I am quite often quoted as saying that here in Break O'Day we "punch above our weight" and there is no doubt that this is true in every aspect.
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As the Mayor of Break O'Day I could not be prouder of Council and the Break O'Day community on our achievements which continue to put our region front and centre as an all year round holiday destination as well as an area that welcomes sustainable and appropriate development.
Despite being open less than 12 months, the St Helens Mountain Bike Trails are proving to be a really successful project for our area. Already the trails have won two awards including the Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) Award for the Power of Partnerships which credited our relationship with World Trail and Parks and Wildlife and the dedication we showed to ensuring environmentally sustainable trails. Only a couple of weeks ago the trails also won the East Coast Tasmania Tourism Award for New Business. We are very proud of both these achievements and there is no doubt there will be more to come.
But we weren't the only tourism winners from our region; The Bay of Fires Bush Retreat won Deluxe Accommodation, St Helens Waterfront Holiday Park won the Caravan or Holiday Park Accommodation Award, Bed in a Shed won silver in the Self-contained Accommodation category and The Loft Bay of Fires took out bronze. Pyengana Dairy won silver for Food, Wine and Retail, and our very own Heidi Howe won Individual contribution to Tourism.
These awards are testament to what I have been saying for years ... our area is one of, if not the best, coastal destination in Tasmania. These are not our only awards though. Earlier this year the CEO of Medea Park Retirement Village won Telstra's Tasmanian Business Woman of the year award. An amazing achievement that demonstrates how dedicated our community is to excellence in all aspects of life.
Another significant award for our area was local fine dining restaurant Furneaux's win for Tasmanian Hospitality Association's Best Regional Restaurant 2019. Not satisfied with a state award, the team at Furneaux went on to win the national award.
You may also remember a little award winning event we hosted here in 2018, the One Night Stand, which brought more than 25,000 people to our area and is still the biggest One Night Stand in history. We like to say that the success of this event shows that here on the coast we know how to throw a great party and know how to celebrate in style.
We have also won awards for our amazing stadium, the Bendigo Bank Community Stadium. This venue is able to host massive events and prior to COVID-19, hosted one state league netball game a year. It also provides our community with a quality facility to train and play in. The stadium features a quality kiosk with commercial kitchen, change rooms, public amenities, viewing area to the outside netball courts as well as markings to cater for; netball, including centre court, basketball, tennis and futsal.
In September this year we will be launching more new mountain bike trails including another descent, a climbing trail as well as a 23-kilometre wilderness trail that will take riders through scenic forest to an area that was once a secret of the locals but now all will be able to enjoy, the Dreaming Pools.
The St Helens Mountain Bike Trails are really proving to be a major drawcard for visitors to our area and despite the colder weather, we have been welcoming riders back to St Helens the last few weeks and the trailhead car park has been packed! Unlike other trails in the state, our trails can be ridden all year round due to the drier soil type and coastal location.
The success of the trails has already brought more than $20 million in investment to our area in the form of both new developments as well as development of existing businesses. As a region highly dependent on tourism this sort of development is really important to our business community.
We like to think that our council is proactive in the space of development, however we also pride ourselves on ensuring that whatever that development may be, it fits with the natural environment, it is environmentally sustainable, and acceptable to the majority of our community. We have certainly seen some interesting developments recently, the new Serpentarium Wildlife Park is a great example of that. If you are into reptiles make sure you check it out next time you visit and say hello to one of our newest community members, Mickey the Anaconda.
With trails that can be ridden all year round, perfect beaches, plenty of walks and other activities for the whole family, award winning accommodation, food and community, why would you stay anywhere else?
We look forward to welcoming you all to our slice of paradise.
- Mick Tucker is the mayor of Break O'Day Council