Reading the archives is not everyone’s cup of tea. Trawling through page after page of type and B&W maps can be tedious. To some extent it was tedious, but the content made it all worthwhile..
The year was 1989. The idea we assume was to set in train a process that would see Munibung Hill protected from further residential development and make the E2 zoned land accessible to the community for recreational and other visitor purposes.
Resource Planning Pty Ltd In July 1989 was commissioned by LMCC to produce the Munibung Hill Planning and Development Control Study – Site Constraints and Opportunities (MHPDCS-SCO). The 80 page report makes for interesting reading.
Recommendations were made and a timeline proposed. Here’s one relevant extract:
7.1.3 Council’s Declaration in Respect of the Establishment of a Recreation Area, Lookouts and Walking Trails.
In August 1988, Council made a decision to further investigate the possibility of acquiring land for the establishment of a lookout park along the Munibung Hill ridgeline, with vehicle access to a car parking area, rest areas, amenities, tourist facilities and walking trails. It was proposed that the development of the lookout park would be a worthy project to be completed by the year 2000. To date acquisition of the ridgeline lands has not preceded..(Council report of 15 August 1988) –— on page 39 of the report.
It begs a number of questions: why spend ratepayers money that produces no tangible outcome? Why not follow through on recommendations? Why waste staff time and skills and shelve further action?
Thirty two year later, we are on the cusp of another report being done. This follows the acceptance by Council on 22 June, that a plan, in consultation with the community, be prepared for the General Manager.
Much of what we are advocating in our Fivefold Vision for Munibung Hill, to ensure the protection and conservation of Munibung Hill, tally with the Aims and Objectives set out in the MHPDCS-SCO back in the late 1980s.
For years the community that loves Munibung Hill has been saying: let’s get on with it, don’t dilly dally any longer. Here’s hoping that this anticipated plan will deliver the outcomes the community has been calling for, for decades. We are quietly optimistic.
