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Government Supports Driffield Community Memorial

• Regional Growth Fund provides $10,400 for $18,800 Remembering Driffield Interpretation Project • Memorial will commemorate 110 years of the former Driffield township.

By Russell Northe - 12th September 2014 - Back to News

„h Intention to encourage other Latrobe Valley communities to share their history.

The Victorian Coalition Government is investing $10,400 from the $1 billion Regional Growth Fund in a memorial to commemorate the history of the township of Driffield, Member for Morwell Russell Northe announced today.

¡§The aim of the Remembering Driffield Interpretation project is to create an informative and attractive historical display to be located on a prominent roadside reserve near Yinnar, beside the Strzelecki Highway, which overlooks the original location of the township,¡¨ Mr Northe said.

¡§It will fit out a shelter built in 2009 by the Latrobe City Council with interpretative plaques, a memory wall recording recollections of former residents, and a compass designating locations of former key community facilities.

¡§The memorial will capture the contributions of the Driffield Community to the Latrobe Valley and record a case study of the complete removal of a town to enable power generation for Victoria.

¡§The memorial display will tell the stories of the vibrant community of Driffield over more than 110 years.

¡§It will record the contributions the Driffield community made to the development of the Latrobe Valley, from its initial settlement to its removal to enable the expansion of coal mining for electricity production.

¡§Descendants of Driffield pioneering families living throughout Gippsland and beyond have met together to share memories and memorabilia for this project.

¡§They will continue to be consulted throughout the memorial¡¦s design and implementation, which is expected to be completed by March 2015.¡¨

Mr Northe said the audience for the project was diverse, including all communities in the Latrobe Valley and those along the Strzelecki Highway, such as Mirboo North and Leongatha, plus tourists visiting the region.

¡§Telling the story of Driffield is also intended to encourage other communities to initiate projects that commemorate and share their local history,¡¨ Mr Northe said.

Mr Northe said Victorian Government funding towards the $18,800 Remembering Driffeild Interpretation project would be provided through the Regional Growth Fund to Latrobe City Council, which would contribute $5,000, with the balance of funds and in-kind support provided by Yinnar and District Community Association and the Mirboo North and District Community Bank.

¡§The Regional Growth Fund is investing in community-led projects to strategically drive jobs, investment and innovation in rural and regional Victoria,¡¨ Mr Northe said.

russell.northe@parliament.vic.gov.au www.russellnorthe.com.au 66 George St, Morwell VIC 3840 ph 03 5133 9088 fax 03 5133 9388

¡§Since it was established in 2011, the Regional Growth Fund has delivered almost $430 million, generating over $1.7 billion of total investment across 1500 projects.¡¨

Mr Northe said in Latrobe City, the Regional Growth Fund had provided $17.2 million to 67 projects, leveraging $61.3 million in total investment. These projects including $800,000 towards the construction Gippsland Plains Rail Trail ¡V Traralgon ¡V Glengarry project

In addition the Coalition Government has also provided the following funding to the Yinnar Community:

„h $80,700 for Yinnar¡¦s Art Resource Collective for renovations

„h $80,000 towards the development of the Yinnar Skate Park

The project is expected to be completed in March 2015.

Media contact: 5133 9088

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com