PIGGI BILLA PAPER online

Piggi Billa Paper is published monthly by Poatina Enterprise Network. The Poatina Enterprise Network (PEN) is a collaborative group of private and Fusion enterprises operating within and for the Poatina Village community to mutually support, advocate for, promote and protect the interests of Village enterprises.

Extract from PIGGI BILLA PAPER - June 2017

Poatina Past - Part 3

(part 2 in issue #11 Apr)
The area that was known to locals first as Flat Top Hill had been bought from the Oliver family by the Hydro to establish the village of Poatina. It first housed the workers that were building all the infrastructure to divert water from the highland lakes through the power station to generate electricity. Now it had become redundant because the automation of the power station meant that local staff that lived in the village no longer controlled the operation of the power station. Faced with ongoing costs and a town that was now becoming a liability, the Hydro decided to look for new owners for the property. The village was now looking for new inhabitants.
A marketing campaign was undertaken through a local Real Estate Agent offering the village for sale by public tender. The ad offered:
‘A COMPLETE TOWNSHIP located in the heart of Tasmania, Australia’s scenic island state where history and nature stand side by side.’
There was some interest shown from China where the intention was to feature the golf course and bring people, who possibly had flown into Launceston, to Poatina by helicopter. However this did not eventuate.
The sale of the village came to the notice of Fusion Australia, a not-for-profit Christian Youth and Community organisation. This was an organisation that was founded in the early 1960’s at a time when there was a growing number of young people in Australia who were becoming ‘at risk’. With many different centres across Australia they sought to help young people develop resilience. They would be helped with their social skills to enable them to connect in to society as well as other skills that would enable them to gain meaningful employment that would inevitably enable them to support themselves.
To carry out their work with an ever-increasing number of young people, a large number of youth workers, counsellors and mentors needed to be trained and so Fusion set up training opportunities in Sale and Mornington in Victoria.
An idea developed that maybe Poatina would be a place where Fusion could enhance their programs and a decision was made to send an accountant from the National Office in Sydney to look at what was on offer in Poatina and to assess whether it would meet their needs.
Michael Cleary remembers well the day he drove into Poatina to inspect the village on behalf of Fusion. There were about 7 Hydro families still living here but not enough to maintain any of the commercial enterprises.
The Service Station was open but not to the public, the store was closed and the Chalet (motel) had been closed.
He had two main reactions. First, even though he had seen the brochures, he was staggered at the level of infrastructure that would be available to them if they acquired the place - a large hall, shopping complex, motel, school, service station, a pool and land on both sides of the highway which included a football field. His mind immediately went to the way that this could be used to help ‘at-risk’ young people, those with a dependency problem, single mums without skills to cope and struggling families.
The second reaction was more personal. With the office space that was available, it would also be an ideal place for the national office and that might mean moving their family to Poatina too, something that he hadn’t even considered.
On looking at the situation in Tasmania, it was evident that what Fusion could offer in Poatina would also make big differences to young people and families from across the state. After all considerations, it was decided that Fusion Australia would put in a tender to purchase the town with all its infrastructure, which was no small decision.
Subsequently discussions were also undertaken with government and Northern Midlands Council. During these discussions it was noted that savings would be made to Government expenditure through Fusion’s work with Tasmanian families and that Northern
Midlands Council would require extensive work to be carried out by Fusion (underground pipes, resurfacing roads) so that they would not be required to outlay large sums of public money.

full article in the June issue of Piggi Billa Paper (see pdf link to the right)