Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 31 August it was my great pleasure to officially open the Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre, a building destined to become a Wheatbelt icon. This exceptional building is completely made of wood and is the biggest civic timber construction built in Western Australia since World Two II. Much of the hardwood came from the timber town of Manjimup, also in my electorate of O'Connor. Aged jarrah floorboards were salvaged from the old Pingelly Pavilion and have been repurposed as panelling and decorative features. A big thank you to Pingelly Men's Shed for their hard work dressing these old floorboards, which have been incorporated into the public bar and viewing areas. Using traditional methods of joinery, this building took 18 months for 18 highly skilled artisans to complete, with the project managed by Sime Building Company of Narrogin and Esperance, also in my electorate.

The total project cost was around $9.8 million, with $3.9 million granted through the federal government's National Stronger Regions Fund. The shire itself contributed $4.8 million, with the community chipping in: $10,000 from The Pingelly Times, $5,000 from the Pingelly Development Association, $4,300 from the Pingelly grains focus group and $1,400 from the Pingelly recreation and cultural focus group. Thanks also to Lotterywest, Bendigo Bank, the Forrest Products Commission and CBH for their generous donations.

This wonderful centre is a testament to the vision of former shire president Shirley Lange and CEO Gavin Pollock, who chose the timber design because it will age beautifully. Congratulations to current shire president Bill Mulroney and his team at Pingelly Shire for developing such an iconic building project. It was my pleasure to open a building which will enhance the community's delivery of sporting, cultural and social activities.