between 2000 and 2010 would have been 1.5 percent of its flows.

On a long-term basis, the pipeline’s planned average extraction of 1,665 megalitres, or 0.54 percent of flows, would boost the city’s secure yield – water in the dams – “by 2,800 megalitres,  almost double that first estimated.”

The project has yet to be assessed by various departments of the state government, which is going to mean more time and work before a final approval is granted, but there was no mistaking the heartening effect this latest report is having on Mayor Davis when Orange News Now interviewed him in this ONN Video report.

By David Cumming

Texture, structure, intensity and complexity are the hallmarks of the new Pinnacle Series wines recently released by one of Orange’s leading winemakers, Ross Hill Wines.

When winemaker Phil Kerney first visited the cool climate of Orange he immediately saw potential to make great wine.  His search for new terroir within NSW eventually led him to Ross Hill Wines and their vineyards.

“The Orange region is one of Australia’s most diverse regions,” said Phil.  “There are vast differences from vineyard to vineyard; every block of vines holds different soil profiles and different elevation.  This is substantially different from most other Australian wine regions.

“Whilst being only a sunrise industry in Orange, the potential is fantastic, and we are starting to see the quality emerge.  There is an exciting evolution of experience and styles emerging.

“The growing vinicultural experience, ageing of the vines and sharing of knowledge of the region is certainly key in building this wine quality.”

The new Ross Hill Pinnacle Series wines comprise the 2010 Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and 2011 whites including Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

“RESPECT THE FRUIT”

“These wines represent the best parcels of wine and display the sub-regional terroir of specific sites within Orange.  Our philosophy is quite simple; respect the fruit and don’t over complicate the winemaking.”

The new wines are all single vineyard wines that range in elevation from 750 metres to 1000 metres.  These include the original Ross Hill ‘Griffin Road Home Block’ vineyard that was planted in 1996.

The new Ross Hill winery, situated high on the slopes of Mount Canobolas receives the grapes within hours of picking, ensuring that the pristine quality of the fruit is retained.

The new state of the art winery, which was built in an existing apple packing shed in 2008, has world-class quality control systems in place.  This allows winemaking team, Phil and Rochelle Kerney, to manage and direct the natural processes of their winemaking including oxidative juice handling, whole bunch and full grape solids practices.

“We are trying to simplify our winemaking and not over complicate things.  Our objective is to unlock the terroir of the vineyards and showcase this through the fruit intensity, structure, complexity and texture,” Phil Kerney says.
Pricing & Distribution:

2011 Ross Hill ‘Pinnacle Series’ Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc $30.00
2011 Ross Hill ‘Pinnacle Series’ Chardonnay $35.00
2010 Ross Hill ‘Pinnacle Series’ Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc $40.00
The Ross Hill wines are distributed nationally by Domaine Wine Shippers and on line at www.rosshillwines.com.au