Lithgow Tidy Towns representatives will travel to Orange this weekend, hoping to add to our awards total.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Lithgow was one of six towns assessed in August for the Tidiest Town in NSW by Keep New South Wales Beautiful.
Four sustainable submissions were made by Lithgow.
Mayingwe Maragu-Blackfellows Hands with the habitat and conservation work carried out by the Mingaan Aboriginal Group.
Work carried out has endeavoured to protect the Hands with fencing to restrict unwanted bikes and 4WD vehicles. Steps were constructed to stop soil erosion and colourful signs erected to advise visitors about bush tucker and wildlife on the site.
The second submission in the ‘renewable energy’ section. It is the 1949 former diesel train which was restored, repaired, repainted and turned into a solar powered passenger train, all in Lithgow.
The solar train is the first in the world in solar technology in a railway application and all work was carried out at the Lithgow Railway Workshop at State Mine Heritage Park under the leadership of Tim Elderton.
Work was commissioned and paid for by a Byron Bay tourist group to run on a short tourist circuit at Byron Bay for $3 each person.
The train is owned by the Lithgow group and regularly maintained by them on a monthly basis.
The third submission was Blast Furnace Park under ‘cultural heritage’.
Lithgow City Council obtained grants to undertake major restoration at the ruins and make the heritage site accessible to people with disabilities.
The fourth submission was in Sustainable projects where the partnership between Clarence Colliery and Lithgow City Council enabled transferring the colliery’s excess water to Lithgow Council water storage for topping up the water supply to Lithgow households during the drought from October 5, 2017 to August this year, with more than 800 megalitres of water.
A pipeline was constructed from Clarence to the Middle River dam in 2014 for $3.8 million ready for the time of drought.
The towns that Lithgow will be competing with for the announcement of NSW Tidiest Town in NSW are Jerilderie, Murrundi, Tilligerry Peninsula, Cessnock and Wagga Wagga.
Read more
Sue Graves, chairperson of Lithgow Tidy Towns said that these four projects were all about sustainability.
“This is our 30th year of showcasing Lithgow and by winning awards every year over that period we have proved that Lithgow is up with the very best in NSW,” Mrs Graves said.
“Over this thirty year period Lithgow has won the NSW Premier’s award in 2001, Australian Community of the Year in 1999, two prestigious Tidiest Town in NSW in 1997 and 2010 and the Australian Tidiest Town in 2011.
“Lithgow has such a great community and is a wonderful place to live. We are so lucky.“