The town of Portland had a jam packed long weekend out at the Foundations with Easter markets, the opening of the Portland Memorial Wall and the local dam open for fishing.
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The Portland Memorial Wall was for the men who lost their lives in the Cement Works, now known as The Foundations.
The Portland Tidy Towns project which began in 2014 with research on the death of the men at the cement works conducted by Kaylin Caddis, Velma McFadden and Ken Bryce resulted in a book in 2016 and the final piece of the project came together at the unveiling of the memorial wall on the Easter long weekend in 2021.
Portland Tidy Towns member Kaylin Caddis said the opening of the memorial wall went 'really, really well'.
"It was a very big success, it was a solemn event that mean a lot to many people," she said.
"It was a historic day, it was very moving and the unveiling attracted both locals and visitors alike."
Ms Caddis said she was very impressed with the crowd that turned out for the Tidy Towns Project.
"We are so proud to have been apart of such an important piece of history," she said.
She said that many families of the men who tragically lost their lives also attended.
"That was very rewarding, seeing families come back from Sydney, Bathurst and those in the local area, be able to see their grandparents or parents being remembered," she said.
Official guests included Andrew and Tina Gee who raised the flag, while Maree Statham and Council opened the event, Aunty Helen Riley performed the Welcome to Country and The Foundations owners Martin and Monica O'Connell were in attendance.
The song 'We are One was played, followed by a minutes silence.
"That was a really special moment," she said.
While the day was quite stressful and emotional for many, Kaylin is proud of the work Portland Tidy Towns has done.
"The memorial wall is in the perfect spot and was unveiled at the perfect time," she said.
"We are very proud we got it right and that it has been well received."
"It was a fabulous weekend for our town."
After the guests finished at the memorial wall, they moved to the boiler room to enjoy a delicious afternoon tea.
The Foundations played host to the MOCZA and Australian Computer Museum Society who had pop up displays in the Annexe.
"We saw just under 3000 people come through The Foundations over the weekend, which is incredible," Rich Evans said.
"We also had fishing in the Millpond which was a huge success, it was only temporarily open but we hope to get it going again in coming months."
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