The Wattle Range Road Safety Group (WRRSG) have made a final donation toward the Millicent Road Safety Centre as they take steps to close the group.
After thirty years of raising road safety awareness the small group of volunteers decided to donate the organisations’ residual funds to the Wattle Range Council (WRC) for the installation of a free public barbecue at the centre.
The WRRSG, like many other volunteer organisations, has found itself unable to maintain active membership and the remaining representatives decided where to allocate the group’s remaining funds.
Founded in the wake of a tragic fatal road accident on New Years Eve 1993, the WRRSG had many initiatives over their three decades of operation.
The highly successful Driver Reviver program was held every Easter and October long weekend for many years.
Other measures introduced were road safety signage and messaging initiatives, the introduction of accident markers across South Australia, hosting the ‘Moving on from Road Trauma’ weekend event and the installation of the Road Crash Victims Memorial in Millicent’s Centennial Park.
The memorial was a joint project with Millicent High School students.
A handful of the outgoing members, Dianne and Tony Egan, Sue Vanderheul and Dawn Williams, met with Wattle Range Mayor Des Noll at the centre to look over the new barbecue facilities.
“We would sincerely like to thank Wattle Range Council for their ongoing support over the years” Ms Egan said.
“Anytime we had a request for support or practical help, it was given without hesitation.”
Mayor Noll expressed his gratitude to the group for their efforts in raising road safety awareness and the support they had provided to those impacted by road trauma across the region.
“The members of the Wattle Range Road Safety Group have spent many years supporting our community, some of them through sharing their personal experiences of tragic loss” he said.
“We thank them for volunteering their time and energy in their commitment to protecting the lives of our loved ones on the roads.”
In 2018 the Millicent Road Safety Centre underwent major refurbishment funded jointly by OneFortyOne and the WRC.
Since the refurbishment the facility has once again become a popular venue for school excursions, weekend birthday parties and social events.
It is always open to the public, with working road traffic signals, toilets, and now brand-new barbecue facilities.
The centre building is also available to hire for functions or parties, with bookings made at the council offices.
Contact the council on 8733 0900 during business hours for more information.
