The Dorset Golf Course is Trawalla Road in Croydon and is one of two public golf courses located within the City of Maroondah. The course was opened in 1983 and is an 18 hole course on a 45 hectare site.

As part of the Federal Government’s economic stimulus package, Maroondah City Council was able to secure funding to redevelop the club rooms, which failed to meet accessibility standards and were in need of restoration.

This afternoon I was joined by Senator David Feeney to officially open these extensions. The copy of the speech is included within this post:

Good afternoon and welcome to the opening of the redeveloped club rooms for the Dorset Golf Course.

Maroondah City Council, in the spirit of reconciliation, acknowledges that we are meeting on the land for which the Wurundjeri people have been custodians for many centuries.

I would like to welcome Senator David Feeney, Mike Symon the Member for Deakin, as well as my fellow Councillors, Paul Macdonald, Natalie Thomas and Ann Fraser. I would also like to welcome the many council staff here today, including Frank Dixon, Council’s Chief Executive Officer, as well Helen Croxford, the Director of Community and Leisure Services, Marianne Di Giallonardo, the Director of Corporate Services, Phil Turner, the Director of City Development and Trevor Welsh, the Director of Operations and infrastructure.

The Dorset Golf Course was opened in 1983 and is home to several community organisations, including the Dorset Golf Club, the Dorset Ladies Golf Course and the Dorset Ladybirds Social Club and I would like to welcome members from each of these organisations.

The redeveloped club rooms, which are a vast improvement on the old facilities, includes accessibility improvements, as well as sustainability features, in the form of water tanks and solar panels. This project was possible due to the partnership between Council and the Federal Government, whereby the Commonwealth contributed $295,000, with Maroondah City Council delivering $133,116 to make these improvements a reality.

The end result is a community facility that is accessible to all members of the community, through new club rooms, as well as sustainability improvements that reduce Council’s impact on the environment. Dorset Golf Club caters for approximately 60,000 visitors per annum and I am certain that each of these visitors will be enjoying these new facilities.