Tyler Redway
MANY Robe locals have opposed the District Council of Robe’s plans to let the town’s iconic obelisk fall into the ocean, despite maintenance works for the landmark being estimated to cost at least $1.5m.
A public consultation session was held on July 11 to help determine the future of the landmark.
Last month, the council said that work to save the Robe Obelisk from coastal erosion was “financially unsustainable”.
The meeting was livestreamed via the council’s Facebook page to allow those who couldn’t make it to the meeting to have the opportunity to listen in.
The general opinion of attendees was the obelisk should either be saved or preserved in a way which could still show the town’s unique history.
Several plans were proposed by community members, which included either preserving the original structure or finding a way to tell the story of the obelisk in a different way.
One local suggested a fundraising campaign would be beneficial to raise money to aid the council in preserving the “icon of the community”.
Another said the obelisk’s story of courage and sacrifice was crucial to Robe’s history and should be displayed on a plaque at a safer distance from the coastline.
There were others who wanted to see the construction of a new obelisk in a different location other than the coastline.
District Council of Robe Mayor Lisa Ruffell said there was a lot of “passion” for the obelisk seen during the meeting.
Ms Ruffell said the results of the meeting were to gain the community’s perspective on what course of action for the obelisk should be taken.
“What we have seen tonight is passion, some want to make a new one, some want to save the erosion and some maybe want to get out there and tell the story of their experience with it,” Ms Ruffell said.
“Tonight was about myself and my fellow councillors listening to you so we can go back and have a discussion.
“I don’t want us to come back here in ten years time just so we can have the same discussion, I want us to move forward so we can make a decision whether we all agree or not.
“Hopefully from this meeting, maybe we can start working on a final plan from the passion we have heard about this.”
Following the end of the meeting, the District Council of Robe invited members of the community to attend a briefing session to determine the next course of action from the findings of community engagement.
The Robe Obelisk’s new public briefing session will be held on July 17 at the Robe Council Chambers at 5.30pm.
