Crookwell's Story

The Townlife Development Program has helped Crookwell develop an action plan and a focus for action to reinvigorate the community.

"It was a catalyst to bring new settlers and
traditional residents together to revitalise the community."
Sylvia Cullen, Crookwell

Facing the challenges

Crookwell is a shire of approximately 2,500 people holding one small town and a number of tiny villages It is 2.5 hours south of Sydney and 30 minutes north of Goulburn.

Crookwell, a rural town

Each of the town and villages is a close knit community in itself and yet all work together for the common good.

Crookwell is surrounded by a rich settlement history from grazing to gold, with many of the original stone buildings still in use as hotels, churches and shops made from the stones that littered the grazing lands.

Like many rural communities, the area is facing an uncertain future due to the decline in traditional agriculture. The result is a loss of trade in the towns and villages.

The proximity of Goulburn has also posed a challenge. Locals go to Goulburn to conduct business and, while there, purchase groceries and goods that would otherwise be bought in Crookwell. This further erodes the flow of dollars into the local economy. Added to this is the severe drought.

Our project

Large numbers of new residents have brought a new energy to the area and a lot of new money. This has helped keep our economy afloat and injected some capital into cash-strapped farm families.

There is a greater reliance on each other as we look for new ways to bring jobs to the area.

• We decided to hold two large community consultations. Each drew more than 130 people.
• We had a 'SWOT' (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis done of the main town, Crookwell, and the six villages of the Shire, Binda, Bigga, Tuena, Roslyn, Grabben Gullen and Laggan.
• A marketing consultant held a seminar in town and did a market report.
• Groups were formed from the community consultation to advance various issues such as infrastructure.

What we've achieved

Many projects identified in the report are being followed through:

• The identification of an historic tourism trail and branding of the Shire of Crookwell as an historic region have been pursed by the tourism group and have successfully received further support and funding.
• Tourism will help bring more money into the local economy and eventually attract a range of new business opportunities
• The infrastructure projects have given us a new bus bay, visitors' area and map shelter and seats.

Streetscape with furniture

• We also have assistance for customer service training and window dressing workshops to be held this year.
• Every village is getting its own lawnmower so local people, recently trained in occupational health and safety, can mow their own community lawns.
• We have formed a Crookwell Region Advancement Group (CRAG) which will be an umbrella group for all the projects and economic development issues.

New mower for community lawns

This means that all communities in the shire are continuing to work together and access resources and funding.

How the Townlife Development Program has helped

The Townlife Development Program has given the community a focus for action.

The development of a plan of action, funded and facilitated through the Townlife Development Program, together with the people willing to make it happen has reinvigorated the community.

The process enabled the traditional country community to see that the 'new' residents valued similar things and ostensibly shared the same vision for the future of Crookwell. Establishing this allowed the new residents to become involved in the plans for the future bringing with them new ideas and energy.

What we're working on now

We are currently seeking funding for a community co-ordinator. The local coordinator is seen as essential to bring many projects to fruition.

The momentum with volunteers needs to be supported by someone able to take the lead and follow up.

The work which has been undertaken to date will be critical in the short-term revitalisation of this community.

While it will take some time for farmers to restock and recover from the drought, other initiatives such as the historic touring program could help underpin the local economy in the interim.

As always the drought will eventually break. We need to be prepared for that and be ready to act.

For further information

Contact	:	Sylvia Cullen
Phone	:	02 4832 0161
Email	:	petesylv@ozemail.com.au