IT is all systems go once again down at the Bicentennial Park as work continues at breakneck pace on the Bathurst200 Flag Staff project.
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The initiative is the jewel in the crown of the region’s bicentenary celebrations and will become the focus of major celebrations later in the year.
Despite some significant setbacks, Phil Hampton of Bathurst-based Tablelands Builders said his team was working frantically to ensure all would be ready for the official unveiling on Proclamation Day.
Hordes of workers were on site on Monday morning for a major concrete pour, after which a team of bricklayers will move in.
“We are going hell for leather now to make sure we are finished come May 7,” Mr Hampton said.
Work on the $700,000 flag staff project was suspended last November after asbestos sheeting was uncovered when builders demolished the old toilet block and started digging the foundations for the addition.
Bathurst Regional Council’s manager of technical services Darren Sturgiss said one-and-a-half metres of soil was removed from the site, which was then capped with granite.
Soon after overcoming that hurdle, builders were plagued by a run of wet weather which set them back even further.
“We lost quite a few weeks,” Mr Hampton said.
“But it is just a process. You will always come up against problems, you just have to sort them out as quickly as possible and then get on with it.”
Mr Hampton was happy that the recent problems had been resolved and was on site on Monday for the footing pour.
“It’s all sorted and dealt with and we are concentrating on moving forward and getting the job done,” he said.
“There is several weeks of brick and block work to come, then more steel work and concreting after that.”
The memorial cairn, which has been held in a secure location for storage and restoration, will then be returned and, finally, landscaping will put the finishing touches on the bicentenary project.
The structure, designed by local architect Henry Bialowas, will reinstate the flag staff erected by Governor Lachlan Macquarie on May 7, 1815 by the banks of the Macquarie River, from where he proclaimed the township of Bathurst.
It will feature a glass pyramid at the base of the flag staff showcasing the newly restored cairn, which will be located in the centre of the viewing concourse with a view over the Macquarie River, and will feature artwork and designs that incorporate the history of the area. New amenities will also be included.
