Work is well underway on $1 million worth of upgrades and improvements in the Bogan Shire, with local and regional small businesses engaged in recent months to provide the expertise, supply materials and undertake the construction needed to deliver an important local project with the NSW Nationals in the state government.
Funding from the NSW Nationals in the state government’s $170 million Drought Stimulus Package is transforming the Girilambone Railway Station into a Railway Heritage Museum and Indigenous Art Gallery, which will include a café, commercial art gallery, artist workshop and a campsite.
Works are also being done to the Nyngan Railway Station, with upgrades to make visiting the site an even more enjoyable experience for visitors and locals alike.
NSW Nationals Upper House MP Sam Farraway, Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders and Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall inspected the visitor hub as part of their Western NSW tour last week.
Mr Farraway said it was clear that tradies, painters and sparkies had been hard at work for the past few months building the new museum and renovating the railway station.
“The Bogan Shire Railway Revitatisation Tourism Project will pay tribute to the region’s great railway heritage by bringing this historic location to life, creating a visitor hub on the edge of the outback,” Mr Farraway said.
“The new museum has been completed and the railway station renovation is well progressed, with footings, brickwork and electrical work already completed and work to fit out interiors now underway, ahead of the delivery of two historic rail carriages.
“I know locals are very enthusiastic about the opportunities these attractions will generate, encouraging tourists visiting the area to stay longer and spend more in local shops, as well as helping to diversify the local economy and creating job opportunities in the long term.”
Deputy Premier NSW Nationals Leader John Barilaro said the delivery of the Girilambone Railway Drought Stimulus Package project had boosted local morale by injecting money into the local economy and upgrading a much-loved iconic landmark.
“Our ongoing focus through this drought has been on providing the support our farmers needed to survive, while also working to deliver the water infrastructure and upgraded facilities and infrastructure improvements needed to boost our resilience to future droughts,” Mr Barilaro said.
“We are continuing to support regional towns, communities and businesses on the road to recovery by supporting projects like the Bogan Shire Railway Revitalisation Tourism Project, and I look forward to seeing the completed visitor hub.”
For further information about the NSW Nationals in the state government’s $170 million Drought Stimulus Package, go to www.nsw.gov.au/droughtstimuluspackage.
