ONGOING
S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS OF THE FORBES SHIRE, NSW
Identifying
the Forbes Shire's cultural Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Threats for the forthcoming Forbes Cultural
Plan
Please
note: this analysis is ongoing. You can add to it by attending
meetings of the Working Group on the first Monday of every month
5.30-7pm at the Town Hall Concourse, or email your additions to
[email protected]
CULTURAL
STRENGTHS
[Added 1 August 2005]
Forbes TAFE: has a good range of programs to train unskilled people.
[Added
4 July 2005] Upstairs Art gallery; town singers/choirs; wisdom of
senior citizens; Town Band; the two craft centres; Mitchell Conservatorium;
Forbes Eisteddford; Annual Jazz festival; Annual Heritage festival;
hundreds of volunteers (‘Forbes would stop without its volunteer
workers’); College for Seniors; range of aged care amenities;
service clubs, such as Probis, VIEW, Rotary etc; relatively small
size of the shire which makes it feel ‘intimate’; half-way
between Melbourne/Brisbane; dancing – many dance groups (ballroom,
jazz, ballet, line-dancing, etc)
[Added
9 June 2005] Caring and close-knit community; the lake and the river;
many heritage buildings; tidy, clean town with beautiful parks and
gardens (Victoria Square Park is of particular heritage significance
in this context); Aquatic Centre on the Bedgerebong Road (good for
wildlife as well as water skiers); many active sporting clubs; many
different nationalities which, ‘to a certain extent’,
makes Forbes people more open minded; good geographic location on
the Newell Highway (Bill noted that thousands of people stop at
the Driver Reviver site during holidays); surrounded by excellent
National Parks that are used as camping sites, especially by ‘grey
nomads’; historically minded with an active museum and historical
society; indigenous art works under the bridge across the lake;
an active library, a growing town band; six primary schools and
two high schools, including a boarding school which brings in people
from a very large catchment; uniquely compact CBD with diverse businesses;
a developing industrial area; great cooperation amongst church groups
– very ecumenical; health facilities and a functioning hospital
(babies can still be delivered here); diverse heritage from gold
mining era; historic notables including Ben Hall, Kate Kelly (Ned’s
sister), Captain Cook’s niece, and Paul and Hettie Wenz; a
sunny climate; Forbes History Book – a great source of information
about the community’s heritage; important agricultural heritage,
eg Burrawang Station; historic walking track around town; the local
cinema.
CULTURAL
WEAKNESSES
[Added 1 August 2005] Lack
of recreation courses, especially held at night time and weekends,
and the cost of courses can discourage participation
[Added
4 July 2005]: People not informed of events and what is happening;
General apathy (or contentment?)
[Added
9 June 2005]: Declining population; aging population; drought affecting
every aspect of Shire life; no public arts/cultural amenities built
in last 100 years; public apathy; inward looking (parochialism);
no manufacturing industires beyond agricultural industries, so little
work for non-skilled locals; young having to leave town for work
and education, ie youth migration; over-serviced in pubs and clubs;
former ambulance station site still a mess after the fire; heritage
- Forbes’ people’s concern for their heritage is also
a weakness because it makes us more interested in ‘preserving’
the past than being future oriented, so the town is less dynamic
than it could be; not enough for young people to do that doesn’t
involve drinking; insurance costs - both weakness and threat to
public life; social isolation of people without cars.
CULTURAL
OPPORTUNITIES
[Added
4 July 2005] Calender of weekly/monthly – promotion of what
is happening and what is available; the proposed Ben hall festival;
Rose festival in September; 12 hours by road to 80-85% of Australia’s
population.
CULTURAL
THREATS
[Added 1 August 2005]Seasonal
conditions which affects the region eg. flood and drought; Climate
change may cause people to leave the land leading to declining/static
population; Ageing population; “Brain drain” - qualified
professionals only stay in the town for a short period of time before
moving on; Money -lack of funding to get things done ie. like the
postage of the minutes; Unemployment
-Forbes actually has a declining unemployment rate, however there
is a lack of skilled workers - we can’t fill the jobs we have
and can’t “job” the unskilled people who need
work.
What
are your additions to these lists?
Please bring them to the next meeting of the Working Group on the
first Monday of every month, 5.30 pm in the Town Hall Concourse,
or email them to [email protected]
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