Potential; great word, especially when defined as having latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness.
So when a town that is the butt of jokes, has very high percentage of the population living on social welfare and has 2 steep gradients as major entry points and the word ‘potential’ is used, is it future success being envisaged or problem.
Mount Morgan has been described as Rockhampton’s potential Montville, there’s potential for the mine to reopen and new jobs being created, then there is the tourism potential that has been discussed for years. When does the potential success become realised though?
I bring this up as starting tomorrow the Golden Mount Festival commences. A 5 day festival that celebrates Mount Morgan’s spirit.
That is worth celebrating (and bottling) considering how, as the richest gold mine in the southern hemisphere, important Mount Morgan was to the nation’s economy. But as the gold dwindled along with its population it could have become just another dying (or dead) mining town.
Instead in the last 5 years the population has grown.
This is despite the potential to become a Montville, mecca for tourists has gone untapped and Carbine Resources still determining the viability of extracting gold from the tailings.
Can we learn from Mount Morgan?
Mount Morgan is my visualisation of what a character community is. A character community could be described as one that nurtures its unique positive character attributes and enhances it as a desirable place for all to live, learn, work, and play. It is most likely not a planned strategy, but a result of unstructured community interaction.
Not everyone wants to live, learn, work, and play in Mount Morgan, but its community has utilised its unique attributes, perhaps by chance, to attract others.
The Rockhampton Region (CQ for that matter) needs a boost in population to reinvigorate its economy. Finding out what sustains the communities of small towns like Westwood, Bouldercombe, Gogango and Mount Morgan and using the findings to foster a Character Community strategy across the whole region can contribute in getting more people to move here.
With more people we can start realising the potential that keeps getting talked about.
Experience the unique character attributes of Mount Morgan this Thursday to Monday at their community driven festival, one of the longest running in the region. After all where else could you compete in an event called Running the Cutter.
You can find a full list of activities by visiting www.goldenmountfestival.org.au.
While there consider the latent qualities Mount Morgan has that if developed would lead to it (and the region’s) future success, consider its potential.