From left, Kooweerup township committee chairman Frank Crameri, former Kooweerup township president Ray Brown, mayor George Blenkhorn and Cr Graeme Legge.
By Justin Robertson
A SHIRE icon was re-launched by the mayor and a handful of township committee members last week.
The Kooweerup clock tower on Rossiter Road was unveiled by Cardinia Shire mayor George Blenkorn and former Kooweerup township committee president Ray Brown at a celebration that marked 10 years to the day the tower was originally launched.
The clock tower was showing signs of wear and tear and was restored by the Cardinia Council as a permanent landmark for the Kooweerup community.
Cr Blenkhorn said the tower had become a well-known landmark for the township, detailing the area’s heritage and history and providing a reference point for locals and visitors.
“I take great pleasure in handing this icon back to the community,” Cr Blenkhorn said. “I hope the children whose artwork is represented here will look back with pride and remember this ‘place in time’,” he said.
The central clock tower and four smaller towers feature panels of text and 17 hand-painted signs showing various aspects of life in Kooweerup.
The signs were painted by students from Kooweerup Secondary College and Kooweerup and St John the Baptist primary schools.
“The children’s paintings have been rendered in enamel, making them more permanent than the original hand-painted signs, which unfortunately had begun to show signs of disrepair,” he said.
The clock tower was constructed under the Federation Community Projects program, funded by the council and Federal Government in 2001.
Since being built, a regional bus interchange has been constructed on the adjoining site.
