He was speaking yesterday at the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association meeting, where he went into great detail about the plans for the celebrations.

Cr Rush made clear the bicentenary was not just an opportunity to consider the city’s past, but a chance to add to its future.

If visitors to the town spend just $15 per head, per visit, he said, it will bring in around $88 million.

The question of a street parade also arose.

Cr Rush said the council had discussed the implications of a traditional street parade and had decided not to hold one, but will use elements throughout the year.

“We’re going to have a procession of events that will last for 12 months,” he said. “I am confident there will be something for everyone.”

He said there will be parade-like processions at different points in the year that members of the community can enjoy.

Cr Rush also said it was a wise decision not to have a public holiday when Bathurst celebrates its bicentenary.

“Having a public holiday will not necessarily mean more attendance,” he told the meeting.

Instead of a public holiday, council has applied for a Local Event Day.

Cr Rush said children would be more likely to participate in the bicentenary if they were at school, freight companies would save $50,000 each, and penalties would not apply to local businesses that choose to stay open on the day. 

An $800,000 redevelopment of Bicentennial Park – which will re-instate the flag staff erected by Governor Lachlan Macquarie on May 7, 1815, from where he proclaimed the township of Bathurst – will be unveiled on Thursday, May 7 next year as the centrepiece of Proclamation Week.