Advocate, p.9 – 19 Dec 2014

A SPECIAL interest group for Tiagarra will be formed to prepare a report in relation to the future of one of Devonport’s most iconic tourist and cultural attractions.
Due to ongoing operational and financial issues, Tiagarra has been closed to the public for two years with no viable plan in place to reopen it.
After an attempt to use volunteers to keep it open failed, the Devonport City Council ended its Tiagarra lease arrangement with the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation a few months early.
Since then, the Devonport City Council has voted at its recent December meeting to expand the membership of the former Tiagarra working group, to include the broader Aboriginal community.
A report prepared by council community services executive manager Evonne Jones said the new special interest group would determine the future of Tiagarra, its viability and sustainability and the council’s level of commitment.
Ms Jones’s report said the group could provide a more inclusive and culturally appropriate approach to engaging stakeholders, and would bring in expertise in Aboriginal heritage, education, tourism, arts and cultural matters.
Ms Jones said the new Tiagarra Special Interest Group would look at developing possible networks and partnerships, including with SRAC.
The group will evaluate previous reports and explore alternative delivery models for Tiagarra which are both public and private via an Expression of Interest process.
The group will be rescinded once a report is finalised and presented to the council.
The proposed membership of the Tiagarra Special Interest Group includes SRAC, representatives of the local Aboriginal community, Aboriginal education services, Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Galley, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation.
The council has appointed Deputy Mayor Annette Rockliff to the group as its representative and the likely chairwoman.
“The history of Tiagarra is well-known and this is the next step looking at the future of Tiagarra,” Alderman Rockliff said at the council meeting.
Later she said the new Tiagarra Special Interest Group could amount to the last option open to find a way for Tiagarra to be a sustainable operation.