By Esther Lauaki
Lauriston residents hope a revamp of the tiny town’s community hall will help create a vibrant community heart for the area.
The rundown hall is one of only two public buildings that remain in the town centre that had its heyday during the goldrush of the 1850s.
The campaign to re-invigorate Lauriston’s centrepiece into a gathering place for its 240 residents is just one of dozens of Macedon Ranges projects that have been submitted in the state’s Pick My Project initiative.
Pick My Project is a $30 million online community grants program in which Victorians vote for projects that are seeking funding.
Lauriston campaigner Sarah Morrison said the aim was to make the hall a space for all
58 families in the town.
“Our hall has been slowly closing down over the last 10 years,” Ms Morrison said.
“With new community members and more young families moving into our region, we are working hard to reinvigorate the hall as a community asset. We are desperate for chairs and tables to enable us to hold events to raise money for self-funding.
“People can feel isolated in a small regional town – community connectedness promotes good health and wellbeing.
“We want to re-establish the tradition that the hall once had as a place for families to gather. Having children’s play equipment that is easily accessible to the community will lead to greater use of the hall, which will be reinstated as our central community hub.”
Ms Morrison said a team of volunteers would run a music event in Woodend on Saturday, September 8, in a bid to inspire votes for the Lauriston hall project.
Residents can vote for more than 50 Macedon Ranges projects as part of the Pick My Project initiative. Voting closes at 5pm on Monday September 17.
To vote: bit.ly/2PcxwBW
