THE Timboon community capped off years of hard work yesterday with the official opening of the town’s new aged care units.
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As dignitaries cut the ribbon, a community dream more than five years in the making was realised.
Timboon Abbeyfield Committee chairman Peter Pope said the official opening celebrated a mammoth community effort to fund-raise and construct the first two units in the independent living development.
“It’s taken us five or six years,” he said.
“It’s great now to see it done.
“The units cost $280,000 each and the bulk of that money has come from the community.”
The fund-raising will now continue to help build another two units on the site and concept plans for further growth were displayed at the opening.
Corangamite Shire mayor Chris O’Connor officially opened the site and said the Timboon Abbeyfield development had been a true community project.
“I would like to congratulate the whole community on their fantastic effort in fund-raising,” he said.
“In small communities it is difficult to raise money and to raise the amount of money that this local committee has raised to put these two units on the ground is absolutely spectacular.
“I’m sure in years to come there will be a real community feel about this place and it will be a great asset to Timboon.”
Cr O’Connor said the shire was proud to have supported the development and said it was an example of what could be achieved in other towns.
“We think population retention is really important for our shire. We have an ageing population and those people, even though they age, can be great value to our community in a whole lot of different ways,” he said.
“These people are entitled to age in their own community and they bring a lot to the community.”
Member for Polwarth Terry Mulder said the aged care development was just one example of Timboon’s hard-working community.
“It is a great community. If you look at the hospital and a lot of the other facilities around here, a lot of it has been driven by the community,” he said.
“This community has a wealth of those who care about the community and who care about the people around them.”
One of the two completed units is already occupied, while the other was on display yesterday.
That unit, at Baxter Street, Timboon, will also be on display today from 10am to 4pm.
