Twelve Central Victorian Councils have welcomed $50,000 in Victorian Government funding to help build the capacity of the region’s visitor economy, with improvements aimed at supporting a future World Heritage Listing bid for the Central Victorian Goldfields.
Golden Plains Shire Council is a partner in a campaign to place parts of the Central Victorian Goldfields, home to some of the world’s most significant gold rush-era sites, on the World Heritage list.
The funding, from the Victorian Government’s Stronger Regional Communities Program (SRCP) will support the development of a Sustainable Tourism Toolkit, which will help to identify gaps across the region to be addressed so visitors will be encouraged to visit the entire region, meaning the tourist dollar can be shared evenly.
The consortium of councils and project co-funder, the Victorian Goldfields Tourism Executive, will use the funds to conduct community and industry engagement across the Central Victorian goldfields region and bring in expert advice.
Civic leaders say the possibility of achieving a world heritage listing for the Central Victoria Goldfields was just the incentive needed to unlock the region’s full tourism and jobs potential, and to define the region as a significant tourism destination globally.
“The Central Victoria Goldfields’ bid for inclusion on the World Heritage List is a valuable regional collaboration and a priority project of Golden Plains Shire Council,” Mayor Cr Owen Sharkey said. “Our unique history of the gold rush and how it shaped our towns and communities is a special story we want to share with the world. To join the World Heritage List would be a remarkable achievement and today’s announcement is an exciting step forward.”
Mayor Cr Owen Sharkey along with all local government partners, thanks the Victorian Government for recognising the unique potential of the Central Victorian Goldfields and their strong endorsement of the consortium’s regional development approach to the bid.
The consortium represents close to half a million people spread over nearly 40,000 square kilometres, 17% of the state.
Local governments and the Victorian Goldfields Tourism Executive have collectively committed $200,000 over two years to progress the World Heritage Listing bid, which if successful is conservatively estimated to deliver $25 million annually into the local economy. The region’s local governments are now working to identify further funding required to progress the bid.
The Central Victorian Goldfields World Heritage bid local government partners are: Ararat Rural City, Campaspe Shire, Central Goldfields Shire, City of Ballarat, City of Greater Bendigo, Golden Plains Shire, Hepburn Shire, Loddon Shire, Macedon Ranges Shire, Mount Alexander Shire, Northern Grampians Shire and Pyrenees Shire Councils.