One of Orange’s best loved recreational spaces, the Moulder Park velodrome, will receive a new lease of life following its transfer of ownership from the Orange City Council to the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Access for the broader community will be maintained following the transfer and the site will co be co-managed by the City Council and Land Council.
The site including the velodrome, toilet block and the old asphalt netball courts south of the creek are Crown Land. Under the NSW Government’s Crown Land Negotiation Program the site will be transferred to OLALC. The program was designed to deliver positive social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits.
Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council Chairperson, Jamie Newman said the site would continue to be a much-loved community facility for the people of Orange and the new agreement is a fresh start for the precinct.
“The men’s and women’s teams from the OAMS Warriors will use the Moulder Park velodrome as a training facility and we hope to secure grants from government to install lights and other facilities to increase the use of the field,” Mr Newman said.
“We will also work with Council and the police to transform the old netball clubhouse into a Youth Hub for all young people in Orange.”
Orange Mayor Tony Mileto said the site was an important community asset and the transfer also recognised the importance of land to Aboriginal people.
“The use by the broader community will continue as it will be for the users who regularly book the site for recreational and sporting use,” Cr Mileto said. “Over time we will work with OLALC to best meet their goals for land they will own.”
OLALC CEO, Annette Steele said the velodrome precinct would also become a valuable community gathering place.
“For years our community has been calling for a place to gather for NAIDOC and Reconciliation Week events as well as family days. The Moulder Park velodrome area can now become a focal point for our people as well as a place for everyone in Orange to gather to promote Reconciliation,” Ms Steele said.
Ms Steele said that Orange was the first land council in NSW to negotiate an Aboriginal Land Agreement with the state and local governments.
As part of the agreement the site including the velodrome, toilet block and the old asphalt netball courts south of the creek are to be transferred to the Land Council as custodians for the Orange Aboriginal community. The transfer will take place over the next five years.
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