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Thanks a million!

Posted on January 13, 2012

THERE were tears of joy in Cardross yesterday after the township received a massive $1.5million funding boost to rebuilt its decimated community sporting complex.

MILLION DOLLAR GRINS: No one was more pleased with yesterday’s funding announcement than Cardross community stalwart and football club life member Dianne Dalla Santa, pictured with an equally chuffed Mildura Rural City Council Mayor, Cr John Arnold.

Cardross was among the worst hit by last year’s record rain and flooding, which left much of the town underwater and destroyed the township’s sporting complex and oval.

And for a close-knit town like Cardross, a sporting complex and football oval are much more than simply sporting facilities – they can be the heart and soul of a township.

Yesterday’s announcement by the Victorian Government, almost 12 months after last February’s shocking flooding, triggered tears of joy from Cardross Progress Association president Dianne Dalla Santa.

“This is such an emotional boost. We have been very fragmented since the flood last year and we need to bring this community back together,” Mrs Dalla Santa said yesterday.

“This is more than just a football, netball and cricket club. There’s a progress association, there’s a school, so it’s vital that we have a hub here that everyone can make use of.”

Yesterday’s $1.579million funding announcement by Member for Mildura Peter Crisp was among 28 similar announcements across the state totalling $15.4million in Victorian Government flood recovery funding.

Cardross’s share was the single largest funding announcement among the 28 projects unveiled yesterday.

Mr Crisp also announced a further $85,000 through a separate project involving the Government and trucking magnate Lindsay Fox.

“Deputy Leader of the Nationals, Peter Ryan, urged Lindsay to have a barbecue. Lindsay invited his friends, Peter Ryan spoke at the event, they passed the hat around, and they brought nearly a million dollars up to Parliament which was then divided up amongst flood-affected communities to help rebuild their sporting and community facilities,” he said.

While this week’s funding announcement is undoubtedly a massive boost for the town, Cardross residents haven’t been sitting back waiting for hand-outs during the past 12 months.

Several local groups, including the Cardross Football Club, have organised numerous fundraising events, raising about $60,000 for the town.

Mr Crisp said it was the Cardross community’s determination to recover from the floods which has resulted in this week’s massive funding boost.

“Cardross’s determination to recover and rebuild from the floods has strengthened my ability to negotiate this considerable sum with government. Well done to all of you and let’s now get on with the job of building some fantastic facilities here,” he said.

Paris Stephens is chairman of the Cardross Community Complex Reference Group, which was established to help guide and drive the new community/sporting complex.

Mr Stephens said the plan was to build the new complex, which would be about three times bigger than the existing building, on the opposite side of the oval, near the current scoreboard.

He said this would ensure the new complex was on much higher ground and better orientated to the sun when games were played.

It will also be used for a host of community activities.

“It’s a community complex. For example if they want to have a district nurse come down here, or people can hold their 21st birthdays, 40th birthdays, a whole host of events, “ Mr Stephens said.

Keen to give back to his former cricket and football club, Mr Stephens also used his role as a tour guide for Top End fishing trips to organise several fund-raising tours, raising more than $20,000 for the town.

He said not having a home ground had been a major obstacle for Cardross’s very active sporting groups.

Mr Paris said while it’s been difficult for clubs financially – not having home games – it’s also been hard from a community perspective not having a local sporting complex.

“It’s the heart of a town,” he said.

“Everyone comes here for cricket, football, even those who aren’t involved in those clubs, people just come down here to kick a footy around, get-togethers, so it will be great to once again have somewhere else to go on the weekends.”

Mildura Mayor John Arnold, who remembers being waist deep in water at the oval in the midst of the floods last year, said this week’s announcement would be a pivotal point for Cardross and praised the progress that had already been made at the ground.

“Compared to what happened in the floods, here we are a year later almost, it’s been turned around,” Cr Arnold said.

“The oval’s been re-planted, it’s looking in great conditions, and the new building will bring great facilities to the Cardross community and I’m sure it will bring everyone together to work to make sure the community is going to get over this own thing.”

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