Bilby Shire Council believes in community consultation and transparency in reporting the issues.

This is a close-knit community where we all work together to make sure the district thrives.

Community noticeboard – Bilby Shire Council

Do you have something you want to share with the town? Post your thoughts here in Have Your Say, Bilby Shire Council’s community noticeboard.

Don’t have a lot to say? Call our toll-free number and leave a message. We’ll post it in Short & Sharp!

HAVE YOUR SAY your chance to talk to the council…

More of this kind of thing!

The new initiative, Charlie’s Café, is a great idea and I for one would like to see much more of this kind of thing.

The café intends to only use locally produced food, which will be a real boon for our local farmers who’ve done it tough for so many years.

But better than that, it’ll also provide accredited training for our young people. This is so important – it’s essential that our hospitality workers in Bilby are top-notch so that we can retain the tourists that visit.

Charlies Café promises to give our visitors a proper taste of life here in Bilby with world-class food and service.

Frances Beerkon, owner, Shady Pines Guest House  

Local craftspeople finally given a chance to shine

I am sure I speak for Bilby’s arts and crafts community when I say how pleased I am to hear that we will finally have a venue to showcase our work.

The BCCC plan to use one of the now empty cafés as a pop-up shop means I will be able to show – and hopefully sell! – some of my work.

I’ve been making small sculptures for many years now, and while I do sell some of my work through word of mouth, I can’t wait to be able to showcase a range of pieces at the pop-up shop. My fellow crafters from the First Wednesdays Craft Club at the Community Centre are as delighted as me – we’re pretty sure people will be amazed at how marvellously creative we all are!

Not only will the shop be a great place for the arts and crafts community to promote their work, but it will mean one less empty business on the high street, and that’s great strategy. Activating unused spaces brings more vibrancy to the town, which will be a boon for both locals and visitors.

Good work, BCCC!

J Patel, Bilby resident

Too little, too late

While I appreciate that there are lots of activities underway at the moment, it is all coming far too late in my opinion. Pop-up shops and one-off events are not going to solve the town’s problems. What we need are long-term strategies focused on bringing the tourists back. It’s high time Bilby Shire Council started providing assistance to the tourism sector. We’ve been the backbone of this town until now – where is the help when we need it?

Arthur Wedbury, owner, Ye Olde Tuck Shoppe

Singing for our supper

This year’s Autumn Festival is set to be one of the best yet. I know some people are worried about having large crowds visit the town, but what they need to realise is how much this festival will achieve for our beautiful town.

Other small towns around Victoria hold annual festivals – take Port Fairy, for example. The music festival in Port Fairy has put the place on the map and tourists visit year-round now.

Our Autumn Festival will do the same for our town. Not only that, but it’s a great opportunity for people to learn new skills. As a choir member, I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in some of the planning meetings for the multicultural choir’s debut. I’ve learned about scheduling, safety, crowd management, budgeting and promotion. I never would have had the chance to learn about these kinds of things without the Autumn Festival!

I can’t wait till the tourists start arriving! See you all there!

Sandy Pearson, Choir member and Bilby resident

Zooming into the future

The solar car race organised by the BBN is going to be epic. I’ve been working on a design with a team from my Sustainable Engineering class and we’re pretty confident we’ll be the winners!

Our team has had full access to Harry Lee, the marketing manager over at TrustWind. Harry’s shared the plans for the model wind farm and has spent hours with us explaining the schedule for its construction and how the wind farm aligns with other sustainability focused initiatives currently happening in Victoria. Bilby’s on the front foot – this wind farm is going to propel us into a cleaner future and we’ll be the model for other small regional towns also looking to reduce their carbon footprint and make their town sustainable.

Participating in the solar car race has been a major opportunity for us to make strong connections with industry and to learn about strategizing for a sustainable future. Harry’s even talked about setting up an internship program once the wind farm is up and running.

So, come on, Bilby – hop in and buckle up – we’re really going places!

Megan Nguyen, Bendaby U student and future winner of the TrustWind Solar Car race

Art is for everybody!

Speaking as a primary school teacher, I want to heartily support the Bilby Community Cultural Council’s new arts residency initiative. This is the kind of program where children can make a valuable contribution to civic life. Not only will our youngsters have the opportunity to work with an established artist, but they’ll be making their own valuable contribution to our community. Our young people are the life blood of our community – this program and the exhibition will be a wonderful testimony to their creativity and the important role children and young people play in our community.

Di Dactic, Primary School Teacher, Bilby PS

Big future ahead

Having just spent an hour in talks with Harry Lee of TrustWind, I can honestly say I’m quietly hopeful about our town’s future. My wife and I were a bit worried about the wind farm – we’d heard they can be very noisy. But Harry explained everything so patiently and carefully, we’re converts. Harry’s working closely with all the landowners who’ll have turbines on their land, and he’s walked us through every step of the process. The wife and I are already making plans on how to spend the income we’ll get from leasing our land – it’s really going to take the pressure off.

Greg Nordstrom, Whitford Farm

My brilliant career

In a few weeks I will start my new job at TrustWind. I’m 22 and have been working as a waiter since I left school. I don’t mind waiting tables, but I wanted a job that would have opportunities for me to develop my skills and forge a career, so I was thinking I’d have to move to Melbourne and leave my family behind. Fast forward to now and with the opening of TrustWind’s regional offices right here in town, I am finally embarking on my new career in administration. So, for anyone who thinks the wind farm will be more trouble than it’s worth, please think of me – flourishing and happy in my brilliant new career!

Gesan Habibi, Future CEO of TrustWind

Sensible tourism growth

Unchecked growth in the tourism sector was always a risky strategy – if it was even a strategy – and it’s clear to see why now. Now the TV show has gone, so have the tourists. And while we locals might’ve enjoyed easy parking and shorter queues in the shops for a little while, we’re now starting to see the fallout from a lack of forward planning.

What Bilby needs is a strategy for sensible, sustainable growth in the tourism sector. We need to come up with a plan to look after our businesses that also helps the community and doesn’t sideline locals in favour of tourists and their wallets.

The sensible approach would appear to be to develop the eco-tourism sector. A smaller, but significantly more careful and therefore less invasive, segment of the tourism market, eco-tourists will appreciate the natural beauty of the region as well as the recent and upcoming environmental innovations. Will Bilby Shire Council provide the leadership we so desperately need?

Frank Lee, resident

Great minds are on the job!

As Bilby’s former Mayor and deeply committed resident of the town, I throw my support behind the work currently being done by the Council and Bilby’s two advocacy groups, the BBN and the BCCC. The range and quality of strategies that are being developed is impressive and just what this town needs. As they say, all good things must come to an end, but when one door closes, another opens. We may have lost the TV show, but thanks to the hard work of our homegrown heroes, we’re gaining a renewable energy company with jobs to fill, a government funded resettlement program that will boost our population back up to its former glory, and our treasured local Autumn Festival has received a massive facelift. So let’s not look backwards, but let’s turn our eyes to the future.

Harry Lee and the team over at TrustWind are keen to engage in meaningful ways in our community. They’ve already sponsored the Autumn Festival and the solar car race and Harry says there are other plans in the works to support the community. Harry’s a small-town boy at heart and while he’s at home in the boardroom, he’s just as happy to share a cold drink and a laugh with locals. Gwen Fallenby and her team at Material Designs are leading the way in socially responsible business and showing the world that it is possible to make money and support your community’s growth. Gwen’s generosity and her big worldview, combined with her love of this town make her an incredibly valuable asset for Bilby. With folks like these on the job, Bilby can’t fail!

Mike Agostini, Agostini’s Vineyard & Restaurant

Punching above our weight

How good is our town? Not only are we nationally famous from City Stresses, but now we’re hitting the international stage with Keeping it Green! I was lucky enough to be an extra in the film, which was a blast. I don’t know of any other small town where you can be in a historical setting one minute and on the international silver screen the next. Our little town is moving forward into the future like a boss. Go Bilby!

Sammy P, Bendaby U student and Bilby resident

Tall poppies make our town beautiful!

Why are people bagging Gwen Fallenby? It seems like a classic case of tall poppy syndrome to me. Gwen works tirelessly for this community. Yes, she’s a very fortunate young woman from a well-known family but anyone who’s met her would know she’s as down to earth as they come. And she really cares about this town. She spends every weekend working on projects to improve Bilby, whether it’s helping out with the resettlement program or working new projects to bring opportunities to the area. My daughter works at Material Designs and Gwen’s even helped her set up her own little business – Gwen helped her get her ABN set up, put together a business plan, shared useful contacts with her.

Joyce James, resident

SHORT & SHARP

Do you have something to say? Call the Bilby Shire Council’s toll-free number (12345678900) and leave a message after the beep!

Sumaya says: What the heck, Bilby? No cinema? No play park? Just what are our young people supposed to do for fun?

John says: Which bright spark decided a biathlon was a good idea?

Ursula says: People should step up and support their community and stop whingeing all the time. Put your money where your mouth is.

Jonty says: What is to be done about the state of the high street? It’s looking tired and sad – not inviting for tourists at all!

Hendra says: Go the Mighty Bullants!

Kiki says: If you haven’t already, go see the plans for the wind farm at the TrustWind offices. Harry Lee is happy to show anyone and everyone the plans and he always has time to explain things.

Helen says: Can we clone Gwen Fallenby? Bilby needs more people like her, people who are willing to go the extra mile for others. She and her mother are an inspiration to the town.

Inish says: Let’s hear it for TrustWind – this town needs a big business to put us on the map!

Piers says: No wonder people are leaving town – there’s no work! More jobs, please!

REPORTING TO THE COMMUNITY

Below is the area where you are able to access reports developed to inform the Shire Council’s decision-making process.
You can contact the Shire Information Office for copies, and to make any comments.

CURRENT REPORTS

Tourism Opportunities: Strategic Directions for Bilby
This report from the Bilby Regional Tourism Association, will be released shortly.

It incorporates interviews with key stakeholders, and a summary of potential future directions for tourism in Bilby and the region.

Archive reports

Briefing Report: Hospital for Bilby
This report provides an overview of the infrastructure and other issues raised by the exciting prospect of a new hospital for Bilby.