POLE statues representing the area’s pioneering families have been restored and replanted after a mammoth effort involving several community groups came to fruition on Sunday 13 July.
The Myall River Art Walk Group (MRAWG), led by Jeanette Hart, has worked with Tea Gardens Lions and MidCoast Council workers to restore and reposition the poles, after they were first removed from their locations months ago.
“The ‘Pioneer Poles’ near Tea Gardens Library had to be moved to make way for the library extension, at which point we decided to swap out the ones that had rotted under weather and UV for new ones,” Ms Hart told NOTA.
“A huge thank-you to the Tea Gardens Lions for financing the new poles, and Lion Robert Dorman for organising removal of old and installation of new, assisted by John Hart.
“We also want to give a special thanks to MidCoast Council and the workers for digging the holes.
“They did not have to do it for us but they did, out of the kindness of their hearts.”
The original Pioneer Poles, created by Margaret and Pearl Ingram with assistance from David and Keith Ingram and Neil Germon, were carved from wood, but some have succumbed to the rigours of outdoor elements.
The new poles are, in fact, large-calibre pipes, upon which Jeanette painstakingly reproduced the pioneers.
It is hoped the new poles will resist the elements more effectively in the long-term.
Poles representing the pioneering Motum and Engel families are now installed in their new position along the roadside near the base of the Singing Bridge, with three of six poles being replaced.
Two of the three poles representing the McRae family have been replaced, and are now back and overlooking the Myall estuary from Winda Woppa.
MRAWG is a community group that erects and maintains art, operating as part of the Hawks Nest Tea Gardens Progress Association.
Jeanette and the Art Walk Group are already knee-deep in their next restoration projects, being the replacement of a panel from the Tea Gardens ANZAC Park mural, resurfacing of the whales mural near Bennetts Beach, and the rejuvenation of the River Relic sculpture, with special assistance from the local Men’s Shed.
By Thomas O’KEEFE
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