Tarong Community Partnership Fund recipients announced

19 January 2021

The Stanwell Tarong Community Partnership Fund is dedicated to helping projects that build social connectedness, lead to increased employment, improve access to critical services, enhance educational opportunities or build economic capacity, preparedness and resilience in the community surrounding the Tarong power stations and Meandu Mine. 

There were three successful applicants in round one of the 2020/21 Tarong Community Partnership Fund.

QCWA Kingaroy Branch 

The Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA) is known for its great home cooks and handcrafts – but as anyone who’s ever lived in one of the communities where they operate could tell you, they’re about much more than cakes and crocheting. 

The QCWA provides a safe meeting place for women of all ages to forge friendships, create connections and learn life skills. It facilitates an active community of women who together improve the lives of people living in regional, rural and remote Queensland.

The Tarong Community Partnership Fund will enable the QCWA’s Kingaroy branch, which has provided a wide range of community support for close to a century, to paint the exterior and interior of their hall. This will support them to provide a safe, well-maintained and adaptable community hall, so they can continue to meet the needs of the South Burnett community now and into the future. 

Kingaroy State High School 

Thanks to the efforts of Kingaroy State High School’s students, what was once an overgrown piece of land near the school’s Toomey Street entrance has become a ‘yarning circle’ – a place for students to learn from a collective group, build respectful relationships, and preserve and pass on cultural knowledge.

There are nearly 150 Indigenous students at Kingaroy State High School, all of whom have taken part in this project. The students cleared the space of weeds, and after a lot of raking and shovelling, placed large sandstone blocks in a circle.

The circle has come to play a critical role in the educational experience of the students and contributes to an inclusive learning environment.

Like a pebble tossed into a pool of water, the yarning circle is expected to radiate outward and continue to generate positive outcomes for the community. The circle also has established links to the Council-led Kingaroy CBD transformation scheme, positioning the school’s participating students to develop further projects that will support town improvement in the years to come.

The Tarong Community Partnership Fund will enable Kingaroy State High School to purchase audio equipment to complete the final stage of the yarning circle project. With this audio equipment, the students will be able to record the stories of the local Wakka Wakka elders for inclusion in the yarning circle, preserving their heritage for future generations. 

South Burnett CTC Inc – The Gumnut Place 

The Gumnut Place is an independent, locally established community enterprise that has been supporting people with a disability in the communities of the South Burnett, as well as their families and carers, for more than 30 years. 

As an Australian Disability Enterprise, people of all abilities are welcomed and encouraged to work at The Gumnut Place, which currently provides meaningful employment opportunities for 20 people with disabilities living in the South Burnett. 

The Tarong Community Partnership Fund will enable The Gumnut Place to purchase an additional industrial washing machine and a dryer unit. This will support The Gumnut Place to take advantage of the increasing demand for laundry services in the South Burnett, ensuring the continued viability of the business so that it can continue to supply a valuable service to the community. 

The Gumnut Place is an initiative of South Burnett CTC, a community-owned, not-for-profit organisation that offers a wide range of programs, including disability services, foster care, and youth and family services addressing homelessness, health, domestic violence and more. 

“Stanwell is a fantastic supporter of what we do,” South Burnett CTC CEO, Nina Temperton says. 

“We couldn’t do it without them, and we’re pleased to be able to acknowledge the terrific support we’ve received from Stanwell for our work over the years.”  

Are you taking part in a project that’s enriching the community? For further information or to apply for the Tarong Community Partnership Fund, contact Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Karen Wall on (07) 4160 9251 or Community Relations Manager, John Carey on (07) 4160 9165.