Activities in Detail
This page provides more detail on recent and/or major projects. The information on this page will change as new projects are undertaken.
Liberty Swing
In 2009 the Lions Club of New Norfolk was approached by the Derwent Valley Council to see if we would be prepared to construct a Liberty Swing in Tynwald Park at New Norfolk. The Liberty Swing is an Australian invention which allows people in wheelchairs the opportunity to experience the joy of having a swing in the park. The swing is manufactured in Sydney to Australian Standards. It is safe and easy to use, and securely locked when not in use.
The swing was installed in the park through a cooperative effort by Variety The Childrens Charity, the Derwent Valley Council, the Lions Club of New Norfolk, Norske Skog Boyer and Log a Load for Kids.
The project committee first undertook an inspection of an existing swing at Glenorchy to gain an understanding of what was required and to determine the size of the area required.
Inspecting the Liberty Swing at Montrose.
The site at Tynwald was selected and construction started with the erection of the frame. Once this was completed the frame assembly was attached.
Assembling the Swing
Once actual assembly was completed it was necessary to install a level compacted gravel base in preparation for the installation of the softfall. The new "Lions Truck" proved its worth by carrying many loads of gravel. Following this a childproof fence was erected.
On the Shovel / Building a Fence
The Derwent Valley Council then asked if the club would be prepared to construct a path from the car park to the entrance to the swing which would be suitable for wheelchairs.
Building the Path
The weather was not kind to us during this period and the company which was installing the softfall had to redo much of their work due to heavy rain during a critical period.
Installing the Softfall / Completed Swing
The swing was officially opened by the President of the Lions Club of New Norfolk, Sandy Carmichael.
President Sandy Carmichael Officially Opens the Swing
First Official Ride
The official opening of the swing was a family affair. It was timed to coincide with the arrival of twenty-five Variety Club TasBash cars in New Norfolk as this was a project funded by the 'bash'. Representatives from the Derwent Valley Council, Norske Skog Boyer and other community groups. The Lions Club was fully involved with providing the sausage sizzle, and operating our wheelchair capable train ride.
Setting up for Sausage Sizzle / Train Rides
For more photos see the Tynwald Park photo album.
Trackless Train
The Lions Club of New Norfolk operates a trackless train at various events such as shows (Brighton, Bushy Park, Hamilton, Kempton etc), festivals (Oatlands, Autumn in the Valley etc) and other events (Kidsfest Launceston etc) or anywhere there is sufficient room to operate the train.
The train has been designed to be able to carry passengers who are confined to wheelchairs and is capable of carrying two wheelchairs at the same time as other passengers.
The train may be booked for an event on the following basis:
Fare Collection: The club will collect fares and either pay a fixed fee or share the fares as agreed at the time of booking.
Expenses Only: The club is paid the cost of transporting the train to the site and depending on the nature of the event will either collect fares or provide free rides as agreed at the time of booking.
Full Hire: The club is paid a fixed fee and provides free rides or collects fares all of which are returned to the hirer as agreed at the time of booking.
Community: The club, at its discretion, may decide to operate the train at an event as a community project. In this case no fee is payable.
The Lions Club of New Norfolk carries full public liability insurance and copies of the certificates of currency are available should they be required. The hirer is responsible for obtaining any approvals required from the appropriate council etc if the event is being held on public land (eg parks etc).
For More Information contact
Greg Hudson
Phone: 0418 127 439
Mike Berry
Phone: (03)6261 3300
0409 434 240
Email: mike_berry@internode.on.net
TYNWALD PARK
1975/1976: While the club was working on the Toddler's Pool the Warden of New Norfolk (Clyde Fitzgerald) offered the Club an area of Tynwald Park to be developed as a community area. The Club took up this offer and in early 1975 two barbeques were erected at the bottom end of this area. This was the start of our long involvement with this site.
1977/1978: Work continued at Tynwald Park with the big Rotunda and additional barbeques being installed. One of our former members, Barry Crawford, was working on this project when his daughter Melinda came down to see him. At this stage members had all the uprights installed and were finishing off the boxing ready for the concrete which was due shortly, Melinda took one look at one of the uprights and said it wasn't vertical. Naturally everyone (including Barry) dismissed that idea out of hand. Melinda took the spirit level and checked it, let me just say, if we had been working at night we could have saved an awful lot on power as all those red faces would have lit up New Norfolk.
1980/1981: A Traction Engine, Thresher and Fork Lift were donated to the Club. These were installed at Tynwald Park where they proved extremely popular with visitors. There are a couple of interesting stories associated with this equipment.
When the thresher was being positioned one of our members (Max Hardwick) climbed onto the top of the unit. He came off a lot quicker when he saw a snake up there beside him.
After it had been installed for a few years we had a visitor from England. It turned out he was a member of one of the many steam societies in that country, he had a look at our engine and checked its serial number and found that it was one he had been trying to locate for many years.
1993/1994: A further development of Tynwald Park took place in this period with the installation of a further $15,000 of play equipment. This was despite vandalism destroying some of the equipment installed earlier. This project was another example of the great partnership with the Derwent Valley Council.
2000/2001: We were advised that the Traction Engine and other equipment at Tynwald did not meet the standards for play equipment and posed a danger to children playing on it. After some negations it was sold to a collector from Latrobe who planned to restore it ( a two year project).
2002/2003: We also carried out further work at Tynwald Park, the Derwent Valley Council purchased additional play equipment and we provided the labour to install it. We also replaced the supports in the rotunda which we had built earlier as they had rotted and were becoming dangerous.
2009/2010: A Liberty Swing along with associated infrastructure was constructed. This was a major example of community cooperation with funding coming from many groups.
Newsletters
Our Newsletters for the current Lions year (July/June) may be viewed by following the links below. We endeavour to publish a newsletter each month but sometimes, time and other circumstances defeat us. Certain information has been removed in line with the clubs privacy policies
| Issue | Major Items |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| September 2010 |
BBQ for Prostate Cancer |
| August 2010 |
Membership Matters |
