Consultants Destination Marketing Store launched the new branding material last week, saying it was designed to communicate the city’s diversity to people outside of Bathurst. 

The new logo features a stylised capital B featuring a palette of bold colours and carrying the tagline “Forever young”.

Forming a brand strategy for the Bathurst region was one of the key actions to flow from the creation of a Destination Management Plan devised in 2015. 

But the new logo has received a poor reception from the public with the tagline receiving most criticism.

Some have questioned how a city that prides itself on its heritage being the nation’s first inland settlement could choose a tagline that reads “Forever young”, while others have highlighted the fact the tagline features the name of another Central West town.

Cr Christian admitted he was unable to attend a workshop for councillors last week where the thinking behind the logo was explained but said no explanation should have been required.

“A logo should speak for itself,” he said.

“Forever young, for me, I don’t think matches the town because we are Australia’s oldest European settlement and we pride ourselves on or heritage.

“And the coloured B, whenever I see that I think I’m looking at an ad for The Professionals (real estate).

“Unfortunately, there has been overwhelmingly negative feedback from people who have spoken to me about it.

“To be perfectly honest, I haven’t heard one person say they like it.”

But mayor Graeme Hanger defended the logo, saying it was just one part of a broader branding strategy for the city.

“This strategy has been two years in the making including public consultation and workshops giving people the opportunity to put their input in and a lot of people did that,” he said.

“The logo is not just a one-off – it’s the result of a lot of consultation and work and part of an ongoing effort to market the region. It will be terrific.”

Deputy mayor Bobby Bourke also supported the design choice, saying he also had initial concerns but was convinced by a video presentation to councillors.

“Forever young is about bringing everyone together,” he said. “It says that Bathurst is a city that is always going forward, that we’re always young and we have young ideas.

“I have received two or three emails from residents who don’t like it and while that was probably my first reaction as well, once you see the work that has gone into it the logo starts to make more sense.”

Tony Prentice from Destination Marketing Store told last week’s logo launch that “Forever young” referred to a city that “just keeps reinventing itself”.

He said said the strategy would help people outside of the city see all the culture and potential that Bathurst has to offer.