ABOVE: Darryl Clifford, Noel Thomas, Sandra Humphrys, Kevin Magnay and Owen Newell at the new memorial.
Susanna Freymark
Sandra Humphrys gushed at the official opening of the memorial park at the Casino Drill Hall site.
There was so much to see. The new military memorial, a reflection pool leading to a poppy-inspired children’s play park and then out to a viewing platform overlooking the Richmond River.
And there was so much to gush about.
“It’s the whole precinct,” Ms Humphrys said.
The precinct includes the Northern Rivers Military Museum and the Casino Visitor Information Centre.
The new development adds another dimension to the South Casino site.
“I drove past the other day and saw someone in a wheelchair on the viewing platform,” Ms Humphrys said.
“That made my heart sing.”
There are so aspects of the development to admire.
“There’s the fun of the play park,” Ms Humphrys said.
“You can hear the laughter and it symbolises freedom.”
And freedom matters to those who served.
A group of ex service men and women worked together to decide how best to commemorate the past and recognise the future.
The war memorial is a grand slab with etchings of soldiers on its polished black surface.
Casino RSL sub-Branch president Owen Newell said Richmond Valley Council gave them a book and they selected the design they wanted.
Mayor Robert Mustow said council staff were passionate about the project right from the start because of its military connections.
Council’s assets manager Andrew Leach and project officer Lani Hancock worked on the project from the beginning.
“Every idea we had, Andrew pulled it forward,” Ms Humphrys said.
Ms Hancock said the project was funded by state and federal governments and Richmond Valley Council.
She gave us a tour of the site in the video below.
The $5.4 million redevelopment was made possible through the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund and Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Fund, where Council was successful in obtaining $2.7 million for the first stage, followed by $885,000 to build a memorial walk and a further $405,000 for much-needed upgrades at Coronation Park.
The project also received $252,000 from the NSW Government’s ClubGRANTS scheme, which helped fund the construction of the Casino Visitor Information Centre and a $1.2 million contribution from Richmond Valley Council.
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