This story from the Fraser Coast Chronicle on the "Finda" site is doing the rounds of the forums at the moment.  You may recall that Maryborough were going to allow free overnight parking in a town area for nomads as a trial.  Looks like they have done a backflip, see;

http://www.finda.com.au/story/2009/07/20/free-camp-for-nomads-is-rejected/#c1332 

Vic

-- Edited by Vic41 on Tuesday 21st of July 2009 12:25:23 AM

What can you say .. what goes 'round, comes around ! ..

.. grey power is an under-estimated resource ..

Our numbers are growing year by year, surely these towns must realise that sooner or later, I notice that Sapphire has an "RV welcome sign" out

To be fair to the existiing van parks, I'm inclined to agree with the decison. If the proposed free park was more than 20kms out of town it would have probably been a different result. Caravaning is certainly alive and well, and growing at a rapid rate. This season was a bit slow to start here in Cairns. While it's a great place for southerners to spend winter, it's also the drop off point before or after doing the Cape trip. The variety of rigs is as diverse as the people driving/towing them. This park provides a storage paddock for vans and vehicles while their occupants do the Cape by tagalong safari, 4WD bus or solo with mates. They come into the park in convoy. Some safari up and fly back to Cairns, or they come down the coast with the supply ship which serves TI and Weipa. The options are almost endless. The vans appear to be getting bigger. There seems to be more NSW travellers on the road up here this year. The ever-present Vics are still up here. I haven't seen too many NT travellers among the rest. I'm inclined to believe if the parks kept their rates down to a real level, the travellers wouldn't be so inclined to drive by the gate to find a free camp. It's more than $30 a night here, and Broome is more than $40 per night. Over 7 nights that can be $300 or there abouts. (No mathematicians here please) Paying that much for a patch of dirt or grass, maybe a slab, a hot shower and flushing dunny is really hard to comprehend. It would be easier to meet commitments if the parks were occupied for more of the time. This park is slowly getting rid of their permanents - the off-season bread and butter. Apart from me there are only 6 permanents here. We are considered to be a nuisance by the park operators. Go figure. Here endeth the lesson. Cheers Chris

we have two c/parks here in Pirie, both doing quite nicely thank you, we allow free camping, we not only allow highly visible signage for access to free parking for large rigs we encourage it within easy walking distance to all shops, we allow free water to those that purchase a little fuel (fair enough I think) in short we welcome the travellers of all ages, we give advice freely on where to camp for nix, I attended a council meeting last night and I brought the travellers issue to the fore once again, I was congratulated by all and sundry for having the guts to stand against all councilors present and to continue my fight for the travelling public, this included our two c/park owners it was estimated that revenue gained by the travelling short stay public would be in the region of $200,000 per year conservative spread between varying businesses throughout the town, not a mean accomplishment for money that was just "driving past" before the short sightedness and money grubbing way of Maryborough will prove to be it's downfall in the eyes of the travelling public, we have had a noticible increase within the travelling public who not only choose to "come and see us" but then decide to stay one or two nights simply because the welcome mat is out, some free camp but also stock up on food, fuel, medication, and tucker others use the c'parks and they also need restocking, the average dollar spent by each couple was a ballpark figure of $250 over a couple of days average stay is now three nights it is in the city's or towns best interest to put the welcome mat out for the travellers and not let the c/park owners rule the roost, it is simply greed, and it will be greed that will force the c/parks to close, leaving these morons out in the cold, once they gain the monopoly of camping then they raise their rates and reduce services I have had this argument with a dozen different councils over the years, fighting the narrow minded c/park owners all the way, some have come to see the benefits of free campers others have not, those that have not are going broke and those that open themselves up to travellers are doing okay I have already taken Maryborough and it's narrow minded citizens off my travel itinerary, and I can hear the scratching of a thousand pens doing exactly the same thing, nation wide fools dwell everywhere

I disagree with the local park operator's comment that we don't spend big in towns, a lot of little town economy's flourish because of the RV community. Anyone staying in the town (in a park or otherwise) spend money on fuel, new and 2nd hand clothes, supermarket supplies, bakeries, cafe's, hardware shops and the list goes on. I can see where he would be worried about his business, but I can see other businesses suffer including his if caravanners boycott the town. One of the larger Australia wide caravan clubs, Australian Caravan Club are having their National Muster on the showgrounds in Maryborough in 2010, it will be interesting to see if they will go ahead with it. It is not free, they are paying fees to the Council for the use of the facility/grounds, which is fair enough. I was told that Hervey Bay has three council owned caravan parks that charge $36 per night for a powered site, not sure if that is only in the peak season, but I know it is out of my range. Regarding permanents, I can't see why they can't have separate parks for both or at least totally separate areas for both like some do, with their own separate ablution blocks etc. Like Chris, I find it a bit understand why some parks are so set against permanents who are responsible citizens, it would make life a lot easier for them if they had long term people on site, less booking people in and out all the time and guaranteed income in the low season. There is one park in Aspley though that has all permanents, however they have had nothing but trouble with some of the type of residents that have been living there, and a police hot spot. Rumours are that it will close down soon. Vic

A case of "..can't see the wood for the trees.."

Have you ever left the plug in the hand basin and not fully closed the tap??

Very soon the basin is full to overflowing.

It's the same with the small but regular spending of the self contained travelers.

They don't spend a lot in one hit but the trickle income that they provide can mean the difference between a business being viable or seriously struggling.

Especially out of 'season'.

Extra income to the town and, probably, another employment opportunity for someone.

The money stays in the area, unlike the big tourist industry players who are often owned and capitalised by outside interests and bleed most of the profits away from their source.

Getting the facts to the local business operators is the only way to get them to lobby their councils to wake up to reality.

Every time you buy something or avail yourself of a service at a locality, let them know that the availability, or otherwise, of free/low cost parking/camping influences how long you will stay in the area and consequently how much money they will get out of you.

Keep the till dockets etc. and wave them under the collective noses of the local Chamber of Commerce.

Little by little they may eventually wake up to themselves.

Well done on your effort in Pt Pirie Dave, I much prefer to stay there than in Augusta, Pirie is a pretty, clean town and that Railway Station is a real photographers delight. I heard that Forbes in NSW was forced to close the free camping in their section of a National Park, however realising the value of the RV community opened up a free camping site with facilities on council land. Anyone local or otherwise know anything about that? Sounds like some sensible council thinking there! Vic

thanks for that Vic, I get enormous pleasure when I see our fellow travellers taking a break in our little community, we all gain when we share our little town, the large rig parking by the way is on memorial drive, signposted off the main road, just turn left after woolworths, toilets and water are just at the oval, it's a long and very wide road so it will accomodate all sizes the girls in our information centre are to be congratulated as well with all the info they delve out we have lived in and around Pirie for a hell of a long time now, wouldnt live anywhere else and we have seen most of australia, most is over commercialised and overcrowded, too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too much humidity or too many diseases but we still have something that a lot of people crave nowadays freedom and space and a quality of life that is lacking in a lot of places port augusta has cleaned itself up a hell of a lot now, thanks must go to Joy Balluch, the blacks are being made to "tow the line" as they should be, she did nothing more than to make "equality" mean "equality" the law as it applies to whites also must apply to the blacks, dont go there in summer though, thats when the "desert" people come to town to get away from the heat and no law applies to them no more no less, just equal rights as it should be, i came to logger heads with her a long time ago when the prison was expanded, I was on a dozer clearing scrub, she pulled up in a flurry of dust and skirts and red hair and tore into me for knocking her trees down, i was following orders but she was tottally insane and would not listen to any reason ended up in court, she will not give in on any subject where she feels she is right, god love her shes a great girl with a big heart but unfortunately her mouth matches the heart size

Thanks for the feedback on town facilities Dave, I'll make a note of that for next time.

For anyone who is interested, here is a link to the Maryborough Council meeting on the thread subject, the main report is towards the end and is a long read, the pdf is about a 3 Meg download for those with limited download capacity. My head is still spinning from reading the report, a lot to take in.  If you still wish to view it, click on;

http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/council/meetings/Ordinary%20Meetings/FCRC%20Ordinary%20Meeting%20No%2012%20Open%20Agenda%20150709.pdf 

Vic


-- Edited by Vic41 on Tuesday 21st of July 2009 02:47:21 PM

         forbes        have allways had a free camping site in town.     its the whole street at the back of the r.s.l.club  ( great meals )      there is a small sign on the by-pass.if you miss it just keep going around to traffic lights at mc'donalds,  and turn left into the main street  ,then 1st left again.          trucks used to use it,but most trucks now go out to the roadhouse at the north end of town.    the roadhouse site  has two big parking areas,  the southbound site was built by the r.t.a. and the big one on the northbound side is owned by the roadhouse.        up till 12 months ago you were quite welcome with your r.v.      he is a nice bloke that runs the roadhouse.   

here is a list of R.V. friendly towns, they welcome travelers of all persuasions to come and "set a spell"

thanks go to the C.M.C.A. for providing this info

New South Wales
Bingara, Cobar, Deniliquin,
Dungog, Forbes, Hay,
Lake Cargelligo, Leeton, Lockhart,
Warialda, Young

Queensland
Baralaba,
Barcaldine, Bedourie,
Biggenden, Birdsville, Blackall,
Boonah, Charleville, Childers,
Home Hill, Hughenden, Isisford,
Julia Creek, Laidley, Longreach,
Millmerran, Quilpie, Richmond,
Sapphire Springs, ure Tara,
Theodore, Townsville, Winton

South Australia
Cleve, Karoonda, Kimba,
Loxton, Melrose, Tumby Bay,

Tasmania
Burnie, Deloraine, Devonport,
Franklin, George Town, Latrobe,
Penguin, Port Huon, Port Sorrell,
Railton, Sheffield, Smithton,
Stanley, Ulverstone, Westbury,
Wynyard

Victoria
Ararat, Charlton, Heathcote,
Nyah/Nyah West Sale

Western Australia
Boyup Brook, Bruce Rock, Corrigin,
Goomalling, Pingelly, Pinjarra,
Quairading, Wongan Hills, Wyalkatchem,

there are more but I ran out of patience and my finger gets tired 

the dump point at Port Pirie is located inside the globe oval off warnertown road (main road) alongside the toilets, before the main roundabout, if you go through this then you have gone too far

enter via geddes road, opposite flinders range motor inn

gps coordinates are Lat -33.18627 Long 138.02390

once again thanks must go to the C.M.C.A. for instalation and instructions on how to find it

there is a tap with good drinkable water

large rigs are easily accommodated, no overnight stays here though, especially on weekends when the oval is in use (maybe through the week if careful)


-- Edited by dave06 on Wednesday 22nd of July 2009 11:01:09 AM

Thanks for the info on Forbes Ken, will have to put that one on my list, along with the ones from Dave (thanks Dave). I have seen the CMCA signs (RV Friendly town) on a couple in WA you have mentioned. Harking back to Maryborough, I had a look through the report and although there certainly were some not so nice comments about grey nomas, I can't see the quote "Cheap Nomads" looks like that one was made by the journo who wrote the article for The Age on their interpretation of the report. Regards that C/Park operator, it has been suggested that if anyone is looking for a park to stay in at Maryborough they use the Oz Park one on the way into town instead. Vic

I think little gerard o'connell just needs to grow up and see the real world, I found no reference to us being a cheap mob either but I can see this little pencil pushing desk jockey saying it, never mind many other places for us to throw our cash around to, dont need to leave it in "hicksville"

hi vic.      dave is right, this place is hicksville.            its renowned for beeing a wowsers town.   a place you go thru ( at the speed limit )   on your way to hervey bay,  where all the brisbane goldern oldies go to retire.        going north there is allways the departement of transport "huge" inspection station on the maryborough by-pass ( which is used by everybody ) about another 3 kilometres further north is a roadhouse,on the right, it has a huge parking area.    i have seen r.v. come in there and camp the night.   ( it wouldnt hurt to ask though )

Thanks Ken, all being taken in for my big lap early next year........hope your spot is included by then with a bit of luck. Dave, Gerard O'Connel is the good guy, he is the one that was trying to get it done for the grey nomads, pity his photo is there it looks like they are his comments. The person that has insulted us all is Paul Vesperman, the owner of the Wallace C/park who seems to think we are all worthless. I feel sorry for the small businesses that may not have supported this councils decison. If anyone wants to make a comment online they can go to the link on the first post to register, there are a couple of comments there already. I think they have to be "approved" first so you may not see your comments added immediately. Vic

Thanks to all for the comments as we will be leaving on Monday for Queensland found the comments really helpful. Hopefully this time we will get to Queensland and not have to rush back home after a few days on the road. Helena.

It seems the town fathers are the only ones who are ignorant to the spending ways of Nomads. Fuel, food, daily newspaper, bread and milk and a pie from the local pie shop etc. There still seems to be a stigma about the image of travellers. Some places just tolerate us, while others put out the welcome mat with the open arms. It's a strange business. Unlike the real estate industry caravan travel is a growing enterprise even though they'e being undone for tourist parks with cabins only. They require more cleaning, more maintenance and higher overheads, for higher tarriffs. Let's just keep up the profile of van travellers and their needs, and keep up the pressure on councils to do their bit for this industry. Private park owners are more aware of which side their bread is buttered. (The side which always hits the floor first). Cheers Chris

ah! I stand corrected and my apoligies go to mr o'connell however different name much the same attitude

G'Day All, My very first post, and wouldn't you know it, it's a copy of a post that I recently placed on another forum regarding the same topic. I hope you'll bear with me - here's the copy - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- G'Day All, What is it that's being objected to here? Is it (a) the decision made by the Fraser Coast Regional Council (not the Maryborough Council) regarding Caravan/RV parking in a carpark, or (b) the inane ramblings of someone (not associated with the council) having a vested interest in the implementation of a non-freecamping policy? On perusing the minutes of the council meeting (see below) I see little to get excited about aside from part (b) of the resolution in which the CEO is to look at the requirements for becoming an RV Friendly Town. ORD 10.2 Motor Home Parking in Maryborough MOVED ( OConnell / MucKan ) That Council commence a three month trial of self-contained motor home and caravan parking in the McDowell Car Park, Maryborough LOST (3/8) RESOLUTION ( Brooks / Hawes ) That: a) in the absence of a defined local law, identified budget for infrastructure, marketing and compliance Council not proceeds with Motor Home Parking at McDowell Car Park Maryborough at this time; and b) the Chief Executive Officer investigate the requirements needed to become an RV Friendly Town. Carried (10/1) If the objections are to the individual named in the news item we should ensure that our comments are directed to the individual concerned, either directly or through the newspaper. Cheers Lazo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think that it's interesting to note that the remarks by an individual are being taken as reflecting council policy and indeed the opinion of other businesses in the region, but there are several points that do not support this, particularly the fact that there are 4 very nice campsites (not CPs) within 20km of Maryborough (1 of which is in a state forest and levies a charge). Hardly the situation one would expect from a council that is being branded as anti-freecamping! I think hat it's also important to note that Cnr O'Connell's proposal of a trial period was not defeated unanimously - and that the resolution to investigate the Friendly Towns requirements was carried un-opposed. To my mind this indicates that the council does recognise that there are benefits to be enjoyed by local businesses in encouraging the travelling public to stay awhile, and is doing something about it on their own terms - which I think is fair enough. Bear in mind also that the carpark in question is already provided with 6 "long bays" and the council recognises that these are well utilised by Caravanners, Motorhomers, etc. I do consider the remarks made in the newspaper item to be, not only insulting, but downright offensive! I am heartened to see that he is being told to pull his head in. Sorry for the rant - I'm looking forward to participating in this forum, there seem to be some very nice people in here! As a general bit of info, my wife (Deirdre) and I left home in March to do a quick, anti-clockwise, lap. Currently in Bunbury WA and survived the horrific weather that this area suffered over the last few days - life is great, albeit rather soggy at present. Cheers Lazo

hi lazo,and welcome to the forum.               it sounds to me as if the campervan motorhome club of australia,have made a approach about them becoming a r.v.town.          what i cant understand is travelling north,at the end of the maryborough by-pass,on the left you have a area that  takes free camping ( i have seen about 10 vans free camping in here,its on dirt but there is lot of shade trees )    100yards further on is the big dept of transport inspection and rest area.  then 100yards further on you have the maryborough showgrounds on the left  ( a big padlock on the double gates )           maryborough will regret all the bad publicity,     as its only 38 kilometres further north to a great town of   "childers"  its got every thing you and i want.     good parking.      good supermarkets      very friendly people.  ( they have a old chemist shop from the 1900,when everything was hand made )        and then 5 kilometres further on,there is the best free camping site in queensland    "apple tree creek"                         so who would want to go off the main highway into   "maryborough"                                     

as you say damage has been done, the word is out, maryborough is NOT freindly to nomads genies out of the bottle and it cant be returned, it's up to maryborough to correct it, but I cant see as to how they would or could even if they wanted to

Welcome to the site Lazo, Well researched post and puts things into perspective a bit more, sad it had to come to this, I would say at least the caravan park owner who bad mouthed the grey nomads and twisted the facts will miss out on a lot of busines from those who stay at caravan parks and only has himself to blame. I believe the local newspaper, tourist bureau and council have received a number of replies and also the Australian Caravan Club wrote the the newspaper as well about the ill founded comments by the park owner. Vic

And Granny also says welcome Lazo. Thanks for enlightening us with the facts. Unfortunately this topic has been a little like journalism - never let the facts stand in the way of a good story. The item was written here and everyone, including me, became a bit emotional, and took the entire issue personally. I had no trouble parking in Maryborough, but I did dent a rear rim on the van negotiating one of it's short, narrow corners at an intersection. The bead wasn't broken, the tyre is ok, so no harm done. I take even more care now than I did before. I think most towns are Caravan and RV friendly as much as they can accommodate. There are those places which consider all tourists to be nuisances. I don't know what they discuss at their local tourism meetings, but customer services doesn't seem to make the agenda in some of those places. I'm a fast learner, so I just don't go there again. My joice. Travel safe. Cheers Chris

Welcome from me Alan. Thanks for your insightful post.Had inlaws live in a rental property there for twelve months.[Maryborough] Could not wait to get back to Brisbane.Sooo unaccepted into the community. But they would be the most easy going people I have known.['cept for me & she of cause lol] Greg

Welcome Lazo... Not Victor Lazo by any chance?

Hi Forbes was made to make there free camp area to 24 hr only in town on the edge of the lake nice we have a property in Forbes and the town is rv freindley regards Pat.

G'Day Guru,

Nah - Alan Lazarus - been known as Lazo ever since primary school (a loooong time ago!).

Could be worse though - my dad was known as "Moses" all his life!

Cheers
Lazo

PS Thanks for the welcome everyone!