Blandowski Walk officially reopening

Published on 13 May 2015

The new boardwalk and staircase at Merbein’s popular Blandowski Walk will officially reopen this Saturday.

Mildura Rural City Council was awarded $272,000 in August 2013 from the then State Government to help fund new infrastructure, which will allow safer accessibility to the cliff face and riverfront from the top of Pump Hill in Merbein.  The total cost of the project was $408,000 with Council contributing $128,000 in cash and in-kind support.  Australian Vintage also contributed in-kind funding to the project.

Recreation and Sport portfolio Councillor Mark Eckel said the new Blandowski Walk will provide a stunning outlook over the cliffs at Merbein.

“This has been a great collaborative project and we really want to thank Australian Vintage, the Merbein Historical Society and the Friends of the Merbein Common for their valuable input and support,” Cr Eckel said.

“Technically this was a difficult job, constructing a staircase on what is essentially a vertical wall.  We also needed to be conscious of the natural environment on site and keep within a strict footprint.”

The new Blandowski Walk includes 46m of staircase and 30m of boardwalk with the installation works completed in March.

“Blandowski Walk provides a fantastic bookend to the new riverfront trail which will be constructed soon,” Cr Eckel said. “The trail will consist of 5kms of walking and bike tracks which will follow the river from Merbein through to the Riverside Golf Course.”

In addition to the new staircase and boardwalk, the project includes a barbeque area at the bottom of the staircase which is accessible by road and an information display donated by Mildura Arts Centre which will be on show at the Merbein Community Hub. 

The official opening will take place at 11:30am on Saturday 16 May with the whole community welcome to come along and enjoy a barbeque lunch. The Merbein and District Historical Society will also be giving a presentation on the day and explaining the historical significance of this important site.

Who was Blandowski? 
William Blandowski was a Victorian Government Zoologist who established a camp at “Chaffey Landing” at the bottom of the Merbein cliffs, in 1857.

With the help of the local Nyeri Nyeri people Blandowski studied our local wildlife and collected over 17,000 specimens for the Museum of Natural History in Melbourne.

 

Event Details
Where:   Blandowski Walk, Chaffey Landing 
               (can be accessed by the Mondellimin Track, Merbein Common or
               through the Pioneer 
Gardens, Forbes Drive)
When:    11:30am, Saturday 16 May 2015
What:     Official Opening with presentation from the Merbein and District 
               Historical Society and BBQ lunch.

ENDS


Media enquiries
Angela Umback
p) 03 5018 8689
e) angela.umback@mildura.vic.gov.au

 

Tagged as: