Community & Business
21 March, 2024
Lighting to create magic feel to Yungaburra village
IT’S already got a unique character and, now, a new project is underway to create a magical ambience to Yungaburra that will take its village feel to the next level.
The town has been transformed over the years, thanks to very proactive groups such as Yungaburra Beatification Inc (YBI) and Yungaburra Association Inc. that put in amazing fundraising efforts to beautify the small community.
Now, a bold lighting project that will significantly boost the magical ambience of the town at night is underway and could be in place by the middle of the year if grant funding is forthcoming.
YBI is behind the project which involves installing bud lighting to illuminate four trees in the town, a number of monuments including the Brolgas statue, the Yungaburra Railway History sign, the entrance sign to town from the east, and the Cenotaph.
The project has now been given the green light by Tablelands Regional Council which also decided to provide a letter of support to the YBI in its application for grant funding from the State.
YBI committee president Sue Fairley said with the support from the council, the group had begun the journey of securing funding to get the project started.
The group aims to obtain a grant of up to $100,000 for the project and will supplement with funds they already have.
She said the bud lighting would provide further beautification throughout the town and would also follow the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles with the aim of making it a safer place.
“...(we are) a small team of community leaders who came up with the vision and we will be putting it into action,” Ms Fairley said.
“An important step in the process was the Tablelands Regional Council approving the project going ahead.”
Subject to funding, the committee will conduct the project in phases – the first being four trees in the CBD, the second phase will include buildings and monuments, while further funding in future would allow for additional trees/features to be illuminated.
Ms Fairley said if they obtain the first part of funding they are applying for, they would hope to have the initial stage complete by spring.
Bud lighting will be loosely wrapped around the trunk and main limbs of the tree, and suitable parts of monuments.
It is envisioned they will be turned on between the hours of 6-11pm (to be negotiated) and provide not only a picturesque look for the town but additional street or park lighting for the community.
The first four trees to be illuminated include the tree on the corner of Eacham Road, opposite Foodworks; the tree on Eacham Road on the corner of Kehoe Place, near the Cenotaph; the tree in Kehoe Place, east of the Yungaburra Hotel; and the tree on Cedar Street, south of the Yungaburra Hotel.
Ms Fairley said with all that Yungaburra already offered - from the businesses to the streetscapes - this would be another positive attraction for future visitors.
The group has also committed to paying for the electricity to power the lighting and the ongoing maintenance of the lights through a contract with a company based in South-east Queensland that maintains lights on the Cairns Esplanade, at Port Douglas and Mossman via an annual visit to the region.
The project also allows for lighting to be installed in three additional trees in the future. As a result of a community meeting, it was also suggested by locals that the bamboo stand at the western entrance to Yungaburra also be illuminated in the future.
