Mangrove Mountain Cultural Tourism Park is set to receive a $650,000 boost thanks to Round Two of the NSW Government’s Regional Tourism Activation Fund.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast Adam Crouch said it was a pleasure to be able to provide Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council with the funds required to help get this project off the ground.
“I would like to thank the team at Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council for the time they put into their application,” Mr Crouch said.
“This won’t only support our region by increasing visitation, this will support local economies and local jobs as more people spend at cafes, restaurants, hotels, motels, and local shops.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing your project come to fruition and working with you to realize the positive outcomes your project will contribute to regional NSW.”
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the Regional Tourism Activation Fund supports local economies and local jobs by backing unique tourism experiences that will attract visitors and showcase what regional NSW has to offer.
“We know regional NSW has Australia’s best tourist destinations and experiences. We want to amplify that by helping create new experiences and drawcards that put more heads on beds and attract more tourism dollars into regional communities,” Mr Toole said.
“The projects backed through the $150 million Round Two of the Regional Tourism Activation Fund will give domestic and international visitors even more great reasons to experience the best regional NSW has to offer.”
Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (Darkinjung) Chairperson, Barry ‘BJ’ Duncan said this investment will help Darkinjung build a cultural tourism precinct where we as an Aboriginal community can share our creation and dreaming stories, and cultural practices here on the Central Coast.
“Darkinjung is proud to lead the development of a cultural park that will help people experience these things, here on the doorstep of Sydney rather than feeling like they have to travel to the Northern Territory to experience Aboriginal culture,” Mr Duncan said.
Darkinjung Chief Executive Officer, Brendan Moyle said many people don’t know the creation story of Biayami that is shared amongst many Aboriginal nations across NSW and began at Mount Yengo at the back of the Central Coast.
“This park will be something unique where domestic and international visitors can come and have cultural experiences, staying overnight in camping or glamping which many people currently feel that they have to travel interstate for,” Mr Moyle said.
“This investment will help celebrate that ancient culture, while building unique visitor experiences, employment and business opportunities for the Aboriginal community.”
Round Two focuses on accelerating the development of high impact tourism and events infrastructure that will increase the international appeal of destinations in regional NSW and boost the visitor economy through increased visitation and job creation.
The $180 million Regional Tourism Activation Fund is part of the NSW Government’s $3.3 billion Regional Growth Fund, designed to support growing regional centres, activate local economies, and improve services and community infrastructure for regional communities.
For more information, go to: www.nsw.gov.au/RTAFund.