Dandaragan is a step closer to getting a dedicated Heritage and Cultural Centre up and running to house its collection of historic farm machinery and household items from the district's well-known Brown family.
The Dandaragan Heritage and Cultural Centre (DHCC) committee has been formed and is applying for charity status so that donations for the centre will be tax deductible.
The committee has already raised $65,000 towards the estimated $1.5 million project through the 2022 Yandin Wind Grant Round, grain donations from the 2023-24 harvest, mineral sands companies and general community donations.
DHCC committee member Rose Glasfurd said this project was very much community-driven and was initiated by the need to preserve the historic machinery and museum household goods of the late Peter Brown, which are held in a shed on the Browns' Bidgerabbie Farm.
"Members of the community banded together two years ago and decided there was a need to house this collection properly," Ms Glasfurd said.
"Then the idea was raised to expand the precinct to include more of the town's history and art - from fossils to wind farms."
Ms Glasfurd said the committee thought it was important to include agriculture displays not only from the past, but from the present as well - as Dandaragan is in a largely mixed and highly diversified farming area.
She said the Yued first nations community had expressed an interest and would like to use the centre to display important cultural art, tools and photographs.
"Many first nations family members have close affiliations with the farming families in Dandaragan and there are many important cultural locations in the area that need to be recognised," she said.
"We will also have dedicated displays from Iluka Resources, Tronox, renewable energy companies and the many other intensive agricultural industries spread across the district, including the Koojan Feedlot, Ryan Potato's and Moora Citrus.
"These businesses contribute to the economic development of Dandaragan and are important for employing many locally-based people.
"We have such a dynamic region here, with everything from intensive and broadacre farming to mineral sands to gas and renewables.
"We are not a big community, but we are vibrant."
Ms Glasfurd said the DHCC building would be a real hub for the town.
She said it would be a tourist attraction, plus have commercial office space to lease and a conference room.
"This will allow local businesses to develop and build their capacity and create more local employment," she said.
"It needs to be more relevant than just a tractor museum."
Ms Glasfurd said the plans for the centre included an EV charging station, solar panels and a large rainwater tank so the building had low energy costs.
She said the new centre would be housed alongside the Dandaragan Resource Centre and Nutrien Ag Solutions to capture visitors to town.
"When we have architect concept drawings and costings, we will be publishing this on our social media page, in local publications and via electronic mail to keep all interested parties informed," she said.
"We are planning a big one-off fundraising event this year to further raise our profile and generate more interest."
Ms Glasfurd said the construction of the centre in town would greatly benefit the Dandaragan community, as there had not been a new building of this nature constructed for more than 40 years.
She said it should boost tourist traffic, become a valuable educational resource for the community, be a cultural storytelling place for the Yued people and a safe place for all ages, races and creeds in the community to gather and interact and make meaningful connections.
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