Copeton Waters Holiday Park is living up to its name, with the installation of an extensive firefighting system including water tanks with the capacity of five backyard swimming pools and 12 kilometres of pipeline.
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Part of a $17.1 million spend across nine inland parks, mostly funded by the NSW Crown Reserve Improvement Fund program, Copeton Waters now complies with all of the necessary requirements for such a facility.
“We’ve got 49 hose reels and 38 fire hydrants, located close to key assets right around the park. So it’s quite a big project,” Reflections Holiday Parks chief executive officer Steve Edmonds said at the official opening of the new equipment on Wednesday.
The system includes two alarmed tanks and pumps which can be operated during extended power losses.
“This is a crucial infrastructure for Copeton Dam,” Inverell Shire Council mayor Paul Harmon said. He noted the huge numbers of tourists and locals who visit the area during Christmas and Easter.
“When you’ve got 10,000 people here - both holiday makers and also people from our community here, having the right firefighting equipment is essential,” he said.
“I applaud them for actually taking that on board and making sure that our dam and our holiday park is up to the safety standards that it needs to be… because the last thing we would hate to see is some form of tragedy happen here through lack of infrastructure.”
“This journey in terms of firefighting capability started with looking at all our risk elements in the parks, so we started with things like bushfire management plans and emergency management plans. That includes keeping maintained and cleared asset protection zones, Eliand that’s really to give people like the RFS a first line of defence should there be a bushfire coming to the area,” Mr Edmonds said.
Buddy Hippi and the Winangali Infusion dance troupe gave a traditional welcome to country, told the story of the brolga bird, and performed a smoking ceremony to cleanse the area. Attendees were encouraged to join in the final dances.
Mr Edmonds and Reflections Holiday Parks Chair Wendy Machin gave an overview of new infrastructure, sharing a timelapse video of the local parks’ changes.
Ms Machin gleefully showed that the equipment was in working order, spraying a hose towards the visitors, who were then given a tour of the new tanks.
She described the new system as essential “building blocks,” and expressed an interest in adding “sexier stuff” in the near future, such as upgraded cabins, more facilities, and non-water related activities.
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Naomi Shumack
Born and bred in Inverell, I'm passionate about community journalism. I'm the youngest of five kids, am a book worm and have a ridiculous movie collection. I have a double degree in Communications and International Studies from the University of Wollongong. I write stories for the Inverell Times, Moree Champion and Goondiwindi Argus. You can contact me at naomi.shumack@fairfaxmedia.com.au or on 0438 606 351.
Born and bred in Inverell, I'm passionate about community journalism. I'm the youngest of five kids, am a book worm and have a ridiculous movie collection. I have a double degree in Communications and International Studies from the University of Wollongong. I write stories for the Inverell Times, Moree Champion and Goondiwindi Argus. You can contact me at naomi.shumack@fairfaxmedia.com.au or on 0438 606 351.
