- Published on
With an election approaching and a marginal electorate, it's high time the State Government acted on the old Wonthaggi high school site
By Kit Fennessy
THE senior campus of the Wonthaggi Secondary College relocated to the new McKenzie Street campus in 2020. The former McBride Avenue site has now been vacant for almost seven years.
People are absolutely sick of having this abandoned site in the middle of town. With a State election looming - in a tight-margin electorate – it’s time to give it some attention and get some commitments from the State Government who control the land.
It’s criminal to waste 1.8 hectares of prime real estate, on a park, bang in the middle of town, right between the town hall and the new school site. It could have multiple uses.
The Wonthaggi Old Tech Creative Hub (WOTCH) group was established because we identified a distinct lack of cultural investment in Wonthaggi and surrounds; particularly creative making spaces and somewhere for kids to go before or after school.
Creative arts spaces like design studios, a library, even a recording facility for bands would be great for kids, good for community health and be a drawcard for the area.
We’re not saying the whole thing should exclusively be dedicated to creative spaces. We realise there need to be other reasons for people to go there – like a gallery, cafes and restaurants, or affordable housing.
We want to make it a whole planned area that will work seven days a week during the day and at night.
Come along to a picnic at Wisharts Reserve on October 25 to show your support. The Wonthaggi Citizens Band will play, and all Bass electorate candidates have been invited.
And we want the land to stay in public hands and not get chopped up and sold for private development, which has been mooted by planners.
This is a once in a generation opportunity to plan a town with a big chunk of land smack dab in its centre.
Wonthaggi deserves some investment. As a regional service town and with population growth, it is booming.
Kit Fennessy is a member of WOTCH (Wonthaggi Old Tech Creative Hub).
A year after the first Picnic in the Park, we are no closer to resolving the future of this important site.
